Queenstone

Queenstone at a Glance
	Material Type	Gems, Garnets
	Colors	Crimson, Gold
	Innate Qualities	Supernaturally warm
	Rarity	Quest-Only
	Cultural Relevance
	Required for Alterations	Yes

First introduced during Hollow Eve Festival 458. These are a type of anthill garnet.

Unlike broodstones, queenstones are always faintly warm to the touch, but their importance to the colony appears to extend beyond temperature regulation. Queenstones have an unusual affinity for the pheromones produced by Rissan cinder ants. In mature colonies that occupy several separate nests, workers expose these rare garnets to the queen until they become saturated with her scent, then carry them to satellite nests. There, the stones act as chemical proxies for the absent queen, slowly releasing her scent and helping maintain the satellite nest as part of the larger colony. As their scent fades, queenstones are eventually returned to the primary nest or exchanged for freshly saturated specimens.

Their appearance is also distinct from lesser anthill garnets. Queenstones are a dark, saturated crimson, with a molten-gold core that seems suspended deep within the crystal. Fine golden threads radiate outward through the red stone, brightening and dimming slowly without any apparent change in temperature. When turned in the light, the effect resembles molten metal showing through fissures in cooling volcanic glass.

It is unclear whether the queenstone’s perpetual warmth, unusual appearance, and affinity for the queen’s secretions arise from the same underlying property. Whatever the reason, colonies guard them closely, and queenstones are almost never found among the discarded material surrounding a mound.

Cultural Associations

Queenstones symbolize legitimate authority exercised at a distance, loyalty despite separation, and remembrance. Given to an envoy or agent, a queenstone serves as a token of delegated authority and continued connection to the person or institution they represent. Their association with remembrance also makes them suitable for mourning jewelry.

Common Description

Dark, saturated crimson surrounds a molten-gold glow at the heart of the crystal. Fine golden threads radiate outward like delicate fissures, slowly brightening and dimming like liquid metal stirring within the stone.

See Also

• anthill garnet
• cinderstone
• broodstone

Alteration Rules

This material is required for alterations.

Items

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