The Azure Shards
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Rumors are spreading like wildfire through the streets of Arabel—strange, crystalline fragments, shimmering with an eerie blue light, have begun to surface. Dubbed Azure Shards by those who claim to have seen them, these curious relics are said to hum with unseen power, thrumming like a cold heartbeat in the hands of those who dare to touch them.
No official proclamation has been made, yet the city’s militia has been quietly warning folk to avoid these shards, citing concerns of unknown magical influence. Some whisper of merchants discreetly peddling them in shadowed alleyways, while others claim reckless adventurers have begun hoarding them, seeking to uncover their secrets.
Among the learned, opinions are split—alchemists speak in hushed voices of their desire to test the shards, to distill their essence and unlock whatever power they might hold. Mages mutter of rituals that might be fueled by the shards, their arcane glow hinting at energies not seen since the time of Netheril.
Yet not all welcome their presence. The faithful of Helm and Tempus caution against their unchecked use, citing unknown dangers. Lathanderites have called for their destruction, fearing they are remnants of a power unnatural to the cycle of renewal. Chaunteans and local druids whisper of blighted soil and withering plants where the shards have lingered too long, fearing they carry a sickness that seeps into the land itself. The scribes of Deneir and Jergal seek to catalog and understand them, while Selunite seers murmur of strange dreams—of ice and fire, of something watching.
