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Mermaid's-tear sapphires are always a deep, perfect,
uniform shade of blue. When compared to normal sapphires, they are
significantly more opaque, but they glow brilliantly when struck by
light. No uncut or cabochon-cut mermaid's-tear sapphire has ever
been discovered, although few are faceted to their best advantage
and many are damaged. For this reason, almost all mermaid's-tear
sapphires available for sale have been recut by a jeweler, although
some buyers take great pride in purchasing only "natural"
mermaid's-tear sapphires. All mermaid's-tear
sapphires come from the sea, washing up with a straying wave to lie
sparkling on the sand or occasionally turning up in the gullet of a
fish. A legend spanning human port cultures holds that each is
created when a mermaid weeps truly in grief.
Mermaid's-tear sapphires are aligned with the
elemental force of water, and it is also said that they are quite
efficacious in summoning and commanding various spirits.
Despite being the consummate jewelsmiths of
Elanthia, the Greetok and Oltregek dwarves shun the use of
mermaid's-tear sapphires, and most of the other dwarves follow suit
-- the dwarves hold that mermaid's-tear sapphires are too magical to
be "real" gems, and they feel that a gem that cannot be found in the
earth is neither worth wearing nor using.
Stone-tenders say that mermaid's-tear sapphires
can be used to help overcome the effects of breathing water, but
they also say that doing so may bind the patient's will to the
water, encouraging the patient into future danger.
Human diviners say that mermaid's-tear sapphires
can be used to foretell Charl's moods. Merchants traveling by sea
from the port of Idolone often seek the services of diviners who use
mermaid's-tear sapphires to foretell storms.
The gift of a mermaid's-tear sapphire is usually
symbolic of some sort of grief, but whether it is a private grief or
a call for action depends on the context and the person.
One human legend heard from time to time claims
that a mermaid can be enslaved by placing a necklace of her own
tears bound in mithril about her throat. Since mermaids are among
the rarest and most elusive creatures in Elanthia, however, it is
hard to believe that anyone has ever tested this claim. |
