Desert Bone Crystal

In the Gismari deserts, where hail the Eleb, there sometimes emerge from the dunes polished bones which have crystallised to giant, shiny, fossils. The exact nature of the processes that lead to the formation of these structures is unknown, but something about these deserts is what transforms normal bones (though of extraordinary ancient beasts) into this substance, for they do not occur anywhere else.

Properties

Material Characteristics

An extremely hard material, these crystals are nearly impossible to harvest without magical aid, yet paradoxically if cut incorrectly the resulting material is brittle and shatters at the lightest strike. The biological origin of the material also provides a better propensity to hold temporary enchantments, but at the same time shakes off what should be permanent magic in a matter of a few hours.

History & Usage

History

Observed and feared for many years before being used, these fossils were worshipped as the bones of dead gods and sacrificed to for appeasement. It required a great culture shift, brought by the Death of Summer, for one scholar to even consider harvesting and using the material. Oleb, for that was his name, experimented in secret with many methods before learning the required magic and designing the exact tools for the job. He brought it forth to his peers... and was quickly lynched for the trouble.
It was another couple dozen years before the art was discovered by a young mage named Radam, fleeing his cruel master and looking for a weapon to defend himself, found a small dagger and tried enhancing it with the simplest of cooling spells. It dropped to a freezing temperature and he managed to fight off his master's minions with more shows of skill. Soon after this encounter he learned the skills devised by Oleb and made more of the items, teaching his peers the ability and taking the fight to his master. He became the first Bonespeaker and founded the order of the same name with the others he taught.