Apeirolith
I've been monitoring that new-fangled stone the boss installed last month. It's still going! The looms are running as fast as ever! It's a marvel, but if we get too many more of these, I think I'll be out of a job....
A Standard sized pathstone can hold enough energy (vesanmer) to power a machine for about a week. An apeirolith can hold enough energy to power a machine for... well, no one really knows. The name - based on the Greek word "ἄπειρον (apeiron)", meaning "boundless" or "unlimited" - was given based on the idea that their power will never give out.
Apeiroliths have been around in various forms since at least the 11th century, but always as rare, priceless items that appear once a generation in Europe. In the 16th century, French explorers in the New World encountered the Muisca people in the mountains of South Ternguiré. The Muisca people, who had once been part of a loose confederation, had become dominated by a single tribe that formed into powerful kingdom. The fuel behind this tribe were what they called "golden emeralds", but which are recognized in Europe as apeiroliths. They had hundreds of these stones, and used their energy to consolidate power in the northern Andes and hold their borders against the expansive Inca.
The Musica people still control most of the world's supply of apeiroliths. Though France has brought the Muisca into their empire, the tentative peace of this arrangement hinges on the Muisca's continued control of apeirolith production in exchange for France having control over their importation to Europe.
Precisely how an apeirolith is created is a mystery. The official word from the Muisca is that they are emeralds that have been blessed by the gods and come out of the ground like this, but there is evidence of them being manufactured by alzamasters. Drakula, for instance, is said to possess one, although this might be further rumours about his inhuman power. Some believe that the higher-ups at La Société Royale de l'Alzamastrie know the secret of making them, but the official word of the Society is that apeiroliths are one of the world's great mysteries.
Item type
Magical
Subtype / Model
Rarity
Very rare
Dimensions
An apeirolith is a special type of pathstone. The minimum size is a Standard, or roughly three inches in diameter.
