Canary Stones

NOTICE

As of Juncet 23^rd 1548, all South Beourjen factories with capacities of at least 400 labourers (or employing any labourers under the age of sixteen) are required to have properly coded ventilation, miasma detection, and emergency evacuation systems. Members of the 16^th and 33^rd Civilians' will carry out inspections the following month, and annual inspections will commence thereafter. For further information, or to request exemption of coding, please see the complete South Beourjen (S) Juncet 1548 Forum.

— Beourjen City Paper

A niche within the larger idea of spectral seeing stones, canary stones are lenses fashioned of glass and stone that, by way of arcanic properties, may detect certain environmental effects not visible to the naked eye. The lens has two basic and crucial parts: the inner lens itself, which is typically a translucent glass, and the outer black stone ring. Though the inner lens is translucent, areas in which toxic fumes or miasmas are present will be shown through the glass in a colored hue, and this part of the stone is used by holding the lens directly to the eye and peering through it. The other important part is the stone ring, which, in the close and direct presence of toxicity, will glow a soft red similar to the fringe of hotly forged metal.

by mirescosmo

Invention

Aveaan arcanist and optometrist Lazarin Bryste originally came up with the idea in 1527 at the request of industrial pioneer Veranos Lynstron for a device that would be able to determine when toxic gases reached unsafe levels in his factories. The initial prototype of the stone was unreliable at best, as it tended to react to environmental conditions at random, however Bryste refined his process of development over the subsequent two decades into the model used at present.

Manufacture

1

Arcanic granite is taken from the Etter Rapids and cut into the seeing-stone shape pictured above. It may be smoothed and polished afterward, however further refinement isn't necessary for it to perform its proper function.

2

A thin sheet of glass—usually 3-4mm thick—is fitted and glued in the center of the stone.

3

The stone is soaked in an arcanic mixture for twelve to twenty-four hours, rinsed in lukewarm water, and then set to dry for eight to ten days. This process is repeated three times.

Current Usage

Due to the difficulty in obtaining arcanic stone from the Rapids as well as the rarity of spectral arcanists as a whole (let alone those with the skills to make seeing stones), canary stones are expensive. Typically only a factory owner or mine baron themself, and perhaps a few other high-ranking overseers in any given business, will have one of the stones.

Additionally, many wealthy nobles will also have canary stones, either to keep in their own manor as a detector, or on their person. The stones are designed with a small fob attachment, and many nobles keep them on their waistcoasts or in their jacket pocket in a similar manner to a pocket watch. In the Beourjen Confederacy, especially in urban areas, they are often simply called 'canaries'.

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