Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli / ラピスラズリ
Debut
First appearance	Volume 5, Chapter 32 (Mentioned) Volume 6, Chapter 44
Status	Inactive prior to the beginning of the story
Current Location	Attached to Phosphophyllite (Formerly)
Personal
Nickname	Lapis
Race	Gem
Age	Unknown (Taken before the start of the story)
Hardness	5.5
Professional
Occupation	Librarian (Former)
Teammate	Ghost Quartz (Former)

Lapis Lazuli (ラピスラズリ, Rapisu Razuri) is one of the Gems. They were the head of the Library; a position now taken up by their former partner Ghost Quartz after Lapis was taken by the Lunarians. Upon being taken, only their head was able to be retrieved. This head would later on be used by Phosphophyllite.

Appearance

Their character color is ultramarine blue. They have thigh-length, straight hair with bangs underneath their eyebrows which they seem to have a habit of adjusting and pushing behind their ears. Small pieces of pyrite (also known as fool's gold) adorn their hair, most noticeable at the ends and encircling their scalp. So far, they've been only seen in a standard winter uniform, occasionally sporting black opera gloves but is depicted gloveless and sockless in later appearances.

They have extremely keen senses, which have since been inherited by Phos.

Personality

They have a charming, leader-like personality. They have keen observation and great deductive thinking skills, and because of that have great confidence in themselves.

Euclase remarks that they were extremely smart and pleasant to talk to but were more eager to use their skills to satisfy their intellectual curiosity rather than for the benefit of others. This meant they could be quite manipulative at times. Cairngorm remarks that they could 'quietly conceal secrets for centuries' and were 'surprisingly deceiving'.

Phos once remarked how they feel calm whenever they read books, a possible trait that was inherited from Lapis.

In chapter 47, Cairngorm comments that Lapis had a habit of constantly touching their hair when they notice that Phos inherited similar behavior.

Story

Lapis Lazuli was taken by the Lunarians before the first chapter. Before this time, they served as the librarian. Their entire body was taken with the exception of their head, kept with extreme care by Ghost Quartz and then by Cairngorm.

The aforementioned head would then go on to be the substitute for Phosphophyllite's. When their head is attached to Phos, Lapis appears in Phos' dream as an apparition of some sort. Lapis implies that this dream-like apparition is being caused by them leaving a 'message' to their inclusions to give to the next gem who hosts their head.

They explain to Phos that they also wanted to understand the Lunarians, but by trying to rationalize their illogical actions during a battle, they were shot by arrows causing them to lose their head and be taken to the Moon.

Even though other shattered gems were turned into Lunarians, Lapis Lazuli was unable to be restored as their head had gone missing.

Relationships

Ghost Quartz

Ghost Quartz was Lapis' teammate up until they were captured by the Lunarians. Not much as been stated regarding the two's relationship, but it is apparent that both Ghost Quartz and Cairngorm held them in very high regard - demonstrated by the fact that Cairngorm calls Lapis' head 'the last precious thing we had'. Due to their tight bond, Lapis left the library duties to Ghost.

Phosphophyllite

Lapis's head was used as Phos' head replacement. They had helped to clear up Phos's mind and endowed Phos with their intelligence and observation skills, however it could be interpreted that Lapis has a somewhat manipulative relationship towards Phos, appearing in their dreams and guiding them towards certain choices and ideas. Both Phos and Lapis share a common goal to understand the Lunarians.

Gem info

• Mineral: Metamorphic Rock
• Chemistry: Mixture of compounds, mainly lazurite: (Na,Ca)₈[(S,Cl,SO₄,OH)₂|(Al₆Si₆O₂₄)]
• Colour: Blue

Lapis Lazuli is a deep blue semi-precious stone prized since antiquity for its intense color. It is a metamorphic rock, meaning that it is formed from the transformation of existing rock formations through heat and pressure. Lapis is not a single mineral but rather is composed of many different minerals, most notably lazurite, which makes up 25-40% of its structure. Lazurite is a silicate in the same general category as quartz, though they are both in different families. Lazurite has a blue color due to the presence of trisulfur (S₃). The other notable components that may appear in lapis lazuli are calcite (white), pyrite (brass/gold), sodalite (blue), along with many other minerals.

Lapis Lazuli has been mentioned as being used as jewelry by ancient civilizations such as the Assyrians, Babylonians and Akkadians - it is even mentioned in the oldest work of literature of all time 'The Epic of Gilgamesh'. During the Renaissance era, it was powdered into the pigment 'Ultramarine', incredibly expensive at the time and highly prized. This is usually done by grounding up lapis lazuli, but it emits a foul stench.

'Lapis' is the Latin word for "stone" and 'lazuli' from the Persian word "lājavard", which is the name of the stone in Persian and also the name of a place where lapis lazuli was mined.

Trivia

• Lapis Lazuli is the only known instance of another Gem being used to repair a 'living' Gem.
• With the knowledge that Gems see poorly due to how light refracts in their eyes (Lorebook pg. 23), it can be assumed that Lapis has such good eyesight due to lacking the transparency of most gems.
• Lapis and Phosphophyllite are the only gems that weren't turned into lunarians, in Lapis's case, that was because the lunarians didnt have the head to complete the inclusions of the body.

Gallery

Lapis as seen in Phos' dream

Lapis doing their "signature hair thing"

Lapis, as remembered by Euclase

Lapis in the Freedom art book.