Heartstone
Crown Prince Ondalyr Tanderis stood on the small hill overlooking the tiny harbor and the rest of what would one day be called Swordbreaker's Isle. To Ondalyr, the island had no name. Most of what the cartographers were calling the Warding Keys had no names yet. All around the bay a little town stood, the walls as new and white as snow. A spit of steep land stretched around the bay, and on that spit of land a castle was forming. Ondalyr stood at the highest point, where the high watchtower would be built. And to build it as tall as possible, Ondalyr was receiving some special guests.
"My prince," came a voice from behind. Ondalyr turned to see a knight behind him. The young man's fair skin and wild mane of golden hair named him the son of Haladyr Goldenaxe. He bowed. "The giants are here."
Ondalyr chuckled. "I can see that," he said, nodding at the ship in the harbor.
"No, my prince," the knight replied. "They have refused food and sleep and have come up to the castle. They wish to begin now."
Ondalyr hoisted his eyebrows and was suddenly aware of the lumbering forms stepping through the crowd of workers in what would one day be the castle's keep. He nodded. "Oh."
His mouth went suddenly dry as a second knight, this one with skin as dark as his guided the giants towards him. His father, Omrin, first king of Athalar, had met giants on the mainland. His father had done a lot of things, though. Any random day in Omrin's life was greater than a whole lifetime in anyone else's. But Ondalyr was born in Athalar. He'd never seen giants. He'd never been to the Temple of the West Wind. He'd never even seen a proper city.
Ondalyr steadied himself. You must be the king even when you don't feel the king. That's what his father had said. He stood tall and smiled as the giants approached. When they stood before him, rising head and shoulders above him, he bowed.
"Greetings, sons and daughters of Lundin," he said. "We are honored by your arrival, and your willingness to help."
The giant in the lead, a female with gray skin, high brow line and platinum hair, smiled and tipper her head in response. The giants do not bow, or so his councilors had said.
"We thank you for your greetings," she said, her voice deeper than any woman's could go. "As well as for the hearty ship that brought us, and the friendly folk who offered us food and baths and beds. But the work is vital, so let us begin."
"Of course," Ondalyr said. He led the giants to a table where the plans for the watchtower had been carefully drawn. They detailed its diameter and the height of its stories, etc. The only thing it didn't show was the tower's overall height. "This is the plan that we've devised. The only thing we don't know is how tall the finished construction might become."
The giantess looked the plans over, and invited some of her comrades to do the same. They talked in their own odd language, pointing at the plans in places and making strange gestures.
The giantess had neither asked him to wait or to go so they could discuss. Ondalyr waited, trying to be patient. He didn't know how long the giants would need to converse over the plans. It could be hours, or days.
"Okay," the giantess said, and Ondalyr mentally jumped. "We will begin now. Where will the tower be set?"
After a brief discussion concerning the location of the watchtower's center, the giants sat down cross-legged on the ground in a circle and clasped hands. Ondalyr knew enough to understand this part of the process would be long indeed. He could go and tend to other parts of the construction, but this was something he wanted to see.
"It would be best," the giantess said, "if we were not disturbed."
"I'll halt construction and evacuate the site if needs be."
"That won't be necessary," the giantess said, closing her eyes. "But keep your people away from our circle."
"As you wish."
The giants began chanting in deep, muttered voices, and swaying as they did. The ground didn't shake like it did in the stories. It didn't seem to move at all. Ondalyr became aware that others were watching now too. Folks halted in the midst of their work, with spade or bucket or bundle of timber still in hand, and stood staring at the giants.
After several minutes of chanting one of the giants gave a little chuckle, and a peculiar form sprouted from the ground in the center of the circle. It almost looked like a bean sprout, save that it had no leaves and it was the crimson of freshly-shed blood. As Ondalyr watched, over the course of an hour the sprout grew and widened as it did, becoming almost two feet in diameter, and getting taller and taller as it did.
He couldn't stand and watch forever, so he turned back to his duties and encouraged the builders to do the same. The giants remained like that all day, only stopping at sunset to eat and rest, and though they'd sat all day they looked exhausted, as if they had swam to the island. In the morning they were back at it.
After some weeks they finished and left, leaving behind a tree-like structure of Heartstone nearly seven hundred feet tall.
Properties
Material Characteristics
Heartstone is a material that looks like a fine veined marble, but on close inspection, the veins appear to move ever so slowly. It is bright red in color, and seems to glow very faintly in the dark. It always takes the shape of a pillar and may have branch-like protrusions.
Physical & Chemical Properties
Heartstone is someone warm to the touch and harder than the hardest stone. Many believe that it is stone that rises from the very heart of Matar.
Geology & Geography
Heartstone is neither mined, nor quarried. It is grown. None have ever seen it naturally forming either above ground or in deep caves, but buildings constructed on Heartstone are found throughout Nov Matar and even the Isles of Athalar.
Life & Expiration
So far as any know, Heartstone does not naturally deteriorate.
History & Usage
History
Heartstone was discovered by Sira, mother of the Stone Giants in the Mist-Cloaked Vale. She imparted this gift to all of her children for the purpose of defending Nov Matar so that even though the Solunites scattered far and wide in Nov Matar, they each carried with them giants who could produce Heartstone.
Everyday use
Heartstone is far from an "everyday" use item. It is produced from the ground for the purpose of creating a skeleton for a building that is stronger than steel. Buildings built on Heartstone can be hundreds of feet tall.
Cultural Significance and Usage
It is the Stone Giants who alone have the gift of producing Heartstone. But even they do not use it just for everyday homes. It is a valuable, almost sacred thing used for making vital defenses, religious cathedrals, etc.
Refinement
Heartstone cannot be refined. It is called forth from the deepest depths at the heart of Matar and comes forth pure and living, pulsing with life as if it were the very veins of the earth.
Hazards
The only hazard of Heartstone, is that it is not easily removed, per its purpose. So if someone wants to build something else at the site of a construction made with Heartstone, they're in trouble. The Stone Giants are able to send Heartstone back into the earth but still this has problems. For one, the giants are not very populous and so it may take time for them to send someone to send the Heartstone back into the earth. In addition, they may not WANT to return it to the earth as the building the Heartstone made possible was important in some way and it would be considered a dishonor to remove it.
Reusability & Recycling
As far as anyone knows, there is always enough Heartstone. Since it can't be, say, broken off and reused, it can only be pushed back into the earth.
Distribution
Trade & Market
Heartstone isn't so much a product as it is a service, economically speaking. If a certain nation or organization wants it, they must send a delegation to the nearest Gray Giant enclave to request their help. The giants will often interrogate the delegation for the buildings purpose, and they will investigate the area around the proposed construction, the peoples that live there and the political climate, etc. Most giants strongly believe Heartstone is for the purpose of protecting the Kindred against the forces of the Void and not one another, so they won't help build a castle if its obvious purpose is to be a staging ground for invading enemy territory, etc.
Once the giants agree to the construction, they will discuss a price, which is very high considering the end result. Occasionally, if the giants see the construction as a moral imperative, they will ask very little, seeing the construction as a divine duty. For example, the giants that came to Athalar to build the watchtowers, requested only living expenses, seeing Athalar's defense as a divine mandate.
Law & Regulation
Often there are no laws regulating Heartstone because it is produced so rarely and the giants are already so picky about which constructions they aid. There have, however, been kings or rulers who, say "requested" that the giants not build in or near their land for different reasons.
Type
Stone
Value
Heartstone is incredibly valuable, but it cannot be a traded commodity so the only way to "possess" it is to request a construction from the giants or buy or conquer the site of such a building.
Color
Heartsone appears red in color though the shade varies from dark burgandy to pale pink.
Melting / Freezing Point
Heartstone does not have a known melting point though it is known that some Heartstone produced before the Veilstrife was damaged by the incredible forces used at that time.
Common State
Heartstone is not "found." It has never been seen in nature and the means by which the gray giants discovered it is unknown.
Related Locations
Related Species
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments