Mythral Miner

Living Geodes

Myhtral geode mining is one of the most dangerous professions in Virosia. From the normal dangers of mining to the potential for mythral-made creatures known as Mythraleviatha to tear you to shreds, the job is notorious for its compensation. The job is primarily done by Dwarves, as most Mythral geodes are found on Fjorlosian lands, though many Humans and even talii are seen mining mythral as well.
"I do not envy them. How could I? We just need them to do what they're doing. Our livelyhood depends on them risking their lives for a handful of Velkan. We'll use them for the rest of our lives if need be. In secret or not." -Rizhan Medalia Zhayce VI
Groups of miners are often attached to a bodyguard squad consisting of warriors and sartors. Venturing into these geodes is no small task, and every new geode has posed unique challenges, from simply difficult geography to unique creatures, almost always deadly. Not to mention the always-prevelent threat of contracting the mythral curse from contact with the raw crystals. Few emerge the same.

Mythral Geodes

Mythral geodes are what occurs as The Veil, having bunched up and folded in its liminal space outside of Virosia, unfolds, releasing pure magic known as Sar into the world. When this happens underground, the stone becomes mythral ore, and if there is leftover sar, which there often is, the ore expands to hold the additional sar. As it forms in this void, it begins growing crystals. These geodes can grow to enormous sizes, often being found from around a hundred meters to over five hundred meters across in the most extreme circumstance.
Within, mythral geodes are hostile to humanoid life. The air is hard to breathe, and if inhaled for long enough will become toxic. The terrain is composed of largely jagged crystals, and so a simple trip can become a death sentence. Not only for the impact of the sharp crystals, but for the contact with the mythral crystal. Touching the crystal results in its immediate adherence to whatever it touches, and an infection known as the mythral curse, wherein the crystal grows on the flesh. The skin becomes rigid and crystalline, often with the growth spreading to areas where it will stop organ function.
The formations are often disfigured and imperfect spheres, with large stretches lacking crystal entirely, composed only of collumns and bridges formed from mythral ore.
Opening the geodes is a spectacular event. As they form, the density of magic in the air becomes so high that it becomes a physical reality in the form of crystals. The magical "pressure" necessary for a geode to form in the first place is quite extreme, and so when one is broken open, all of the magical potential that would makes the geode even bigger is realeased at once, without making additional mythral.
Dwarves know this as the "First Light", and it is a grand honor to be the dwarf that opens a geode. This release, however, will certainly annihilate whoever is before it, and within a large radius of its opening. An extremely bright display, the event is notably almost silent, but anyone that basks in the immediate energy release will be vaporized.

Mythral and Mythral Ore

The crystal is extremely valuable for several reasons, and its extraction and use have been cultural foundations upon which Fjorlosia has built for centuries. The stone, when cut precisely, can house and manipulated the veil and sar to create spells. The crystals can also be crafted to release their energy slowly in a form known as Velkazar. These crystals function like batteries for sar, powering autonomous golems and Adzir, lighting fixtures, and even being used to give a rigid magical edge to weapons.
Collection of the crystal is a delicate process. Breaking and spattering shards of the crystal would result in easy contraction of the curse, and so special measures are made to avoid contact. Copper is a natural deterrent for the crystal, and so often copper or brass and bronze lined suits are worn to cover the entire body. These suits, however, can be extremely expensive, so many resort to simply covering their hands and arms, and perhaps their face only.
The ore is virtually useless. Inert of sar, and much too hard for masonry, the ore is avoided when mining wherever possible.

Squad Contracts

Most groups venturing into geodes have been contracted by either one of the realms, normally Fjorlosia or Akathia, or by a private beneficiary. Often they will consist of both miners and bodyguards. The bodyguards in these situations are typically already formed groups that will join another company of miners, though sometimes there are already formed bodyguard-miner groups. These bodyguards are considered a non-optional part of any expedition, as the possibility of a mythraleviatha attack is never non-zero.

Extraction

Miners use different tools for different jobs in mythral mining. Some specialize in the harvest of smaller crystals, up to two to three meters in height, while other specialize in breaking stone from house-sized crystals.
A special tool developed for small and thin crystals is known as a armvice, or just a vice. It works as a long grabbing mechanism that can tighten whatever it grabs from a distance, and has a specialized drill along the bottom that can also be dug in from range to break off the crystals, and then keep a hold on them. The handle itself is crafted from copper so that chunks are earier to break off, but the process typically either ruins the tool, or the crystal.
The longer domething is holding onto mythral, the longer the crystal welds to its surface, losing crystalline quality, and overall capacity to be used for holding and manipulating sar into spells and other magic.

Mythraleviatha

Dangerous creatures lurk in mythral crystals. One of the main arguments against their harvest comes from their existence, and moreover, their release into the world outside the geodes. Mythraleviatha are crystal and rock-formed creatures that are ruthless to creatures of flesh. Each one unique in shape, each one of them has the capacity to kill dozens before being slain. They are quick and brutal, and exceptionally intelligent. As ambush predators, they are often known to kill before a victim has time to recognize what had happened.

Type

Raw Materials Gathering