Emeralds
Emeralds are green crystals formed by cooling pockets of magic. In the Central Plane, they are most commonly found in dense forests or deep under the earth, although they can also be given as gifts from other planes. These emeralds are the only way to wield magic in the Central Plane, although using an emerald is not easy. It takes a great deal of skill to coax the magic from these stones and bend it to your will.It's kind of funny to watch my kin tearing through the mountains in search of tiny capsules of magic. Some of us were a little more clever in how we went about obtaining power.
Variations
There are three main types of emeralds, each associated with their own unique type of magic.The stone was the most beautiful I had ever seen; it was a dark green, the color of the moss that only grows in the deepest parts of the forest. Veins of white flowed through the stone, almost as if someone had dipped a paintbrush in the moonlight and painted rivers across the gem's surface.
Earth Stones
Earth stones are pockets of magic that got trapped under the surface of Central Plane. The magic is quite flexible, allowing the user to harness it in a variety of ways. Years of study can teach a person to wield the magic in these stones effectively, but clever individuals have been known to coax the magic out with the force of their personalities. The stones are an earthy green color, and can only be found by mining deep below the earth's surface.Life Stones
Unlike earth stones, which have an earthy, brown, tint to them, life stones are the color of summer leaves; the most pure, deep green you can imagine. The magic they contain is different as well, inherently associated with life. In the Central Plane, these stones are found growing on plants in the densest parts of the forests.Otherworldly Stones
Otherwordly stones are not native to the material plane, but rather, are gifted by creatures from other realms where magic exists naturally. These stones take on colors depending on where the magic they hold was captured. Magic from the Divine and Light planes turns the stone a pale green that is sometimes so pure it appears white. Magic from the Shadow and Infernal Planes, however, turns the stone black with corruption. Magic from the Great Between forms stones streaked with swirls of both colors, creating emeralds that are coveted for their beauty as well as their magic.Origin
All types of emeralds are made as magic is hardened into a crystallized form, but each different type tends to be hardened in a different way. Earth emeralds come from pockets of magic that got stuck in the material plane as it formed, eventually cooling and hardening. Otherworldy stones are formed intentionally, when beings on other planes capture some of the magic that flows freely in the environment there, cooling it into it's crystallized form, where it can then be used on the material plane. Life emeralds are formed in areas of the world where life began; the area is so filled with this magic that it can't form enough living creatures to contain it. The extra magic lingers in small pockets on the plant life there, eventually solidifying into emeralds that look as if they are growing from the trees.Imagine their delight upon discovering what these new gems truly were: pure, unadulterated magic that had gotten stuck deep in the mountains and hardened into a deep green stone.
History
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Current Usage
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At A Glance
RPG Mechanics
All spellcasting classes must use a spellcasting focus, and this spellcasting focus must be made from the appropriate type of emerald, although it can be carved into whatever shape the player wants, and can be embedded in jewlery, staffs, instruments, etc. Druids and rangers should use life emeralds; clerics, paladins, and warlocks should use otherwordly emeralds, and all other classes should use common emeralds. If the caster loses their spellcasting focus, they must obtain a new one before they can use magic again.Some racial abilities allow characters to perform limited magic; this magic is not cast from emeralds, but rather from tinges of magic left in the bloodlines of these races. Because of this, racial magic may be cast without a spellcasting focus.
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"pure, unadulterated, magic " the comma before magic is superfluous. "They enslaved and entire peoples in an effort to gather power faster than their eastern rivals." Either the "and" is superfluous, or it was meant to be an "an", in which case you would have to write "an entire people" "The average person will never touch an emerald, although most large communities will contain a handful of wielders. It takes a exceptional person, however, to wield them skillfully." The way you organize these sentences is a bit unfortunate in my opinion, even though there is great potential here, with only a little moving around it would work a lot better I think: "The average person will never touch an emerald. Although most large communities will contain a handful of wielders, it takes a exceptional person to wield them skillfully." My final tip: the image you use in the sidebar would look better with a transparent background ^-^ Very interesting to tie the magic into gems like this, having them be crystallized magic is a nice touch, and I like that you provide RPG data; pretty neat :3 Nice article!
Thank you for catching my typos; proofreading is hard. And you're right about the image - I was just too lazy to fire up gimp and actually get rid of the background...
Well, it looks great now, good job ^-^