Soulglass

A remnant of a time before Synthacrosia

This crystal... this tiny piece you hold in your hand. Do you have any idea what it's made of? If not, let me ask you this. What do you think existed in purgatory before Locorin built this tower smack dab in the middle of it? Moreover, what do you think he even built the tower out of?

— Unnamed soul, First Floor, near the Great Plateau

Found only in one location within Synthacrosia; this powerful crystal, known as Soulglass, is made of the crystallized dust of ancient souls. It exists in its raw, unrefined form, hidden beneath layers of rock within the First Floor of the tower. Once extracted, it glows brilliantly; when held in hand, colours shine brightly from within.
In modern days, Soulglass is taken and refined; through a complex series of machinery, impurities are removed, and the energy locked within the crystal is enhanced. The refined crystal is shaped into bracelets, and placed upon the wrist of new arrivals to Synthacrosia, marking them. However, Soulglass has been known to have other uses in the past. Energy, light sources, amplifiers and more have all in one form or another been created with Soulglass.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Dirt and dust quickly adhere to the surface of the unrefined version of this raw material; still, should you crack it open, you'll have a few brief moments to appreciate the vibrancy of the crystal. Radiance dances from every facet; imperfections gleam through as beacons of luminosity as the crystal is turned to catch the light.

The transparency of Soulglass is hard to pin down. Depending on the angle you look at it from, it's either entirely transparent and almost invisible, or it's mostly opaque, with strange shadows found inside. People have said they thought they saw outlines of faces within the crystal from a certain angle, but when others try to look from the same position, all they see is darkness.
Similarly, the colour of crystallized souls appears to be as inconsistent as the wind. Unrefined Soulglass will only show it's colour when held in the hand. Hues will shift within the crystal; sometimes so slowly you wouldn't even notice. Other times, in the space of time it takes you to blink, a shard of Soulglass might shift from soft blue to vibrant red. Refined Soulglass, used in Crystalline Power Bracelets, will take on colours that match the composition of the wearer's soul.
Pieces of Soulglass are remarkably heavy for their size. The weight of Soulglass can be 2-3 times that of Gold, when equal in size. The density follows the same trend as the other physical properties of Soulglass; it seems to vary from piece to piece, even changing between observers.

Collection

You've gotta be reeeaaal careful with this stuff here. Handle a fragment a little bit too much, and you might imprint upon it. Handle it more, it might imprint upon you. Wait till it's refined.

— Mine Director, First Floor, 400th year of Operation

Mining

There's only one location left to find Soulglass; on the First Floor, in the ground surrounding the Great Plateau. A Mine was set up here, run by the clockwork of the tower. A massive Clockwork Excavator once dug at the walls of the Plateau; it's now been destroyed, and the mine is in ruined state.

Transport

When the mine was run by clockwork, there was no issue of Soulglass imprinting. But when the mine fell into disrepair, with souls of the first floor running it, transportation became a problem. Carts, thick gloves, and buckets were utilized to minimize contact with unrefined Soulglass.

Storage

Soulglass, even in it's refined form, gives off a strong amount of light. Shards must be packed individually. Contact between unprefined, cut pieces of Soulglass could have various unwanted side-effects; including but not limited to explosions, or zones of antimagic.

Usage

Soulglass in it's unrefined form has few uses. It could be used as a light source, though better options exist. It could be deliberately destabilized in the hopes of an explosion, but results are wildly unpredictable. Unrefined Soulglass may be imprinted on, but the resulting effect is far weaker compared to imprinting on refined Soulglass.

Processing within the maze-like rooms and passages of the Coalescent Dome. Refined Soulglass is then most often formed into bracelets; these Crystalline Power Bracelets allow for easy imprinting with the wearers of the device.
Imprinting a Soulglass crystal changes its colour; the hues shift to match the makeup of the wearers soul. If the crystal shows vibrant colours, it means it's a strong imprint with a strong soul; the imprinting will strengthen the underlying traits found within the wearer.
These Vibrant crystals and souls are seen as an oversight on clockwork's part. It's been theorized that the intended operation was to mark the "strong" souls with these bracelets, so as they could be weeded out, leaving the general population of Synthacrosia weaker, and easier to manage. Often times however, the Vibrant bracelet provides enough power for the marked "strong" soul to escape into the tower, and hide.

Additional Reading

What Once Was

For an eternity, before Locorin arrived, Purgatory was a resting place for souls. Time, stretched to infinity, slowly wore down these souls; when Locorin arrived and cast out the previous ruler, the endless amount of souls were all turned to dust.
As Synthacrosia was constructed over eons, the dust of souls slowly crystallized.
Locorin began to experiment with the dust, finding it's uses. He began lining various parts of the tower with this crystal, as it worked well to enhance the magics of the tower. He found he was able to transmute it into organic matter; using it to populate the floors of the tower with plants and animals.

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Type

Ore/Mineral

Taste

Like remembering a childhood crush

Color

Varied; transparent, but found in all hues.

Common State

Solid, Crystalline

Related Locations

• The Mine

Related Species

• Clockwork

Related Technologies

• Crystalline Power Bracelet Device

Related Professions

• Vibrant

Map of the First Floor

1st Floor

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1. The map of the first floor, as rendered by Bero , after the party handed him Jaxton's hand drawn map. The personal map of Jaxton now belongs to Bero, and Those who would climb the tower of souls have this much nicer version to take with them on their travels.

A map made by Bero of the Second Floor. The map is made based off of data collected by the party of Vibrant Heroes, stolen from Jaxton Saleg. While it's obvious Jaxton has distaste for certain areas of the first floor, the general layout and location of landmarks have found to be true. The Mine, and Mining Camp, can be seen at the southern edge of the Great Plateau. Both areas are in ruins following visits by the party of Vibrant Heroes.

Imprinting

When a piece of Soulglass is in contact with the bare flesh of any soul, after a short amount of time it will be imprinted upon. What this means is slight remaining traces of souls within the crystal take on the properties of whoever touched the crystal. The crystal in it's unrefined form will take on different physical properties to match the imprinter -- changing its colour, transparency, or even it's resonant frequency.
Weaker souls must be careful around unrefined Soulglass. Occasionally, the soul remnants residing within the shard of crystal will be stronger than the person holding it -- a reverse imprinting will occur. The remnants of souls within the crystal will totally override the unique characteristics of whoever was unfortunate enough to pick up the shard; their personality, character traits, and core of their being will be lost. This results with the unfortunate soul dying, or losing their mind.
In it's refined form, the enhanced magics of the crystal will attune themselves to the imprinter, or wearer. This is most often seen through the powerful abilities granted to wearers of Vibrant Crystal bracelets. Enhanced imprinted abilities can be seen in the Non-Vibrants, as well; granting increased eyesight, more stamina, or occasionally quicker reflexes.