Ethereum — a magical mineral. So far as is known, its deposits exist in only one place on the planet — in the territory of the city of Famas.
Usually, ethereum crystals are blue in colour, of varying degrees of saturation — from nearly white to cobalt. The shade indicates how energetically charged a given stone is.
Ethereum of the richer shades is often called “industrial.” It is precisely its power that is used to generate electricity at power stations. A single crystal of a deep colour, the size of an egg, is enough to supply a small village with light. Research has shown that “industrial” ethereum is capable of producing energy for anywhere from several decades to several centuries. The deeper its shade in the resting state, the more enduring and more powerful the crystal is. The extraction of electricity is the most common use of dark ethereum, but scientists are convinced it is not the only one. In particular, it is used to increase the endurance and resilience of large buildings, including the Famas Hills. Research and experiments with this kind of ethereum have continued from the very beginning of the renewed extraction. Work with this variety of the mineral must be carried out with the utmost safety measures observed. Touching the most deeply coloured stones without a protective glove threatens serious burns.
Ethereum of the lighter shades has other properties. As a rule, it is found more rarely; contact with it does no harm to the skin of living creatures, and it is precisely this kind of mineral that is used for implantation into the body; for the creation of medicines and narcotics; and for endowing small household devices with extraordinary capabilities. The magical energy of ethereum embedded in the body affects both the physical and the psychological qualities of the individual. Physically, it increases endurance and the force of one's blows, slows ageing, and raises resistance to illness and to injury of other kinds. Individuals into whose bodies more than one ethereum has been implanted become invulnerable — to bullets among other things. Even so, no quantity of ethereum guarantees immortality or the complete cessation of ageing, and too great an amount of it can kill. By the method of trial and error (and of victims) the optimal weight of light ethereum was found — the amount that can be implanted into a body so as to strengthen it rather than destroy it.
Besides physical qualities, ethereum develops magical abilities in its bearers. Usually it amplifies whatever intellectual and mental faculties are already most pronounced, allows one to see in the dark, through objects, and so on. As a rule, in each individual these abilities prove to be highly particular to them.