ghoststone
A smooth, granite-like, semi-magical stone found in large veins across the northern hemisphere of Legere. Ghoststone had only a few uses, primarily in dealing with ectoplasms.
Properties #
Material Characteristics #
Ghoststone was a light grey with flecks of brown throughout. When polished, it could appear slightly translucent. Other impurities within a piece of ghoststone could add other colours to it, although this was generally regarded as a sign of lower quality ghoststone.
Physical & Chemical Properties #
Ghoststone was extremely hard, and required large contraptions to chip it out of the rock. Its signature feature was its cytotoxicity to ectoplasmic cells. Ghoststone found its way into the weaponry and armour of all ghosthunters.
Geology & Geography #
Ghoststone was prevalent across the northern hemisphere of Legere, and quarries can be found all across the stony frontier of Corgath and the Nameless Town.
Veins of ghoststone were usually massive, and could take hundreds of years to fully harvest.
History & Usage #
Discovery #
Ghoststone's discovery as the perfect anti-ectoplasm weapon was found shortly after Corgath's birth as a Cuprum mining colony. Colonists began to note that possessed monsters pursuing then were avoiding certain spots over large rocks, and would howl or thrash in pain if they touched it. Experimentation with the rock and ectoplasms ensued, and the first Ghosthunters were established.
Stonecutting Family #
Ghoststone carving was a unique practice passed down by generations of Corgathians. The Adalsteinn family served the ghosthunters' guild by honing the time-honored tradition of carving ghoststone into weapons. As members of the Adalsteinn household dwindled, outsiders would slowly be invited to join that part of the guild. Ghoststone carvers trained under the Adalsteinn name would supply ghosthunters across Legere with the indisputably finest ghoststone equipment of all the land.
The Adalsteinn family did not discover the process of making ghoststone weapons, as it was as simple as carving a blade from a slab of rock. However, they did perfect the art to such an extent that any others who attempted to create their own pieces paled in comparison.
As the Ghosthunter Guild grew, the Adalsteinn name did too. The Adalsteinn Guild was a sub-guild within the Ghosthunter Guild, which offered its services to every ghosthunter that served within it. Following the Demon Wars, very few members of the direct Adalsteinn lineage remained, although ghoststone cutters within the guild do their best to uphold the name to make sure the family's lineage continues on.
Cutting Ghoststone #
Ghoststone was cut out of quarries in large chunks. These chunks were cut as square as possible to minimize waste. Once at a stonecutter, these large chunks could be stored as more manageable rectangular slabs that a member of the Adalsteinn guild could carve gear from.
Being a stone, there's was no purification process that stonecutter could perform to improve the quality of the ghoststone--they are at the mercy of the naturally-determined purity of the mineral.
Ghosthunter Kit #
Ghoststone weaponry was carved from slabs of ghoststone, polished to perfection and sharpened just enough to tear flesh. Being hard and non-flexible, ghoststone blades were typically sharper than metal but lacked the flexibility of metal, shattering against hard or armoured targets.
Ghoststone heads were also used to tip crossbow darts, providing long-range attacks that are effective against the possessed.
Ghoststone armour was known as ghostmail, which is a misnomer for a type of brigandine worn by the ghosthunters. The brigandine's steel strips were riveted to the cloth via outward facing ghoststone spikes, deterring possessed creatures from biting into ghosthunters.
Recycling Ghoststone
Ghoststone weapons could be carved down into smaller weapons once their edge became chipped or worn down, but unlike metal weapons, ghoststone couldn't be melted down and made into a new form.
Ghoststone waste was usually ground into a powder called ghostsand, which was used for Ghostsand Bombs.
Ghoststone was also used in a few other common ghosthunter tools:
Fences #
Ghoststone fencing was similar to barbed wire, but with sharp ghoststone spikes wrapped up along the wire. This allowed ghosthunters to cordon off areas and restrict the movements of possessed wildlife.
Caltrops #
Caltrops made from ghoststone were simple tools of area denial, useful for confined spaces like houses or city alleys.
Nets #
Ghosthunter nets were made of heavy metal chains with randomly distributed ghoststone links. This helped to incapacitate possessed creatures and open them up to lethal stabs from a ghosthunter's ghoststone weapons.
Ghostsand Bombs #
Glass or clay bulbs filled with ghoststone that have been smashed into a fine powder. Throwing one of these scattered the powder, serving as powerful distractions against possessed creatures.
Cultural Presence #
Ghoststone didn't look particularly beautiful, but it was often integrated into Corgathian jewelry as a good luck charm. It was believed that wearing a ghoststone pendant could deter the possessed from finding you. Some Corgathian households would place a chunk of uncut ghoststone upon their mantlepiece as a ward against the possessed.
While these practices weren't always the most effective, two stories circulating Corgath helped to spread the tradition of ghoststone charms:
Once, a rich noblewoman was attacked by a possessed hound. As she tried desperately to fend the dog off, her necklace (which was coincidentally a ghoststone pendant) fell down its gullet. The possessed canine became irritated, kicking around in pain as it tried to regurgitate the poisonous stone. This was enough for the woman to escape.
A family of shepherds north of Phovezila was enjoying their dinner when a possessed stag leapt into their living room and attacked the family. The eldest son grabbed the closest thing he could find--which was their family's ghoststone rock--and bashed the animal's head in.