Eaglestone

Eaglestones are roughly spherical or oval rocks whose hollow interiors are lined with crystals. They are usually quite drab on the outside, their surfaces a dull dark grey to grey-green. If the rock is broken open, however, the inside reveals a dazzling encrustation of crystals, usually in shades of orange or red. Eaglestones are most common in Irzal, especially in the appropriately named Eaglestone Mountains, but may be discovered in certain parts of the Tin Chalun and Tin Xubariya ranges as well.

In the days of the Irzali Empire eaglestones were legally the property of the emperor and of the imperial or noble bloodlines of the land, and it was forbidden for the common folk of the land to possess one. In modern times the eaglestone is still a prized item, especially among Irzali, but they may be bought and sold as any other precious gem. Sometimes their crystals are extracted and used in jewelry, or the rock may be broken open in an attractive manner and sold otherwise intact. More rarely a large and flawless enough crystal can be shaped into a lens to make a very expensive atrasha for the use of wealthy Elestaarians or priests.

Folklore

Long ago it was said that eaglestones were the eggs of the huma bird, whose kind were known especially to reside in the heights of the Eaglestone Mountains. Rather than hatching by breaking out of their eggs, the young huma birds emerged as smoke through the tiniest fissures in the stone, coalescing in the form of a smoky-plumaged nestling. Though belief in this story is not so common as it once was, eaglestones are nevertheless still prized among Irzali not just for their beauty but for their connection to the great mystical bird of Irzal.