The First Star of Africa (Cullinan I), Sceptre, British Crown Jewels

The "Die-mond", so named because anyone who comes into contact with this stone is automatically found dead.

The die-mond on the outside looks like a misfit in the dark nothing of Mordor. Being at once clear, if it somehow catches a rare beam of light, it sends sparkling showers of color all over the area it is in. The story goes that an orc from a group, while patroling the Lonely Mountain on the outskirts of Erebor, fell through a small hole at the base of the aforesaid mountain. The orc was hauled out a few minutes later, but when he came up he was clinging to a stone the size of a dove’s egg. Upon inspection, the group shone a lantern on it, which made it sparkle. The orc group then had a melée, and the only surviving orc had just enough strength to make it back to Mordor, and give it to his son, before he died.

The son kept it in secret for a while, before, one night at a party when he was drunk, he showed it to a friend. The friend stabbed him in the back, then stole the gem. Another orc witnessed the entire thing, and reported it, hoping to get control of the stone. Sauron took a personal interest in it, and had the orc who stole the gem tortured in Barad-dûr. He also had the informant tortured, to keep him quiet. He didn’t want the news to get out too soon before he inspected the stone. He finally let it go public and put it on display under heavy security in a museum. But, in a while, the curator of the museum took the stone into his heart, and coveted it, and tried to steal it. Fool. We are still investigating what happened to that unfortunate. We do, however, know that the stone is back in the hands of the dark lord, mounted upon an orb, to be carried by his majesty for eternity.

In another report, the Mordor museum is looking for a new curator. Own health insurance is needed....

Written by Aiwendil Khamul