Crimsonium

What it is

There is a particle found only in the outer reaches of space. In its gaseous or plasma state it is known Mnemonigen (mem-non-ij-enn) and appears as luminous red sparks and motes of dust that weave around eachother, as though buffeted by phantom wind.

This particle traps psychic waves, certain frequencies of light and some radio waves. The more these things pass through the nebulas these particles inhabit, the heavier in space they become until a gravity well is formed.

Then, the nebula can begin to attract heavier masses in space, such as asteroids.

When Mnemonigen is coated in solid matter, it metastasizes into a new crystalline element called Crimsonium. In this state, it retains its luminous red color which sheds bright light through its quartz-like structure.

Crimsonium contains all the echoes of information trapped during the gaseous phase of its development, repeating them forevermore.

Organic life that comes into prolonged contact with Crimsonium is gifted with enhanced creativity, memory and reasoning ability.

When channeled through an organic host, Crimsonium can produce energy levels that are orders of magnitude greater than an atomic bomb; allowing for teleportation, telekinesis, telepathy, matter transmutation and many other physics-defying feats.

Overuse of Crimsonium can cause extreme deja vu, memory loss, paranoid mania, and hearing the echoes of voices trapped within it before the planet was formed.

Crimsonium made the empire of Charra, imparting to them echoes of other civilizations. They treated these fragments of history as gospel, rather than the random information it was. Their mandate is to conquer, for that is all they see in the dreams imparted to them by this element. It is their own greed staring back at them.

What it does

The Charran empire mines Crimsonium crystals as they erupt through the silvery sand of their world, and uses them to create Heironymus machines.

A Heironymus machine is the idea of a machine, that then becomes real through sheer force of belief. They are powered by Crimsonium and often begin functioning before the blueprints are finished.

Heironymus machines do everything for the Charran empire, from fighting their wars to regulating their environment, which has long since atrophied under magical abuse. Without their machines, the tides would overtake their flat landmass, the air would not be breathable and the ocean would freeze.