Vilsathian Sapphire

Sapphires are a very popular gemstone all throughout Leanor, but they do not naturally occur here. Instead, they are mined and imported from several other locations. The highest quality of sapphire is mined in Vilsathia, a region across the Sea of Fire. Vilsathia was the ancestral home of the Acadeans, who were forced to leave their home after losing a terrible war, which caused them to come to Leanor in the first place. Eventually, the army of the Acadean Empire sailed back to Vilsathia and conquered it, making it a part of the Empire.

Since then, an exchange of goods and knowledge between Leanor and Vilsathia has constantly been going on. One of the goods imported from Vilsathia are the legendary vilsathian sapphires, which are known for their particularly clear and vibrant colour. Though they are mostly found in shades of blue, sapphires also occur in shades of yellow, orange, brown, green, pink or purple, as well as in grey, black or colourless varieties. Sapphires in general, especially vilsathian sapphires, are very popular, but they are also quite expensive, which makes them available only to a small percentage of people.

Sapphires are mined primarily underground, making it a very dangerous process to acquire the natural stones in the first place. Since sapphire is a very hard and durable mineral, it is also very difficult to cut into jewels. In fact, diamond is the only material that can effectively put a dent into a sapphire. The time-consuming and difficult process of sapphire-cutting makes a perfectly cut sapphire jewel much more expensive than the already not particularly cheap raw mineral.


For this exact reason, sapphires, particularly those from Vilsathia, are considered a symbol of wealth and power. Among other gemstones, sapphires are often used for representative purposes, both as jewellery and in other items, like representative weapons. In the Eleonian Crown, a blue sapphire represents House Angeleos, whose crest is a silver lion on blue. The representative Sword of the Lion, which is also part of the eleonian regalia, has a pommel in the shape of a silver lion with two small blue sapphires set as its eyes.

People who wear expensive gems publically without holding any title or office that would require them to do so are often considered pompous show-offs. While their wealth is often admired, those people are usually not welcomed by the general public and more frequently fall victim to thiefs. If a person of importance were to try and go unnoticed, one important step would be to remove any kind of representative item from their wardrobe, including the jewellery.

Type

Mineral