The Blank Stones

Discovery

A few years ago, The Arkivon became aware that a source of magical power had been discovered in the far northern region of Alven, in Farside more precisely.

It was a crystal of unknown origin nicknamed the Blank stone.
The Stone was discovered by an unknown source near the harbour town of Nedderhyve.

Nedderhyve is not for the faint-hearted. Populated by the outcasts of Alven, The Lost Coast has always had a bad reputation among the Alvenites.
Nedderhyve is its biggest port and is positioned right at the border of civilisation (as Alven knows it).

The harbour is very close to the ruined, ancient places of the Ancestors, and some Arkivens surmise that this is where the Blank stone was first found.

From Nedderhyve, the stone made its way into one of the curiosity shops of Hollyholm - the unofficial capital of East Alven, home of the powerful Clan Glassader.

The Arkivon still has a strong presence in the city and is always on the lookout for potential threats in the form of relics or artefacts in case they make their way further east and falls into the wrong hands.
The memory of The Plague Wars and the surprising power of Mersow during the conflict still haunts Alven.

The Blank stone was quickly taken off the market once its magical nature was established.
The merchant who tried to sell it was a man by the name of Feld Gannon, a respected antiquarian.
His shop 'The Velvet Bell' was a regular haunt of the rich Clanbearers of the region.

Feld was, of course, questioned by the The Circle of the Blaze, but was not able to divulge much about the provider of the stone.
The only description he could manage was that of a well-spoken woman with long blonde hair and grey eyes. The woman did not fit the usual description of the Nedderhyve's citizens.

The story would have stopped there if another two Blank Stones had not appeared in Highfort, Alven's capital city in the west.
This time, a Rune Wielder from the Arkivon bought the two crystals.

Arkiven Griffin Kierson of Clan Cobburn, a collector of some renown, found the stones in Chister Nowen's shop - 'Marbles'.

It did not take Arkiven Kierson long to realise what he had found.
When Chister was questioned about the stones, he told Griffin that they came from a hoard sold to him by an adventurer by the name of Vangon - Vangon is one of Griffin's regular suppliers, one of the rare people to venture into some of the most dangerous places on the continent to retrieve rare, ancient objects for the trade.

Vangon is a hard person to find and soon disappeared after the sale.
Chister was told she would likely be travelling north again. According to him, Vangon promised to bring back another hoard in a few months' time.

The Arkivon is not sure if Vangon knew of the powers within the stones.
If she is not a rune wielder herself or does not possess any magic of her own, she would not have been aware of the power contained within the Blank Stones.

Griffin told his superior The Raven Seer himself, Kave Boulder about the new developments concerning the stones.
The three stones now reunited were given to a gifted Arkiven arcanist by the name of Helias Forton (Clan Renade).
Helias is to study the stones and discover the extent of their power and uses.

What does a Blank Stone or Blank Crystal look like?

The stones are, strangely enough, all of the same dimension and weight.
According to the preliminary studies, the dimension and the weight would optimise the way the stone reacts to light, and thus increase its power.

They are transparent and smooth in appearance - hence their name.
However, when in full sun or by a bright fire, they turn dark, nearly black, as they drink in the light from the nearest source.

Once imbued with light and fully dark or opaque, the stones can discharge a destructive beam similar to those sent by the Rod of Power
Though, the stones are not as powerful as the rods.

Helias and his team have thought this might be due to the fact that no runes surround the stones and the crystals can only access raw magic.
The arcanist is hoping that studying the stones might uncover more of the rods' secrets, and lead to the Arkivon being able to recreate the Ancestor's powerful weapons for themselves.

What are the uses for the stones?

Right now, the stones are being tested as a new weapon.
Rune Wielders are the only people who seem to be able to draw the beam out of the stones, but more experiments are being conducted to find out if other humans can work the stones too.

The Rod Wielders have been working closely with Arcanist Helias, and one of the stones has been set at the end of a lance to give The Rod Lancers a second weapon on horseback.

The other stones could provide a handy and secret weapon for the Arkivens of the Blaze working - sometimes undercover- in difficult situations.

Consequences and Aftermath

The Arkivon has been keen to keep the discovery of the stones under wrap.
The knowledge that power stones might be available in the north could trigger a rush to the Lost Coast, a phenomenon which happened when gold was found in the mountains of the The Eastern Isles 20 years ago.

However, it is clear that the stones were found in the most dangerous location of Alven, among the The Doomanses of the Ancestors, and only the most foolhardy of adventurers would be tempted to set foot on the cursed and entirely inhospitable region.

At the same time, the Arkivon is setting up its own expedition to the north - the powerful organisation needs to catch up with Vangon and discover the source of the stones.
An elite team of Arkivens is gearing up to travel north to the Lost Coast.
Their leader Arkiven Morris Tallow of Clan Ravensen is a passionate advocate of Hot air balloons and hope to travel the length of the country in a record time with his dirigible, 'The Queen of the Air'

His team is made up of three other adventurers and arcanists: a Stayne, named Villa Rensor (representing the Others), a young and gifted arcanist by the name of Mikal Tallow of Clan Ravensen (Morris' cousin) and one of Moss Glasstern's sons, a Clanbearer of Clan Botterfyre - Bear Glastern .