Shardisite

“It fuels machines, mutates the flesh, and fractures the soul.”

Shardisite is the rare and volatile crystalline mineral left behind by the The Meteor event that struck Earth on January 18th, 1886. It glows with a faint green light, pulses with raw arcane power, and has shaped every age since its arrival. Found in veins beneath the Earth and fragments around the rim of the Sea of Ghosts, Shardisite transformed the very nature of reality.

Once a mystery, it is now the world’s most coveted resource, capable of powering spells, mutating life, and bending the laws of nature.

Shardisite is a pale-green crystal with a luminous internal glow. Its jagged structure resembles Jade, though its magical potency increases exponentially with size. A sliver can heat a forge. A boulder can rewrite the stars.

In raw form, Shardisite is highly dangerous, radiating magical energy capable of mutating flesh, minds, and even memories. In refined form, it is cut into gemstone-grade fragments and sealed with arcane containment runes to allow safe handling and transport.

Dust-grade Shardisite is weaker but easier to control, unless inhaled, in which case it becomes a death sentence or something stranger.

Viroc Industries pioneered the principles of Shardisite refining and transportation during The Age of Nations, but each refining concern uses its own proprietary containment rituals.

Shardisite is the foundation of enchantment and high-level spellcasting in the modern world. Its presence amplifies magic, allows the permanent imbuement of spells into objects, and fuels arcane machinery.

Its power scales not only with quantity and purity, but with belief. Shardisite is a physical anchor for willpower itself.

“One person can shape a flame. A group can forge a weapon. A nation can bend the world.”

Common applications include:

• Powering airships, engines, and other arcanotech
• Forging enchanted weapons and artifacts
• Fueling divine or infernal rituals
• Enabling world-altering spells and magical cities

The Merethic Scale is the standard system for weighing, grading, and pricing Shardisite across most civilized regions of the modern era. Adopted in 982 A.M. by a conglomerate of mining ventures operating around the Sea of Ghosts, it formalized Shardisite handling after centuries of lethal refining accidents and replaced all sorts of inconsistent local measures.

At its core, the scale measures refined Shardisite by weight, whether powdered or processed into chips, shards, stones, hearts, and coronas. One shard (1 MU) equals approximately five grams of refined crystal. Successive tiers increase by powers of ten, each retaining a widely used colloquial name among miners, merchants, and mages.

Raw Shardisite ore is traded by estimated equivalent processed weight once refined.

In the aftermath of the meteor impact, the Earth changed overnight. New creatures roamed the land. Mutated humans formed the earliest non-human races. Arcane storms swept across the globe.

For centuries, Shardisite was feared, hoarded, and fought over. Industrial empires rose and fell around its excavation. The Sea of Ghosts once held the richest veins in the world, now stripped bare, leaving behind toxic ruins and haunted wreckage.

In 500 A.M., a global cabal of wizards published a unified body of arcane theory, codifying the nature and use of Shardisite. This act triggered the magical renaissance and reshaped civilization. Today, Shardisite is taxed, traded, refined, and weaponized by nation-states and private interests alike.

Countries have gone to war over ounces.

The following world-altering events involved or were enabled by Shardisite:

• 21 A.M. - The evangelical rapture: In Salt Lake City, tens of thousands of faithful gathered around a 1.5-ton meteor shard and cast a world-shaking spell to bring all of “God’s children” into the arms of their Father. Millions vanished. Christianity collapsed.

• 666 A.M. - The naming of Nekoda: A young Lemurian poet, broken by the post-apocalypse, gave a name to his suffering. That name, Nekoda, manifested into reality as a demon. Thus began the emergence of the Legion.

• 941 A.M. – The first angelic being is manifested: A power-hungry cult known as the Verdant Light manifested the first dragon and as an unintended consequence they birthed the first angel. Thus began the emergence of the Choir.

• 1010 A.M. - The banishment of Tristessa: A sorrow demon of immense power was exiled through arcane means, leaving scars upon the world and birthing religious upheaval.

• 1501 A.M. - The Raising of The Dreadfort: Using massive quantities of Shardisite, a corporate alliance lifted Mauna Loa into the sky to protect their monopoly on a magical airship fuel called Hydrogas. It remains the only floating mountain in the world.

Shardisite emits a faint green light, even when embedded in rock. It sings softly to those sensitive to magic, and its presence can be felt like a migraine by the untrained.

Safe handling requires:

• Arcane containment runes
• Lead-lined boxes or sigil-inscribed containers
• Distance and limited exposure

Those who ignore containment often end up changed, or no longer human.

• Some believe the original meteor’s heart still lies beneath the Sea of Ghosts, untouched and pulsing with primordial power.
• Others speak of ancient vaults filled with Shardisite, hidden in the ruins of forgotten cities.