Fuel Crystals

Fuel Crystal by Bram Z

Fuel crystals are mined by all races. Tools used for mining can be a pickaxe, chisel, or larger machinery or tools. The bigger the shard, the more energy it helds. Therefore, small shards are often used in weaponry, machines, and even for rituals and healing purposes. where larger shards provide fuel and power for airships like the [insert article] and [insert article].

Properties

Material Characteristics

The crystal has a sharp, glass look to it and is black by default. When stored with energy, it gets a reddish tint around the edges. This grows and gets stronger the more energy is stored in it. The crystal feels cold to the touch and is smooth like glass, whether there's energy in it or not. The crystal can grow in various heights, the closer to The core, the bigger the crystal is and the more energy it holds. Where the further away it is from The Core, the smaller it is and the less energy it stores.

Geology & Geography

The material is found all over the world of Elysem. Most crystals formed after The Stretch happened. As shown in the map above, the largest crystals with the most energy can be found near the core, in the closest circle to the core, but also the most dangerous due to the heat of The Core, landscape, and environment. Average-sized crystals that store a good amount of energy can be found in the middle circle, where most of Elysem's life thrives. and last, small crystals who barely hold any fuel can be found in the outer circle, where the environment is harsh and cold.

Origin & Source

The origin comes from The Core. When the planet shattered in The Stretch, the crystals formed under this immense pressure, and the energy of The Core got trapped in the process. 90% of the crystals now found are from this event, while some crystals are still growing and can be grown. But it takes centuries to reach a decent size and a decent amount of energy for it to be used. The crystal is common but is pretty much not renewable.

Life & Expiration

When used in machinery, airships, or other devices, the energy starts to radiate energy to fuel its host. Hence the name Fuel Crystal. The lifespan of a crystal depends on how big it is, how much energy is stored in it, and most importantly, how much it needs to power. The average crystal can be used for a good couple of months before running out.

Fuel crystals are used to, as the name suggests, fuel ships, machinery, and other sources that need the energy to run. These crystals store energy which slowly emits over time, and gets recharged every day by the energy from The Core when it releases its daily energy surge to light up the world. Sadly, this isn't enough to generate an infinite amount of power. The crystal can hold power, but it has taken centuries to charge them to max capacity and to even grow to their max size. Energy crystals are common and think to have come into existence when The Shattering happened.
Fuel crystals are often mined. The closer to The Core, the bigger and more energy they hold, and vice versa the further away from The Core. As seen on the world map below, red areas in the inner circle are where the largest, most energized crystals can be found. A cluster shown here on the left side can grow to 3-4 times the size of a normal human. Where Fuel Crystals in the most outer circle are around knee height size, with barely any energy stored in them.

Elysem world map by Bram Z

Look: Energy crystals have a dark brownish, red color. Subsurface scattering turns the crystal slightly greenish. An energized crystal slowly emits red light seen on the edges of the crystals. those who have no energy left in them don't have this feature and are almost entirely black. Usage: Energy crystals store energy generated by The Core of Elysem. This energy can be subtracted and is often used as fuel for airships or machines. hence its name.
Location: As shown in the map above, Fuel Crystals are mostly found near the inner circle, near The Core. the further away, the rarer, smaller, and less energy they contain.
Type: Glass
Art: Art is made with Zbrush, Maya. Substance Designer and Marmoset. base mesh is fully modeled and sculpted in Zbrush. Correct scale, texel density, and UV mapping are done in Maya and then exported to Marmoset for rendering. Material is procedurally made in Substance Designer and inspired by Obsidian. then applied to the mesh in Marmoset and tiled a couple of times.

Color

Fuel Crystals have a dark, black color when not charged with any energy. Where when they are charged with energy, the edges of the crystals turn reddish, where the more energy is stored, the more vibrant the color gets.

Melting / Freezing Point

Fuel shards are almost impossible to melt and are stored when used up to recharge, or simply thrown away into the void, falling to the core to be destroyed. When the crystal freezes, energy that is stored in the crystal will slowly start to die out

Common State

The closer to The Core, the more enrgy is stored in the crystal, the further away, the less is stored.