"The relationship between magecraft and jewels dates back to Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. So basically, it’s about as old as human history itself, taking root in Gemcraft illusions. From the beginning, jewels were the symbol of royalty, and from the perspective of various forms of alchemy, they were used to preserve youth and health. ‘Aristotle’s Book of Minerals’ is an obvious one, but Stone also features as one of the four fundamental elements, and one of the four fundamental natures in Hildegard’s ‘Physica.’”
The book mentioned by my master sounded familiar to me.
Of course, ‘Aristotle’s Book of Elements’ had a huge significance even historically. It not only acted as a scientific catalogue of 72 minerals and their medicinal uses, but if I remembered correctly, also spoke about the source of Power Stones.
…72, again.
I knew that it was a number with significance in magecraft, but with the degree to which it was appearing, it was starting to seem more like it was cursed.
“But, if we look at the Gandr you showed me earlier, your magecraft is clearly sourced closer to northern Europe. That would mean it uses gems as a medium for magecraft, infusing them with magical energy by dyeing them with the user’s own blood or other bodily fluids. It’s better to look at it like a form of specialized Rune magic. While the state of Rune Magic in general is in decline, the Edelfelt’s brought jewels into the mix and cut open a new path for themselves. It’s probably a similar situation as to why their Spells are in English. If we ask what we can learn from that information, we can see that as an Edelfelt, you probably take great pride in the tremendous value of your jewels, very different from some many other nobles or aristocrats.”
“Shut up!”
Luvia’s scream brought my master’s explanation to an end. “Say any more and there won’t even be dust of you to sweep up!"
Case Files I, Chapter 3, Part 3