Realmstone

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Types of Realmstone

Realmstone, or Cursestone are concentrations of raw magic, a disparate collection of substances that can be found in the Mortal Realms. It is the most sought-after resource in the Realms, it is of such value that a rich seam might start battles or call the attention of the gods.[1][6a]

Creation

When raw magic meets reality, which might be from a natural process that takes a long time or a great metaphysical process, and solidifies into realmstone.[6a] No reliable method exists to create realmstone artifically.[10a] However, when a Endless Spell is unbound it leaves behind a piece of realmstone highly desired by wizards to make powerful objects. If the Endless Spell has claimed many lives the objects made from these pieces of Realmstone are far more dangerous.[6b]

Properties

While most magical energies are invisible to those without witch-sight, the concentration of raw magic that is the realmstones is visible to those without it. Each type of realmstone embodies the realm which it is found, not only in appearance, taking a physical appearance related to the fractional color of magic which is solidified from, but also embodying the traits of that realm and magical colour.[6a]

There is no way of knowing the true potency of each individual realmstone, and while each piece will still produce impressive quantities of energy, the resulting output can still vary to an incredible degree. The smallest of fragment can power dozens of the most complex spells known to mortals or it can be exhausted after one spell. There are many theories in the Collegiate Arcane on how to discover the strength of a individual realmstone, but most focus either on different levels of magical concentration or the rate of arcane degradation.[6a]

Regardless of type, all realmstone eerily calls disasters with its use, specially those who use it so heavily they come to rely on it, earning it the sobriquet of Cursestone. There are many whispered tales of what happened to those sorceres who used it, deranged killers, disturbing mutants, addicts that were soon seduced into becoming servants of the Dark Gods. Despite these tales there are always those willing to risk for such power.[6a]

Acquisition

Searching

While realmstone cannot be reliably created, it can be reliably found at a realm's edge, where realmstones are abundant in supply and competition for the resource is scarce. However, the Perimeter Inimical of each realm often presents greater danger to mortals than simply finding hidden realmstone deposits within stable areas near civilisation. At the edge of Aqshy one will find seas of incandescent flame, predatory mountains gnashing at the edge of Ghur, and endless illusions befuddling those who travel away from Ulgu's center. Few mortals can survive a venture to the realm's edge, and must either be expendable enough to constantly be replaced for mining ventures or durable enough to survive extreme conditions. Only certain groups as the Null Myriad of the Ossiarch Bonereapers or the Thunder Lizard Constellation of the Seraphon are known to specialise in navigating the Perimeters Inimical. Otherwise, mining ventures generally opt to utilise expendable workers, despite most of these ventures never returning.[10a]

Realmstone deposits found nearer the more stable center are things of great value, the information on their location alone being considered priceless, and those with knowledge on where to look have an appreciable advantage over competitors just chasing rumours. However, realmstone deposits aren't won by simply finding them, and realmstone harvesters must be armed in preparation for the inevitable battle for the valuable resource. A force of dozens of Stormcast Eternal Chambers or a Dawnbringer Crusade numbering in the thousands might mobilise to defend a rich deposit. Given enough time, entire fortress cities can rise up around rich veins of realmstone, which in turn increases the scope and frequency of the subsequent wars and sieges, which can last until the city falls or the realmstone is spent. Indeed, the resource is so precious that societies that don't use realmstone or fail to extract new deposits will be replaced by societies that can.[10a]

Extraction

The extraction process likewise presents complications to those that successfully find and secure realmstone deposit. Realmstone often forms underground and due to its volatile nature blasting away rock to expose the deposit would be disastrous. It is for this reason the Null Myriad utilise skeletal constructs that were tested against Shyish's extremes, and the Thunder Lizard utilise reptilian beasts whose hides that have been infused with traces of Chamonite for the purpose of carefully dig and sift. Even when the realmstone forms on the surface it often physically inaccessible. Cyclestone miners may find themselves impeded by vegetation that must constantly be hacked away at, assuming they haven't been turned into vegetation themselves. Celestium miners must remain vigilant for meteor showers and approachiin lightning storms. Some types of realmstone, such as aetherquartz or varanite need to be processed before it is even possible to handle. Some realmstone are simply difficult to recognize even when one knows where the deposit is, such as amber bones which are difficult to discern from regular bones and the wispy falsestone of Ulgu. On top of all these difficulties, the realmstone pulses with emotional influence that frays the nerves of the miners and pushes the entire mining expedition closer to collapse.[10a]

Transportation

The emotional strain inflicted by the transportation of realmstone makes the task as difficult as finding and extracting it. Being no longer shielded from its effects by bedrock, miners will face mental exhaustion in the process of resisting the realmstone's side-effects, which builds which each passing day of exposure to the metalphysical substance. This exhaustion becomes especially acute when realmstone harvesters travel to the realm's edge to acquire the substance. Even with realmgates to use as shortcuts, the journey back to more the more stable part of the realm will take its toll. Emberstone is infamous for tearing convoys of realmstone harvesters apart by causing them to slaughter each other over the slightest insults. Tales are told of cyclestone miners who give in to the influence of the stone to turn back and gather infinitely more of the Ghyranite stone. Grave-sand gatherers have been known to stop in their tracks after realising theyve been aging a week for every step they take.[10a]

To protect themselves against the ill effects of realmstones, miners will sometimmes store their haul in nullstone-lined containers, which themselves have their own expenses and peril, or they place the task upon some resilient beast of burden to haul, such as the automatons of the Ironweld Arsenal, or the daemonic bore-wyrms Archaon uses to transport his varanite. Special individuals such as the Soulbound can carry realmstone without fear of corruption or magic-induced delusions due to their divine protections.[10a]

Purchase and Sale

The market for raw realmstone is cutthroat. In many places the resource only sporadically being made available for sale, usually when military or harvesting expeditions return with their prize. However, in settlements built for the express purpose of mining realmstone the market is stable enough for the locals to use it as an alternative currency to Aqua Ghyranis, albeit in vanishingly small denominations. A given fraction of merchants selling realmstone in any city are peddling fakes, though the exact number of these low-handed merchants depends on the local authority's willingness to overlook counterfeiters.[10a] Nullstone in particular is subject to counterfeit, with the fakes outnumbering the genuine stones.[10b]

Uses

All types of realmstone can be fashioned into various artefacts such as wargear or consumed to enhance spellcasting.[10c] Realmstone, being that it always possesses an intrinsic value, is used as an alternative currency throughout the realms. Although it can be used as currency, weaponry, and jewellery, realmstone is ultimately magic, and it is through magical work that realmstone finds its most natural use.[10a]

Currency

Main Article: Realmstone as Currency

Realmstone is widely circulated as currency all throughout the Mortal Realms, and beyond. Such currency comes in a myriad of forms and denominations, the value of which varies wildly from region to region depending on availability, stability of supply, and many other factors. Aetherquartz, Amberbone, Celestium, Chamonite, Cyclestone, Emberstone, Falsestone, Grave-sand, and Nullstone are all accepted as standard, though often high-end, currencies across all the Mortal Realms. Whereas Varanite and Warpstone are mostly exchanged between warbands of the Eightpoints and Skaven respectively.[10a][10c]

Equipment

While realmstone has many uses, its simplest use is perhaps in infusing weaponry, but none can deny realmstone's efficacy, or the deadly beauty of a realmstone weapon doing its bloody work. Melee weapons are generally infused with realmstone where they would make contact with an enemy, such as the spearpoint or the head of a hammer. Ranged weaponry concentrates realmstone where it touches its ammunition like the bow string or the rifle chamber, or inside the ammunition itself. Pure realmstone is rarely used in realmstone equipment. Instead, the metaphysical substance is alloyed with other materials, or used as a fuel during forging. The process is dangerous, expensive, and risky. One alloyed into equipment, a realmstone's influence is less severe, but is still present. Typically, realmstone equipment sells for 500D[1] more than its original price, plus another 500D if sold outside its realm of origin. Regardless, realmstone equipment isn't something one easily finds in a market. Some items are legendary artefacts with names, histories, and personalities, and warring factions of the Mortal Realms are quick to seize them.[10c]

Spellcasting

Although incredibly dangerous, realmstone doesn't have to be process or crafted for a wizard to make use of its power, because the compressed energy within naturally seeks release of spells of the associated lore. Desperate or foolish wizards may seek to maximise its efficacy by crushing realmstone in their palms, placing realmstone inside arcane devices crackling with arcane electricity, or simply eating it. However, for the most part, a mage only needs to hold the realmstone in their hand to harness its power. Once they perform their gestures or incantations which normally accompany their channeling, the realmstone's power twines with their own, and it is often a greater stuggle to stem the flow of power than it is to coax more magical energy out of it. Whereas those who simply carry or wield the realmstone feel its emotions brush up against their own, those who channel it come face-to-face with the soul of the realms themselves, altering their user's perception of the very land they walk upon.[10c]

The seductive infinity within each piece of realmstone beckons the spellcaster to draw deeper and deeper, until the magic gains a life of its own and becomes an Endless Spell. Even when the spell is aborted early, the magic which flows from the raw realmstone is wild and unruly, and in the best case scenario, the caster escapes with mere burns or lacerating scratches. It is not a question of whether there will be consequences, but whether the caster can mitigate them, and the answer if often no. More cautious spellcasters might instead craft a realmstone into an Arcane Focus, such as a a grave-sand hourglass, cyclestone charm, or a staff capped with amberbone. Realmstone Foci have an inherent connection to the realm from which they came, and no matter where they are, they act as a conduit for the realm's ambient energies.[10c]

Side Effects

Realmstone, for the most part, is not malicious. Aside from realmstone corrupted by or aligned with Chaos, it is ambivalent about mortals as the mountains, skies, or skies. Regardless of whether it possesses malice, realmstone overpowers everything around it, assaulting the senses and scouring the environment. Like an extreme light of one colour, it reveals onl what aligns with its nature and obscures all else. This applies both physically and mentally, as those exposed to realmstone find their interior emotional experiences overrules by the realmstone's psychological pressure. Realmstone emanates with quintessential concepts of anger, greed, or dishonest, emotions that suffused the void before people even existed to feel them. Most mortals can't resist the influence of a realmstone any more than they can resist being incinerated by fire or aging over tie. However, some idividuals like those amongst the order of the Soulbound have inherent protections against corruption. While they are not completely immune, they stand a fighting chance at at resisting the realmstone's influence, and generally the side-effects are less dramatic than in normal mortals. Should one of the Soulbound, Stormcast Eternal, or similar champion of the Mortal Realms fall completely to realmstone corruption, the confluence of their own strength with the concentrated elemental power of the realms will have terrifying results. These beings will appear as demi-gods, and be like pure power given physical from, like the realmstone itself.[10c]

Types

Types of Realmstone
Image Names Sources
Aetherquartz 01.png Aetherquartz Realm of Hysh
Amberbone 01.png Amberbone Realm of Ghur
Celestium 01.png Celestium Realm of Azyr
Chamonite 01.png Chamonite Realm of Chamon
Cyclestone 01.png Cyclestone Realm of Ghyran
Emberstone 01.png Emberstone Realm of Aqshy
Falsestone 01.png Falsestone Realm of Ulgu
Grave-sand 01.png Grave-Sand Realm of Shyish
Nullstone 01.png Nullstone Aetheric Void
Varanite 01.png Varanite Eightpoints
Warpstone 01.png Warpstone Chaos corruption

Notable Objects

The following are said to be made out of realmstone without specifying which type:

Compound-Artefacts

The Arch-Domini of the Agloraxi Empire had in their time stolen realmstone fragments from all the Mortal Realms, and fused them together into compound-artefacts of unfathomable and uncrontrollable power. The most 'successul' of their experiments that have endured into the present were produced by combining elemental opposites.[9a] These artefacts include:

  • The Evershroud: A blinding crystal of aetherquartz and falsestone that turns its bearer invisible except in direct sunlight. It also makes them ethereal and impervious to attack, and incapable of attacking. Prolonged exposure makes it impossible for the bearer to age and no one will be able to touch or hear the bearer, dooming them to an eternity of impenetrable isolation.[9a]
  • The Immortal Bind: A jewelled band of fused cyclestone an grave-sand that snaps around its bearers wrist before summoning Chainrasps bound to the bearer's will. Should these chainrasps be somehow harmed, the bearer will endure the damage. Prolonged exposure may transorm the bearer into a Chainrasp Dreadwarden.[9a]
  • The Comet Unholy: A pendant of a thrice-tailed comet formed of celestium and warpstone. It ties together its bearer's sense of willpower and dread together, and prolonged exposure will transform its bearer into a Chaos Spawn.[9a]

Sources

Notes

  1. Refers to drops of Aqua Ghyranis as a unit of currency
Magic of the Mortal Realms and Beyond
Lores of Magic Magic Spectrum Heavens {{{3}}}Beasts {{{3}}}Fire {{{3}}}Metal {{{3}}}Life {{{3}}}Death {{{3}}}Light {{{3}}}Shadows {{{3}}}
Chaos Beasts of Chaos (Twisted WildsDark Storm) • Chaos Ascendant (Ruinous Sorcery) • Disciples of Tzeentch (FateChange) • Hedonites of Slaanesh (SlaaneshForbidden Sorceries of SlaaneshPain and Pleasure) • Maggotkin of Nurgle (MalignanceVirulenceFoulness) • Skaven (RuinWarpvolt Galvanism) • Slaves to Darkness (Damned)
Death Flesh-Eater Courts (Madness) • Legions of Nagash (Sorrows) • Soulblight Gravelords (DeathmagesVampires) • Nighthaunt (Underworlds) • Ossiarch Bonereapers (MortisansNecro-Alchemy)
Destruction Gloomspite Gitz (MoonclansSpiderfangs) • Ogor Mawtribes (GutmagicSun-Eater) • Orruk Warclans (WeirdSavage Waaagh!Savage BeastSwamp)
Order Cities of Sigmar (CinderCollegiate ArcaneLeavesSmogPhoenixDark SorceryWhitefireEaglesUmbral SpiteIlluminationGhurish Heartlands) • Daughters of Khaine (Shadows) • Idoneth Deepkin (Deeps) • Lumineth Realm-lords (HyshHigh PeaksWindsZaitrec) • Seraphon (Celestial DominationCelestial Manipulation) • Stormcast Eternals (DrakesStormInvigoration) • Sylvaneth (Deepwood)
Unaligned Realmsphere Magic (EightpointsShadespire) • Ice
Realmstone AetherquartzAmberboneCelestiumChamoniteCyclestoneEmberstoneFalsestoneGrave-SandNullstoneVaraniteWarpstone
Magic Crafts Alchemy (Aether-KhemistryDark AlchemyNecro-Alchemy (Soul Alchemy)) • ChantooRunecraft
Other BloodGrudgeMinor CantripsNull
Arcanum OptimarEndless SpellIncarnateSpells (Common SpellsUnits Spells)