The Dominion Jewel

WORK IN PROGRESS [Blurb about what it is.]

Description
The first we know of the Dominion Jewel's appearance is from a vision that Alanna experience whilst bathing in the Wandering Bard inn''. ''


 * A gem, blue-violet, the size of a siler noble piece, set into a disc of gold, its facets absorbing light, not reflecting it.

The Jewel is small, that much is known; when Alanna the Lioness, known for her short stature, holds it, it fits quite neatly into her palm.

Using the Jewel

 * "How does it work," asked Alanna, once upon a time ago, "do you have to be a sorceror to use it?"

The answer is no. Giamo the Tyrant was no sorceror, and neither was King Norrin, though Queen Anj'la knew herblore and healing magic.

One old text - written in High Gaulish, an ancient language - says, "Said Jewel worketh its power in two fashions. In the hands of the un-Gifted, it exerteth natural beneficiaries, knitting its power with the Earth's own for as far as its ruler's holdeth sway." In other words, the Jewel only works for those who are rulers or conquerors by nature. This also explains why the Jewel is often better used by a commoner than by someone royal-born; just because one is born to be a king, does not mean that they have the will for it.

The text continues with, "In the hand of one Gifted, one who understandeth the devices of Sorcery, the Jewel may be more directly used, in healing and war, for fertility and death. A knowledgable ruler, knowing fully the creation of magical formulae, may create new lands, or return the breath of a dead child. With its weilder's knowledge and the will to rule, the Jewel maketh possible all things."

The Jewel does not create great kings, but it helps those who are to prosper. It won't stop a king who wants to build an empire, starting with the conquest of its neighbors. It'll help him. How the Jewel is used depends on its beholder. Just as the Jewel may be used to save a dying nation, similarly the Jewel may used for Evil.

History of the Jewel and of the People Who Used it
People known to have held or used the Jewel include the following listed. Those with known stories have their own subcategories:

The Story of Giamo the Tyrant
Giamo stole the Jewel to build his Gallan Empire. With it he conquered parts of Tusaine, Tortall, and Scanra. Someone stole the Jewel from Giamo's heir, and the empire devoured itself, right at the beginning of the Human Era.

The Story of Miache and Zefrem
Miache was a Carthaki waterfront thief, sometime in the first half of the second century of the Human Era (nearabouts 130 HE). The Gallans hired her to steal the Jewel from their own king, that was descended from Giamo – a great great grandson. Those that hired Miache wanted to rule in the place of the King.

Miache stole the Jewel right enough – and she kept it. She ran for the River Drell, the same that’s the border between Galla, Tusaine, Maren, and Tortall. It’s possible that she may have borne it all the way to her home in Carthak, too, but for Zefrem the Bear. He was a mercenary, and a good one, heading south on the river when he pulled Miache out of it. Before long, they were lovers. She was a pretty thing, with hair like moonglow and a heart of pure ice. Zefram cracked that heart some, though.

When they came to the city of Tyra, the Carthaki navy was attacking. The local folk were starving. Their nobles had run; their ruling duke was crazy. The only thing that kept Carthak outr was the walls, and they couldn’t hold against Carthaki siege engines.

Zefrem, now, was never a man for losing a fight, let alone one already lost. And Miache – she’d watch her own mother starve unless there was something in it for her. All who know them said that it had to be the Dominion Jewel that brought them to stay in Tyra. They didn’t even know how to use it, but it seems that the Jewel used them.

Zefrem took command, training the men who were left and building catapults to throw fireballs at the ships. Miache and the city’s swimmers, some of them younglings, they’d swim out to harry the Carthaki navy. They even sank some of the barges full of men and catapults. Miracles started happening – birds found nesting, when the city had none. Schools of fish appearing under the canal, where no fish had been before. Men and their families began to move into the city even during the war, to make their homes and to fight for Tyra. They didn’t know why they came. It was the Jewel, calling them.

They saved Tyra, Miache and Zefrem and the Dominion Jewel. The city was a pirate’s nest when they came, a sinkhole fit for only cutthroats and thieves. They made it a lawful trading city where a man’s word was a binding contract. The man and woman vanished, and the Jewel came next to Norrin, but, up until recently, Tyra still prospered.

King Norrin and Queen Anj'la
The Marenite king and queen of the third century who came into possession of the Jewel. Maren's long-time wealth and peace were the legacy of Norrin and Anj'la and; since their rule, up until recently, there had been no wars or plagues.

The Story of Alanna the Lioness
"It would be the adventure of a lifetime to find the Dominion Jewel."

Legends say that the Lioness pareted the snow and walked up the pass to do battle with the God of the Roof for his jewel. How it really happened, however, is slightly different from how the minstrels would have you think it. It was after Alanna had become a full knight, and her deed had been discovered; she was no longer the boy Alan, and the Duke Roger was dead, a concequence of the revealing. She'd left Corus, gone to live with the Bazhir to the South for a time, and then she had struck out with her manservant, Coram, wanting to see more of the world. Her travels had led her to Maren, where she met up with a man named Nahom Jendrai, a scholar who translated for her clues to the location of the famed Dominion Jewel.


 * "In Chitral's hidden chamber, guarded by the being whose essence is Time, the Dominion Jewel is kept for those with the will to strive. Take it at your risk, for the saving of a troubled land."

Chitral's Pass was located in the Roof of the World, a moutain range located beyond Maren and Sarain. To get there, the Lioness travelled through a war-ravaged nation and into the deep cold of the mountains. Upon staying at the inn at the mouth of the blocked pass, Alanna's future is read by a fortune-teller of the Doi, who warns her of Chitral, and tells her that old Chitral waits for her. "He knows that you have come for his prize. He will not surrender it if you are unworthy."

Driven by a desire to return to her homeland, and by the knowledge that Chitral will throw as many blizzards at her as it pleases, Alanna battled her way through the killer May blizzard to the top of the pass; when she reached the top, she was contacted by Chitral, and upon entering the 'hidden chamber,' Alanna does battle with the manifestation of the pass. The battle, long and drawn-out, lasts until the Lioness is driven to her limit. The woman begged not to be killed, and Chitral spares her, citing that Alanna's 'visit' will entertain him for centuries of human years to come.

The Story of King Jonathan
pending

Where is it now?
The Jewel was last seen when it was in the hands of the Tortallan King Jonathan V. His sucessor, Roald II, never used the Jewel, and it sort of fell off the map in time. It's since disappeared from the vaults (this much we know, as Jonathan V searched for it when he was getting ready for his wars.), and the whereabouts of it currently cannot be verified. Chitral once said to Alanna when asked why it was in possession of the Jewel, "It finds its way to me from time to time. Not often'', but now and then." ''It's possible that the spirit of the Roof one again keeps company with the Jewel.