Night Crystal

A rare and mysterious substance, night crystals are the subject of both study and caution.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Night crystals are known for their deep, dark purple coloring with streaks of black. Unlike other crystals that glow with use and eventually dull as they become inert, the night variety experiences something of an inverse. Active night crystals are said to darken, seemingly absorbing all light until black as a moonless sky while inert samples seem to carry a 'bleached' appearance with all of the typical color drained away into a dull, cloudy white.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Samples of night crystals are noted to feel cool to the touch in contrast to the heat of a flame crystal, though not to the extent of freezing as one would experience with a frost crystal.
Claims have been made of the crystal having hallucinogenic properties should one inhale or ingest dust from it. While there have been documented cases of individuals mining the crystal, there has yet to be conclusive evidence that the crystals were the direct cause and not something else possibly encountered while within the Scar.

Compounds

Scholars theorize that night crystals may have been an ingredient in the forging of umbral steel given the similar properties the materials share.

Geology & Geography

Night crystals are found almost exclusively withing the caves of The Scar, making mining and selling the mineral on scale quite difficult.

History & Usage

Everyday use

While much about the crystal remain shrouded in mystery, it is thought to have properties related to illusion magic and are used as an aid for practitioners in the field.

Cultural Significance and Usage

While some seem to have found practical use for the mineral, its abundance in regions like the Scar and therefore percieved  connection to the Age of Dusk have earned it the ire of the Church of the Eternal Dawn and its followers.

Distribution

Trade & Market

Practitioners of illusory magic have been known to purchase pieces of the crystal as a supposed aid for their spellcasting.
In a similar vein, charms made with the mineral are rather in demand for those leaning towards stealth with the belief being such trinkets will help protect them from scrutiny and detection.

Law & Regulation

Night crystals aren't technically regulated given mild usage and few if any confirmed hazards. That said, the trade, use, and possession of the mineral is often met with hostility from those following the Eternal Dawn.

Type

Ore/Mineral

Value

High

Rarity

Rare

Color

A dark purple to the point of nearly being black