Guardian stones

The Guardian Stones are gemstones that are imbued with Guardian magic. Only a few exist in the world, with each of them containing powers from a certain Guardian. It is said that these stones contain merely a fraction of a Guardian’s power, and yet they’re powerful enough to defeat a hundred men. Each stone has either been found and wielded by a competent object, hidden, lost, or kept by its respective Guardian or by a temple. It is unknown whether the Guardian Stones that have a documented existence are the only ones that exist, or if there are still others out there waiting to be found.

Although the stones contain only a fraction of the power that a Guardian possesses, it is a lot for a mortal to even begin to comprehend. The stones entirely depend on the wielder’s mind as they draw power from deep within an object’s soul, so objects who seek to wield a stone must train their psyche by meditating and understanding oneself. If an untrained individual with no knowledge about Guardian Stones were to get their hands onto one, the results could be drastic. The best case scenario would be only sickness and disorientation in the object, but otherwise it could drive them into insanity, eventually leading to death. As the stone depends on the mentality of the wielder, it could change from the influence of its wielder. A stone may gain impurity when it is used for the wrong reasons such as murderous intent or vengeance. This can build up over time, eventually making the stone unstable. Only one stone has known to become unstable and there are no known techniques to stabilise a guardian stone.

## History

The reason why the stones exist or how they came to be is largely unknown to most, but there are legends and rumours about their possible origin. One such legend goes as follows:

> *“Aeons ago, when the Guardians were creating the world, each of them stored a fraction of their power into an enormous crystal which was known as ‘The Great Elemental Crystal’. This crystal was made to help sustain the planet and uphold the balance of the elements. It was simply a temporary measure to ensure that the planet could hold itself together in its early steps of life.*
>
>
> *The crystal stood tall for many years until a village nearby discovered it and grew curious of its properties. They believed that if they got ahold of the crystal themselves, they would gain immense power and wealth. Overcome by their greed, they banded together and marched towards the crystal to break it into pieces.*
>
>
>
> *However, when they succeeded, it caused an enormous explosion, killing everyone who was nearby and scattering the crystal’s fragments far and wide. These fragments became what is now known as the Guardian Stones.”*
>
>

It is but a mere legend, so there is no confirmation that there is any truth to it. As for what may have happened after the crystal was destroyed.. researchers speculate that nothing major happened. The legend mentioned that the crystal was planned to be used for only a temporary time, so it has been assumed that the planet carried on with no problems despite the absence of the crystal.

## Known wielders

* Muckpop - Shadow stone wielder
* Crescent Moon - Shadow stone wielder
* Lepido - i forgor

a