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Snake-stone, like jade and lapis, is an opaque stone
that cannot be faceted. It occurs in hues of light green, misty
blue, or pale terra cotta. There is no known
source of snake-stone outside the Sea of Fire. Rather than being
mined, snake-stone is collected by travelers and prospectors from
where it lies on the open sands.
True snake-stone can be distinguished from dyed
jade or alabaster because of its peculiar tactile properties -- real
snake-stone is always cold to the touch, even if it has been heated
very recently. As well, snake-stone will burn if it is placed into a
fire, and it is difficult to replicate the peculiar white flame that
ensues -- although, of course, burning snakestone is a poor use for
the valuable and magical stone.
In the healing arts, snake-stone is most notably
used to cure afflictions of the eye, though it is also said to
reduce fever and hinder the progress of disease. Legends of
shape-shifters deep in the desert may be attributable to nomads
fully harnessing the transformative power of snake-stone, or may be
attributable to a bard’s overly fanciful imagination. In either
case, it is certainly a very magical stone.
Despite its legendary origin in the coils and
battling of snakes in the Sea of Fire, human legend does not
associate snake-stone with the workings of Luukos. Instead,
snake-stone is associated with the strange spirits known to the
desert nomads, which inspires even greater hesitation in some people
over the use of the stone. Nomadic reactions in seeing the stone
used as jewelry seem to vary -- some people bearing snake-stone are
treated with reverence and fear, while others are avoided or even
abused as fools, but the precise qualities in the stone that produce
the varying reaction are known only to the people of the desert.
People from non-hostile Turamzzyrian settlements bordering the Sea
of Fire normally avoid wearing the stone themselves because they
hesitate to offend or enrage traveling Tehir. However, they have no
qualms about selling it. |
