Quartz

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Quartz
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Materials
Official Name Quartz
Common Nicknames White Glass, Alnawahijr, Lamonsmal
Origin Aloria
Uses Decoration, Utility
Rarity Common
Accessibility All Classes

Quartz is a multipurpose, often translucent material that has various practical uses. From decoration to technology, Quartz has long seen use by the various Races of Aloria going back centuries. The most notable in the modern day is the Qadir and the Maraya, whose use of the material is unique for its technological ties. Quartz can generally be found all over Aloria, yet it is often tough to cut due to its flaky composition.

History

Quartz has a very ancient history in Aloria, going back to the Meraic. Due to their extensive use of crystals in their technology, they extensively mined the material to help their civilization function. Eventually, when that civilization fell to the Fourth Void Invasion, the next to use Quartz were the Elves. They were less enthusiastic about the material, but still sought it out, with a particular emphasis on massive hexagonal crystal formations naturally existing to serve as an example of an individual’s powers for having acquired it. Additionally, the Altalar sought to carve out Quartz to form impressive, detail-rich drinking implements. However, the next to fully and truly appreciate Quartz were the Qadir Ailor. Their skills in machinery saw them mine Quartz on a vast scale to supply many of their greatest (or most energy-consuming) machines with unique parts related to energy. As for other Ailor, Quartz provided a form of crude and simple jewelry during much of their early history. Grave goods recovered before the Destruction of Ceardia from Ceardia indicate that such jewelry was relatively common, with Proto-Velheim burials in areas of Ellador and Corontium proving this accurate.

In the wake of the Cataclysm, and the gradual emergence of the Maraya onto the public stage though, Quartz re-entered their society as an important tie back to the Meraic civilization, while in other societies, it lost its importance. The Elves abandoned it entirely, and while the Qadir still use it, the destruction of the Sariyd Empire saw them forced to adopt a wide array of other materials to power their devices as they no longer had access to the same material wealth as they had in their great Empire. Similarly, as the Ailor refined and the Regalian Empire emerged, Quartz became relegated to a mercantile good; traded to the distant Qadir for technological aid as well as used to help make white dye for cloth and paints. In 174 AC, the large island of Kelmoria was discovered and rapidly industrialized by the Regalian Empire to help mine the Quartz and other minerals found alongside it. However, over a century of mining prosperity came to an end in 303 AC when the island’s volcano erupted, causing a mass retreat from the region. Today, Quartz is often tied to this disaster, but it still goes used in many sectors and by various groups due to its value in many fields.

Characteristics

Appearance

Quartz is a form of crystal that appears commonly on the earth in clusters of hexagonal prisms with pointed tips. They are pale, often white, but also appear in hues of several colors, and vary from opaque to relatively clear. They are highly flakey and brittle, making cutting difficult. The very similar material of Amethyst commonly forms near them and the two are considered to be closely related.

General Uses

Quartz has a wide variety of uses across Aloria, the most common today being the creation of white dye and white paint. Next to this is the substance’s role in technology, as both the Qadir and Maraya make use of Quartz for their machinery, the Maraya in a much more direct way than the Qadir. Few today still make use of the substance as a decorative item either in jewelry or furnishings, but this is not a style unknown to poor Ailor in fringe kingdoms in lands like Southwynd. However, many Ailor and Teledden still support the industry of crystal jug and cup-making, the beautiful pieces the prize of any artisan.

Abilities

Quartz has no abilities on its own. However, it is clear from Meraic and Qadir machinery that the substance can hold a variety of different forms of power when processed, treated, and incorporated into a variety of other mechanisms.

Trivia

  • There is a cheeky saying that comes from many Regalian merchants who deal with markets in the eastern regions of Aloria: “Where there’s Quartz in a market, there’s Qadir.”
  • An ancient belief among Aetosians was that Quartz was ancient, supercooled ice. As a result, it was often carved into a sphere to be held in an individual's hand to help cool them off.

Accreditation
Writers HydraLana
Processors FireFan96, MantaRey
Last Editor HydraLana on 12/18/2023.

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