Heartstone

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This article is about the magical object. For the substance in the Wheel of Time book series, see Cuendillar.

A heartstone is a fictional artifact common in dragon-related stories of high fantasy. It is a crystal of concentrated magic, and can be extracted from the heart of a slain dragon. It is believed that the heartstone is the source of a dragon's magic power, but this has never been proven definitively. Heartstones were considered a precious commodity in the Middle Ages, and were coveted for their wizard killing abilities. Generally the magnitude of a heartstone is directly related to the size of the dragon itself, though this is not always the case.

Concerning color and density, a heartstone will vary from dragon to dragon, the most common color is a shade between black and red, but heartstone colors ranging from yellow to violet have been recorded.

It is believed that a heartstone containing enough magic can be used in the manufacture of a Philosopher's Stone. However, this is only a theoretical conjecture.

In author John Schreiber's fantasy novel "Heartstone" the term denotes a powerful gem that is the "heart of the earth." This powerful stone links the user to powerful environmental forces, also enabling the user to break the barriers of time and space. Ancient creatures within the novel (including a dragon) are well acquainted with the gem.

[edit] Computer Games

In the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, the hearthstone is used to teleport the player home.

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