Arcanum Enhancement
The first stage of magical technology in this setting was the enhancement of existing technology through the use of Arcanum Crystal. The crystal allows magic to be used in concert with technology, even long after the magic-user has moved on. These crystals function both as the power source for an enhancement and the programmed hardware for that enhancement to function.
By implementing crystal technology on design and crafting processes, the resulting empowered design and crafting methods produce higher quality mundane materials before any further crystal enhancement is attempted.
Utility
By empowering arcanum crystals and attaching them physically and magically to a device, the device can be enhanced in a number of ways. Cohesion of pieces making up a tool or vehicle can be improved if not made truly permanent (as far as the materials involved can be permanent, at least). Ease of usage where workers are concerned can be improved in a variety of ways including accessibility, weight, smoothness of function, and more. And because these are powered crystals, pieces can be made to do things on their own, without applying human or bestial force to the technology.Access/Availability
The crystal itself is highly sought after, but there are enough mines in both the Midlands and the Highlands to keep the countries best in position to make use of it well stocked. The arcanists who are able to use the crystals in this manner are also highly sought after, and their time and experience can vary widely. The master crystalsmiths often are too busy teaching the basic techniques to spend time on expensive, technical projects. Royalty have the easiest access to arcanum enhancements, both the most common and the new experiments. Nobility are often the patrons of crystalsmiths who have proven canny at designing new uses of the crystal, and thus are the usual recipients. The longer a specific enhancement has been in use, the more likely it has reached the wealthier public.Manufacturing
Arcanum Crystal is mined and then must be processed with special safety precautions against inhaling the hazardous crystalline dust. This is an entire industry in itself, simply to provide the polished crystals in varying sizes to the crystalsmiths who work with the crystal both physically (insertion into housing, attachment, etc.) and magically, supplying it with power and the pattern by which it will affect whatever it is enhancing.Complexity
This is still arcane magic. It is complicated, even when using the templates already created by innovators gone before. It is entirely possible to follow the construction instructions and yet fail to make the enhancement function as intended.Discovery
The discovery of arcanum crystal happened around 3800RR when a Chailaran mine owner happened to be of a magically talented noble line. Quartz was the expected rock, except he could feel the quartz was "alive". This led to an influx of arcanists who wanted to study it. The first attempts to enhance existing tools with the crystal were simple charms, keeping them from breaking, making them lighter to carry, and so forth. If a blacksmith's hammer weighed half what it once did, the smith could use it more accurately for a longer time. It took several decades before trial and error had led to enough of a process to really consider arcanum enhancement a technology, rather than a wizard's prank.Social Impact
While there were early errors and problems caused by the hazardous nature of the crystal dust or magical attempts overwhelming the abilities or capacity of the crystals, by the time crystal-enhancement was a useful option it had already affected most social castes by improving methods for everything from personal grooming to trade and agriculture.Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
