Amber

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Amber is one of only a few substances known to interact with Starheart energy, and the only material capable of storing large quantities of it for prolonged periods of time. Certain methods of chemical excitement can cause it to combust, releasing a burst of aethiric energy (as well as producing heated gas and a flash of light). Depending on the conditions of combustion, this reaction can be used to propel starships in aethiric flight, provide the energy for arcane devices to operate, or fuel an individuals spellcasting. Amber markets are dominated by the Kingdom of the Amber Suns.

Amber cannot be economically synthesized. The only natural source are ichor trees, which grow near the galactic core. These trees grow only near settlements of sapient beings, although they seem able to thrive on any sort of soil. The presence of nearby sapients seems to be all that is needed to nourish them. No ill effects from such proximity are known. Ichor trees ooze a constant stream of liquid amber, which quickly hardens on contact with air and is then scraped off at regular intervals, or which is captured in liquid form by tubes and stored in sealed containers. Drilling into, cutting, or in any way harming an Ichor tree causes great psychic distress to all soul-bearing beings nearby, and reduces the output of amber substantially for some time. Amber production can be stimulated by certain arcane rituals which can be performed by most mages, and which have been successfully reproduced by resonant arcane dynamical systems that anyone with appropriate training can operate. Amber production can also be stimulated by burying recently deceased sapients near the roots of the tree; such corpses are quickly absorbed into the wood. It is said that the faces of those thusly buried sometimes appear in the patterns of hardened amber produced by the trees.

It is not uncommon for serf communities surrounding Ichor trees in the Amber Suns to be deprived of modern medicine and industrial production, in order to maximize the rate at which new bodies can be sustainably provided to the trees.