Hmmm, this has some resonance with the Seven Lights/spheric method of Alphatian spell weaving, as well as somewhat tying in with the chromatic-themed dragonstones of Thorn's World That Was. (Though there are only five colored stones as yet described, there are rumors of a sixth, dracosilicus amberyl...)

What if you had the initial premise be a single stone, with the discovery during the search that -- oh boy!-- there are more to discover, with each one tilting the odds in favor of the good guys?

What started as a search becomes a race against time, as the heroes try to gather as many gems as they can before the cultists can seize them.

Just some thoughts on possible structures for the idea.

I am preparing a pretty epic game for *Mordred* based on the legendary *Doomstones* campaign for Warhammer. While I frown about the similarities our games might turn out to have, this might be a good place for you to start, in case you want to colelct some further inspiration. :)

Thorn's World That Was has Golden Leansethar, and her elder twin Rowena, sometimes called the Silver Princess. ;)

The naming conventions undertaken by many of the shrikes is no accident, either: "Aurora," "Nova."...