Etan’s Heart

Long before the city of Ralsimoor rose from stone and smoke, the Ralss hills were home to a nomadic people who believed the stars buried their dead in the earth. One spring, after a bitter winter, a young shepherd girl named Arelha found a fireless glow beneath a landslide, an enormous diamond so clear it seemed invisible, save for a shimmer that danced like a candle behind frost.   The elders called it Etan’s Heart, believing it was the soul of a star who fell in love with the earth. The diamond was set above one of the city gates, known ever after as Arelha's Gate, when Ralsimoor was founded, reflecting moonlight into the streets below. In times of siege, drought, or despair, the people would gather beneath it, swearing they felt warmth in its light. Ralsimoor's founders claimed the stone bound the fates of all rulers who sat the Hill Throne and that any lie spoken within its glow would curdle the speaker’s blood.     The image at the head of the article is a highly idealised reimagining of the discovery of the stone by Arelha, painted by the famous Ralsimoor artist Klavaron Ithing in 3857 APC. The painting is obviously fanciful as the diamond is "discovered" already cut when in reality it must have been fashioned with great skill by an unknown jeweller or jewellers.