05. Brei Crystal

"Master?" Shest felt Arlik's presence in his mind, the only problem was he couldn't see him   Their name doesn't come from location, but rather from an elven god, Breixar. Their properties were discovered by Kori scientists.

Appearance

Crystals are usually transparent, simple in shape, square, or circular - depending on their class. The structure of crystals is ordered and dense, they are very sensitive to various variables, resonate, and vibrate.

Sources

Crystals are gathered from formations, or cultivated in labs. The manufactured ones are more predictable and used in arcana gates construction. Natural crystals are quite rare, mostly found in swamps on the far west side of Arcana Empire, the cradle of Shru, and the reason for Arcana Empire expansion.

Applications

There are two main applications of those crystals - communication, and electronics. They are great semiconductors, for one. For two, they create a tear when broken into pieces. This tear connects every part, even over great distances.   Natural crystals cannot be obtained without authorization, and their usage is monitored. Their behavior and sensitivity are unpredictable. The more clear the crystal, the more reliable the communication between pieces is. Usually, they are broken into two or three parts. Natural crystal formations are not bigger than a thumb. The ones grown can have various sizes, even around several meters.

Brei and Arcana

Witches don't respond well to those crystals, they interfere with their control of the Arcana. Direct contact, thanks to the volatile and sensitive nature of the crystal structure, leads to migrating into the wielder's body. Whilst it doesn't affect regular mortals, witches' natural sensitivity is unbalanced and might cause random eruptions of Arcana, block its flow, and sometimes cause physical ilnesses - like migranes. Thus only seasoned Arcanists opt for using those.  

Communication

Using those crystals for long-distance communication requires training. It's not as simple as talking to it, although it might be useful at first. The operator has to have the ability to focus on the message, and the precise meaning of words, without emotional load. The message can be abstract, visual, text, or voice, but it is essentially a thought transferred through the tear.   Usually it takes around several months of daily use for comfortable communication, or a regular conversation.