Irinai

Irinai at a Glance
	Material Type	Gems
	Colors	Translucent, White, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Red
	Innate Qualities	Glowing
	Rarity	Auction-Tier
	Cultural Relevance	Kaldar
	Required for Alterations	Yes

Irinai is a slightly to moderately translucent stone best described as a mixture of icy and fiery hues, with an iridescent sheen across the surface. The predominant color is invariably a shade of milky white to palest blue, presenting with intermingled streaks of brilliant reds, oranges, and/or yellows throughout the pale gem. When the color is contained deeply enough within the stone, it luminesces from within, as if a fire were trapped deep beneath layers of ice. In this latter case, it is often cut in cabochon to best display the glow, which emits a faint light and is sometimes found to pulse or flicker.

Extraordinarily rare and costly, this stone is found only at the highest elevations and in areas with a planar weakness to the Plane of Fire, which allows some rules from that plane to bleed into the Abiding.

Background

The Kaldar first found this stone in the caverns of their most formidable Albarian mountain. It was said to be discovered by a warrior on her first quest to prove her worth -- for conquering a mountain climb in the bitter cold was a true test of strength in the face of Misiumos's power. She sheltered in an icy cave near the summit. When she lit her fire, saw that an entire wall of ice appeared to erupt in color, brilliant hues streaked across the surface as if veins of fire were snaking through the depths of the ice. She brought back a piece of the wall as proof of her journey, declaring that it proved the fire within her still burned in the face of adversity, and the stone became a symbol of inner strength, spirit, and force of will.

Among several tribes who lived near the mountain, proving oneself always involved journeying alone to the peak to obtain a single stone, and they were always kept close afterward, sometimes carved or set into magnificent amulets. Often the carvings would be particular to the warrior and his or her personal tastes, but the more devout would sometimes include themes related to Misiumos and Merion, the goddesses of ice and fire, respectively. Later, some would convert to the Thirteen and replace these with Eluned and Hav'roth. Many saw the stone not only as a symbol of strength but also as capturing the idea of balance, the cycles of the seasons and of life. Although anyone could find such various meanings in the stone, and it is thus valuable to all Kaldar, it tends to have special significance for Barbarians and those elementalists who recognize its connection to fire, even interesting those who are not Kaldar.

After the journey to Kermoria, the Kaldar were saddened at the loss of this piece of their culture. However, an intrepid Kaldaran Bard interested in the gem managed to acquire a piece brought from Albaria, and it's said she meditated over it for weeks. Although she never shared whether she learned anything from the practice, a few months later she returned from the Himineldar Shel with news that she'd found a source. After deep negotiations with the local Dwarves, the Kaldar obtained permission to mine the mountaintop, and they now have access again to a small quantity of the precious gem. Although the Dwarves did not give permission to quest to the location, the Kaldar will occasionally provide the gem to those they believe have proven their worth.

Alteration Rules

This material is required for alterations.

Items

Item	Source is	Rarity is
Ghost-white wand with a grip wrapped in enaada	Guildfest 445/Auction	auction
Rimewolf-shaped quiver set with a magnificent Imperial weave and irinai icon	Droughtman's Challenge 437/Raffle	auction
Translucent irinai stone pendant suspended from a star-kissed kertig chain	Hollow Eve Festival 450/Auction	auction

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