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Lapis lazuli (sometimes abbreviated to lapis) is an
opaque blue stone marked with streaks and specks of twinkling gold.
As a general rule, the deeper the hue, the more expensive the stone,
so long as it is not flawed. Lapis lazuli is
a useful magical catalyst when attempting to work with opposing
elemental forces, such as combining fire and ice or combining air
and earth in a single spell.
According to human tradition, wearing lapis lazuli
will bring peace of mind and spirit. The stone-tenders in Aldora
believe that lapis lazuli is also useful for easing fever and muscle
pain, and suffering patients are often requested to wear lapis
lazuli on both wrists, both ankles, and the forehead.
When crushed and added to appropriate substances,
lapis lazuli creates the most intense blue pigment known to artists.
This art was initially discovered by the elves, and the Loenthran
elves have a story about how it was first discovered. The foundation
of the story lies in an ancient painting that depicts the young
Arkati Niima standing atop an ocean wave. The painting in question
is unsigned, but Loenthran records state that it was created by
Shirvande Loenthra, the youngest daughter of Callisto Loenthra and
also a marvelous artist. Supposedly, Shirvande had seen Niima as she
walked along the shore one sunlit day, and she became obsessed with
the idea of capturing the moment in painting, but she grew dismayed
and saddened because she lacked an adequate blue pigment for the
brilliance of the sun-streaked water. After two years of work, she
went to destroy her canvas, but Jastev suddenly appeared before her
and asked her to spare the painting. When Shirvande did as Jastev
asked, Jastev showed her how to crush lapis lazuli in order to make
a blue paint unlike any other, and she finished the painting with
the beautiful blue paint.
Lapis is also associated with the Huntress. Legend
holds that the Huntress was once the bodyguard of a great king, but
that the queen, jealous of her beauty, betrayed her and sought to
have Arachne slay her. Supposedly, the token of favor that drove the
queen over the edge was a teardrop lapis amulet, given to the
Huntress by the king's own hands as he praised the Huntress for her
beauty and her loyalty. Worshippers of the Huntress have been known
to receive amulets in this style when they have truly pleased their
goddess. Such amulets are called "the Huntress's tears," but the
name is linked to a parable-- it is said that the Huntress wept only
once in all her mortal years, and that time only when the king
reviled her as a betrayer. The spirit's tears are stone because her
heart is so hardened by discipline that she would never weep.
The name of lapis lazuli has international roots. The word lapis
is the Latin "lapis" meaning stone, and lazuli comes from an
old Arabic word, "allazjward", meaning heaven, sky or simply
blue.
Lapis lazuli shares with
turquoise
the distinction of being among the most prized of all gemstones of
earlier civilizations. In a grave from the Indus valley, the lapis
ornaments found were dated as 9000 years old.
In
Babylonia, Ur, and ancient Egypt, lapis was very highly valued. It
was believed to cure melancholy and one particular kind of recurrent
fever. In Rome, it was considered a powerful aphrodisiac.
In South America, the Chilean deposit of lapis lazuli was used by
ancient civilizations at least 1500 years B.C.
Lapis powder was
extensively used by Roman, Persian, and Chinese women to paint their
eyebrows.
From the days of ancient Greece and Rome trough to the Renaissance,
lapis was pulverized to make a durable pigment called ultramarine,
which was used extensively to produce the intense blue of many of
the world's most famous oil paintings. This ultramarine pigment
was in use until the nineteenth century when another method to
produce this color was found.
Much of what is sold as
lapis is an artificially dyed
jasper from
Germany that shows colorless specks of clear, crystallized quartz and
never the gold-like flecks of pyrite that are characteristic of lapis
lazuli and have been compared to stars in the sky.
Lapis lazuli is the alternative to
turquoise, zircon and ruby as birthstones
for December. Lapis Lazuli is the anniversary
gemstone for the 7th and 9th years of marriage. |
