pan'Punde Stone

Humans hugged the coasts before the Alchemist Shalique Fraciel split the pan'Punde Stone.

Properties

Material Characteristics

pan'Pounde stones are composed of two hemispherical crystals, one clear sapphire blue and the other clear ruby red. Unprocessed stones have very rough, scuffed surfaces and only become transparent after faceting or polishing.

Physical & Chemical Properties

These stones orient themselves with their ruby half toward the rising sun. When forced to turn they will return to their rising sun position when released.
When separated and contained in lead vessels these stones have a strong attraction to the other half. This attraction is exploited to determine the direction and distance of the other half thus enabling the determination of a vessel's precise location.

Geology & Geography

First mined in the Chokalt Mountains by pan'Fulourean prospectors in 242. Deposits were eventually discovered in every major mountain range of Pangola.

Life & Expiration

pan'Pounde stones turn to ash if the red and blue halves are separated without using Longitudinal Fission. Once split, the hemispheres are remain stable as long as they are contained in their lead deckstone

History & Usage

Everyday use

pan'Pounde stones are used on every oceangoing vessel for navigation.
Worshippers of Mapri use highly polished pan'Pounde stones extensively in their churches, art and personal adornment.

Cultural Significance and Usage

The island nation of pan'Fuloure uses the red and blue colors of the pan'Pounde stones in their banners, flags, crests. The churches of Mapri added a red and blue circular shield to their holy symbols in 460.

Distribution

Trade & Market

Longitudinal Fission is a closely guarded secret of the Alchemists of Pangola which gives them complete control over the market; however, every nation has their own version of a guild which produces deckstones keeping the prices reasonable.

Storage

Unseparated stones (raw, facets, polished) are stable. Separated stones must be contained in heavy leaden vessels.

Value

These are semi-precious gemstones which increase in value exponentially with size. The largest ships contain deckstones requiring pan'Pounde stones valued in the tens of thousands gold pieces.

Rarity

While only uncommon, the larger stones are incredibly rare. This puts a functional cap on the size of oceangoing vessels.