(01-16-2015, 02:53 PM)Sounsyy Wrote: ---> Thank you, Sounsyy! Now, let me see what we can do with your wonderful inputs. Have some Ala Mighan whiskey while I work, Oh Infinite Liver Miqo'te...
Kind of. What you're wanting is Ceruleum, which is refined Aether crystals.
--> Camp Bluefog RP in the future, I see...
In its crystalline state, Aether is not combustible/dangerous, as the actual "energy" is trapped within the crystal. The Ceruleum refinement process drains a crystal of its Aether into a crude, highly volatile, liquid state.
----> I had been meaning to ask about Ceruleum a little more, so this is good...
The process off-gasses a blue waste product that would likely cause aether sickness if not used to, and it also leaves behind a "deaspected crystal" which is a dead husk of crystalline aether.
---> ...which might be useful in and of itself. "Depleted Uranium Shells" suddenly float in my thoughts...
Ceruleum can also actually be found naturally in Eorzea deep below the surface in the areas around Northern Thanalan and Mor Dhona. There are Ceruleum deposits in other places of the world, but apparently they are quite rare and there is no other known deposit as large as the one in Northern Thanalan. Natural Ceruleum, like real world Crude Oil, occurs when aether escapes the Lifestream and crystallizes underground. Over the centuries, pressure builds up and reduces the crystalline aether to a liquid, which then can be mined.
-----> So, it is theoretically possible that there is, or was, a direct and stable link between the lifestream itself and ceruleum mines, begging SE-style plotwriting to suggest that a world-ending chain reaction might be conceivable. I hope the port is ray-shielded.
As for a few other of your points:
1. Mor Dhona has actually had all of those Crystalline deposits since the crash of the Agrius 15 years ago into Silvertear Lake. Silvertear Lake is actually the fount of all aether in the planet. It is the Garden of Eden essentially. However, with the death of Midgardsormr and the explosion of the Ceruleum fuel tanks of the Agrius mixing with the Lake, a massive aether death crystallized the surrounding landscape.
------> Did I catch that Midgardsormr is coming into the new patch/expansion in some fashion? I sense another plot hook.
When talking about the Aether crystals left behind by the Calamity, you have to be very careful to note the color of the crystal, as the Calamity (because of Bahamut) actually drained a lot of the planet's aether before the massive Eorzea-wide aether death event. So if you see an orange crystal formation, that is actually dead aether. Completely useless. If you see blue formations, like the ones in Mor Dhona, those will be useful.
----> Thought #1 - anything solid and formed from energy = potential mad scientist plot device. Thought #2 - Who's going to miss large slabs of crystal taken from Mor Dhona? Thought #3 - lots of "stable" things can be made unstable. Hell, with superconductors, you can even make a frog float. Thought #4 - suddenly looking into the X-men's Gambit as a source of ideas for this.
2. While the shards can be easily mined or gathered, the Crystal Market is actually heavily policed and trade of shards, crystals, and clusters is closely monitored by an organization called the Ashcrown Consortium. So while obtaining said crystals may be feasibly easy, distributing them or collecting a massive quantity will be more difficult legally.
----> Need to research them. And you have given me a name for the inevitable conflict-producing agency that I would need for a nemesis. *gives Sounssy more whiskey*
However, you'd need an absolute mass of crystals to create a small amount of Ceruleum, and even more needed to summon a Primal/Twelve, etc.
-----> Sudden inspiration: Fracking and Shale-oil mining. The absolutely perfect antagonist for Hydaelyn herself. I am pleased. Pleased. PLEASED!
There's also something called an Overaspected Crystal, in which a cluster has taken on a massive surge of aether from multiple sources/elements. This Overaspected crystal is extremely powerful. (In 1.0 it increased like all attributes by 25% or something rediculous?) That's like Echo power...
------> GENTLEMEN! BEHOLD!
Anyways, hope this helps! ^^ And lemme know if you have more questions!
Why is my own bard already looking at me with puppy dog eyes, as if I'm going to abandon him to evil plots...
"But in the laugh there was another voice. A clearer laugh, an ironic laugh. A laugh which laughs because it chooses not to weep."
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