Monsoon Opals: A Royal and Rare Stone
From “The Jewels of Adrea: A Practical Guide for Court and Collector” by Master Elgarien Thross, Court Jeweller to House Amaryn.
Description and Qualities
Monsoon opals are some of the rarest gemstones in Adrea. Each stone shows a stormy mix of colors. You’ll see clouded blues, muted greys, and gold veins that flicker like distant lightning. The surface feels slick, no matter the weather. The opal often feels cooler than the air around it. When turned in candlelight, the inside seems to ripple, like rain too far away to feel.
Unlike other opals, which fracture under pressure, monsoon opals are strong. They’re perfect for crowns, signet rings, and temple adornments. These items need both durability and meaning.
Harvesting the Stone
Harvesters can only collect the stone during a celestial event called the Drowning Midnight. This happens at midnight on the longest night of the year, but only if it rains. At this time, the flooded quartz caves in the center-piece mountains reveal their sparkling treasures.
The journey to the caves is dangerous. Even seasoned miners talk about the pressure, the cold, and the constant risk of drowning. Survivors are rare, and those who return often refuse to discuss what they saw below the surface.
Uses in Court and Craft
In court, monsoon opals are worn only by the crowned king or queen. The stone symbolizes emotional control, silence under pressure, and the strength of restraint. Every Queen of Adrea has worn one around her throat during her coronation. It’s also a tradition for royal infants to receive a sliver of the stone at their naming ceremony.
Common people believe the opal can calm nightmares or ease grief, though these beliefs are mostly symbolic. Some craftspeople embed small slivers in mourning jewelry, placing them in lockets worn on long sea voyages.
The Wetlock Effect
Though rarely discussed openly, the monsoon opal has a trait known as the Wetlock Effect. When set into stone, wood, or metal, and fully submerged in cold water, it gives off a faint magical field. This field disrupts divination and similar magical observation. Attempts to scry or locate individuals often fail. If they succeed, they return only the sounds of rain and a blurred image of a weeping willow in mist.
This effect lasts as long as the stone stays wet and undisturbed. If it dries, it loses this ability for seven days, needing to be re-submerged under the right conditions.
For this reason, opals are banned from many courtrooms and religious sites. Bringing one into a place for seeking divine or magical truths is seen as subversive.
Rumour and Relevance
Thieves' guilds and revolutionaries call these stones rainstones. Smuggled slivers have appeared on the black market for high prices. A former queen is said to have embedded a monsoon opal in her throne, preventing prophecies or priests from overhearing her whispers.
Though the Crown dismisses this as superstition, several vaults from the Calamity era showed complete resistance to magical detection. In these cases, fragments of opal were found in the stonework.
On Acquisition
The Crown controls access to the flooded quartz caves, and owning unregistered monsoon opals is treason. I advise any noble or merchant seeking to acquire them to be discreet. It’s best to get certified court licensing before any commission or sale.
A stone like this is not just rare—it is dangerous, beautiful, and, in the wrong hands, perfectly silent.
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