Thorasite

Thorasite is a green, crystalline substance that is used to channel and harness energy into blasts of light, also called lasers.

Structure

The average crystal is formatted with small crystallites in a lattice pattern repeating in an ordered pattern to build the crystalline shape. Thorasite, however, is no ordinary crystal. It is is actually a polycrystalline structure.
What a polycrystalline structure merits is a less rigid form. It is still composed of crystallites, though their pattern is almost random and their size does not match. No two polycrystals are alike and, so too, are no two Thorasite fragments.
Dwarven crystal expert Gimmund said on this,

"I've looked at Thorasite clusters that sit right next to each other. I had thought the difference in structure was location, but even neighbors look different. If I had to say, I'd wager that if I checked every piece in existence, I'd never find a match. How utterly fascinating. In a way, the crystals are like us. Each similar, yet unique in what makes us ourselves."

— Gimmund

Properties

Thorasite's special property comes from its ability to store and use light energy. This utilizes the photoelectric effect, where light energy is stored within the crystal until enough energy is built up. Once this occurs, the energy is shot out into a blast of light that burns to the touch, called a laser.
The laser is quite powerful, with a single blast known to melt steel. The energy can also be harnessed for other purposes, though few attempt it as even the power of two Thorasite crystals is known to be of such overwhelming power and energy that it can kill anyone that holds it. Gimmund once studied the laser, saying:

Gimmund by Jarhed

"I put a thorasite crystal in my greenhouse. When I came back a day later, it had lasered through each individual glass pane. Precise shots, still shattered the whole window. I don't envy any poor bastard who unknowingly walks by this place."

— Gimmund

This effect is possible thanks to the polycrystalline structure, which allows more energy to be stored in the space between the crystals. Energy is absorbed because of the crystal's translucent surface, which absorbs light, and while most crystals simply let out the energy, the polycrystalline Thorasite absorbs and stores it. However, while it can hold more than most crystals, it does eventually reach a limit, at which point it then shoots out its laser to free space for more energy.

World Forged by Jarhed

World Forged

A robotic soldier unit created by the World Court, World Forged are a force to be reckoned with.
While they are still in the prototype stage, and are kept a relative secret from most people, they have been spotted on the Key of Beasts, where Odrukh of the Jaded Executioners clashed against them. This is where all records come of them.
They have immense physical strength, with bodies made of Fuccium, and computed minds so complex one would think they were made with Mind Magic. But their most dangerous attribute is the Thorasite crystal on their head, which can be used to channel and focus energy into a large laser blast.
With their complex minds wired to the Thorasite, they can control when the laser blast occurs. Any excess energy that would be dispelled by the crystal is instead used to power the World Forged and give them life. Without the crystal, they would require another source of life, of which no known source exists.
These are sent in place of World Court soldiers if necessary, as they are much stronger than the general Admissable. They claim to keep peace, but only bring violence wherever they go.

Natural Formation

Many point to Thorasite as an oddity in the natural world. For what purpose does it absorb energy and shoot the laser. Some say that the God Hadur made it as something that could be used in weapons, though few weapons have been able to efficiently use Thorasite without the laser backfiring on them.
The most prominent comparison to anything else natural is that of plants. Thorasite, like plants, absorb light. Some say that the crystals in some way feed off of the light like plants, and the energy is stored and partially absorbed for nutritious value. This would then make the laser discharge of its unabsorbed meal. Some say it also serves as its defense mechanism.
After fixing his greenhouse, Gimmund said of the Thorasite laser:

"It doesn't appear to have activated the laser because it was provoked. It just seems to have made a laser. After sitting and observing it for a few hours I- Oh Hadur's Bathroom, that was a close one! Another laser just shot out and barely missed. But I've been sitting here for so long. It must've absorbed the energy and shot it out. It seems to belong in this greenhouse more than I thought... though maybe I should get stronger glass."

— Gimmund

What this does not answer the question of is why they would be like this if the Thorasite itself is not alive. All studies have shown that Thorasite is, in fact, inorganic. How then, one may ask, would it absorb energy for a photosynthesis-like process. The best theory is that they are some form of matter that lies between organic and inorganic, which has been classified as Meloric for the Goddess of Nature, Papatūānuku.

Geography

Thorasite is found within the Dwarven mountains, where mining operations take place every so often to excavate it. These operations are often funded by the World Court, as most Dwarven mining companies have no use for the crystals themselves. Due to the secrecy of the existence of World Forged, no one knows exactly why the World Court wants Thorasite, with many believing it powers something in their base of operations, The Marshal.

The World Court by Jarhed

In the time since the Dwarves have distanced themselves from the World Court, Thorasite mining has stopped almost enitrely. The White Wolves Squad of the Dwarven Army has kept mining it occasionally, but they prioritize it so little that they get maybe six crystals per year as opposed to the World Court's previous twenty.
The Dwarves have a hatred for the World Court that has kept the World Court's hands off of Thorasite. One can look to Gimmund's journal for this, as he speaks of a time when the World Court not only offered to take all of his Thorasite for no compensation, but also ordered him to get them more:

"The nerve of those... Judges! Bastards think I'll just give up my own damn Thorasite. Do they know how hard it was to get this stuff? Sure they do... that's why they asked me to get them some more. I'm not some little lapdog, I barely even want to go through the trouble of getting more for myself, those mountains are so damn treacherous, but if I didn't, well... I wouldn't be able to study it! And then I'd be out of a job."

— Gimmund

Thorasite Throughout History

Thorasite has a small role in history, as for much of time it has been viewed as a curiosity, but nothing of great importance. Most races outside of Dwarves, Elves, and Draconians are unaware of its existence even.

Discovery

Thorasite is said to have first been found by accident, when Dwarves were tunneling into a mountain to build one of their first mountainside cities. As the first pickaxe struck Thorasite, the sun shone brightly on the large crystal. Not a moment later, a laser had shot through the head of the first Dwarf to lay eyes on Thorasite.
Since then, Dwarven mining operations have had to be very careful about their exposure to sunlight, often placing large tarps over the area that is being mined out.

The Backfire

It was also this discovery that led a Dwarven blacksmith named Hordir to attempt to make a weapon wielding a piece of Thorasite. A hammer was made with various assorted metals, though the material was hardly important. What was important was that at the center of the hammer, a shard of Thorasite was embedded to power up the axe.
When Hordir entered the battlefield in the next war, he showed the weapon he had been hiding. The Thorasite powered Hammer. He had not tested it, saving it for this very moment. He knew it would be the greatest weapon he could possibly wield.
And as he held it up, it charged in the sun. The soldiers on the opposite side of the battlefield watched in fear and confusion as he swung the hammer, and a laser shot out. Right into his heart.
The hammer was picked up and wrapped in a tarp so it could not be exposed to the sun again. It was hung in Castle Ironforge, where the Dwarven King lives in the capital city, alongside many other pieces of weapons and armor, and had a name carved onto it. All good weapons need a name, but so do the bad ones. Thus it was named "The Backfire."

The Almighty Clock

A story exists of the Dwarven village Ebreichzell, and a clock. At the center of this clock was a Thorasite crystal. The clock was fashioned in a way that the sun would always hit the Thorasite, and the laser would shoot out in the direction on the clock that indicated the specific hour.
It was a tourist attraction, but now is under heavy guard as one person tried to steal the Thorasite and, when it was taken out of its apperatus, a laser mowed through a crowd and the casualties were too numerous to count.

The Mad Draconian

In the year 403, a Draconian who was known as Tanosh collected more Thorasite than anyone had previously thought possible. He had also fashioned, with his knowledge of smithing, an apperatus with which he could harness the power of these crystals, where they would never be pointed at him. Any shots that went towards him were blocked by the metal of the apperatus.
His exact motives were unknown, but history remembers him as a madman who sought destruction. A group of debt collectors sought him out to collect money from him, and it is believed that only one lived to tell the tale. Some dispute whether he actually lived, as Tanosh has since vanished off of Totania, and little seems to have actually been destroyed, but the tale of those debt collectors warns that all should beware the might of Thorasite. With it, the maddest of men can destroy anything in their path.