Enchanted Jewellery

[ttlanhil]

A History of Enchanted Jewellery

 

Many people use enchanted jewellery, indeed, many warriors may owe their lives to the use of a disengagement or damage ring; yet few people today know the history of these enchantments.

 

Today, ritualized instructions allow people without extensive research in the magical arts to enchant jewellery, with the greatest danger being the loss of all ingredients in a puff of smoke; such was not the same for the pioneers of the craft.

 

On one particularly dark day, a number of leading researchers perished in an accident; an extract from the diary of a member of the research team follows:

22nd/3 Jomath believes we near a breakthrough. I fear he may be too incautious, more wary of Taleen's rebukes than the power we are working with. Once again we clashed, I have seen far too often what happens to a mage unrespectful of his powers.

23rd/3 Taleen visited the laboratories again today, insisting that we all were living off of academic grants, and demanding results. Jomath, again, avoided confrontation, but told Taleen that a demonstration would be arranged several days hence. I later argued with Jomath that we were unready, Jomath insisted we had enough for a demonstration.

25th/3 The research team, alchemists, and jewellery makers have all missed the sleep of the night past, a ruby thought to be damaged was somehow triggered into releasing a beam of magical energy, injuring a passing apprentice. Excitement of this success spurred great scrutiny of the ruby in question. Since the release of magical energy damaged the ruby, copies needed making through the recorded methods as before.

26th/3 Another breakthrough, of a sorts, was achieved this day. A large sapphire heated to high temperature and quickly cooled was found to have the ability to suspend a person for several seconds. No injury to the person held was found, but the value of this discovery was generally lowly regarded. Nonetheless, a number were made, and several apprentices had great fun in freezing one another, and run away before the effects wore off. There may be some use for this found at a later date, but the magical damage of the treated rubies remains our focus. The demonstation is due post tomorrow.

02nd/4 Disaster has befallen us! during the demonstration, something went wrong, and a large explosion killed most of the team, as well as many who had come as witness. I have been spending much of my time helping the healers, but my skills in the healing magics are limited. I am told that help from outside shall not come soon, no door or window can be opened.

03rd/4 Between assisting the injured, I have had time to puzzle over what occured. I beleive that several of the stasis sapphires (as someone has called them) were mixed with the rubies. I suspect that these gems also may affect one another, and the effects of the rubies were held in time by a sapphire, until its capacity was exhausted, and the magics of several dozen rubies, magnified in sapphire, were released. Had i not been returning from fetching some equipment, i should not be here to write of what has befallen us. Another oddity has come to my ear, the time of day in the yards, as can be seen from the windows, seems to be unchanging. As impossible as it seems, i must investigate, I am one of the few people of academic or magical ability left.

04th/4 With the injured largely tended to, I have set to trying to find why none could gain exit. I could find no reason that the doors or windows should be held, but returned with another observation, nothing seen out the windows was moving, no wind through the trees, no animals or birds in the yard. As reported, the sun seems unmoving, yet i find no reason why.

05th/5 After sitting at a window in contemplation for an hour, i find my previous record inaccurate, in a frightening manner. The leaves of the trees and bushes are not devoid of the movement from wind, however the motion is greatly suppressed. I fear that the explosion may not have done only physical damage, but temporal as well.

06th/5 I can only find yesterdays's supposition to be supported, i found a sundial and moved it to a window in the morning, and come evening it had shown a slight change in time. By the time(which has become confusing, thinking of time within and without) any on the outside find cause for alarm, we shall be without food or water.

 

More entries did follow, for 10 days, but they increasingly showed fear at the fate of those surviving, without giving anymore in terms of information.

Eventually help from the outside did come, and the timespeed difference was fixed by a number of powerful mages (although this took them much time to research, nothing similar had ever been heard of before).

Records indicate that the state within the building suggests many years passed within the building, to the weeks on the outside.

 

It is unknown who the writer of this diary was, it was found in a common living area, and the covers too stained to recover any indication of ownership.

Jomath was a well known (in academic and magic circles) researcher, and head of the research team.

All references to 'Taleen' seem to indicate he or she held an academic or administrative position, and was impatient for research in permanent enchantments to bear marketable results.

 

All research into new magical applications was suspended until investigations were completed. Eventually this ban was lifted, but all research had new restrictions and safeguards in place.

Research into enchanting was banned for many years, but eventually allowed once more, and the preserved research documents very valuable in remaking rings that can damage, or hold someone in time. The use of a circular device of gold or silver, depending upon the application, was found to be of remarkable safety, though as yet no-one knows why. This is why today all enchantment is upon rings and circular medallions.

Medallions are used for enchantments that work within or upon the body of the wearer, being near the core of the body; while rings are used for magics that work outside of the body.

 

The discoveries of enchantments that enhanced the body were come across without the disasters during research into the magics of enchantments that worked upon another person.

To date, four such enchantments have reached the stage where they are ritualized to safety for production, using gold and silver inserts, rubies, and sapphires.

A medallion that boosts the abilities of a person to react and dodge is based upon inscriptions in a silver insert, set into a silver medallion.

Another medallion, based upon inscriptions on gold medallions, boosts a persons' ability to strike at a target.

Using a ruby in a silver medallion with the right enchantment can boost the striking power of a wearer.

The fourth currently available medallion uses a sapphire on a silver medallion, and boosts a wearers' ability to strike at a target, and to withstand injuries.

 

This was the stage where enchantment research remained for many years, until a new discovery about the magic within the ground itself.

At a few locations across our continent, a strong magical convergence was discovered, the presence of these locations has been known about for longer than records will show, but little use had previously been found.

There was found a way to tap into the magical currents of the land, and the right use of gem and enchantment can create a trigger which allows a person to be moved, outside of space, to the location of the convergence.

Using such a ring, any person can instantaneously be moved to the location the ring is designed for.

 

In recent days, there has begun research into new areas of enchantment, including adding magic and elemental powers to weapons. There are, to date, a few prototypes of these weapons outside of the research laboratory, and any who may contemplate making their own are reminded of the disaster seen in the journal above.

When reliable and safe methods are found, the techniques are expected to be made public.

 

 

 

 

 

notes:

as much as possible, the diary part should be set in a different font and spaced appropriately as an insert.

Quinticus tells me that very little has been written about jewellery, hopefully there's no conflict in previous writings about magic either.

suggestions on refinement or further details welcome, such as a location for the research.

 

<ed>

changed the section on medallions to focus more specifically on currently available types, better future-proofed this way

Edited May 5, 2005 by ttlanhil

[Quinticus]

You entry has been noted. Thank you for participating. You have until May, 25 to do any revisions you see fit.

[Roja]

This is a good story, I like it I wanted to expand more on why/how jewelry is enchanted, and I think you did so nicely.

 

The only possible exception that might have to be revised is the properties of the metals:

based on applications on silver; one that increases the abilities to focus and hit a target, using gold, one that adds strength to the muscles, using ruby, and one that toughens the body against injury and increases focus, using sapphire

 

....I think you should leave that part out, at least until the new items/skills are finalized.

[ttlanhil]

The only possible exception that might have to be revised is the properties of the metals:

....I think you should leave that part out, at least until the new items/skills are finalized.

159343[/snapback]

 

Can do, that paragraph probably needs rewriting for clarity anyway... if the current items aren't changed, then more can just be added later, and just clean up the info on the current items.

 

before this is written up it'd really need to have a good research location, some sort of magical institute, probably, at the moment it's kinda of an odd point. whether that's something already written about, or a new place, i have no idea

 

<ed>

I rewrote the section on medallions, focusing strongly on the medallions currently available, less assumptions about the properties of metals and gems. If the current medallions remain unchanged, then new medallions can be written as a later 'chapter' and hold continiuity

Edited May 5, 2005 by ttlanhil

[Roja]

There will be Jewelry schools/workshops/research buildings

[ttlanhil]

There will be Jewelry schools/workshops/research buildings

159375[/snapback]

 

Cool.

You can pick whichever one most appropriate and available in the past to fill int he name of the place, doesn't make much difference to me

[ttlanhil]

converted with spelling fixes