History Main / GemHeart

* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', the party has to go on a MatchmakerQuest on the behalf of the Prince of Argonia, who needs to slay an Argon Lizard and harvest their hearts as a sign of his coming of age and the right to [[ArrangedMarriage marry Princess Medea of Trodain]] (who, unknown to him, has been transformed into a white mare due to a curse). Unfortunately, this person happens to be PrinceCharmless, who is the ''epitome'' of {{entitled bastard}}ry. And to make things worse, after you slay a Great Argon Lizard and do the hard work for [[DirtyCoward him]], [[spoiler:Prince Charmles ''buys'' a larger (and presumably fake) Argon Heart from a shady merchant anyway!]] [[{{Jerkass}} Son of a...]] [[spoiler:Luckily, [[ChekhovsGun this comes back]] to bite him in the ass ''hard'', costing him Medea ''and'' [[BreakTheHaughty his undeserved sense of entitlement]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', the party has to go on a MatchmakerQuest on the behalf of the Prince of Argonia, who needs to slay an Argon Lizard and harvest their hearts as a sign of his coming of age and the right to [[ArrangedMarriage marry Princess Medea of Trodain]] (who, unknown to him, has been transformed into a white mare due to a curse). Unfortunately, this person happens to be [[PrinceCharmless Prince Charmles]], who is the ''epitome'' of {{entitled bastard}}ry. And to make things worse, after you slay a Great Argon Lizard and do the hard work for [[DirtyCoward him]], [[spoiler:Prince Charmles ''buys'' a larger (and presumably fake) Argon Heart from a shady merchant anyway!]] [[{{Jerkass}} Son of a...]] [[spoiler:Luckily, [[ChekhovsGun this comes back]] to bite him in the ass ''hard'', costing him Medea ''and'' [[BreakTheHaughty his undeserved sense of entitlement]].]]

* Greatshells such as the Chasm Fiends in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' by BrandonSanderson have gems like raw rubies, emeralds, and sapphires deep beneath their shells. By the time of the story, most of these {{Gem Heart}}s are gathered through the slightly unsporting method of waiting until the greatshell is pupating, then cutting through the stone carapace to get to the gem.

* In MagicTheGathering, Karn was created with a Phyrexian heartstone, which worked until he gave up his Planeswalker spark to help mend time rifts on Dominaria. When he did, the oil in the heartstone gradually corrupted him. During the Phyrexian takeover of Mirrodin, the Phyrexians attempted to convert him into their new Father of Machines. [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted: his heartstone was replaced with Venser's human heart, restoring his Planeswalker spark and cleansing him of the Phyrexian corruption]].

* Two In MichaelMoorcock's ''ElricOfMelnibone'' stories.
** Nanorion stones (gems) are sometimes found as the hearts of demons. They have the magical power to wake the dead or those in a death-like sleep.
** When Corum slays the god Arioch, Arioch's heart turns out to be a huge glowing gemstone.

* Played with in ''TheHeroAndTheCrown'', where the last drop of blood a dragon spills before dying turns into a bloodstone (read: ruby).

* Dragons in ''{{Eragon}}'' have a gemlike organ called an Eldunari. In a twist, though, it has no intrinsic value; it's actually the dragon's emergency SoulJar.

There are plenty of reasons to hunt a dragon. Maybe you want revenge for the [[DoomedHometown village]] it burnt down. Maybe you're after [[GlorySeeker the fame and fortune that such a kill can bring]]. Or perhaps you just [[DeathSeeker have a death wish]].

The creature the Gem Heart is in needn't be a dragon, so long as it's large and dangerous and has a massive precious stone in its body. Sometimes, the stone comes [[AllNaturalGemPolish naturally shiny and faceted]], other times it doesn't. Often, this gemstone possesses some special magical ability.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E4Dragonfire Dragonfire]]", the dragon's treasure turns out to be a large PowerCrystal contained within its body. [[spoiler:Justified in that the "dragon" is actually a robot built around the crystal to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.]]

* Greatshells such as the Chasm Fiends in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' by BrandonSanderson have gems like raw rubies, emeralds, and sapphires deep beneath their shells. By the time of the story, most of these GemHearts are gathered through the slightly unsporting method of waiting until the greatshell is pupating, then cutting through the stone carapace to get to the gem.

* The MacGuffin in ''{{XXXenophile}}: Heart of Stone'' was a massive ruby carved from the heart of a monster that induced lust in anyone who touched it with their bare flesh.

* Greatshells such as the Chasm Fiends in ''TheStormlightArchive'' by BrandonSanderson have gems like raw rubies, emeralds, and sapphires deep beneath their shells. By the time of the story, most of these GemHearts are gathered through the slightly unsporting method of waiting until the greatshell is pupating, then cutting through the stone carapace to get to the gem.

* Two In MichaelMoorcock's ''{{Elric of Melnibone}}'' stories.

* {{Discworld}} trolls have diamond teeth.

For those who live in some universes, however, there's another reason: If you cut open its body, you can find a ruby as big as your fist (or even bigger) nestled in among its squishy bits. This is a GemHeart.

The creature the GemHeart is in needn't be a dragon, so long as it's large and dangerous and has a massive precious stone in its body. Sometimes, the stone comes [[AllNaturalGemPolish naturally shiny and faceted]], other times it doesn't. Often, this gemstone possesses some special magical ability.

In more fantastical universes, this gem actually takes the place (and function) of a major internal organ. This is most often the heart, as the trope name would suggest, but finding gems within the brain isn't uncommon either. In works with a higher degree of biological verisimilitude, these stones are explained away as gizzard stones, used to help the creature break down its food for digestion.

* The SuperHero {{Darkhawk}} is a rare humanoid example, bearing a ruby amulet inside of his chest. At one point, the villain Tombstone tore it out, believing it was valuable. [[spoiler: Darkhawk recovered]]

* In Cornelia Funke's ''Literature/DragonRider'', Nettlebrand [[spoiler: has a golden casket that acts as his heart]]. It has no actual value, though.

* Buzzjewels in ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}''. They're swarming insects that resemble large (hand-sized) dragonflies, which graze on "interesting" minerals like gemstones and eventually crystallize some sort of a small gem in their bellies, with a mildly poisonous bite to use if the swarm is attacked.

* In ''DragonQuestVIII'', the party has to go on a MatchmakerQuest on the behalf of the Prince of Argonia, who needs to slay an Argon Lizard and harvest their hearts as a sign of his coming of age and the right to [[ArrangedMarriage marry Princess Medea of Trodain]] (who, unknown to him, has been transformed into a white mare due to a curse). Unfortunately, this person happens to be [[PrinceCharmless Prince Charmles]], who is the ''epitome'' of {{entitled bastard}}ry. And to make things worse, after you slay a Great Argon Lizard and do the hard work for [[DirtyCoward him]], [[spoiler:Prince Charmles ''buys'' a larger (and presumably fake) Argon Heart from a shady merchant anyway!]] [[{{Jerkass}} Son of a...]] [[spoiler:Luckily, [[ChekhovsGun this comes back]] to bite him in the ass ''hard'', costing him Medea ''and'' [[BreakTheHaughty his undeserved sense of entitlement]].]]

* The SuperHero {{Darkhawk}} is a rare humanoid example, bearing a ruby amulet inside of his chest. At one point, the villain Tombstone tore it out, believing it was valuable. Darkhawk [[IGotBetter got better.]]

See also PowerCrystal. Often a form of BodyToJewel. May overlap with HeartDrive or ImmortalityTalisman.

See also PowerCrystal. Often a form of BodyToJewel. May overlap with HeartDrive.

* Deoxys from ''{{Pokemon}}''. That gem on its chest is actually its brain.

* Subverted with Deoxys from ''{{Pokemon}}''. That gem on its chest is actually its brain.

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* In a less epic vein, oysters, and the pearls they generate (caused by bits of grit covered in mother-of-pearl in order to prevent them from irritating the host bivalve, if you didn't know).
* A more tragic example: The value of elephant-tusk ivory and rhinoceros horn (considered an aphrodisiac in some cultures) has led to both creatures being hunted to near-extinction.

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* Subverted with Deoxys from ''{{Pokemon}}''. That gem on its chest is actually its brain.

* In ''LegendOfMana,'' part of the Mana series, there are a race of humans called "Jumi" who all have some sort of precious gem in their chest. If it gets damaged, they could die.

* In Cornelia Funke's {{DragonRider}}, Nettlebrand [[spoiler: has a golden casket that acts as his heart]]. It has no actual value, though.

* In Cornelia Funke's {{Literature DragonRider}}, Nettlebrand [[spoiler: has a golden casket that acts as his heart]]. It has no actual value, though.

* In Cornelia Funke's {{LiteratureDragonRider}}, Nettlebrand [[spoiler: has a golden casket that acts as his heart]]. It has no actual value, though.

* In Cornelia Funke's {{Dragon Rider}}, Nettlebrand [[spoiler: has a golden casket that acts as his heart]]. It has no actual value, though.

** When Corum slays the god Arioch, Arioch's heart turns out to be a huge glowing gemstone.

* Part of the backstory for ''{{Myst}} V: End of Ages'' reveals that this is true of the Laki, which appear to be something like [[CallARabbitASmeerp otherworldly narwhals]]. The Laki collect gemstones in their gizzards to help them digest, and (before the cities in their world were destroyed by plague) were hunted almost to extinction in gladiatorial games to harvest them. They survived, but they don't get close enough to for the player to interact with them.