Shardless (Tempris #1)

-An excerpt from the Practical Guide to Hyaline Harmonic Analysis

A relic from the Age of the Faera, the scrying relays enable long-range communication by taking advantage of the harmonizing properties of hyaline. Though hyaline crystal does not conduct aether, its frequency can be tuned in such a way that it will connect with another relay set to the same frequency.

Over time, this technology has been adapted to include glamour interfaces as well as data transfer capabilities, and improvements in the harmonizing efficiency of the hyaline crystals have dramatically increased the communication range. Unfortunately, the dimensional gates on Tempris still pose a major problem to long-range signal transmission. When the gates are open, there is no impediment to the relay signals, and communication between worlds is possible. However, when the gates are closed, the discrepancies in the flow of time between realms makes tuning the hyaline harmonizing prisms almost impossible. It has been theorized that the incorporation of a time crystal into the interface might overcome this impediment, but Queen Raine’s researchers were unable to produce a viable prototype prior to the Schism.

During the 25,658 th year of our Lady Raine, the first handheld communication system was introduced. Most historians agree that, without this device, House Ghislain’s victory at the Battle of Raporum would not have been possible.