Rock Shaping

Soul magic that lets the wielder change the shape and composition of rock and stone is known as Rock Shaping, but can also be referred to as the Aspect of Minerals. While roughly as common among elves as tree shaping, rock shaping is not nearly as closely tied to elven culture as the shaping of trees is.

This is partially due to the dwarves being the ones most closely associated with living in underground caves and mines, while elves are seen as surface dwellers mostly living above ground. In the last millennia, after the dwarves started making their way out into the world the need for rock shapers has also diminished somewhat. Dwarves are able to perform many of the same functions more efficiently and at less cost. Another reason is that the work of rock shapers is in many ways focused more on the functional than the decorative while tree shaping is usually the other way around.

Historically, before the resurgence of the dwarves, rock shapers were the creators of bridges and tunnels; they laid foundations for buildings and roads and they were employed to fortify buildings and walls built from stone. Many ancient castles and temples still stand to this day after rock shapers were contracted to assist in their construction.

It's rare to come across any recent work of a rock shaper in modern cities. Most rock shapers are unable to manipulate concrete, referring to it as “dead rock” they choose to avoid it as much as possible. Instead they gravitate towards mountainous or rocky regions of the world where their specific skill is more needed. In these places rock shapers and dwarves often work together on the creation of cliff-face or underground dwellings.

The most well known of these locations is the rock-islands of Knysvian, originally settled by elves more than ten thousand years ago. It was the rock shapers who hollowed out the first dwellings there and it was they who raised the original hall of the elven high court. These days most of the construction work on the islands is done by dwarves, but rock shapers are still very involved in overseeing and directing the process. The usage of concrete and other “dead rock” is extremely limited.

Just like with tree shaping it is possible for anyone able to wield magic to change the shape of rocks and stones. However, in order to retain the structural integrity of the shaped rock or stone the internal composition of the transformed object must remain sound. If this isn't done the risk for stress fractures and breaks within the rock becomes too big and the likelihood the shaped object will break increases dramatically. In theory it is possible to ascertain the soundness of the rock for any magician, but in practice it's too complex for anyone but a rock shaper to do it on anything larger than a big pebble.