Karšol Xiva'to (Kar-shol Xhee-va-toe)

Karšol Xiva'to are bright, nearly transparent crystals that shine a bright gold when exposed to the light of Tiulara's star. Karšol Xiva'to are rare and only appear in the greystone deserts due to the due to the unique prevelance of different materials of stone that need to combine in order to produce them. Usual formation occurs in areas with large deposits of calcite, fluorite, and sodalite that come under high pressure for thousands of years to force the three materials together and form the crystal. Like many crystals, Karšol Xiva'to are relatively hard with a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. While limited in uses, the unique ability of Karšol Xiva'to to shine bright gold when exposed to direct sunlight has made them important to Izbranan religious beliefs and a common material for Izbranan jewelry.

Entymology

Karšol Xiva'to directly translates to "Xiva's crystal" in Tiularan with an Izbranan dialect. Due to the crystal's near uniqueness to the Izbranan held greystone deserts, this name has become the common way of referring to the crystal on all of Tiulara. Past carvings and Tiularan art show that in early Tiularan history, karšol Xiva'to were referred to as karšol Xiva'u and karšol svite'u, respectively meaning "Xiva's crystal" in Tiularan with a Metsanan dialect and "Light's crystal" in Tiularan with a Metsanan dialect.

Properties

Karšol Xiva'to appear in many different forms, although they most frequently are found in prismatic shapes of varying sizes and smoothness. Considering that karšol Xiva'to are found in exclusively prismatic, stalactitic, pyramidal, or scalenohedral shapes, it seems that the crystals grow from the base outwards, creating a point or flat end early in their formation and pushing that end out as it grows.
Karšol Xiva'to are near translucent, clear enough that the eye can see through it but opaque enough that the eye still registers that the crystal is there even from up close. The most defining feature of a karšol Xiva'to is its luminescence when exposed to ultraviolet light. When exposed to even a little ultraviolet light, karšol Xiva'to will glow bright gold and seem to radiate light. As a result, when extracted from the underground spaces they form in, karšol Xiva'to nearly always glow when exposed to light on the surface. Due to the light coming from reflective reactions to ultraviolet light, taking a karšol Xiva'to to the shade or night falling will stop the crystal's glow, as it needs direct sunlight to glow in Tiulara's climate.

Use and Applications

Izbranans consider karšol Xiva'to to be the favored crystal of Xiva due to its ability to glow when in direct sunlight. As a result, it is extremely common to find carvings and jewelry made out of the crystal in an effort to invoke Xiva's favor, attention, or connection to the Goddess. Most holy sites to Xiva have large collections of karšol Xiva'to on display, giving the sites a faint golden glow during the day. Generally, these are unaltered crystals, although Izbranan holy sites will often display carved depictions of Xiva or her associated animals.
A fairly common practice is for Izbranan parents to give their children necklaces with a piece of karšol Xiva'to on it in order to invoke the protection of Xiva and to give the child a way to tell when they should begin to return to their parents. As karšol Xiva'to will stop glowing before darkness falls, it is a good way to warn for when night is approaching and small children should return to their parents if they were away all day, as is common for Izbranan children. It is rare for a child to not receive a necklace like this by their fifth birthday.

Item type

Raw Material