The Albassa Pearl
Overview
The Albassa Pearl is a naturally formed pearl of unnatural size, being almost one foot in diameter and weighing approximately 5lb. It was imbued with magical properties by the deities Hiatea and Persana, allowing it to be used for scrying on not only current events but also those in the future and the past. Following The Flood, the Pearl remained on the Material Plane with the Hiatean Order of the Moon on the island of Albassa, until it was gifted by the Albassan leaders to the Temple of Persana on Tolsta. Before it could reach the temple, it was taken by Ishtar, a member of the Order of the Moon, to the ancient Temple of Hiatea on Aird, where it currently remains.
History
In the time before The Flood, Hiatea resided - along with most Immortals - on the Material Plane. The main centre of her worship was on the island now known as Aird, where her temple was maintained by a society of storm giants.
Aird, along with the rest of the The Fallen Isles archipelago, was created as a collaboration between Hiatea and Persana, whose centre of worship was based on Tolsta. The pearl was discovered by Persana, and enchanted by Hiatea. Prior to The Final War, Hiatea sent a collective of her followers to the distant island of Albassa with the pearl, instructing them to guard it there until the war was over.
Following the Flood Hiatea was banished with the other Immortals from the Material Plane. The vast majority of her followers on Aird were destroyed, her temple buried, and her name all but forgotten in Tanera. Those who had travelled to Albassa became known as the Order of the Moon, and several generations were raised to protect the Pearl as they had been instructed. Many of the original collective were also worshippers of Persana, and as the centuries passed the occupants of the island became split between those who followed Persana (the majority, and ultimately the society leaders) and those who followed Hiatea (eventually limited to a minority religious order).
In 828CE it was agreed by the Albassan leadership to strengthen ties to the original Temple of Persana on Tolsta by gifting the Pearl. The Order of the Moon did not have the power to object officially, but sentIshtar to intercept the Pearl once it had arrived on Tolsta. Ishtar was able to do this with the help of the ship’s captain, Croggan, and Lady San, who kept the Pearl protected at her club while arranging passage to Aird.
Ishtar eventually completed her task, leaving the Pearl in the still-buried Temple of Hiatea, under the protection of Cethlenn, the only surviving member of Hiatea’s storm giant worshippers.
Properties
The exact nature of the enchantment placed on the Pearl is unknown. The Order of the Moon were tasked with protecting it, not studying it, and indeed there was a feeling that doing so would be disrespectful, if not outright blasphemous. However, it is likely that the magic involved is of such an advanced, archaic nature that it would be practically impossible to replicate in the current age.
While scrying on present events and individuals is a common enough ability among relatively advanced magic users, the purported ability of the Pearl to also reveal the past and the future has significant philosophical and metaphysical implications, specifically regarding the nature of time itself.
The issue is further complicated by the accepted fact that Hiatea was the only individual capable of using the Pearl properly. While anyone touching the Pearl will be presented with a series of mental or hallucinatory images (not dissimilar to those experienced in standard scrying), it requires a particularly - maybe even uniquely - robust mind to correctly interpret what they actually mean.
Mechanics & Inner Workings
Significance
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