Aubergidaal

Aubergidaal is so named for the dark purple hue most common in the mineral. It is related to aquatheerdaal and keltaitheerdaal, but rarer.

All artwork by Shade Melodique

theerdaala family of minerals
typically ranges from dark purple to lavender, with pale sparkles throughout. Can have a blue or pink sheen when polished
tetragonal crystals
metallic
light pink streak
7-8 on Kendrell's Hardness Scale (KHS range is 1-20)
found in mountain caves that have water running through them

Description

Known deposits of aubergidaal are only found in aquatheerdaal mines on the continent of Theyndora. The more blue amber a mine has, the more likely it is to also have aubergidaal. The mineral is dark purple with sparkles of lighter purple throughout. Unlike aquatheerdaal, its only other known hue is dark to pale blue. If the pale blue is translucent, it is sometimes mistaken for blue amber. When shined, a blue or pink sheen is often present. Due to its rarity, aubergidaal was mostly used to beautify religious objects before Taangis invaded the continent. The empire then shipped what little they discovered to Pelthine, where it promptly disappeared.

Alba priestess amulet, 2300 TE
Arts of the Past Museum, The Corals, Abastion

The Hunt

Aubergidaal became a forgotten resource until Taangis conquered the western Theyndora tribes. Suddenly, the empire opened several aquatheerdaal mines, looking for high yields of blue amber. Locals did not understand the push, but the lure of large bonuses for finding purple aubergidaal drew workers by the thousands. Historians have found references to aubergidaal in Taangis correspondence and official documents, and it seems that their military was behind the push. Mine foremen did not know why they sought the mineral, only that they considered it valuable. Valuable enough, in fact, that they ordered the replacement of most mine personnel with khentauree. Not only could the mechanical beings dig faster, they possessed theft deterrent programs that prohibited them from stealing and reselling the product. The search for aubergidaal found a few veins here and there, but not the amounts the military sought. Once Taangis retreated, mine owners concentrated on mining aquatheerdaal, a known and potent energy source. Aubergidaal became an afterthought, then a forgotten resource.

Aubergidaal became a mythic substance in Dentheria. Military scientists obtained Taangis research documents which showed it had superior energy production compared to aquatheerdaal or keltaitheerdaal, and, more importantly, it had an extended decay cycle. Even small amounts could power tech for decades, but the scarcity made in unviable. Dentheria, desperate for an aquatheerdaal replacement to power their tech, has been visiting extinct mines in search of the mineral. Tech modder Jhor heard about the mineral when he worked for the empire's military. Curisoity about khentauree and this fabled energy source led him to Ambercaast. When he realized that the Shivers mine had deposits, his interest in the substance renewed, and Lapis's new tech gauntlets are the result.

Aubergidaal myths lingered in religious texts throughout Theyndora. The devout saw it as a power source the Seven Gods gave to the western tribes, but one that would not reappear until the people recanted their elden religious ways.

Dentheria's enthusiasm for rediscovering aubergidaal primarily came from one comment in a scientific document, where the researcher declared that their desk lamp had produced light throughout their eighty-year career, and the canister of aubergidaal in its base was still full.

One of the reasons Maphezet Kez bought the Shivers mine was to discover aubergidaal. He thought it had religious significance for the Stars, and saw its discovery as a righteous act. His plans for the mineral died when he did.