Storm-Glass Crystals

"The storm doesn’t strike once, it lingers, waiting to strike again." -Renna Thorne, Sky-Splitter and exiled alchemist of Wyrmcall Ridge

Storm-Glass Crystals are jagged, translucent shards forged not by man, but by nature’s most violent act, a thunderstrike amid heavy Aether saturation. These brittle-looking yet dangerously reactive fragments carry a coiled energy within them, a memory of lightning captured mid-scream. Found lodged deep in charred craters or embedded in windswept cliffs, Storm-Glass Crystals are used in high-risk augury, volatile energy transfers, and mental acceleration tonics. But they are far from safe. Prolonged exposure frays nerves, bleeds sanity, and invites mental breakdowns as thoughts begin to crackle and loop like chain lightning in a storm-cursed sky.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Storm-Glass appears as translucent, jagged crystal formations, often forked or cracked with frozen lightning-shaped inclusions. The interior pulses dimly with erratic flickers of white-blue light. Sharp to the touch, brittle when mishandled. The surface is often cool but occasionally arcs with static pulses when close to aether-charged objects.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Highly reactive to energy (magickal or kinetic). Shatters under excessive vibration, creating a cascade of chain-electrical pulses. Conducts arcane energy like a perfect magickal wire, but lacks stability. Sings softly in stormy weather. Dangerous when ground, as fine dust may arc internally and detonate.

Compounds

Used in the creation of:

• Aether-Stimulants – enhances memory recall, mental acuity, and reaction time at the cost of sleep, calm, and long-term sanity.

• Storm-Tether Anchors – allow lightning-based teleportation or energy storage (unstable beyond brief usage).

• Thunderglass Lenses – glass tools that allow temporary detection of charged magick or emotion in others.

• Whisper Cages – arcane traps that hold thoughts or voices captured in storm-charged air.

Geology & Geography

Rare deposits exist in places where lightning has struck during intense magical storms, often near leyline nexuses, mountain peaks, or cursed battlefields. Common regions include the high crags of the Cloudrend Mountains and the shattered highlands of Wyrmcall Ridge.

Origin & Source

Believed to form when storm magick fuses airborne particulate glass or sand in the presence of arcane discharge. Essentially, it is lightning given structure and form. Some alchemists refer to it as “solid lightning,” though this is a romantic oversimplification.

Life & Expiration

Stable for short periods if undisturbed. Begins to lose potency after a few months unless stored in vacuum-sealed aether-jars. Exposed crystals slowly discharge until inert, but never harmless, dormant Storm-Glass may reignite if struck or heated unexpectedly. Safe window for use; 3–5 weeks post-extraction unless properly sealed.

History & Usage

History

Storm-Glass has long been a fascination of the Scholar's Guild, with records of its use tracing back to early post-Schism augury cults who believed the crystals held echoes of the gods’ thoughts. Many early attempts to channel them ended in madness or electrocution. The Arcane Coalition now classifies it as a Class B hazard for unauthorized use due to the risk of mental degradation.

Discovery

First documented in 109 C.A., when a mining expedition in Cloudrend reported a “singing pit” after a storm. The miners who handled the glass returned unable to speak, mouths locked in grins. One later described “a thousand thoughts screaming through a straw.” The crystals were removed under containment sigils, but the site still hums during rain.

Everyday use

Rare outside alchemical circles. Sometimes kept as heirlooms or "thought tokens" by grieving families who believe it can preserve a final memory. Used in arcane academia for ritual memory recovery or mapping emotional residues in cursed objects.

Cultural Significance and Usage

In borderland folklore, carrying a shard grants visions of the future or access to “storm spirits” that whisper guidance in dreams. To the Arcane Coalition, it is contraband. To the Scholar’s Guild, a memory-archiving tool. Among Lightning-blooded tribes in the northern steppes, it is believed to hold ancestral voices, and used during rites of passage to "hear the dead."

Industrial Use

Used in experimental magick batteries, mind-altering tonics, and unstable power foci. Some rogue inventors use it to bypass magickal dampening fields by “overloading the silence.” Dangerous and highly illegal if used for neural manipulation.

Refinement

Must be harvested with insulating tongs and containment wards. Raw crystals are bathed in null-oil to prevent arcane discharge. Grinding requires stormproof rooms and anti-echo sigils. Often combined with stabilizing agents like silver salts or cooled ash-lime to create ingestible or wearable forms.

Manufacturing & Products

• Stormcaps – headgear lined with slivered Storm-Glass, allowing brief bursts of extreme concentration.

• Memory Phials – tonics that allow temporary playback of vivid memories or dreams.

• Shock-scribe Quills – arcane tools that auto-write as dictated by subconscious thought when wielded.

Byproducts & Sideproducts

Broken shards leak static for hours and sing when struck. Dust causes migraines, hallucinations, and involuntary muscle contractions. Leftover fragments hum and flicker during storms, sometimes generating “storm shadows”, illusory afterimages of past thoughts or speakers.

Hazards

• Seizures.

• Memory bleed (repeating unbidden memories).

• Hallucinated lightning.

• Static discharge injuries.

• Madness via “Overload” syndrome, where thoughts become so fast they loop endlessly.

• Reported cases of electrical possession or whispering from the shards.

Environmental Impact

Can destabilize weather patterns in high concentrations. Trees nearby tend to twist unnaturally or hum. Wildlife exposed to fragments may develop heightened aggression or “storm twitch” spasms.

Reusability & Recycling

Spent Storm-Glass still holds residual arcane energy. Can be ground into defensive runes or combined with Everfrost shards to neutralize storms. Some use the fragments in ritual shields or as emotional warding charms, though the effect is erratic.

Distribution

Trade & Market

Strictly monitored. Only licensed Alchemist's Guild members or sanctioned research colleges can request it. Black market shards fetch astronomical prices, especially in wartime. Syndicates often fake them with enchanted quartz.

Storage

Sealed in rune-lined iron containers, padded with null-cloth or storm-dampened velvet. Handlers are advised to wear insulating gloves and perform regular sanity checks.

Law & Regulation

Illegal to carry unlicensed in most of Everwealth. Possession is considered a incarcerable infraction unless scholarly exemption applies. Trade across borders requires three separate factional seals and must be escorted by Arcane Coalition officers.

Fs

Value

Extremely valuable for cognitive enhancement and ritual use.

Rarity

Rare and storm-dependent. Often requires coordinated field teams and weather augurs to locate.

Odor

Like wet stone and static singe.

Taste

Bitter, fruity, causes tongue to go numb.

Color

Translucent with lightning-shaped white-blue inclusions.

Boiling / Condensation Point

Sublimates under pressure.

Melting / Freezing Point

N/A – sublimates under pressure.

Density

Low, but charged.

Common State

Solid crystal, powdered form unstable.