17-year-old Avera Ibori is a girl who has always longed for a life of adventure, but when her father mysteriously vanishes, she gets more of it than she can stand. Thrown into a hidden world of magic, intrigue, corruption, and kings, Avera must choo...
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"Avera," the King said, shifting his gaze, and considering his words carefully, "how is it that you came into the possession of pyrite?"
"To be perfectly honest, my Lord, I am not familiar with pyrite at all, and I was unaware I had it until now," Avera earnestly confessed.
There were some glances, and one man nodded in the direction of the King.
"Very well, then," Zephyr said, watching her eyes as he spoke. "Master Iphor, as Master of the Magicians, would you kindly explain the origins of pyrite to our guest."
"Yes, m'Lord," said a stout man with a gruff voice. He was one of the ten and seated in the place of the third. "You see, young lady, there is a known element called planetyroid. I'm sure you have some familiarity with it, do you not?"
Avera nodded, watching the bald headed man with interest.
"Of course, it is extremely common. You can find it practically anywhere in the world provided you're looking for it, but the element is unusually common in Altrüon. We have a particular abundance here, and we use it like no one else does.
"Now, planetyroid is best described as a sort of metallic clay, marbled in blue and green. The substance is beautiful right up until you try to harvest it and start to pull it up out of the ground. That is when it crumbles and turns to an ashy black powder. You see, the very act of attempting to harvest planetyroid is that which renders it useless, but there is a way around it.
"When certain conditions are met, planetyroid can become very useful, but from the time that it is uncovered and exposed to the surface it begins to rapidly decay, so it is important to be ready to provide the atmospheric conditions needed to harvest it before the element is uncovered.
"Planetyroid is unique in that it can be transformed into either of two elemental constructs. One such construct is maurium, the uses and qualities of which I am sure you are well familiar, as are all who live in Pyre, since it has become the backbone of our society. The necessary conditions to manufacture maurium are much more easily met than that of the second, more refined construct: pyrite."
"Forgive me, sir," Avera said, respectfully addressing the Master of the Magicians, "but are you meaning to say that maurium and pyrite are of a similar substance?"
"They are of common origin, you could say, yes. There is only one substance, but what is done with that substance is what determines the outcome. In one instance, there is maurium. In the other, pyrite. But pyrite is different, because, unlike maurium, there is only one way to produce it, and that is to purify it. Planetyroid must be refined and cleansed of all of its impurities. One might say that that which is common must be made uncommon, and the only way to accomplish this is by the flame of the Armorials. The fire which they hold... is the only means by which planetyroid can be refined. The fire, when administered, burns away any impurity and altars the chemical makeup, creating something entirely new. The resulting substance being an elemental construct we call pyrite," explained the man with the bushy eyebrows and the white handlebar mustache.
