Core Crystal

Core Crystals are abnormally pure, particularly large aether crystals. These crystals are probably the most valuable material in Sharum Mal'Kari due to their natural ability to store, channel and generate Akasha. Over the course of history, shards of Core Crystals have been utilized in a variety of ways-- usually as a power source, as an ingredient in a spell or ritual, or as a magical component in the crafting of an artifact.

While Core Crystals are a naturally occurring resource, once they have been depleted they can take hundreds of years (or more) to reform. If the artistry of generations long gone can be taken as fact, when left untouched, these crystals can grow to be larger than the size of modern buildings. These same ancient recordings have indicated that it used to be common for Core Crystals to be mined as soon as they were reformed, in order to replenish the expended shard supplies, but eventually it was discovered that a "core" of pure Akasha can form at the center of each Core Crystal; the larger and older the crystal, the larger and more potent its core. Therefore, it became important to instead allow the crystal's core to grow as large as possible, in order to maximize the amount of Akasha that could be harvested from them.

As a result, special artifacts known as Aether Cores were created.

Societies have concentrated around Core Crystals, both knowingly and unknowingly, since time immemorial. In Zarthura, the borders of most Provinces formed along Ley Lines of a Core Crystal's influence, and civil wars have erupted over attempts to shift the powers that control these all-important sites of power. The capital cities of related Provinces usually ended up being built near-- but not on top of-- Core Crystal mines. This is because the natural magic of the Core Crystals is inherently wild, unpredictable, and for some reason susceptible to emotions; it is a magic that enriches the surrounding area with potent magic which can just as easily improve the land's fertility as it can obliterate it, if influenced those with ill intent.