Existence Crystals

X Worldbuilders:

GM James R

"Those crystals are our life source. Those crystals are everything to a warforged." - Tuning Fork, It Came From Kiston

Existence Crystals (or Kiston Crystals) are a unique form of matter found only in the deepest crystal caves of Kiston.

About

The crystals have a natural glow in the The Crystal City from where they are harvested. However, when the crystals are broken off from the cavern walls, they lose their natural light abilities.

History

"Wild magic and existence crystals do not go well together. The Motherboard is now willing to do whatever they need to do to remove you from this cavern" - Cat-5 to Wild Magic Barbarian Plutarch

The Crystals are not fully understood, and are said to be remnants of a previous Universe or perhaps a mystical material with links to the Astral Plane. They have interesting interactions with unbound or wild magical fields.

Either way, the Crystals attracted many interested parties, including a young Chronepsis, who would take trips through time and space to visit the crystals in their ancient caves. Chronepsis would collect the crystals and eventually take some back to Cof, where their beauty would fuel many rumors and legends about their source.

Uses

Warforged

"The Dragons have a long history with these crystals...and we think that's what makes the Warforged invisible to them." - Dr. Thomas Tompion

The Warforged known as Snow was accidentally taken into the caves and abandoned by Chronepsis on one of her many time explorations. Upon being trapped in the caves, Snow would study and learn the power of the crystals, and would realize that they are the identical to the crystals that power his own life force. This bootstrap paradox would cause Snow to in turn study his own design and the crystals for many centuries, ultimately building the schematics for the Warforged race itself.

Without a crystal, Warforged lose their essence, much like a living creature losing their soul. It is theorized that the crystals may be a form of material Soul. Warforged believed that the crystals all had a connection to each other, and to the island of Kiston, and believed that if Kiston was locked again, they would all lose their connection and die. This was proven to be a very long lasting myth, as locking Kiston at the end of the PR era did not kill every warforged in the realm.

Improvised Explosives

It has been witnessed that Kiston Crystals placed under arcane stress (such as wild magic) or a powerful enough magical damage source (such as a fireball) can explode with a blinding energy, leaving a sizeable crater.