Grower's Suit
Discovery
Upon the discovery of altrine in Xlandia by Ginrud Altrun, his brother Beldin would quickly begin to research the crystal and create new technologies and processes for use with altrine. It is believed that he did this in an attempt to get some of the recognition and fame that had overcome his sibling upon the discovery. In his efforts he did discover altrine farming, but he never further researched it as he believed that the material was abundant, and therefore farming was useless. While this is true for the mountains of Xlandia of which he lived, altrine is very rare in most locations, and so when Grun Altrun, Beldin's son, went on a trip to the Dwari homeland of Kolkakla, he would discover the shortages of altrine due to incredibly high prices, and the amount of crime generated because of this. This was all because the only way to access altrine on Kolkakla was to import from Xlandia or Aldersglade, as most Kolkaklan crystals shatter due to geological activity long before they finish their roughly five year growth cycle. Grun was very upset at this, feeling it to be his duty to solve this crisis as it was his uncle who discovered altrine, causing the rampant crime. And so Grun would join the School of Magic and Engineering to receive aid in his project from lead engineers. First he would document an altrine crystals life cycle from bud to gem, then attempting to recreate in a controlled setting, which he would succeed at just 2 years after joining the school. With this knowledge, Grun would create the first altrine farm, in the form of a brass vat with an attached obsidian-runed chamber to store lava. While this set up would work, the higher ups at the school would point out a flaw with the design. This final issue with this design was it's bulkiness and inability to be mobile, as a farmer would need to be constantly on the move to sell crystals and find more buds. With this in mind, Grun constructed an exoskeleton to place a smaller, more refined farming vat and magma chamber on, with an added system to remove near complete crystals from the growing chamber as well as a pump and claw to decrease chances of mana exposure while harvesting buds and collecting mana. With the first growers suit now created, Grun would return to Xlandia and demonstrate the creation to the leadership of the newly created Miners of the Crystal Flame, who were quick to offer him a position as the head of a new division of the clan, which would serve solely to train new altrine farmers and mining engineers specializing in altrine technology. Grun was quick to accept, and would move his operations to the recently constructed minor hold of Alkin-Hurkin to begin teaching new farmers.Access/Availability
A grower's suit is an incredibly valuable piece of tech, and is treated as such by all who know of it, whether it be thieves coveting it's worth, or a farmer looking to protect it. While it is incredibly hard to keep the technology secret, with altrine farmers having to wear it in populated areas, the Miners of the Crystal Flame do their best to never allow the suit's methods of construction and use to be leaked outside of the classrooms of Alkin-Hurkin. If any farmer is found to have provided his suit, or any descriptions of it's use or construction to anyone outside of Alkin-Hurkin students, they will likely be imprisoned or even executed if the leak of information is severe enough.Complexity
Operating a grower's suit can be a enormous undertaking, and often requires extensive training as well as great physical strength. A Dwari wearing a grower's suit, operating it at perfect efficiency would likely look like they were simply executing a routine, such as putting clothes on in the morning, when in reality they have to manage every step and breath with great care, and have simply ingrained the details of the suit's operation into their minds. Some farmer's even believe that the technology of the respirator and exoskeleton could be easily improved to be less taxing on the user, but it is not for the sake of deterring thieves and weeding out lesser dwari to leave only the most strong and efficient as farmers.Utility
The suit is used to harvest altrine buds and mana from a reservoir, and to allow them to grow, while still allowing the mobility of the farmer. The use may seem oddly simple, but any trained farmer could assure you it is nothing if not complex. The suits very complex design also allows for many odd misuses of the technology. For example, many miner's who are attacked while wearing the suit have been reported to eject the suits mana or lava stores into the attacker, causing either deathly mana sickness or horrific burns respectively. Many farmers have also found the suits claw as a useful weapon for dispatching of attackers or even collecting cave creepers deep alongside altrine buds, which they sell to alchemists in addition to the altrine gems they farm.
Manufacturing
Due to the complexity of the suit, and the secrecy of it's design, the suits are specifically handcrafted based on student measurements within Alkin-Hurkin, with the required metalworkers, runesmiths, and engineers present at the school at all times.
Social Impact
As was Grun's wish, altrine farming was able to significantly reduce the shortages of altrine in Kolkakla, therefore reducing the crime and decreasing prices. Meanwhile, in areas with large amounts of altrine like Xlandia, this new farmed altrine would create a new market for high end farmed altrine, which some nobles would seek for jewelry.
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