Water Crystals
Overview
Water Crystals, known in older scholarship by the name Aquenis, are among the rarer varieties of divine crystal found across the world of Areth. According to A History of Rislandia, they are formed from the essence of the deity Aquenis, shed during the event known as the Great Sacrifice. Their primary association is with the Tideweavers, the practitioners most closely linked to water-based crystal magic.
History
According to A History of Rislandia, Water Crystals came into existence as a direct consequence of the Great Sacrifice, the foundational mythic event in which divine beings gave up their essence to shape the world. The source states verbatim: "Aquenis became the Water Crystals, granting control of seas and storms." This origin ties Water Crystals inseparably to the creation myth of Areth and places them among the earliest magical materials known to its peoples.
Their relative scarcity compared to other crystal types — noted explicitly in A History of Rislandia as "less common than other types" — meant that civilizations and orders capable of wielding them held a meaningful strategic advantage, particularly in naval and coastal contexts.
Description
Water Crystals appear in shades of blue, aquamarine, or clear, distinguishing them visually from other members of the divine crystal family such as fire crystals, earth crystals, air crystals, and shadow crystals. They are found in coastal regions and underwater ruins, locations consistent with their aquatic divine origin.
The crystals confer a broad range of abilities over water in its various states. Documented applications include control of seas and storms, manipulation of water and moisture, command over ice, the creation of floods, the freezing of enemies, and the purification of water. This versatility made them valuable both as weapons of war and as tools of survival or civic utility.
Users and Applications
The Tideweavers are the order most closely identified with Water Crystals, employing them as the foundation of their practice. The crystals' offensive applications — flooding terrain and freezing opponents — gave Tideweaver operatives considerable battlefield utility, while their capacity for water purification suggests use in sustaining populations during sieges or expeditions.
Legacy
As one of the crystal types born directly from divine sacrifice, Water Crystals occupy a significant place in the religious and scholarly understanding of crystal magic on Areth. Their rarity has historically limited their widespread adoption, concentrating expertise in their use among specialized groups such as the Tideweavers. Their dual nature — capable of both destruction and purification — reflects the broader duality attributed to Aquenis as a divine force governing the seas.