Lorus (l̠ɔɹɵs)
Lorus is a translucent, white crystal that bears a resemblance to quartz. To those without magical training, it is almost indistinguishable. To those who can percieve magical auras such as the rare dwarf or more common alchemist or mage, lorus glows with an inner light that can be felt even with the eyes closed.
In its natural state, lorus is incredibly dangerous. It causes an effect called 'Arcane Rampancy' in the magically gifted, twisting and changing their spells and innate powers into unrecognisable forms, many of which are harmful to the caster and prone to raging out of control. Worse, long-term exposure to unrefined lorus can cause other substances to begin metamorphosing into more lorus. This process is very slow in minerals, taking five years to change a centimetre of other rock into a lorus growth. In living creatures, however, the effect can be incredibly rapid. This condition is called lorosis, and while the dhaerow have developed a method for treating it, and even found a method by which their slaves can be made immune to the morphic effects of unrefined lorus, such sciences are beyond those of the surface.
It is refined lorus' magical properties that it is prized for. Used as solid crystals as part of a magical focus, it amplifies the effects and reduces the costs of spells cast through the focus. When powdered and mixed with ink, it can be used to create tattoos and spell scrolls that enhance the user's magic in a variety of ways. The powder can also be added to potions and alchemical concoctions to boost their effectiveness.
Lorus is almost unknown on the surface. What little of it was brought to the surface by the Kerren has long since been incorporated into ritual tools or consumed in high-powered potions and experiments. Very small amounts have been recovered from downed dhaerow raiding parties, but they are more likely to carry yonshi, and what lorus they bring with them is usually found in the form of tattoos and this difficult to ethically extract.
It is a different matter in the Roots of the World. The dhaerow city of Kestallar was founded by planar travellers who arrived shortly after the shockwaves, tunelling in from another world altogether following the planar scent of lorus. They have long experience in the extraction and refinement of arcane minerals, and the enormous and untapped reserve of lorus and yonshi in the Roots of the World promised great wealth to the outsiders. They were trapped when the crystal barrier formed around the three realms, but their ambitions have not been sullied by their refugee status. Kestallar guards its arcane mineral mines fiercely, adding another layer of danger to those wishing to extract them without the dhaerows' knowledge.
It is theorised that anima stones were first created with techniques derived from examining lorus by the ancients.
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