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Tavaline
Also known as "Athyria's Test" or "chastity crystals," tavaline is mined primarily from the salt basins near the Lake of Bones. It is a very old stone, and is mentioned in legends dating to before the Godslayer's War, although it has fallen out of favor in the centuries since and is now far less valuable than it once was.
New-mined tavaline is a translucent silvery white, similar to milky quartz. It is naturally found in double-ended briolette crystals ranging from the size of a pea to that of a small grape, and seldom needs cutting except when a smaller size is desired or the stone must be drilled so that it can be strung as a bead. A good-quality specimen typically fetches from 50 to 200 ss depending on size.
When worn by a virgin of either sex, tavaline retains its whiteness. When that virginity is lost, the stone deepens to a rich rose hue. The transformation is not irrevocable; the crystal changes color to suit its wearer. It was once the fashion in Ardashir for wealthy families to purchase betrothal rings of tavaline to ensure the prospective bride's purity, and as a more tasteful version of the peasant tradition of hanging nuptial bedsheets from the windows to demonstrate the wedding's consummation.
However, a series of scandals during the reign of Emperor Sabannos the Third caused this custom to fall into disfavor. Noble families marrying dishonored daughters found it difficult to avoid social censure; the Tharacian temple actively opposed the tradition as irreconcilable with their goddess' values; and several highly publicized instances showed that the stones were quite easily tricked by magic. One notorious wizard, to prove a point, had a street whore wear two tavaline rings while coupling with all comers for three days and nights -- and the stones stayed white all the while. After that demonstration, tavaline became hopelessly unfashionable, and its price plummeted to a fraction of what it had been.
Presently tavaline is bought primarily by collectors, scholars of magical oddities, and two diametrically opposed niche markets: devotees of Athyria, and brothel-owners and slavers advertising the purity of their wares.
The first market has created a small but steady demand for tavaline religious jewelry. Athyrian priests, paladins, and devotees sometimes purchase small devotional pieces of the crystal, either in its natural form or carved into tiny roses, which they wear as rings, prayer-beads or earrings. The pristine color of the stone serves as a reminder to themselves and a proof to outsiders that they observe the White Maiden's vow of chastity.
The second market buys primarily simple earrings on hoops of silver wire. Newly acquired bed-slaves, and very young prostitutes-in-training, have their ears pierced with tavaline earrings. The piercings are then allowed to heal over the wires, so that the jewels cannot be removed, and this is used to command a higher price from customers who put a premium on virginity. When the transaction is complete, the earring can be removed and fitted to a new wearer, or sold along with the original one.
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