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Enchanted Jewelery
A historic account
by t'lan
Many people use enchanted jewelery, indeed, many warriors may owe their lives to the use of a disengagement or damage ring; yet few people today know the history of these enchantments.
Today, ritualized instructions allow people without extensive research in the magical arts to enchant jewelery, with the greatest danger being the loss of all ingredients in a puff of smoke; such was not the same for the pioneers of the craft.
On one particularly dark day, a number of leading researchers perished in an accident; an extract from the diary of a member of the research team follows:
22nd/3 Jomath believes we near a breakthrough. I fear he may be too incautious, more wary of Taleen's rebukes than the power we are working with. Once again we clashed, I have seen far too often what happens to a mage unrespectful of his powers.
23rd/3 Taleen visited the laboratories again today, insisting that we all were living off of academic grants, and demanding results. Jomath, again, avoided confrontation, but told Taleen that a demonstration would be arranged several days hence. I later argued with Jomath that we were unready, Jomath insisted we had enough for a demonstration.
25th/3 The research team, alchemists, and jewelery makers have all missed the sleep of the night past, a ruby thought to be damaged was somehow triggered into releasing a beam of magical energy, injuring a passing apprentice. Excitement of this success spurred great scrutiny of the ruby in question. Since the release of magical energy damaged the ruby, copies needed making through the recorded methods as before.
26th/3 Another breakthrough, of a sorts, was achieved this day. A large sapphire heated to high temperature and quickly cooled was found to have the ability to suspend a person for several seconds. No injury to the person held was found, but the value of this discovery was generally lowly regarded. Nonetheless, a number were made, and several apprentices had great fun in freezing one another, running away before the effects wore off. There may be some use for this found at a later date, but the magical damage of the treated rubies remains our focus. The demonstration is due post tomorrow.
02nd/4 Disaster has befallen us! during the demonstration, something went wrong, and a large explosion killed most of the team, as well as many who had come as witness. I have been spending much of my time helping the healers, but my skills in the healing magics are limited. I am told that help from outside shall not come soon, no door or window can be opened.
03rd/4 Between assisting the injured, I have had time to puzzle over what occurred I believe that several of the stasis sapphires (as someone has called them) were mixed with the rubies. I suspect that these gems also may affect one another, and the effects of the rubies were held in time by a sapphire, until its capacity was exhausted, and the magics of several dozen rubies, magnified in sapphire, were released. Had i not been returning from fetching some equipment, i should not be here to write of what has befallen us. Another oddity has come to my ear, the time of day in the yards, as can be seen from the windows, seems to be unchanging. As impossible as it seems, i must investigate, I am one of the few people of academic or magical ability left.
04th/4 With the injured largely tended to, I have set to trying to find why none could gain exit. I could find no reason that the doors or windows should be held, but returned with another observation, nothing seen out the windows was moving, no wind through the trees, no animals or birds in the yard. As reported, the sun seems unmoving, yet i find no reason why.
05th/5 After sitting at a window in contemplation for an hour, i find my previous record inaccurate, in a frightening manner. The leaves of the trees and bushes are not devoid of the movement from wind, however the motion is greatly suppressed. I fear that the explosion may not have done only physical damage, but temporal as well.
06th/5 I can only find yesterday's supposition to be supported, i found a sundial and moved it to a window in the morning, and come evening it had shown a slight change in time. By the time(which has become confusing, thinking of time within and without) any on the outside find cause for alarm, we shall be without food or water.
More entries did follow, for 10 days, but they increasingly showed fear at the fate of those surviving, without giving anymore in terms of information.
Eventually help from the outside did come, and the timespeed difference was fixed by a number of powerful mages (although this took them much time to research, nothing similar had ever been heard of before).
Records indicate that the state within the building suggests many years passed within the building, to the weeks on the outside.
It is unknown who the writer of this diary was, it was found in a common living area, and the covers too stained to recover any indication of ownership.
Jomath was a well known (in academic and magic circles) researcher, and head of the research team.
All references to 'Taleen' seem to indicate he or she held an academic or administrative position, and was impatient for research in permanent enchantments to bear marketable results.
All research into new magical applications was suspended until investigations were completed. Eventually this ban was lifted, but all research had new restrictions and safeguards in place.
Research into enchanting was banned for many years, but eventually allowed once more, and the preserved research documents very valuable in remaking rings that can damage, or hold someone in time. The use of a circular device of gold or silver, depending upon the application, was found to be of remarkable safety, though as yet no-one knows why. This is why today all enchantment is upon rings and circular medallions.
Medallions are used for enchantments that work within or upon the body of the wearer, being near the core of the body; while rings are used for magics that work outside of the body.
The discoveries of enchantments that enhanced the body were come across without the disasters during research into the magics of enchantments that worked upon another person.
To date, four such enchantments have reached the stage where they are ritualized to safety for production, using gold and silver inserts, rubies, and sapphires.
A medallion that boosts the abilities of a person to react and dodge is based upon inscriptions in a silver insert, set into a silver medallion.
Another medallion, based upon inscriptions on gold medallions, boosts a persons' ability to strike at a target.
Using a ruby in a silver medallion with the right enchantment can boost the striking power of a wearer.
The fourth currently available medallion uses a sapphire on a silver medallion, and boosts a wearers' ability to strike at a target, and to withstand injuries.
This was the stage where enchantment research remained for many years, until a new discovery about the magic within the ground itself.
At a few locations across our continent, a strong magical convergence was discovered, the presence of these locations has been known about for longer than records will show, but little use had previously been found.
There was found a way to tap into the magical currents of the land, and the right use of gem and enchantment can create a trigger which allows a person to be moved, outside of space, to the location of the convergence.
Using such a ring, any person can instantaneously be moved to the location the ring is designed for.
In recent days, there has begun research into new areas of enchantment, including adding magic and elemental powers to weapons. There are, to date, a few prototypes of these weapons outside of the research laboratory, and any who may contemplate making their own are reminded of the disaster seen in the journal above.
When reliable and safe methods are found, the techniques are expected to be made public.
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