Some sages proclaim that at the height of their civilisation, the psionically-powerful Lords of the Crystal Spires decided that the cage of flesh, bone and mortality should not thwart their ambitions, as they believed they were fated for godhead and the time for ascension was nigh.
As they had for generations, the Lords shaped crystal using their powers, sound, temperature and pressure, but rather than the habitats of old, they built ships to take them to the stars. Algol was not enough, they wanted to travel the universe for eternity, beyond physical appetites, freed from desire.
Decades of experimentation had led to the development of psionic conduits, which allowed thoughts, memories and emotions to resonate through the crystal lattice of the ship, forming a mass mind, while the Lords bodies were encased in cryogenic 'coffins' aboard ship.
The Day of Ascension came and the Lords took to their cryo-coffins and as their physical feeling ebbed away, their minds joined with a harmony as never before. Each ship's psionically- powered systems were engaged and the ships, each containing thousands of souls, ascended into space powered by pure thought.
Unfortunately, within an hour of leaving orbit crystalline deficiencies exacerbated by the intensity of the mass-melding of minds caused a breakdown in the psychic apparatus of the mass-mind, with the 'id' taking control, as the minds within the whole struggled to survive and attempted to assert themselves.
Several ships tore themselves apart in psionic frenzy, some careered into one another, flew into one of the 3 suns or set course for the system's black hole. A solitary ship plummeted back towards Algol and exploded mid-atmosphere causing much devastation and scattering crystal shards, some mere splinters, over land and sea.
GM notes:
Long after the Aeon of the Ancients , the rare shards that have been discovered have been incorporated in jewellery, weapon hilts and crowns - something about them seems special. Any humanoid who possesses an item containing a crystal shard and keeps it close to their person (worn, or in a bag or scabbard/holster) must make a saving throw if they are within 50ft of a Mind Wizard's spell use as this will rouse the deranged mind-fragment within the crystal which will attempt to 'possess' the humanoid. A possessed humanoid will become (roll 2d6), either catatonic (result of 2-6) for 1d6 rounds*, frenzied, attacking all within sight for 1d6 rounds* (7-11), or their brain will explode (12) . There are no positive benefits to having an item containing a splinter of a psychotic devolved mass-mind, other than it does look pretty and will probably fetch a good price in any of the Algolian cities.
*after which, they can attempt a saving throw..and probably throw the damn crystal away if they have any sense, because the crystal will try and try again to possess the holder.
(all of this may be false, based on inaccurate research, intoxicant-fuelled theorizing, or dodgy folktales. They may actually be the tears of a dying god. YOU decide)
