Moonglass Resin

The first modern mention of Moonglass Resin came from a reclusive elven scholar called Vel Riani. It happened during a report of a survey team researching leyline irregularities in Toura before the Sundering during a Lunar Solstice. Suddenly, the leyline network above them contracted and whipped up an arcane lightning storm. The lightning struck a nearby sand pit, the force sending half the team flying twenty feet, and the other half scattered across Khorun to other nexus points.

Those who came to in Toura were met by a spectacular structure made of glass, giving off a faint magical aura. Believing they’d witnessed a remarkable event, they broke off a small piece and left for their laboratories in Ghor Minthra.

At first the mages at the Consortium Reserve thought it was just inert ley residue turned solid, until it accidentally substituted for powdered emerald in a transmutation test with no loss of potency. The refined powder then worked for ruby, bone ash, diamond, fleece, and even skyiron.

Vel Riani died five weeks later under quiet, unremarkable circumstances, and the Consortium sealed their report along with the names of the entire survey team. Two of which remained lost for many years. Some researchers still call it Riani’s Resin in quiet corners of arcane academia, but it is more commonly known by its name in the common tongue: Moonglass Resin.

Etymology

The exceedingly rare substance is known colloquially as Moonglass Resin, but it bears many regional names across the world. Among the Vaelari elves of Eryn’s coastal provinces, the material is referred to as Eithalume, a compound of eith (memory) and lumina (light) roughly translating into “remembering light.” Elven lore attributes the resin’s formation to echoes of celestial power captured during leyline storms, often during the Lunar Solstices when the entire lattice of leylines around Avaleen changes. It is said that the Eithalume remembers ancient arcana, and by being shaped into lenses or orbs, it can aid the elven mages as the rules of magic changes.

The dwarven clans of Drozag and Thalhelm, however, call it Molgrith or “soft sky ore” as they mine it from ley-struck strata in exposed caverns. Dwarves believe the material absorbs sky-fire, a term for the arcane energy discharged during the Solstice. It’s traditionally used in protective talismans and special tools used to craft enchantments and magical ore.

Academic circles refer to it amongst themselves as Lunavitreum, which literally translates into Moonglass. It is used extensively in papers, especially when discussing it in its refined form and its ability to become a universal spell component.

Other known regional names include: Mángler, meaning ley shard. Often associated with the broken remnants and pebbles found in sand-rich environments after a Lunar Solstice. In the ancient Alaic tongue it was refered to as Chandravala, “weave shard” implying a connection with the Weave of Fate that has since been neglected after the discovery of its other properties.

Regardless of its many names, all sources confirm the rarity and danger of the substance. The Cerrion Assembly, A’triyes Academy and the Aeos Reserve are said to all have launched separate quiet research ventures into the resin’s relationship with the Veil, the Weave, the leylines, and the realms themselves.

Physical properties

Moonglass Resin is a semi-translucent material that resembles glass at first glance. However, it is far softer and more durable, more akin to tempered wax or aged resin, which is where it gets its name from.

When held up to the light, it refracts impossible colors and geometrics. Its hue shifts subtly based on the phases of all three moons.

Nature

It is a rare material formed during leyline storms, when erratic energies strike sand-rich environments or rocks. Which happens more often during Lunar Solstices when the entire leyline lattice around Avaleen shifts and changes due to the celestial pull of Luna, Gio and Amartis in the sky.

Primary use – Universal Spell Component

When refined, Moonglass Resin becomes an opalescent powder which can also be turned into a liquid. In this form it can replicate any spell component, no matter how rare or specific, be it blood, ash, diamond, incense, leather etc etc.

It is used by archmages and royal mages, as well as the Guardians of the Akati Empire. Because of its rarity it is highly sought after on the black market by arcanists and artificers who prefer versatility or cannot source certain reagents.

Other uses

Moonglass is a key - but not every door should be opened.

— Archanist Eshri Tal, expelled from A'triyes Academy

While the research is kept under wraps, certain circles know that Moonglass Resin was known for the archanists of Zion for a whole different reason. Then called chandronium, it was used as a universal tuner for the Veil.

With the glass, the mages could create rifts, portals, or bleeding points in the Veil that separates the realms, weakening the boundary between realities. This led to open passages for entitites not meant to cross, horrors and demi-gods. More alarmingly it made it possible for mortal races to access the divine domains of the pantheon, leeching on their power and building weapons able to defeat them.

Any illevan engineer knows that even a small amount, used absolutely right, can bypass the Wards of the Akati Empire which are intricately connected with the Weave itself.