Gemchosen
Selected by Ethergaunts
The Gems of the Ethergaunt are powerful magic items that were created in the turbulent times following the Dematalyst. The souls of hyper-intelligent negative-energy beings known as "Ethergaunts," the Gems were created as a means to harness the awesome powers Ethergaunts demonstrated in the "War of the Ghosts." A cabal of mages created the Gems, and as a result they became the first Gemchosen. A Gemchosen is anyone who holds a Gem of the Ethergaunt, no matter how long. However, the cabal placed a nasty little curse on the Gems at the time of their creation. The user of the Gem has access to the vast memory banks and knowledge-base of the Ethergaunts; as in the user forces information out of an Ethergaunt's soul. This has allowed Gemchosen to make leaps-and-bounds developments in numerous fields on Sonnerand. The drawback to this amazing effect is that once a Gemchosen is relinquished of their Gem, they lose all memory of their interactions with the Ethergaunt, including any information the Ethergaunt conveyed on them. Thankfully, this can be rather easily circumvented by writing down or otherwise recording the information bestowed by an Ethergaunt. From Years 0-156 Gemchosen were well-known, respected, and/or feared by the people of Sonnerand. 20 Ethergems exist, meaning 20 Gemchosen may exist at any given time. In the Year 156, a Gemchosen by the name of Baron P. Wailer of Cheerymore and a group known as "Mutaghast" began to globally hunt the Gemchosen and murdered a total of 8 Gemchosen at the time. The Gems were then distributed among fellow members of Mutaghast. Following the words of warning by their Gems, most of the Gemchosen 'went dark,' or stopped transmitting their location to other Gemchosen. The irony in this is that Baron P. Wailer eventually lost his Gem, and forgot much of the reasoning for his now-senseless slaughter, leading him to take his own life. This caused a cascading series of events within Mutaghast, boiling into violent in-fighting that resulted in the bloody dissolution of the group and 9 ownerless Gems. Since that time, the role and title of Gemchosen is one only known in either the highest-levels of society, in the far frontiers of the world, or privately among close friends. On aspect of the Gemchosen holds suprememly true: those who hold the Gem for prolonged amounts of time seem to attract bad luck in much of the same way as people who have been resurrected numerous times. A Gemchosen has never died of old age while in possession of their Gem.Qualifications
The only qualification for becoming a Gemchosen is simply finding a Gem of the Ethergaunt and successfully attuning to it. Gems are generally drawn to powerful forces of personality.
Requirements
Being a Gemchosen means different things in the world. Very few Gemchosen consider the title something to pass down. However, the most common requirement for (and one's best chance at) becoming a Gemchosen is simply having a good relationship with a current Gemchosen.
Appointment
When the Ethergaunt contained within a Gem deems a potential user as a good fit, the Ethergaunt will psychically link minds to the prospective Gemchosen. Once the link is established, the Gemchosen is selected.
Duties
The duty of a Gemchosen is to utilize the Gem of the Ethergaunt to further their goals. There are no hard and fast rules for an individual Gemchosen.
The Wayfinder of Pirivuwy uses his Gem in order to transmit a global "We are here and thriving" message to all other Gemchosen.
The Lord Steward of Dellwind uses the Gem to keep Dellwind's vault locked and gather information on other governments.
The Mad Love-Wizard of Aldus uses the Gem to theory-craft continually newer and more destructive forms of magic.
Responsibilities
Though this is only a light responsibility, almost all of the Gems of the Ethergaunt incite a plea in their users to help end the Ethergaunt's bondge within the Gem. So far, no user has complied with this plea.
Benefits
As previously mentioned, Gems of the Ethergaunt are able to provide their users information on virtually anything whether that be the mechanics of a magical item, the origin of a certain variety of rock, a recipe for cookies, etc.
It is the equivalent of having a supercomputer at one's fingertips.
Accoutrements & Equipment
The eponymous Gem of the Ethergaunt is the only stylization this role gets.
Grounds for Removal/Dismissal
Gems of the Ethergaunt, as they grow closer to their user, may decide that the user is no longer a good fit. This is especially true if a user goes against the suggestions of the contained Ethergaunt. When this happens two things may occur.
- The Gem forcibly unattunes from its user; inciting memory loss about all conversations, information, and interactions the Gemchosen had with the Gem of the Ethergaunt.
- The Gem clashes with the user and attempts to dominate her mind. If successful, the Ethergaunt assumes control of the user's body temporarily and will often use that time to drive the user towards its goals or ideas. If failed, the Ethergaunt cannot reattempt this takeover.
History
Gemchosen have been implicit in nearly every major world event on Sonnerand. The impact the Gemchosen have had on the world is somewhat understated due to the secretive nature of many of the Gemchosen, as well as the fact that unattuned Gemchosen lose the information they gained while attuned to the Gem.
To use two familiar examples, Wayfinder, the tiefling leader of Pirivuwy holding the Gem of Fazok is extremely open to his people about the Gem, its power, and how he intends to use it. It is no secret among the tieflings that due to Ethergaunt's information Geneca was able to be repelled from invading the island. The Gem of Fazok is placed on a special pedistol each night and transmits a fantastic party that the tieflings throw in the Pirivuwian capital of Hapy.
Another example is Dellwind's Lord Steward line. In Dellwind, the Gem of Kislek specifically is handed down from one Lord Steward to the next. The 5 year terms of Lord Stewards ensure that no one person ever holds the Gem for too long. And once one Lord Steward relinquishes it, they lose all knowledge of it-- effectively memory-wiping them of state secrets. The Lord Steward is also prohibited from taking the Gem on campaign, which has led to instances where a Lord Steward has forgotten about the Gem on the field.
In the secretive dwarven nation of Mantel, the Gem of Ezsotet is used to covertly broadcast major world happenings detected by the Mantel Department of Espionage, Monitoring, and Phenomena-- the dwarven owners of the Gem are unaware of this.
Individuals of 'lesser' importance are Gemchosen as well, and some hide in plain sight. At least 2 Gems of the Ethergaunt are held by people of no magic ability or status-- yet these individuals make the most out of the Gem.
Cultural Significance
The Gems were created by a nameless cabal following the "War of the Ghosts"-- which occurred in Year 0. The Gems of the Ethergaunt themselves are the only individuals capable of relaying this tale. Curiously, no mage on Sonnerand at the time of Year 0 should have had the power to enact such a powerful binding spell, much less an entire cabal.
Throughout history, Gemchosen have commonly gone on to become rulers of nations, drivers of innovation, leaders of thought, and warmongering devestators.
Notable Holders
In recent history, Kane Faircrest, a Dellwind noble with aspirations for the position of Lord Steward, found and stole the Gem of Kislek after sneaking into former Lord Steward Jackson Varik's office. Kane was not careful with his Gem, and it was lost during a fire within his Faircrest Theatre.
The Gem was then plucked by the half-orc Ri'Orio O'Connell, who was subsequently rejected by the Gem. The Gem then found its way into a kenku named Tinker's hands, where it now remains.
c.w. suicide, targeted assault
Type
Self proclaimed
Status
Over 15 Active
Creation
The Dematalyst
Equates to
Those who are Gemchosen have the vast knowledgebase of the ethergaunts quite literally at their fingertips. The power of knowledge being a Gemchosen brings puts it on par with, if not better than, being the spy master for a large nation. This, of course, is dependent on the interests, goals, and questions of the Gemchosen.
Source of Authority
A Gem of the Ethergaunt
Length of Term
Until the owner of the gem loses it.
Past Holders
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