Crystal Shards

Crystal Shards (CS) are Starborn Alignment’s earnable currency that is used in our Accessory Shop, Familiar Shop and Magic Shop. It is also used to pay for blessings. Crystal Shards are also the in-game currency used in the world of Hireath.
== Crystal Shards as Game Currency ==
Crystal Shards are a user based currency. This means that no matter which character you earn your CS with, it can be used by any of your characters. All your earned CS goes into a single ‘pool’ of currency from where it can be spent on various purchases. When you buy something, that CS is spent, and may not be used again unless the item(s) are refunded. 
CS is not used for leveling in any way, and should not be confused with Astral Points. Tracking CS is a member responsibility, and a well-organized CS tracker is required to make purchases in our shops.
=== How do I earn CS? ===
While CS is not quite as easy to obtain as Astral Points, there’s still plenty of ways to get them. Memes, Checkpoints and Events are all great ways to gather CS. You can check up on the rewards of each on their individual pages; exact rewards vary.
=== How do I spend CS? ===
CS may be spent in any of our shops, and be used to purchase items for any of your characters at any time. You can find all our purchasable items in the Shops. Make sure you have enough CS for the item(s) you wish to purchase - the transaction won’t be approved otherwise. If there are any special instructions, make sure to follow them as well.
All purchases from our Shops should be sent to SA-Shop. If you’re buying something that is not in those shops (like a blessing), approving a breeding or redeeming event prizes like totems, note the main group instead.
Our mods will handle all shop purchases, and after your note has been sent, they will confirm your purchase, as well as give you the item artwork. Purchases are not official until a mod has reviewed them; please refrain from using the item until then. Confirmations usually take a couple days, but please be patient - if you think you’ve genuinely been missed (more than a month has passed), please send your note again.
Do not reply to your own notes in the shop - this will show them to the mods as handled, and they’ll very likely be skipped. If you’d like to add/remove something from your purchase, edit the comment; or if it can no longer be edited, reply to it to void it, and send a new one. Do not comment on the note to add items/additional information.
When refunding an old, unwanted purchase, you may reply to the old, already approved note to state that item(s) have been refunded for CS.
After your purchase has been confirmed, make sure to update your CS tracking to reflect the new total.
=== How do I track my CS? ===
Tracking CS is a member responsibility, and it’s a good idea to set up a tracker as soon as you are accepted into SA. The tracker is required to make any purchases from our Shops. If your tracking is difficult to follow or inconsistent, our mods may deny your purchases until the tracking is remedied.
We recommend making a single CS tracker for all your earnings, rather than splitting the tracking up by character, as CS is counted by account. We also heavily recommend separating CS tracking from all other tracking - mixing AP in with your CS makes it much easier to make mistakes, and much harder for our staff to check your totals!
Your tracker should always include:
* Links to all the sources of CS (artwork, memes etc)
* The amount of CS earned by each submission
* Links to every purchase made, and the amount spent on each
We recommend using subtotals for ease of counting; so total earned, total spent, and current standing balance. This makes it easier for the mods to check, but also helps you catch any counting errors yourself.
Below we have provided a basic template that you may use to create your own tracker. This is not a mandatory formatting, but if you’re unsure, this is a good one to go with.
EARNINGS
Link +00CS
Total:
PURCHASES
Link +00CS
Total:
STANDING BALANCE
00CS
If you choose to make your CS tracker off-site, we recommend google sheets. Here is a template for creating a tracker in sheets: [link]. This template will automatically track your totals for you. 
Please note that all artwork must still be linked, even when using sheets. Remember to set your tracker to allow viewing.
Original credit for the CS tracker template goes to tarried-sea
== CS FAQ ==
=== Can I give CS to other members? ===
No. CS is personal, and can not be traded/given away/sold to other members. 
If you want to help someone out or give them a gift, you can have your character purchase an item or familiar for their character from the Accessory or Familiar Shop. These purchases have to be plausible IC (the characters need to be able to be in contact), and should not be used as payments. 
=== Are there other ways to earn CS? ===
CS is almost exclusively earned through participation with the group via content creation (memes, checkpoints etc). However, we do occasionally host events where participation does not require art/literature (such as the Advent Calendar, birthdays and various raffles), and where set amounts of CS may be earned. 
Staff members receive currency as a monthly reward (mods 30, admins 60), which may be cashed out as CS or AP. Moderators may also earn additional currency (which they may choose to receive as CS) for providing additional help to the admins, such as creating art or proofreading lore.
=== Does my tracker have to be on dA? ===
No. As long as your tracker is clear and easy to read, and includes links to all the pieces you earned CS from, it can be kept in another format.
Most common tracker formats are deviations (with tracking in the artist comment), journals, sta.sh, google docs and google sheets. If you use an external site, make sure you have sharing allowed so our staff can view your tracking!
=== When I buy something for my character, do they literally buy it in-game? ===
Some items, like appearance change potions, rarity rolls and crystal statues are purely OOC items, and not something a character would obtain in-game. For other items, such as accessories and weapons of various kinds, you may choose how the item was obtained - it does not need to be something the character has just now bought.
Some things, like familiars or aging potions, are always considered to be something the character specifically obtained in-game when you purchased it.
How a character got an item/familiar in-game is always up to you. They could have actually purchased it, or received it as a gift from an NPC, or even found it lying about.
=== Can I remove CS earning pieces from the group without losing the CS? ===
No. If you delete/remove an art piece from the group, you lose all earnings attached to it, including CS. Obviously if DA has a moment and removes your stuff from the group, you can simply resubmit it with an explanation; you will “get back” the currency as soon as the piece is accepted again. Entirely removing pieces permanently forfeits any earnings from them.
The only exception to the removal rule are situations where you earned AP/CS from a collab with another member (events, collab meme) who has since left the group, and removed the piece from the gallery. In these cases, as long as the piece still exists, earnings will be retained.
=== I lost my tracking, is there a way to recover it? ===
We’re afraid not. The staff does not keep track of the member’s CS; we simply check your counts whenever you purchase something to make sure you have enough. We recommend having a backup of your tracking in some form should something happen. 
If your tracker is lost/deleted, you are solely responsible for refinding all the spent and earned CS.
== Crystal Shards in Lore ==
Crystal Shards are the currency of Hireath, decided upon by the equines of Hireath ages ago.  Hireath equines all use CS - there are no secondary currencies, and when talking about ‘money’, horses are referring exclusively to CS, not to coins or paper money of any kind. These shards are of no use in crafting, but seem to be valued by horses across the world. Crystal shards are usually called simply ‘shards’ by the equines who use them.
Different herds have different relationships and familiarity with shards. Aodh is the most prevalent user of shards, but other more capitalist factions like Kawaru or War Forged are also very familiar with their use, meaning every (adult) herd member is likely to be comfortable with using shards for day to day transactions. More socialist groups like Umare or Talori use shards significantly less, and consider wealth in general to be a lot less important, but citizens are likely still familiar with them. Serora is the polar opposite of Aodh - where most citizens have never handled shards, and see little point in amassing currency for the sake of it.
For more detailed understanding of your factions relationship with money, we recommend reading their herd articles. Category:Gameplay
Category:Basics