Magic

It bubbled up from the soil. Thick, viscous, like oil, but so much... cleaner. We knew what it was, at least in our logical brains, but we were gobsmacked to see this luminescent fluid just pooling there. One of the boys began thanking the gods under his breath.

We were rich. I think that was the first thing we knew. Not even what, exactly, we had found. Then the realization of the danger we were in sank in. We all stared at the growing pool wit equal parts trepidation and excitement.

If we wanted to make use of this, we had to be careful. If anyone found out what we had, anyone at all, there would be outriders and company men sliding blades between our ribs at the same time.

I gathered the boys that night, and made our situation clear. Not everyone got what I was saying, though we got through to everyone in the end. One way, or the other.

There are few materials out there as valuable as raw, physical magic. Though it should be stated that "magic" does not describe any particular material, being anything from liquid sunlight or the blood of particular magical creatures. The method of their creation is as varied as the sensory input they inspire, and that is how one can identify 'raw' magic.

To continue with the example of liquid sunlight; it often has the scent of vanilla or citrus, while being within it's proximity makes you feel perfectly warm while within it's light. In the colder parts of the world, liquid sunlight is placed in lamps in higher end households to be a spot of warmth by itself, needing no fuel or stoking.