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Jades
Several varieties of jade are known to possess innate magical properties. A few of the more prominent types are summarized below.
Jade of the Restful Spirits
A pale, nearly white variety of jade taken from river deltas in Anyanu Province east of the Quiet Hills, "ghost jade" or "Jade of the Restful Spirits" is prized by the Ihoshi and Xianxi for use as burial ornaments. Skilled carvers craft dragons, kingfishers, and Eternal Wheels from large nodes. These are used as protective talismans on family tombs and communal burial grounds, where they are said to prevent the dead from rising and also protect against outside undead who might feed upon the buried corpses. Older pieces are greatly prized as family heirlooms, and the loss of one is considered a great blow, for without it the ghosts of one's ancestors cannot rest easy.
Snake Jade
Snake jade is a highly translucent form of the stone, ranging in color from bright apple-green to deep emerald, that can be found in the southern Spinning Winds, in small deposits scattered through the Quiet Hills, and reportedly in Nebaioth (although this rumor is subject to considerable doubt, given how little is known of that land).
It is most commonly crafted into bowls, exquisitely worked chalices, and spoons. Snake jade tarnishes to black when it comes into contact with poison, and for this reason is often used in royal households and other situations where the threat of assassination is dire. Spoons and ornamental dipping-sticks are preferred for individual use; the bowls and chalices are more often used when an imperial host wishes to reassure his guests that no treachery is afoot. Insisting upon being served from a snake jade bowl -- or, conversely, refusing to use one for certain guests -- can be deeply insulting to host or guest, respectively, and there have been killings in both Ihoshi and Ardashir over such slights.
Starstone
The rarest form of jade -- magical or otherwise -- is the glittering black jewel known as "starstone." This is a glossy black jade flecked with sparkling inclusions of silvery gold. It comes from the deep jungles far south of Aridoc, where it is also sometimes called "jaguar stone" for its purported resemblance to a black jaguar's eye.
Myriad legends surround starstone. The extreme rarity of the jewel makes it impossible to know which, if any, of these might be true. Counterfeit versions, some of which have been enchanted for superficial, showy effects, further cloud the issue. The most common tales, however, say that starstone is capable of granting prophetic dreams that convey great insights and guidance to souls in need, sometimes revealing dangers that they had never imagined. Similar tales claim that a person in possession of starstone will never be lost, literally or figuratively.
Sunfeather Jade
The brilliant, varicolored type known as "sunfeather" or "kingfisher" jade is found only in the shallows of the River of Dawn as it flows into the Sunrise Sea east of Meditra. Sunfeather jade is rippled with gold and green, as if strands of the two colors had been twisted around one another and molten into a single stone. It is ordinarily found in oblong nodes ranging from the size of a man's fist to that of his forearm.
Sunfeather jade is sacred to the local Phaeran and Celestian sects, both of whom claim it is imbued with the power of their goddess. Ceremonial knives made of sunfeather jade -- which are ornately carved in some traditions, polished to streamlined simplicity in others -- are famed for their ability to gather sunlight and convert it to magical energy usable by dedicants in either faith. Such knives are treasured as holy relics and seldom leave the places of their origin.
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