View source for Curios and Oddities of Evermore Hollow

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''Release Notes:  Created by GM Sindin, Xynwen, and Thandiwe and released on October 1, 2023''<br>

== Curios and Oddities of Evermore Hollow ==

Discovered by adventurers of Elanthia, Evermore Hollow is filled with a bevy of oddities and curios, mystical creatures and whimsical plants.  Here is just a small collection of those things found there.

'''Sirenglass'''<br>

<section begin=sirenglass />Sirenglass is a style of artisanal glass unique to Naidem.  Imbued with the emotions of the dead who torment this realm between life and death, it allows those who wield it to access those emotions, and better express themselves.

Sirenglass traces its origin to deceased glassmakers condemned to Naidem, who returned to their mortal trade as they regained memories of their now-past lives.  They found their fellow denizens' clouded memories of their lost lives seeping into their kilns and forges at certain hours of the night, yielding a glass that channels those very feelings into whoever wields it.  

While at first yielding little more than an emotional scrapbook in glass form, with time and discipline, Naidem's glassmakers have been able to hone sirenglass to allow any who wield it to better access and express their own emotions, whether joyfully, reservedly, or coldly.  

To be wielded properly, sirenglass requires a simple gesture of bonding with its owner, which can be easily undone.  Sirenglass can accept any decorative technique, but uniquely, under the perpetual moonlight of Naidem, spectral occlusions can appear within it, drifting and winking out of existence like souls of the dead escaping their torment.<section end=sirenglass />

== Tidings of the [[Rusalkan]] ==

<section begin=rusalkan />Just a few short months after the sinking of Caligos Isle, rumors began surfacing of a new metal washing ashore on hard-to-reach beaches, but before anyone could touch this unusual, sea-gifted material, it shimmered and disappeared, leaving behind, for the briefest of moments, a wisp of a drowned maid or young man shrieking in a blending described as abject terror and incalculable anger.

Unbeknownst to the living world, this metal was reappearing in Naidem. For the last two years, skilled residents have been gathering it, studying it, and perfecting it. While still volatile, especially in its unworked form, rusalkoren is ready to be shown to the visitors and infiltrators of Naidem that appear during the month of Jastatos.

Featuring misty-like swirls of azure across an inky black surface, this metal is suitable for weapons and armor, but it has been known to lash out at any and all around it.

These same skilled artisans have also managed to meld this volatile metal with leather. Using an ancient technique once thought lost to time, the metal is heated until it is at its purest liquid form, then infused into salt water-softened leather before being crafted into whatever armor is needed. This new material, a hybrid of rusalkoren and leather, has been named rusalkysk.

Weavers, not to be left out, worked hard with alchemists, forgers, and mages to pull rusalkoren into a thin, threaded material able to be woven into protective robes. They call their creation rusalkita.  And for those who wish merely to enjoy the beautiful look of the azure-swirled, tenebrous material, they crafted rusylka -- a silk-like material without any special (or terrifying) properties that is suitable for clothing.  Rusylka cannot hold a dye, but the beauty of it is in its natural coloring -- mist-like swirls of azure across inky black, just like rusalkoren.

Collectively, rusalkoren, rusalkysk, rusalkita, and rusylka are categorized as "rusalkan," which is also the term given to the original metal prior to its being worked into any of its final useable forms.<section end=rusalkan />

== Naiquard and Auroralaen ==

Early seamstresses to Naidem attempted desperately to remember materials that they loved in life.  However, as happens in the early days of arriving in the realm of the Unliving, the memories were hazy and the landscape changed things.  What became of those memories entwined and blurred, causing some of their favorite aspects to be blended together in unique fabrics all their own.

<section begin=auroralaen />'''Auroralaen''' is as light as chainsil and as comfortable as silk.  Soft and smoothly woven, the fabric is airy and breathable.  However, it does not take to the dyeing process at all and instead maintains the pattern and semblance of the skies of Naidem.  Indeed, the aurora-kissed fabric can even be different depending on where in Naidem it was produced.  If the weaver was from the Winterbriar neighborhoods, then the fabric could have more of the cool cerulean and teal hues, while if they were from the Orchard it could have more fuchsia, violet, or coral hues.<section end=auroralaen />

<section begin=naiquard />'''Naiquard''' has all the luxury and grace of silk jacquard with all the iridescence of pearl organza.  Light and silky, it too is patterned in aurora hues, though these are named by type.  Naiquard is often heavily embroidered in singular metallic designs, allowing the swirling hues of the fabric to be elegantly enhanced by the glittering threads.

'''Sunset naiquard''' - gradients that transition from dark cocoa brown to dark violet to terra cotta orange and finally ending in a warm apricot hue.<br>
'''Sunrise naiquard''' - gradients that transition from dark mauve to dark lavender to light plum to light orange and finally canary yellow.<br>
'''Orchard naiquard''' - gradients that transition from dark pewter to aubergine to dusky violet to blue-green and finally light pistachio green.<br>
'''River naiquard''' - gradients that transition from dark antique blue to dark grey-green to medium teal green and finally luminous teal.<section end=naiquard />

== Levielthar ==
<section begin=levielthar />In the glades of Naidem, where the Bittermere trees rise with limbs so vast their crowns vanish into the auroral haze, it is said that every fall of a branch marks an omen.  When such a limb breaks and drops to the earth, no hand gathers it, for both caoineag and gille dubh know that it must lie where it has fallen.  Seasons pass, yet the wood does not rot.  Instead, the nebula skies pour their shifting light upon it, leeching away the color until all its living hues are drawn forth.  What remains is a pale vessel, hollow of beauty, yet heavy with hidden fire.

Only those branches that rest through uncounted years of such transformation undergo what the people of Naidem call Leviel'tharne, the "Release-Burning."  In this long, natural curing, the skies inscribe their violet, cyan, coral, and azure energies into the marrow of the wood, though no outward mark betrays the change.  When at last the caoineag or gille dubh takes it up, they do not cut nor carve, but shape it by their ancient craft.  From this shaping comes Levielthar, a wood said to scour the curse of vampirism, striking with a flare not of earthly fire but of pale aurora light, as though the skies themselves had chosen to release the afflicted.<section end=levielthar />

== OOC Information/Notes ==

* Sirenglass - Sirenglass items can remain "sirenglass" as the noun, or be altered into anything as long as they remain small, decorative, and wearable.  For their initial release, they will only work with runestaffs, though the intention is to expand this to other items down the line.
* Rusalkan - All of the materials in this line require alter fodder.  Only an Unliving merchant can create them, but any merchant can use the fodder.
* Auroralaen - Requires alter fodder.
* Naiquard - Requires alter fodder.

== Creation Notes ==

* Sirenglass, created by GM Sindin
* Ruslkan, created by GM Xynwen
* Auroralaen & Naiquard, created by GM Thandiwe
* Levielthar, created by GM Thandiwe

[[Category:Evermore Hollow]]
[[Category:Ebon_Gate_Festival]]