Luxite

Luxite is alchemically produced, photo-reactive amber that produces varying degrees of illumination depending on the variety and exposure to sunlight.

Through a combination of resins and other substances, an alchemist is able to produce an amber-like stone that is just as craft-ready.

Luxite has one particular feature that amber does not, however. Luxite is photo-reactive; that is, it will produce a soft glow if exposed to sunlight. For this reason many alchemists sell the stones to crafters who can use the substance as a cheap form of gemstone for jewelry.

Luxite is often a stage of one's alchemical education as it represents the culmination of several seperate skills that must be brought together to create the substance.

Colors[]

A number of factors can determine the color of Luxite that is produced through the process; heat of the crucible, length of time in the heat, quality of materials and the like. That being said ther are a number of colors that are considered 'normal' for luxite.

Red[]

Red luxite is the rarest of the shades.

The quality of the materials must be very high, the ability for the crucible to withstand the perfect temperatures for long periods of time plus a considerable amount of luck make Red luxite mostly an accident or the sign of a true master alchemist.

Red luxite is sought after by many jewelcrafters as the glow produced is soft and as red as a camp fire.

Green[]

Green luxite is more common than red but not as common as yellow. Often, when an alchemist is attempting to make red amber, Green is the most common result - that or an exploding crucible. The resulting amber is a shade of pale, "grass-green" that may remind some of grapes. The soft glow is very noticable when exposed to light and is said to hold it's illumination longer than that of yellow luxite.

Blue[]

Blue luxite is the most common variety. It is so common that most merchants probably have a piece of jewelry constructed with it - wether as earrings, bracets, necklaces, broaches, cloak pins or the like.

Yellow[]

Yellow Luxite, which appears almost identical to natural amber, is the one most difficult of colors to make second only to Red.

Uses:[]

Once Luxite was discovered and the process refined, the demand for a 'glowing amber' was nearly epidemic in the larger cities. Any alchemist who could produce good-quality Luxite could easily make a small fortune depending on the variety and quantity that he could produce.

Luxite Jewelry[]

Luxite jewelry is common in almost any town that can support alchemists. Luxite jewelry is widely traded due to its luminescent properties and, when worn as jewelry, it can be used to accent elements of a gown or jacket. A common form of luxite jewelry is that of the luxite pendant or broach. With enough luxite, approximately an inch or so, the light produced is enought to read by.

Another use for luxite as jewelery is for small, bead-like earrings that will glow in the evening. Similarly, smaller pieces of luxite are strung together like pearls and worn in their place.

Additionally, luxite fragments are sometimes sewn into garments so that they will soak up the sun's rays during the day and glow in various shades of color (depending on the type) to accentuate the colors of the garment. This is particularly common in high-born gowns of noble ladies.

Light Source[]

For those pieces of luxite that do not look as appealing as others but still retain their luminescent properties, many alchemists will set the stones in various lamps or candle stands as sources of perpetual illumination. They are, essentially, a poor-man's Crystal Lamp. Several people have been known to decorate the front posts of their homes with luxite lamps to provide modest illumination within the city or town.