Glowstone

Glowstone is glowing crystalline mineral that can be found hanging from the Netherrack cieling of the Nether. Glowstone itself is extremely fragile, it shatters like glass but degrades into a thick dust.  It is one of the most potently mystic minerals known to exist, exhibiting several unique properties apart from the bright light it creates. While knowledge of how Glowstone truly works in the grand scheme of things is limited, scientific communities around the world have been able to come up with countless theories, all based around what is known for fact.
Glowstone is a mineral with an immense amount of mystic energy stored within. The light emanating from it is a result of this, but there are further, unseen, benefits to the energy even raw glowstone produces. When humans are exposed to Glowstone they experience rapid cellular repair. The energy actively strengthens the bodies ability to defend itself, but later studies proved it was not merely a simple "healing factor". The body can heal injuries and fight disease more efficiently because of the mystic energy but mutations, such as cancers, can actually be worsened by exposure to Glowstone as they, too, are able to rapidly regenerate and expand. This energy is known to be susceptible to outside magical influence, and those who practice "Mysticism" tend to be able to draw the mystic properties from the mineral and utilize it on their own. The Jaden have demonstrated this on a very basic level, while the Lirun maintain a much more, secret, deeper understanding of the ability.
While this raw energy that Glowstone emits can be beneficial to humans the opposite is true for Nether Spirits which, ironically, originated in the same realm. Exposure to Glowstone energy can cause physical harm and weakness to a spirit, though certain more powerful spirits do not experience the pain and suffer only the weakness, restricting their access to magic and their ability to possess humans. Even when a Nether Spirit has possessed another entity they are not immune to the effects of Glowstone, often resulting in their host experiencing similar pain and weakness. Most other species do not experience any effects from exposure to Glowstone energy.
Around 15-20 AE scientific communities in Voldrania observed ships in the Lirun Fleet, and began to discover that when Glowstone was processed it could be applied in new ways. They discovered that when a charge was applied to this processed glowstone the energy within would be gradually released, creating an exceptionally strong thrust. In 25 AE an international effort led to the formation of the first Human-made Airship, utilizing Glowstone thrust to lift even heavy vessels off the ground. This is not without its limits and larger airships are typically unable to fly due to weight issues, leaving sea vessels very much in demand for the long distance transportation of goods. Sea vessels benefited from these "Glowstone Engines" as well, allowing for ships to rely on a powerful, more efficient thrust than wind power or rows. The Glowstone engine has since become a staple of modern travel, with redstone-based engines unable to fully match up or provide similar upwards thrust.
While it may appear that Glowstone is an endless source of power it does degrade over time. Typically this degradation is incredibly slow and depends on environmental factors. It is unknown how long it takes raw glowstone to fully degrade, but it is considered to take drastically longer than the human lifespan. Processed Glowstone however, such as that used in Glowstone engines, degrades at a much more rapid rate as its energy is being actively drained to create thrust. Depending on use and strain it may take anywhere between a few years and a few months for processed Glowstone to fully degrade. When it has fully degraded the remaining stone tends to dissolve into a thin dust. Interestingly, even when Glowstone is shattered into a fine dust it maintains all of its energy; none of it is released, meaning the only way to remove the energy from Glowstone manually is to apply it practically.
Category:Nether
Category:items
Category:Magic
Category:Science and Technology