THE LORE OF GLORANTHAN GEMS AND NEAR-GEMS Copyright � 1992 Martin R. Crim INTRODUCTION Most sages try to ignore the thorny riddle of gloranthan gem lore. They complain that the lore is complex and inconsistent. The well-known system of runes and myths does not explain gems' traits or runic links. In fact, the Godlearners gave up the search for a unified theory of gems, according to one legend. The many problems baffled them. Two gems that look the same can have different traits and runic links. Gods who are linked in myth often hold very different gems sacred. Gods with nothing in common hold the same gem sacred. (Jet is a good example, being holy to both Al- drya and Zorak Zoran.) Worse than that, local myths differ widely in explaining the origin of a gem. CLASSIFICATION Despite the difficulties, one can organize gem lore according to natural groups. Each magical detect spell works on some stones and not on others. (By detect spell, we mean the spirit magic Detect, the divine magic Find, and the sorcerous Sense.) Sages in different parts of the world can group gems the same way by applying logic and a variety of detect spells. They find that local gem traders apply single terms to gems from more than one magical group. Early steps in magical research show that the natural group, not the local term, fixes a gem's magical traits. These findings sound like Godlearner teaching to many people, so the finding has not gone far. Confusion reigns in sorting gems in most parts of the world today. There are many detect spells for gems and other stones, and no one but Zzabur has a complete list. For each of the gems below, there is a detect spell that detects it but no other gems on the list. Organic material must be dead to trigger the perception spell. Although most of the names parallel Earth gems, Glorantha's gems are not identical to Earth's. For many gems, detect spells exist only in one or two of the systems of magic (spirit, divine, and sorcerous). As a rule of thumb, if there is a Sense (substance) for a gem, there are also Animate (substance) and Form/Set (substance) spells for it. Even the word "gem" confuses many. The Teshnans mislead the rest of the world by applying their term for gem to coral, pearl, and ivory. Ordinary folk and even many sages believe that those gems come from Teshnan mines. Pedants quibble that coral, pearl, ivory, and jet are not gems, because the dwarfs do not consider them to be minerals. Added confusion comes from classifying truestones with the gems that most closely resemble them. Spells that affect non-truestone gems do not affect similar truestone. The truestone will not trigger Detect/Find/Sense, Animate will not animate it, and Form/Set will not mold it. This document uses the word "gem" to refer to things that one group of people or another considers highly valuable and pretty. It applies the term "near-gem" to any hard valuable substance that has some of the traits of gems, such as being pretty, magical, or valuable. "Near-gems" include amber, bezoar, coral, echostone, glass, ironstone, ivory, jet, jewelflor, and pearl. Both terms leave out many hard things used in decora- tions, such as sea shells, tortoise shell, and rhino horn. MAGICAL GEMS Many gems have magical power. The so-called crystals are gems of various colors. Most "dead crystals" have no link to a religion or a rune. Living crystals usually belong to a god, however, and the popular name notes this. By gazing deep into a living crystal, one can learn its nature. A living crystal has an unmistakable inner fire that charms the eye and the mind. "Attuning" a gem is actually a means of learning, in which one comes near to the divine. Gems that lack divine qualities may still have magical powers. Some stones make spells easier to cast. Many gems bear the mystical stamp of a rune or cult (see below). IDENTIFYING GEMS Many of the gems below resemble one another. They also may resemble non-precious stones. Identifying a gem requires a successful use of Mineral Lore. Anyone green at identification (25% or less, but above base skill plus bonus) knows the colors of the best-known stones (Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire). He or she knows the color correlation table, below, and the sacred stones of his or her cult. He or she knows that there are many fake gems, and that there are ways of testing gems. Anyone intermediate in identification (26%-50%) can test gems using the scratch test. This can narrow down the possibilities and allow the identifier to make an educated guess. The scratch test can distinguish glass from other minerals, if done right. Anyone veteran in identification (51-75%) can identify the gems on this list with a successful roll. He or she can uncover fakes on a successful roll, modified for the cleverness of the forgery. Any expert in identification (76%+) can accurately grade and value gemstones. He or she has most of the information in this article (the major exception being the notes on Grow Stone). An expert can tell where a gem came from if he or she succeeds in another skill roll, with a modifier for how well he or she knows the gem and region. GEMCUTTING Faceted gems are rare in Glorantha. The most common way to prepare gems is to smooth off the rough edges and polish the surfaces. This yields irregular gems with very little brilliance. The next most common method is to cut gems en cabochon. That method creates a flat or rounded base and a rounded top. Teshnans mine and cut many of Glorantha's gems, often using the point cut and table cut. The former is merely a regular eight-sided solid, like a D8. The latter is a point cut with one point cut off. Some gemcutters in Seshnela now experiment with larger numbers of facets, working with Form/Set Quartz. Humans have a few ancient stones with many facets, cut in the time of legend. Crafters use soft gems for cameos, talismans, and seals. They sometimes carve letters or runes into hard gems. Crafters carve pictures and designs into the surface of a flat piece, using Craft (Gemcutting) or the proper Form/Set. The designs hold both religious and magical power. Spell-teachers weave spirit spell foci into their designs. Enchanters work the runes of enchantment into the designs they make. The designs themselves have magic power, especially when they build on the gem's sympathy for particular runes. ATTITUDES OF THE SENTIENT SPECIES Human attitudes about gems depend on cult and culture. Primitives view all shiny objects as magical, and especially revere any transparent stones. Nomads are more sophisticated than primitives, but often get fooled by traders. Barbarians have many folk beliefs about the magical qualities of gems. The notes on each gem below give these, without distinguishing the true from the false. Civilized peoples often have the same superstitions, but also view gems as very precious treasure. They have the attitude needed for wide-scale trading. Within culture types, individual cultures have different feelings toward gems. Malkioni link their castes to particular gems: Ruler--diamond, Wizard--ruby, Knight--sapphire, Farmer-- quartz, Woman--emerald. The Teshnans consider gems a particularly fun part of life, worth the tedium of mining and polishing--so long as there is time for fun every day. The elder races group gems in their own ways, quite different from human labels. Almost every species has an attitude toward gems different from all other species. Some elder races value a particular mineral, as Dragonewts prize obsidian. Some appreciate all shiny objects, as Windchildren and Beastmen do. Ducks and Morokanth value the same stones that humans value, for they are close to humans in outlook. However, Ducks value blue stones above all others, and Morokanth prize large gems. Broos and Scorpionmen never value gems except as magic items and traps for their victims. Jelmre do not mine, cut, or polish gems. They appreciate gifts of gems, however, especially ones that look like their missing emotions. The many kinds of Timinit see nothing of value in gems. The major elder races have attitudes that reflect their general points of view. Dwarfs group gems entirely by their physical traits, and cut them for specific uses. They often work in complete darkness, so prettiness is not important to orthodox Mostali. They do not group gems as gem-quality or not gem-quality. This is a rational custom in light of the way spells work. Their names for gems include poetry like "hardness 140,000 perfect cleavage isometric stone" (which humans call diamond). Dwarfs occasionally produce a beautiful gem, as incidental to a particular use. All castes use gems, but the Lead caste has a special relationship with glass and mirrors. (Of all orthodox Mostali, they come closest to having an aesthetic sense.) Rock caste gem-workers have several ways, including spells, to measure a mineral sample's traits and see what it is. Dwarfs trade gemstones to humans at certain places, include Bad Deal in the High Llama Pass and Gem- borg in the Holy Country. Most are rough, but some are cut and polished. Trolls group gems according to their sonic properties, which they examine with their Darksense (sonar). Like dwarves, trolls spend much of their time in complete darkness. Trolls value visual traits much less than sonic traits. Thus, they have a different grouping system from humans. Some terms match human ones, like jade and opal. Others are completely different. The term "warm-timbre rough-stone" refers to stones which humans put in more than one group, and it excludes stones which humans place in those same groups. Trolls prize some mundane stones which humans find plain and drab. Echostone is set forth in detail below. Deadstone mutes darksense, making it hard to "see." It is sacred to Zorak Zoran, whose cultists make maul- and mace-heads from it. Waterstone sends back echoes that "look" like a water surface. Hollowstone and squeakystone have the darksense traits suggested by their names. Brown and Green Elves enjoy all pretty stones, but only prize those intimately associated with plants. The most common of these are amber, grow stone, jet, jewelflor, and petrified wood. Yellow elves are similar in attitude, but grow almost all of their gems. They grow jewelflor, glass vine, gem orchid, sapphire violet, and some rarer varieties. Humans know nothing about Red, Blue, and Black Elf attitudes. Elves have three terms which they use to group all minerals. Noble, as a gem term, means unfathomable, powerful, and pure. Common, as a gem term, means ordinary, weak, and mixed. Profane, as a gem term, refers to made things. Within the common class, the elves classify minerals by their effect on plants growing in or near them. Thus, they talk about the veins and ores in which gems occur more than they talk about the gems themselves. Mermen prize coral, ivory, and pearls. They trade with surface dwellers for polished aquamarines, the only surface gem they honor. They link each gem to a caste: aquamarines with rulers, pearls with shamans, and coral with gatherers. The warriors' gem is ivory, which they take from narwhals and sea lions. MAGICAL CORRELATIONS Gloranthan stones roughly follow a color scheme linking them to the runes. The following table applies to gems and also to other stones. It is not complete, nor even adequate. It only indicates some links between runes and gems. Working the runes into the right gem often makes an enchant- ment easier to create or stronger when it is done. Light spells, in particular, work well with transparent gems. Hard gems make stasis spells stronger. Most gems have special links with one or more deities or spirits, or with particular runes. Where these do not follow from the color association, a myth explains the origin of the gem from the acts of the associated deity. Gods with the common divine spell of Find (substance) provide Find spells for all their sacred materials. See the list below, at the end. In addition to their sacred gems, many deities also hold certain gems blessed, but not divine. These are always less valuable stones. The Teshnans do not link particular gem types to individual gods. Teshnans present gifts of cut and polished stones to temples and temple-complexes. They base the gift on obscure dis- tinctions, which outsiders find inscrutable. Chaotic gems come in all colors. They may appear "wrong" in some way, or they may not. Some are so tainted with chaos that they infect those who handle them. Most just have an affinity for chaos. Chaotic enchanters prize both kinds. Associations Color Primary Secondary Black Darkness Death, Illusion, Dark Earth Blue Water Moon, Mastery, Fertility Brown Earth Fertility, Disorder Clear Magic Light, Ice, Infinity Gray Air Movement, Shadow, Undead Green Plant Earth, Harmony, Stasis Orange Spirit Air, Heat, Death Pink, Red Moon Illusion, Death Variegated Man Disorder, Trade, Luck Violet Beast Water, Fertility White Law Truth, Fate, Cold Yellow Sky Truth, Harmony [This is part 1 of 4; email me at Argrath if you want to see more.]