Perpetual Ice
Found in the heart of thePallar Icy Fields, perpetual ice is a hard to come by material. It is highly sought after by shamans and other practitioners of hedge-witchery in the north, who pay handsomely for it or risk their lives gathering it themselves.
Properties
In contrast to regular ice, which can have a colour ranging between sky blue and turquoise, perpetual ice has a purple hue. It can be found growing in ice caves in the form of hexagonal pillars. Hence, it is easily recognizable. Why perpetual ice has this colour and shape is as of yet unclear.
Interestingly, even though the name perpetual ice suggests a lasting frozen state, it can melt. When kept at temperatures higher than approximately 15 degrees celsius, perpetual ice quickly transitions into a liquid and subsequently gaseous state. It is this exact property that is used by shamans and other mystical practitioners for the vapour has a mildly hallucinogenic effect.
Interestingly, even though the name perpetual ice suggests a lasting frozen state, it can melt. When kept at temperatures higher than approximately 15 degrees celsius, perpetual ice quickly transitions into a liquid and subsequently gaseous state. It is this exact property that is used by shamans and other mystical practitioners for the vapour has a mildly hallucinogenic effect.
Divinatory practices
Divination has always played an important role in the Frozen Lander culture, and many mystical practitioners in the Frozen Isles are experienced diviners. In contrast to mystical practitioners in central Namda, who are more often well-practised in spell-binding and talisman making to protect against events that might occur in the future, Frozen Lander hedge-witches tell fortunes to mentally prepare people for what to expect.
To peer a little into the future, a diviner will burn a piece of perpetual ice above a fire and inhale the vapour coming off it. The mildly hallucinogenic properties of the vapour will help the diviner to clear their mind and focus on the person or object in front of them, glancing bits and pieces of things yet to come.
To peer a little into the future, a diviner will burn a piece of perpetual ice above a fire and inhale the vapour coming off it. The mildly hallucinogenic properties of the vapour will help the diviner to clear their mind and focus on the person or object in front of them, glancing bits and pieces of things yet to come.
Black market
Not only shamans and other mystical practitioners highly seek perpetual ice for its hallucinogenic effect, it is also used as a recreational drug. While the government has made the use of perpetual ice by people other than diviners illegal, a black market for it has arisen in the past decades.
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