Cambrinth
Theory of Use
Cambrinth is a type of mineral that can hold various types of magical energy for a magic caster to use in the application of their spells. Though it is often more convenient to say that cambrinth stores mana, it is more precise to say that cambrinth stores the energy released from the manipulation of mana. This is the same energy that powers spells, and is generated from the tendency of the streams of mana to return to their natural state when manipulated by a mage. As the streams relax, energy is released in much the same way that a rubber band releases energy when it is stretched and released.
Cambrinth is utilized by harnessing mana and channeling it into the item, a process known as charging. Once the cambrinth has been fully charged, the caster must then focus on the item in order to form a link to it. If a caster cannot form a link with the cambrinth, he will be unable to utilize the energy stored within. Once cambrinth has been charged with a certain type of energy (e.g., life, elemental, holy, or lunar) it can only be charged with that type again or it will explode, which can cause serious damage to the caster. A Moon Mage who is skilled enough at enchanting can remove the type attunement of a cambrinth item, restoring the item to its natural, uncharged state. This process, known as retuning, requires a source for the sigil of the Phoenix be present, either through the Phoenix constellation being visible or through the use of a Sigil Scroll.
Necessity of Ambient Mana
While cambrinth can serve as a mobile source of energy in low-mana areas, a magic caster must be able to harness at least a small bit of mana in an area to construct the spell matrix with. In mana-bare areas, cambrinth will be unable to support your spells. Cambrinth cannot power a spell, they only add to the harness for a spell upon casting. For most magic users, this is noted in the form of a snapping sound, though for Bards mana seeps quietly and easily into the song structures.
Physical Description
Cambrinth is a grey-black mineral with reddish highlights.
- GM Iocanthe: This is a sort of rusty ashy-silver stuff. If you took silver and mixed it with ashes and them mashed up some rusty-red crayons on the surface so it was all mottled, that's about what cambrinth would look like. You can get it more reddish or more silverish, but those two colors are its "theme", and can't be gotten too far away from.
- GM Armifer: Cambrinth has been described numerous times as a naturally occurring mineral, which is a classification that it shares with a number of other materials; such as iron. Cambrinth is not a metal in the terms by which Elanthian metallurgy would understand the word: it is not shiny, it does not conduct electricity well, it is not refined or debased for use, and so on. However, cambrinth shares many properties with metal. It is dense, solid at room temperature, malleable enough to be worked (armbands and torques and hilts oh my), and arguably alloyable by some unknown technique (Y'Shai again). Cambrinth's chemical and atomic properties have never been explored and I am not inclined to start.
Forms
Pieces of cambrinth are typically set into an object that can sometimes be of quite intricate design; however, it is possible to find large lumps of cambrinth that have not been fashioned into jewelry. The main function for jeweling cambrinth is to provide portability and ease of use. Cambrinth jewelry, for the most part, takes on the form of rings, earrings, pendants and armbands. Other forms are in existence such as backpacks and pouches, but these are more rare. Objects such as figurines can also be found with cambrinth in them.
Capacity
The amount of energy a cambrinth item can hold seems to be directly related to its size and the size of the stone set in it. For example, a cambrinth armband (32) holds more energy than a cambrinth ring (4), and a cambrinth orb (108) holds even more. The amount of mana any given piece can hold has long thought to always be a multiple of 4, some items have been found to be a multiple of 5 ie. cambrinth belt pack, as well as other items from the same festival.
| Item | Capacity |
|---|---|
| orb | 108 |
| animal | 32 |
| armband | 32 |
| bracelet | 32 |
| tailband | 32 |
| cottage | 20 |
| pendant | 6 |
| hairpin | 4 |
| ring | 4 |
Syntax and Use
To use a cambrinth item, you must first CHARGE the cambrinth with the amount you wish to store in it.
>CHARGE MY ARMBAND 5
You harness a small amount of energy and attempt to channel it into your cambrinth armband.
The cambrinth armband absorbs all of the energy.
Roundtime: 5 seconds.
Then, you must FOCUS on the cambrinth item until you successfully establish a link to it.
>FOCUS MY ARMBAND
You focus your magical senses on a twisted cambrinth armband.
The cambrinth armband pulses faintly with Lunar energy. You reach for its center and forge a magical link to it, readying it for your use.
Roundtime: 5 seconds.
The next spell you cast will attempt to take the energy stored in the cambrinth from the item and utilize it in the spell pattern. If the amount you are preparing the spell at plus any mana you are holding in addition to the energy in the cambrinth exceeds the cap of the spell, not all of the energy in the cambrinth will be used and you may re-focus on the item to establish another link and use the rest in another spell.
The amount of energy from the mana you harness that is actually captured in the cambrinth goes up with skill, starting at roughly half and eventually reaching all at around 200 ranks. The base difficulty of a cambrinth item goes up with its capacity, with cambrinth rings (4) having automatic success even at 0 ranks and cambrinth orbs (108) being among the hardest to work with; the rule of thumb is that you will need Magical Devices skill ranks equal to the maximum capacity of the cambrinth to use it. The roundtime for charging a cambrinth item will also go down with skill to a minimum of 5. Approximately 120 ranks are needed to use cambrinth with only one free hand, and 180 is required to use a piece of worn cambrinth without taking it off. Note that these numbers may change based on stats.
Additionally, bards can specify how much mana they want to drain per pulse. You can do this with "FOCUS (OBJECT)(#MANA)" the formula on how high you can set this is based on your Magical Devices ranks, however if you try to "FOCUS (OBJECT) 100" and then "FOCUS (OBJECT)" you will be informed what your maximum is.