Mothercrystal

by Creative Business Unit III

Mothercrystals tower over the landscapes where they are situated. Five Mothercrystals are known to exist in the Twins; a sixth used to exist in the Northern Territories, but has since collapsed, expediting the entire region's ruin. Two more were lost many years ago: one in Southern Ash, and one in the crater of Dzemekys Falls in eastern Dhalmekia, the first Mothercrystal to fall 1,500 years ago.

Mothercrystals are the source of all crystal needed to run society. The lands surrounding them are rich with aether, the life energy of the land and all living beings and the origin of all magic; the motherlodes' surrounds are excellent farmland and all magicks used around them - from Bearers, Dominants, and shards alike - are more potent. Nations have sprung up around each Mothercrystal and war against one another for possession of their "blessings".

by Creative Business Unit III

The Crystalline Orthodox is a religion that worships the "Mothers" as deities and considers magic-use an abomination and heresy and waste of valuable aether, leading to severe persecution of people able to naturally use magicks. The orthodoxy used to be widespread across the Twins, but in the modern era, it mainly persists in the western archipelago in the Iron Kingdom. Though the other nations do not worship the crystals as literal deities, they are viewed as the most valuable resource imaginable and tend to be used as the seats of power for the nation that currently controls it.

Though the aether-rich environment near the Mothercrystals are considered a blessing, it has a downside: aetherfloods are volatile outbursts of aether known to occur near Mothercrystals. These floods corrupt living beings, filling their flesh with aether, crystallizing their outer bodies and making them act erratically, eventually eroding all humanity and turning the subjects into rampaging beasts known as Akashic.

The heart of a Mothercrystal is where the aether concentrates; it is a crystal formation that glows in iridescent colors. Those in control of the Mothercrystal tend to maintain the inner sanctuaries around these cores to revere and protect them, as should the core be destroyed, the entire Mothercrystal would collapse and vanish into aether. The inner sanctums predate even the Fallen and their original purpose is lost to history. Though usually dormant, if the heart is threatened, it can fight back, such as by releasing aether, animating/empowering a protector - such as Liquid Flame at Drake's Breath, and Titan Lost at Drake's Fang - or by absorbing the crystal formations around it to rebuild them in a new formation, and by using magicks directly.

The Mothercrystals have dragon-related names, being named after various body parts of a drake. Dragons are worshiped by the Church of Greagor in Sanbreque. There were originally eight Mothercrystals (as many as there are magical elements five remain on the Twins in present day.

Drake's Head

The Sanbrequois crystal is located on the coastline and is a tall spire that cuts the sky. The imperial seat of power is built on the Mothercrystal's doorstep and the capital Oriflamme is built around the crystal, a tightly governed city where many nobles reside.

Drake's Breath

Drake's Breath is a towering monolith off the west coast of Storm. It glows red and is situated on volcanic ground. It is currently controlled by the Duchy of Rosaria, however they are in constant war with the Iron Kingdom over this control.

by Creative Business Unit III

Drake's Fang

Drake's Fang is located underground, encased inside a crater near Dhalmekia's capital.

by Creative Business Unit III

Drake's Tail

The Mothercrystal of the Crystalline Dominion, which towers over the capital: Twinside. It is the largest of the five remaining Mothercrystals on the Twins.

by Creative Business Unit III

Drake's Spine

Drake's Spine is located in the northern part of Ash, near the capital of the Kingdom of Veldermarke. The skies above it are permanently thundering. Drake's Spine is a highly contested Mothercrystal, and wars over its control only intensified in the wake of Drake's Horn's fall.

Drake's Eye

Drake's Eye was a Mothercrystal in the Northern Territories that no longer exists; the majority of the north has been taken over by the Blight, leaving the land uninhabitable. Between the years of the Realm 170-250, small countries around Drake's Eye were in disarray, and Shiva's Dominant was born in this region.

Drake's Horn

Drake's Horn was a Mothercrystal in the southern part of Ash, in the lands overtaken by Blight. It no longer exists. It used to be a source of strife over resources between the Motes of Water tribe and the local beastmen. Drake's Horn fell in the Year of the Realm 350.

Dzemekys

The eighth Mothercrystal, known as Dzemekys rather than following the "Drake's X" naming scheme of the other crystals, was located in the southeastern shores of Storm and west of Drake's Tail, in what is now known as the Falls of Dzemekys, the site of "the Sins of Dzemekys". It used to have a portal located at its foot that connected to Origin, through which the tribes that settled the lands around the crystal communed with their god. It was the first Mothercrystal of the eight to fall when it was attacked by the Fallen some 1,500 years ago in an attempt to take the Mothercrystal for themselves. In retaliation, Ultima destroyed both the Fallen airship armada and the Mothercrystal itself, leaving behind a seemingly bottomless crater into which the ocean drains for perpetuity and bringing about the decline of the Fallen Civilization.

The Sagespire

The Fallen created an artificial Mothercrystal in western Rosaria, in the blighted land now known as the Dim. The crystal is the source of Dusk Crystals and is protected by several Fallen constructs of immense power.