Idol of Briarae
Idols of Briarae are small white statuettes depicting the goddess Briarae, used during rituals as objects of worship. They are highly valuable within Briarae's city of Namilosa, but not nearly as much elsewhere (selling for half their price in most other places).
Manufacturing process
An idol is painstakingly crafted by a master artisan into an image of the goddess, a process which can take months despite their small size, as treating such a task casually is often seen as heretical. In order to be completed, however, the idol must be blessed by Briarae herself, after which is glows with a soft blue light. This can be done during one of her rare public appearances, but these are often short and not announced beforehand, and getting her attention, much less the favor of an actual blessing, is difficult. So instead, most idols are sent to the palace in the hopes that they will return with the blessing. In order to do this, one must have a connection with one of the few attendants that regularly move in and out of the palace, and even then, it can be years before an idol is blessed, if ever.
Even if the idol is blessed, many of the palace's attendants are corrupt, so they are frequently stolen, sometimes to be sold to the original commisioner for the profit of the attendant, rather than the artisan. Since the artisan usually has to pay a bribe to get the idol into the palace in the first place, most artisans demand payment up front for their services. Because of this, sometimes a commisioner will have to pay for their idol twice. Additionally, some scammers have gotten away with pretending to be an artisan, taking payment, and claiming that the idol was sent to the palace but never returned, so usually only trusted artisans with extensive histories are commisioned to create the idols.
As a result of all these factors, having an idol made is easier said than done, and most would prefer to purchase one that has already been made instead.
History
When the goddess Briarae emerged from the Darklands, bringing the power to maintain the forms and minds of humanity and halflingkind, she named herself queen and established the underground city of Namilosa. While at first she appeared in public often for both religious and civil matters, over several centuries she became increasingly reclusive, and her policies became increasingly isolationist. Now she appears only once or twice per decade, leaving her followers to conduct worship mostly independently from her.
The idols began to be created as a result of this situation. While most of the city can use only mundane objects of worship, wealthy inhabitants are often willing to pay exorbitant prices for something they think will enable a deeper connection with their goddess.
Significance
The idols are created from pure marble which is perfectly white in color.
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