Myrma of the Crystalline Eyes.

Trippy art by the Critter

My stepdaughter has a penchant for slightly surreal sketches. She showed me a few pieces recently.   Flipping through her sketchbook, at first glance, this appeared to be a girl with crystals for eyes.  At second glance, it may be something else, but I'm going with my first impression.

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Myrma Fromme, daughter of the wealthy ivory merchant Lorl Fromme, studies with the elementalist Qao Hianwou, who has recently been attempting to create gem-like elemental forms for the amusement and service of the fabulously wealthy.

Myrma, is a studious and well-meaning girl, but not the most observant... She set off an inadvertent chain reaction by tripping over a bucket of crystals and material components for Hianwou's research, igniting an explosion and becoming blinded by the shards....

Qao, crushed with guilt and beholden to the Frommes to care for their daughter, feels obligated to make things right... Withdrawing to the lab, he sorts through the remains of the elemental components and creats a pair of amethyst eyes for the injured young woman.

Recognizing that Myrma will one day likely inherit the family business, he incorporates a number of protections and benefits into the faceted orbs:

• mild infravision
• Protection from mind-reading or mind-effect spells,
• Create an aura that hampers thieves (-10% or -1 for respective skill checks)

Unfortunately the faceted, unblinking eyes are off-putting, yielding a -1 to initial  reactions, and causing the already shy girl to be more self-conscious of her appearance.  Time will tell if Myrma becomes acclimated to the new eyes, and finds ways to grow her skills and confidence. especially in her first forays into representing the family business...