Soul Stones

Soul stones are an essential for anyone traveling outside a Sanctuary zone. Soul stones are able to capture and hold loose souls until they are released by smashing the stone, at which point the soul can be returned to their body (or used for nefarious purposes). Otherwise, if one dies, one needs to have a capable paladin nearby, or a companion possessing aesul elixir, made from the leaves of a Tree of Life.
It is important to attune to one’s soul stone, or else it will simply capture the closest loose soul(s) until it is filled. It is also very important to be sure that one’s soul stone is large enough (and of pure enough quality) to hold one’s soul without breaking prematurely. Generally, the larger the creature, the larger the soul, and therefore the larger the soul stone required. Some exceptions may apply.
Certain ancient tombs have been known to be laced with massive soul stone traps to discourage robbery.
Soul stone mines are very heavily regulated and guarded. The best veins are found extremely deep below the surface, and mines frequently house small villages of workers and their families who live their daily lives without seeing sunlight.
Mining soul stones is a delicate and precise matter, since cutting stones large enough to hold one (or more) sentient souls is of the highest demand, and thus brings the highest profits. There is also a lucrative market for protecting domesticated pets/working animals.
Because mining soul stones relies on a more specialized skill set, managers of soul stone mines can’t get away with the frequently employed tactic of keeping their workers on starvation wages to keep them trapped in their position. This doesn’t mean they don’t sometimes try.
The mass panic over the deterioration of Luenlan’s Sanctuary zone has triggered an increased demand for soul stones, which has led to pushing lower quality stones into the market for the sake of quantity, and has driven up the costs of higher quality stones. This has been highly decried as unethical, but protests have done nothing to curb the practice.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Soul stones manifest naturally as a pale blue, glowing crystal with dark marbling.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Full soul stones hum with a specific tone that is easily identifiable to the sharp of hearing. This tone can also be used to identify raw soul stones, because they will respond with a harmonious note.

Geology & Geography

Soul stones are most frequently found buried deeply in mountainous areas, making it difficult to discover new veins.

Life & Expiration

There is no known lifespan for soul stones. They have been known to hold souls safely for centuries without deterioration. Likewise, they have been known to retain their ability to absorb souls for similar spans (thus their prevalence of usage in tombs).

History & Usage

Refinement

Specialized gem cutters are employed to install soul stones in items such as jewelry or statuary. They can also employ techniques to dye the stones other colors, but most frequently they are left natural. There is a pervasive superstition that altering the color or glow also diminishes their capacity, which is not substantiated but also cannot be disproven.

Hazards

Mining soul stones comes with the additional risk of becoming trapped in a stone if disasters occur. Souls that become caught in un-mined stones are trapped there until the stone can be mined and their soul finally released - which could be long after their body is no longer viable.

Reusability & Recycling

Releasing a soul from the stone destroys it completely. There is currently no known method to reconstitute or reuse them.

Cutting Soul Stones by Dragonscribbles

Type

Ore/Mineral

Color

Pale Blue

Common State

Crystaline