The Archmage's Stone

The Archmage's Stone is a magical gemstone carried by many Archmagi, often considered the definitive icon of an Archmage. The classic depicition is a blood red gem with a barion triangle cut. In addition to being a symbol of status, they are used to stabilize magical spells.

History

The Archmage's Stone is the subject of a great number of myths. Many of these are apocryphal, claiming they are the result of blood sacrifice, or warning of terribly tragedy that befalls anyone who seeks to use the power of a Stone. There are also claims that the Stone is used to produce a life extending elixir, grant wishes, or to transmute lead into gold, but in reality, most people capable of crafting a Stone have already achieved the ability to do at least some of these things.
The first of these Stones were made in ancient times, before the days of the First Empire. In these times, people rarely settled in one place for long, which made the harvesting of key magical components such as diamond extremely difficult to accomplish. Powerful Magi, who were even more revered in these ancient societies than they are now, sought an alternative to these rare materials - something more convenient to gather - and when they could not find it, one eventually created it. This is considered one of the key developments that enabled society to progress from a nomadic state, fleeing disasters brought upon them by the scourge of magic storms to agricultural society, which in turn allowed the first permanent settlement in the known world.

Rarity

An Archmage's Stone is a very rare artifact, and is largely unavailable regardless of price - an Archmage might be willing to offer their services for a sufficient sum, but turning over a Stone to someone else is just not done. Making a Stone requires a wealth of rare or valuable components, and requires several days of continuous effort. The ritual is additionally one that requires High Magic, thus requiring the caster to operate outside of an Anchor's influence, rendering them vulnerable to magical storms. It is thus customary for an Archmage to hire several experienced warriors to protect them as they conduct the ritual, to defend them from any difficulties that might arise.
In recent decades, several dozen Archmagi have fallen in the Iron Hills during the The Great War. Not all Archmagi carry a Stone, particularly into combat, and of those who did, most had made arrangements for someone to recover their Stone (as well as the many other valuable magical devices they bore), but it is entirely possible a few did not. It might also be possible to find one in the final resting place of an Archmage who opted to seal away their treasures rather than passing them on to their most promising students, or in other locales where an Archmage met an unfortunate end and was left to lie there.

Significance

An Archmage's Stone is primarily seen as a status symbol by the broader public. While is is often disguised as a common gemstone to avoid theft, a simple spell that visualizes magic produces a highly recognizable and unique glow that makes it easy for an Archmage to demonstrate their capabilities to another Magus, thereby gaining suitable respect and deference.
Fraudulent use of the stone for this purpose is rare: not only are the stones hard to come by, but disguising oneself as an Archmage is an indication that one has a great deal of personal power, and is generally inclined to make use of that power (as few who are inclined otherwise achieve the necessary mastery of magic to achieve this rank. Thus, they may be called upon to assist with any number of extremely dangerous tasks, which makes maintaining the image of an Archmage quite difficult for extended periods of time.
The other purpose of the Stone is to be used to stabilize magical spells. Many spells require a variety of specialized materials to cast under normal circumstances. Some can be replaced by a relatively simple device that helps channel the Magus's focus, but the Stone can be used for nearly all spells, excepting only components that are a permanent part of the spell (for example, a spell that stores objects within a gemstone will still require the physical gemstone) or components that relate to forming a bond with the target (for example, a spell to that imprisons a person depicted in a piece of art still requires that artwork to provide a target). There are limits to how much a particular Stone can be used for this purpose until it dissipates - this is the original intended purpose of the Stone, and even with High Magic there are limits to how much magic can be condensed and stored for future use. Furthermore, higher tier spells (specifically, those of 6th to 9th tier) require significantly more energy to stabilize when cast using a stone rather than the specific components intended for them, depleting the stone at approximately three times the normal rate. Additionally, it cannot be used to stabilize another casting of High Magic - an attempt to do so will cause the construct of the Stone to burst, causeing a sudden and intense surge of magic with unpredictable and extremely dangerous results.