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Luxemburry  /  Culture  /  Crafts and Obsidianite

Crafts and Obsidianite

Obsidianite is the black glassy stone found only on Mount Cinder, mined from the 1840s to 1931 and still cut in Purgnar today. It is the stone of the Realm, and with the woodcarving of the March and the paper of Aethelgard it makes up the craft of Luxemburry.

Obsidianite being cut in a workshop in Purgnar
An Obsidianite cutter's bench in Purgnar.

Obsidianite

A volcanic glass, black with a deep green shine when polished, found on the east face of the Cinder and nowhere else. In the legend it is the cooled fire of the Stone Heart. The mine paid for the roads and the Archives; when it closed in 1931 the cutters of Purgnar kept working the spoil, and still do. Obsidianite is set in the seal of the High Warden, in the badge of a Warden of the Pass, and in the honors of the Realm.

What is made

  • The Sentinel's stone, a small polished piece carried by every Sentinel
  • The citizen's stone, given with some Certificates of Naturalization
  • Knives, buttons, and the black beads of the Solstice
  • The medals of the Order of the Stone Heart

The woodcarvers of the March

Aethelgard and the villages of the Western Forest March carve stone pine: the ibex, the lion of the flag, and the ski of the old kind. The reading stone in Charter Square has a carved pine canopy from the March.

The paper of Aethelgard

The notes of the Realm are printed on paper made in Aethelgard from forest pulp, as they have been since the first note in the 1770s. The Charter is copied on it each year for the Council.

Buying

The cutters' workshops in Purgnar are open in season. The Treasury window in Valdoria sells Obsidianite stones and carved pine from the March.