Although candles and lanterns are common throughout Veiama as a backup, the preferred form of lighting through history has been to use
iasite. Iasite is a rock that, when combined with water, glows with enough brightness to light a room. All light provided by iasite is technically called stone lighting, but in practice this usually refers to systems within grand homes that combine iasite, glass tubes, and interior plumbing to create light that can be turned on with a switch.
Evolution
Candles
The most basic form of lighting is the candle, which isn't stone lighting at all. Candles are the backup choice throughout Veiama. Families who cannot afford iasite stones make their own candles from lard, which is a lengthy task and gives off a noxious odour. Beeswax candles exist, but they are significantly more expensive and their purpose is to create pleasant aromas and would be used in conjunction with stone lighting.
Candles are more common in the north or on the fringes of the lake system, far from the iasite mines.
Clay Bowls
The simplest form of stone lighting is to put iasite in a clay basin and add water. Light can only escape from the top of the container, greatly reducing the amount of light a single rock can produce, so they are made to be shallow and wide. These bowls were placed on the floor, against the wall of a room to avoid being kicked.
Glass Containers
The invention of glass was a breakthrough for stone lightning. For many centuries, glass containers were used only by the wealthiest. Even then, the glass was only semi-translucent so broad openings to allow light out were preffered. As glass production evolved to create clearer and clearer glass, stone lightning containers got thinner and thinner openings, to make it harder to spill the water.
Basic Jars
The current state of class containers varies widely. The cheapest are basic jars made of a semi-translucent glass, usually coloured green or brown. They come with a cork to make them water-tight so that they can be easily carried around, though the cork is taken out to sit on a table and let more light out the top.
Clear Glass Lights
Moving up in luxury, jars made of clear glass are used by wealthier people. These jars are very expensive, but the clarity of glass means that they can leave the cork in at all times. These are usually small, both because large pieces of glass are move expensive and because they are often hung from the ceiling, and the combination of rock and water gets heavy.
Coloured Lights
Although clear glass is prized for everyday lightning, jars made with many colours are used for special occasions for the colourful light they give off. These containers might be a solid colour and intended to be placed in the background to give off a coloured light, or else have decorative patterns or stained glass pictures and intended to be a piece of art in its own right.
Interior Stone Lighting
Interior lighting is the cross-section of developments in stone lights and plumbing. It is currently only found in the most grand houses and palaces in Veiama and was developed only around 20 years ago.
Interior plumbing is in its infancy in Veiama. These grand houses have been fitted with copper pipes and pumps on every floor to bring water up from wells. Servants pump water up from the wells to fill a cistern at the top of the house, and then gravity caries it down when inhabitants turn a lever on the lower floors. This is used for bathrooms, fountains of drinking water, and stone lighting.
Copper pipes are built into the walls of rooms and then covered by hollow wooden pillars. A window in the wooden pillar is positioned over a glass section of pipe. The glass sections are the same diameter of the pipes (2 - 3 inches) and 5-6 inches tall. At the midpoint of each is a wire mesh that holds an iasite stone. Each pipe also comes with a lever that operates the light. When the lever is moved up, a flap at the top of the pipe opens while the one at the bottom closes. This causes water to rush into the pipe, filling the glass segment and lightning up the stone. When the lever is moved to the neutral position, both flaps are closed. To turn the light off, the lever is moved into the down position opening the bottom flap and causing the water to rush out.
The rock in the tube will still be damp and continue glowing until it gradually dries and dims. For this reason, most pillars are fitted with a window panel over the opening to cover it when the light is no longer wanted.
A lighting system like this is made possible by the teams of servants employed by great houses. They are tasked with pumping the water to the upper levels, regularly replacing the iasite stones when they dissolve too far, and cleaning the pipes to keep the flow of water smooth.
