Grazhir

Grazhir is the now-destroyed fourth moon of Elanthia, formerly alongside Yavash, Xibar, and Katamba. It was of a pearlescent, silvery-white hue and said to be the smallest of the moons.

Mythology and the Cataclysm

Mythology has it that Grazhir was somehow the "egg" of the World Dragon, and that its hatching caused to moon to cataclysmically explode. The World Dragon then wreaked havoc upon Elanthia, but was eventually soothed by the goddess Peri'el, who continues to sing to it somewhere deep within the bowels of the earth in order to keep it pacified.

Another possibility that has been presented is some catastrophic celestial event - such as a meteorite strike - occurred which caused the moon to explode and collide with Elanthia, while simultaneously setting Katamba's surface or atmosphere on fire.

Whichever is true, the impact of the pieces of Grazhir on Elanthia was devastating. As the bulk of the shards landed in the ocean, massive tidal waves engulfed a great deal of the Kermorian and Albarian coastlines, utterly destroying the civilizations there. Its impact elsewhere was said to lead to fatal shockwaves, huge dust clouds and even volcanic eruptions.

Connections to Gemstone IV

The fact that Grazhir seems to exist in the game world of Gemstone IV has caused players to speculate the DragonRealms takes place in a time period that is the far future relative to Gemstone. Some locations and characteristics of both games' Elanthias parallel one another, but the world has been rearranged by several thousands of years of intervening history and at least one global near-apocalypse. In accordance with DragonRealms mythology, astronomers within Gemstone IV have noted that the moon appears oddly egg-shaped, and seems to be growing ever so slowly.

Grazhir's Legacy

The bulk of Grazhir fell to Elanthia when it exploded, a vast number of its pieces landing in the Reshal Sea between mainland Kermoria and the Qi archipelago, where they still lie. These Elanthia-bound pieces of Grazhir are still powerful enough to disrupt teleportational energy (making Teleport and Moongate more difficult to use on the islands) and possess the synergistic magical sympathy which makes Astral Travel possible. As a result, Grazhir shards are prized by Moon Mages as artifacts of incredible magical power.

Once in deference to their rarity and now to aid lesser-abled mages in entering and exiting the Astral Plane, the Naming Ritual is performed on each shard discovered by the Moon Mage guild and it is granted a unique name. Knowledge of this name and the unique pattern of sympathy it creates within the shard is necessary for most mages to use them to enter or exit the Astral Plane.

Aliaes

Name means "White Fire" in Gamgweth. Originally located on Taisgath, Aliaes once powered the Taisgath side of the Heritage House turtle. It was not recovered by the guild after the turtle was destroyed and its whereabouts are currently unknown.

Auilusi

Located behind the Peri'el Prayer Gate on Aesry, within a grove of birch trees designated as a shrine to Peri'el.

Appearance: While unusually large, this Grazhir shard has a rough finish and dim coloration that seems more grey than silvery-white. Auilusi sits at the apex of a slender, white birch pedestal situated in the center of the grove.

Conduit Description: The ground below heaves and roils with fluid waves, though it remains stable against your weight. Beams of hot, silver light cut through the region in a perfectly horizontal web of connections, seemingly unaffected by the waves. Each stream is mirrored in the sky above, as each grey star is connected to the others by sharply defined lines, creating a lattice of alien constellations that stretch to the horizon. You also see the silvery-white shard Auilusi.

Pillar: Pillar of Tradition

Asharshpar'i

Located in a hidden chamber in the catacombs beneath Oshu'ehhrsk Manor just south of Leth Deriel, which is Bonedancer Lasarhhtha's ancestral home.

Appearance: Though shaped like a jagged stake, the shard has a silvery-white sheen as if it were regularly polished.

Pillar: Pillar of the Heavens

Axis

The Grazhir shard known as Axis is the shard around which the Pillars rotate within the microcosm and is the largest whole piece of Grazhir known to exist. Its physical location on the Plane of Abiding is not currently known, though the Reshal Sea seems to be a likely location.

Besoge

Located on Mer'kresh in Caress-of-the-Moons Manor, the home of a wealthy Moon Mage.

Appearance: Besoge is tiny, even for a Grazhir shard, but almost spherical. Its surface has been polished so thoroughly that it looks like a pearl. Small, needle-like platinum pincers hold it a few inches above the top of a stained oak pedestal.

Conduit Description: Featureless greyness stretches in all directions, distinguishable from the Grey Expanse only by the sensation of earth below and an unrelenting cacophony. Voices cry out countless notes of anger and anguish: screams, feral growls and structureless wails all stepping over each other. Lines of power crisscross invisibly through the region, physically sensed only by radiant heat.

Pillar: Pillar of Secrets

Dinegavren

Name means "Low Moon" in Gamgweth. Located in the basement of Gealeranendae College in Therenborough, where it is used to power the turtle which links Therenborough to Throne City.

Appearance: Barely a finger's width in size, the silvery-white shard known as Dinegavren is shaped much like a crescent moon.

Pillar: Pillar of Introspection

Dor'na'torna

Named for the famous Skindancer Kir Dor'na'torna. Located within the crystal spire on the Arid Steppe.

Appearance: The shard known as Dor'na'torna is roughly the size of two Human thumbs put together. It stands in the center of the chamber, supported at the apex of a polished oak tripod.

Conduit Description: A desolate steppe of mist-grey grass stretches to the horizon under the cold light of Xibar. Though the air feels calm and the night sky is clear, the discolored grass whips and sways as though under assault by a storm. An intricate web of burning light runs across the steppe, its fierce beams in constant motion.

Pillar: Pillar of Tradition

Emalerje

Located in the Crystal Hand Fortress in the Lesser Fist of Heaven.

Appearance: An unusually large and smooth Grazhir shard, Emalerje is about the size and shape of a good skipping stone. The shard is held aloft by two crystal pincers on the apex of a thin steel column.

Pillar: Pillar of the Shrew

Erekinzil

Located at the top of the Moon Mage guildhall on Taisgath island. Formerly known as Undarverjah before it underwent a mysterious, spontaneous transformation when Auilisi, Besoge and Tabelrem underwent the Naming Ritual.

Appearance: The shard known as Erekinzil is little more than a silvery-white pebble. Its sides are so rough that rubbing the shard could abrade skin. The shard is held aloft by two crystal pincers on the apex of a thin steel column.

Conduit Description: A sandy expanse stretches out in every direction, littered with titanic, half-buried remains. Bones made out of black, glassy material stick out from the ground in distressed poses, left unceremoniously where the corpses fell. Arcs of burning silvery light discharge from one morbid pylon to the next, creating a crude maze of pathways. The Microcosm is visible in the azure sky, its conduits blazing with heat and, shaped as they are, reminiscent of a nova.

Former Conduit Description: Narrow caverns twist through barren grey rock without any apparent order. Wide puddles have accumulated on the ground, fed by icy water dripping from stalactites with clockwork regularity. Streams of silvery-white energy thread their way around the caverns, passing through the rock as though it wasn't there.

Pillar: Pillar of Fortune

Marendin

Name means "Outsider" in Gamgweth. Located within the Moon Mage guildhall at the top of the Great Tower of Shard.

Appearance: Roughly the size of a gold coin, the shard known as Marendin is nearly severed in half by a deep gouge. The shard is held aloft by two crystal pincers on the apex of a thin steel column.

Conduit Description: Giant geometric solids wrought from black metal float in a cold, steel-grey void. The metal islands are connected to each other by narrow bridges, creating a network of shapes that seems to go on forever in every direction. Interconnected streams of burning energy sway around the void, passing harmlessly through the islands.

Pillar: Pillar of Secrets

Mintais

Name means "Silver Sky" in Gamgweth. Located in Throne City, where it has long powered the turtle linked to Therenborough.

Appearance: Though shaped like a tiny jagged stake, the shard has a silvery-white sheen as if it were regularly polished.

Conduit Description: Broken and barren land stretches out beneath an impossibly large, bloated sun. Deep crevices slice through the ash-grey plain and jagged mountains rise to pierce the sky on the eastern horizon. Interwoven beams of silvery-white light dance across the blasted landscape and seem to extrude more heat than the bloated sun.

Pillar: Pillar of Fortune

Rolagi

Originally located in Throne City, Rolagi once powered the Throne side of the Heritage House turtle. Was recovered after the turtle was destroyed and is currently located in the Observatory of the Southern Crossbow in Crossing.

Appearance: Despite having a slightly dark coloration near one tip, the shard known as Rolagi is otherwise pristine and silvery-white. The shard is held aloft by two crystal pincers on the apex of a thin steel column.

Conduit Description: Thousands upon thousands of stars hang in darkness above, around and even below: the heavens unfurl completely around you, without any hint of ground or a horizon. An invisible plane of force seems to extend through the area, providing a sense of substance in place of solid earth. An intricate web of burning energy slowly swirls all around you and seems to touch the distant stars.

Pillar: Pillar of Nightmares

Tabelrem

Located at the top of the western tower of the Temple of the World Dragon in Muspar'i.

Appearance: The shard known as Tabelrem is a coral-like array of thin, silvery-white veins of rock. If it was a solid mass, it would be about the size of a Gnome's fist. Tabelrem sits embedded in a concave depression at the top of a short, wrought-iron pedestal.

Pillar: Pillar of Nightmares

Tamigen

Located in the Cragstone Vale within a Dragon Priest shrine to the World Dragon.

Appearance: Tamigen is made of a silvery-white rock. Places on its surface show a pearly luster, and on its larger end, a blackened scar remains from its fiery descent.

Pillar: Pillar of the Heavens

Taniendar

Located at the top of the Riverhaven Moon Mage guildhall spire.

Appearance: About the size of a Human's pinky, time and violent chipping have caused a row of gouges to appear along one side of the shard. The shard is held aloft by two crystal pincers on the apex of a thin steel column.

Conduit Description: Rainbow auroras slither across the sky, so vivid that they almost entirely obscure the pinpricks of starlight above them. Light reflects off the perfectly smooth ground like a giant mirror, causing the prismatic colors to twist and flicker everywhere. In contrast to this chaos of hues, sharply defined beams of silvery-white light cut through the landscape, untainted by the auroras and not reflected by the ground.

Pillar: Pillar of Introspection

Teloish

Name means "Sword Idea" in Gamgweth. Its precise location is unknown, but it is thought to occupy a space where the Plane of Abiding and the Plane of Probability overlap. This shard is protected by special wards which make the pattern of its name unlearnable.

Appearance: Jagged and roughly the size of a Human fingernail, the Grazhir shard Teloish levitates three feet off the ground with no obvious means of support.