Dragonglass

"Strong as diamond, soft as rubber. It can be anything you want it to be, if you can feel it that is." - An intrepid shopkeeper

Dragonglass is characterized as being the most valuable and rarest natural resource in all of Zealor. It is primarily used to channel the power of a Zealomancer (someone who practices Zealomancy) into something other than their body.

Origin

The origin of dragonglass dates back to the earliest years of antiquity. Forged naturally by the Dragon tribes of the cerebral highlands in Amgine , dragonglass is a material with an appearance that can be likened to obsidian. The glass portion of its moniker is derived from its semi-transparent look, giving it the illusion of being a type of volcanic glass. The Dragons had a uniquely advanced understanding of Zealomancy for their time, and as such became prone to shaping the environment around them. Dragonglass is a magically altered form of meldstone, a class of extrusive igneous rock found exclusively in the continent of Amgine. Dragonglass is created whenever a dragon expresses an emotion around a deposit of meldstone. The emotion is held within the stone, giving the material the ability to manifest the element associated with said emotion. Due to the dragon's inept natural ability for Zealomancy, they are not always able to control the magical effects of their emotions. While most other sentient species have to train to manifest elements from emotions, Dragons have the fascinating ability to naturally manifest said emotions at any intensity and with any level of training.
Due to this, it is widely debated by Zealomancers across Zealor whether or not dragonglass is a natural resource or a product of the sentient mind. As you may have guessed from previous observation, Dragonglass is considered a natural resource. The feeling and expression of emotions by sentient beings is a force of nature, and when this is the deciding factor in an argument, it cannot be rivaled against. Additionally, the creation of Dragonglass was so common in the antiquity of Zealor that there are still entire cave systems full of undiscovered deposits. In short, the dragons did not intentionally create dragonglass, but used it as if it was any other raw material.

Location

In antiquity, Dragonglass was abundantly common on the continent of Amgine, especially in the foreboding coast and highland regions. In modern-day Zealor, Dragonglass is still found in abundance within the highlands of the northernmost island of the Amgine archipelago. However, due to the myth of the lost continent, no one thought to look on this island until the empire of New Zeal found out the truth about the archipelago (for more on this subject read my expanse article entry on Amgine: The Lost Continent).

Properties

Appearance

Lightly colored in the shade of whatever emotion was expressed at its creation (Ex: Anger = red). Semi-transparent. Crystal-like. Can form in small clumps or large masses sticking out of the earth. Equipment made with dragonglass usually has a similar appearance.

Magic

As stated previously, dragonglass has the unique ability to take on the magical power of whatever emotion was expressed at its creation. For example, if anger was expressed then the material would have the ability to burst into flame. Similarly, the material would also take on some of the properties of said element. In this case, the stone would become hot to the touch among other properties associated with fire and heat (but still in a solid form). While a piece of dragonglass may be born from one emotion, that doesn't necessarily mean it can't be converted to another. With an intense enough expression of an emotion (usually caused by a memory) in the presence of dragonglass, the stone may reject the previous emotion and take on the new one. In rare cases, an immense amount of willpower being exerted can create rainbow dragonglass, which changes powers instantly depending on what the user is feeling.

Uses

Dragonglass has a reputation for being the highest grade of material anyone could wish to have equipment made out of. A dragonglass weapon allows for non-Zealomancers to harness elemental magic, and also allows Zealomancers to conserve their mental and physical durability. One famous dragonglass weapon is the sword of the emperor of New Zeal. That sword was one of the only in the world to be made from rainbow dragonglass, and is notorious for stealing the powers of slain Zealomancers. Some other hypothetical examples of dragonglass equipment could be:

• CANNON SYSTEM: Used in Glass Cannons  Intellectual Lighthouse System
• A shield which absorbs incoming elemental attacks
• An arrow which draws a lightning strike to whatever it pierces
• A combat puppet which summons golden wind from its mouth
• A shipping vessel using electricity, fire, and air dragonglasses to power its engine.
• Etc.

Type

Ore/Mineral