Crystalized Mana
Crystalized Mana
Crystalized Mana consists of deep blue, semi-transparent crystals that are primarily mined from the deeper levels of the Dungeon.
Mana usually behaves like an invisible, odorless gas that has the ability to seep into solid objects given enough time. However, deep beneath the earth, where concentrations of mana are incredibly dense and accompanied by other environmental pressures, mana crystalizes and assumes solid form. Though usually blue, it also comes in other colors, with no functional difference between them.
Crystalized mana defies many of the properties usually associated with mana. It has weight and acts like a solid object, but if it’s ground into small enough pieces it will vaporize and turn into ambient mana. Pure crystalized mana will evaporate into nothing when broken up, with no residue left behind (though most naturally mined crystalized mana isn't 100% pure).
Properties
- Stable Energy: These crystals serve as the primary source of stable, portable mana in the modern world. They are used as "batteries" for industrial machinery, trains, and sophisticated magical defensive lattices. While spell formula can make mana batteries, they cannot match the density of crystalized mana and are prone to exploding if damaged.
- Safety: If a crystal is physically broken, it does not explode. Instead, its mana structure harmlessly evaporates back into the ambient mana of the environment.
- Consumption: Using the mana stored in a crystal slowly depletes its energy until it becomes a mundane, inert stone or evaporates entirely, depending on the purity.
Economic Significance
The conditions under which crystalized mana is created are not currently understood by humanity and cannot be replicated. It must be mined from the ground, usually in dangerous conditions of the Dungeon, making it an expensive commodity. Finding deposits that are accessible from the surface to be commercially mined is rare.
The discovery and efficient mining of Crystalized Mana is the primary driver behind the Technological Revolution in Eldemar and other nations. It has made large-scale magical automation possible for the first time in history.