Title: Thalmyrium – The Lost Element of the Stars Pronunciation: "THAL-mee-ree-um" Overview: Thalmyrium is a mythical, star-born material believed to predate the Age of Rebirth in the world of Solare. Though rarely found in the modern age, it is revered by scholars, wizards, and ancient races alike as the primal essence of celestial creation—neither wholly magical nor physical. It is often considered a bridge between arcane law and divine chaos. Discovered only in the highest reaches of the world's atmosphere, in deep space-fallen meteorites, or in sealed ruins of the First Age, Thalmyrium is impossibly light, shimmering with shifting colors—silver, violet, and pale gold. When attuned properly, it hums with power, resonating with divine frequencies and ancient leyline signatures. --- Properties: - **Material Type:** Celestial-Arcane Alloy - **Weight:** Near-weightless, lighter than mithral - **Conductivity:** Enhances both divine and arcane spells - **Volatility:** Reacts dangerously when combined with [[Mythite]] or unrefined godfire - **Immunity:** Cannot be altered by transmutation magic except by those possessing a divine spark --- Usage and Purpose: - Used to forge god-tier artifacts in the First Age. - Thalmyrium-threaded robes once protected archmages against reality-warping magic. - Thalmyrium dust is a rare alchemical ingredient used in planar gateways, divine rituals, and time-stasis enchantments. In modern Solare, few individuals have seen Thalmyrium, let alone worked with it. [[The Wizards Conclave]] maintains a secret vault containing fragments, but the methods of crafting with it are lost or forbidden. --- Thalmyrium vs. [[Mythite]]: While [[Mythite]] is a volatile mineral that amplifies magical output (similar to uranium), Thalmyrium is stable, subtle, and harmonically attuned to cosmic balance. [[Mythite]] burns. Thalmyrium sings. Their interaction, however, is unpredictable and potentially catastrophic. An unregulated experiment combining both during the Arcane Collapse of Year 9,800 A.P. obliterated an entire Conclave city-state. --- Myths and Beliefs: - Said to be the "blood of the stars"—condensed from the tears of the goddess [[Perserphina]] when she first saw Solare's beauty. - Elven mystics believe it was used to build the now-lost Gates of Lerithal, portals between mortal and divine realms. - Dwarves claim it is the metal of the gods' anvils. --- Political and Global Implications: - The discovery of even a pebble-sized chunk could shift the balance of power. - Smuggling and black market trading of false or unstable samples is rampant. - Some nations (such as Polaria and Lialandra) have launched expeditions into ancient ruins and the upper atmosphere in pursuit of it. --- Known Locations: - The Void-Crater of Vel’Saruun - Skyshard Temple, now lost to the storm barrier above Thaurum’Zar - The tomb of the Radiant King in the Seraphine Wastes --- Current Threats: - Some scholars believe [[Anam]] seeks Thalmyrium to stabilize his god-killing creations. - Rumors suggest a sect within [[the Wizards Conclave]] has secretly replicated Thalmyrium synthetically—possibly fueling their own forbidden spells. --- Primary Catalyst: Thalmyrium Core Thalmyrium is an incredibly rare mineral found deep beneath Solare’s leyline intersections. It appears as a translucent silver-blue crystal that resonates when exposed to ambient magic. Long known to scholars, it was previously considered too unstable to use safely. Properties: - Absorbs and amplifies arcane energy exponentially. - Reacts violently if overcharged without containment runes. - Causes planar thinning when refined in bulk—ripping holes in the local weave. - Only trace amounts exist above ground—controlled or hoarded by powerful nations or deep factions. Refinement Process: Princess Aurara devised a process to refine Thalmyrium into [[Mythite]] Shards, which stabilize the reaction long enough for spellcasting. - Requires months of preparation in an isolation vault. - Refinement must be done with Chrono-Runes to slow its temporal decay. - Produces exactly one charge of Solar Requiem. Cognitive Calibration: Rather than emotion, the spell is stabilized through advanced mental calibration and arcane pattern imprinting. - The caster must undergo: - Seven-day binding ritual, linking their neural patterns to the casting matrix. - Sigil-Seal Procedure, permanently embedding the core spell pattern into their mind. - Failure to focus causes immediate self-destruction due to feedback from the Thalmyrium core. Containment and Launch Array: - The spell must be cast through a fixed arcane lattice (similar to a launch station). - These require weeks of setup, with five high-tier mages maintaining the outer wards. - Once launched, the core disintegrates—but the caster retains the imprint and can cast it again after Thalmyrium recharge. Strategic and Political Implications: - Nations now seek Thalmyrium deposits much like real-world uranium. - Mining operations become highly classified and protected. - Magical cartographers are hired to map leyline convergence zones—Thalmyrium hotbeds. Arcane Arms Race Begins: - Solar Requiem is seen as the first mortal-built “Godfire” weapon. - Every major city-state now seeks: - A genius-level caster (with IQ, mental clarity, and arcane training). - Access to refinable Thalmyrium. - Blueprint fragments stolen from Polaria or forged independently. Princess Aurara’s Philosophy: Aurara deliberately kept this spell emotionless and mechanical, to remove the divine factor: “_If a spell’s power is dictated by belief or sorrow, it cannot be trusted. Solar Requiem is pure structure. Order. Logic. Let the gods weep while mortals build._” --- True Origin of Thalmyrium: The myths surrounding Thalmyrium speak of starfall and divine sorrow, but the truth is far older—and far more disturbing. **True Origin**: Thalmyrium is not a gift from the stars, but a byproduct of **cosmic entropy**, formed in the **Collapse Realms**—dimensional layers that exist outside creation, where failed realities and discarded timelines decay. It is the mineralized residue of **unrealized worlds**, collapsed dreams of the gods, and aborted divine plans. Each shard of Thalmyrium is saturated with the fragmented laws, concepts, and possibilities from realities that never came to be. At some point in the ancient past, fragments of Thalmyrium were flung into Solare through rifts left behind by torn dimensions. What we call “meteoric” deposits were, in truth, **dimensional fallout**. **Why It Is So Powerful**: - It carries echoes of forgotten universal rules—physics, magic, and divine law from other realms. This allows it to amplify or rewrite aspects of our reality when refined. - Because it is built from _discarded truths_, it exists **both within and outside** the Weave, bypassing traditional limitations on spellcasting. - Its resonance is not with the stars, but with the very boundary between **existence and void**. **Why the Truth Is Hidden**: - [[The Wizards Conclave]] and several divine institutions discovered this truth during early experiments with Thalmyrium but immediately suppressed it. - They feared that mortals learning the material came from broken realities would lead to forbidden research into entropy, anti-creation, or worse—**attempts to pierce the boundary and mine the Collapse Realms directly**. **Consequences**: - Using too much refined Thalmyrium in a region weakens reality itself. In rare cases, time loops, planar anomalies, or manifestations of alternate histories appear. - Individuals exposed to raw, unrefined Thalmyrium sometimes experience **visions of other lives they never lived**—echoes from failed timelines. **Current Belief vs. Reality**: - **Myth:** “It is star-metal, born from the goddess’s tears.” - **Truth:** “It is entropy’s gift—ashes of realities that never were.” --- Conclusion: Thalmyrium is more than a resource—it is a legend. Its return to the world may herald great wonder or terrible ruin. The stars remember it. The gods fear it. And the wise do not touch it lightly.