Rock of Limitless Water: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
[[File:rsz_aqualith_7168.png|link=Legend of Legaia (Video Game)|frame|The entire lake was created by that single stone.]]
 
Most rocks are basic, run-of-the-mill objects. They're found everywhere on most planets, have little to no intrinsic value, and are about as ordinary as... well, a [[Shaped Like Itself|rock]].
 
Then, there are these. A rock of limitless water is a rock, stone, or other similar object that [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|emits a steady stream of water]] from itself. Such an item is generally held as an object of reverence, either from a [[God|deity]], [[Cosmic Keystone|other mystical force]], or perhaps [[Eldritch Abomination|something more sinister]]. These [[Plot Device|items]] are generally desired for their otherworldly powers by heroes and villains alike.
 
Such an item can be found across media types, occurring in film, video games, and television alike. However, due to the nature of the trope, examples will generally occur in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and/or religious scripture. As this trope is at least as old as [[The Bible (Literature)|The Bible]] and [[Classical Mythology]], this trope falls squarely into the realm of being [[Older Than Feudalism]], and possibly is [[Older Than Dirt]] as well.
 
These items, due to their immense power, are almost always going to be a [[Plot Device]] or otherwise [[MacGuffin|sought after]] at some point. A related object is a [[Philosopher's Stone]]. Whereas a Stone of Limitless Water is generally the mark of power of a deity or of magic, the Philosopher's Stone is the mark of the power of science or alchemy.
{{examples}}
* In ''[[Anyone Can Whistle (Theatre)|Anyone Can Whistle]]'', one of these appears in a [[Dying Town]], which causes a huge boom to tourism. The trope is subverted in that the water is actually being pumped in from behind the scenes.
* A similar feature occurs in ''[[Avatar (Filmfilm)|Avatar]]''. The floating islands have waterfalls constantly flowing from out of them, despite not having a source for such water. In this case, there is a [[Hand Wave|somewhat logical reason given]] for such behavior that does not [[Did Not Do the Research|justify the amount of water created]]
* [[The Bible (Literature)|The Bible]] contains what is among the first examples of this trope, whereby Moses strikes a stone and [[God]]'s power creates a waterfall from it.
* ''[[Call of Cthulhu (Tabletop Game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'' supplement ''Terror Australis'', adventure "City Beneath The Sands". The supernatural creature known as Power Boy can cause a spring to come out of a rock just by sticking his rangga (a ceremonial staff) into the rock.
* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'' has a decanter which mimics this trope. Though not the cheapest or most common of items, wizards can craft them without too much difficulty, making them less desirable than some on this list.
* [[Classical Mythology|Greek Mythology]]
** One legend involves Athena and Poseidon dueling over the patronage of the city that would become Athens. As part of said duel, Poseidon creates a sea from a rock.
** Another legend involves the winged horse Pegasus flying up to the top of Mt. Helicon and striking a rock with his hoof, creating a stream of water. It became known as the ''Hippocrene'', literally the "Fountain of the Horse"
** A third legend involves a woman named Niobe who [[Blasphemous Boast|thought herself above the goddess]] Leto. To avenge this insult to their mother's honor, Apollo and Artemis flew from Olympus and smote each of Niobe's children. In her grief, Niobe turned into a stone constantly awash in tears.
* The Aqualith in ''[[Legend of Legaia (Video Game)|Legaia II: Duel Saga]]''. A stone found in the protagonist's hometown, it is actually {{spoiler|one of three stones needed to access the Source Forge, the beacon of creation in the world}}
* In [[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword]], the town of Skyloft has a magic island spring that floats just above and supplies the river with an infinite amount of water.
* In ''[[Series/The Miraculous Mellops|The Miraculous Mellops]]'', the Moonlings had limited water and created a pill that replenishes a container of water up to 50 times. It got into a bowl of fruit punch and they needed to clean it out.
* Such an object appears in ''[[Mousehunt]]''
* Lala-Ru's pendant in ''[[Now and Then Here And There (Anime)|Now and Then Here And There]]'' is sought after for its ability to produce large amounts of water.
* The Crystal Stone in the first ''[[Paper Mario 64 (Video Game)|Paper Mario 64]]'' game is needed as part of a [[Fetch Quest]] in the Flower Fields.
* Such an item appears in an episode of ''[[Samurai Jack (Animation)|Samurai Jack]]''.
* Inverted by the [[SCP Foundation (Wiki)|SCP Foundation]]. SCP-402 is a Rock of ''Absorbing'' limitless water.
** SCP-045 is a straight example, producing water when exposed to nitrogen in an environment with less than 380 atmospheres of pressure.
* The Sacred Orb in ''[[Star Ocean Till the End of Time (Video Game)|Star Ocean Till the End of Time]]'' is a prized treasure of the Kingdom of Aquaria. As an exceedingly powerful artifact, it is desired by each of the warring factions in the galactic war. {{spoiler|Later, it is revealed to be a debugging tool for use by the denizens of 4D Space.}}
* There is the Orb of Tornami in ''[[Xiaolin Showdown (Animation)|Xiaolin Showdown]]''
* Though they don't seem to have any special significance, there are a number of floating islands in Nagrand in [[World of Warcraft (Video Game)|World of Warcraft]] that have waterfalls continually coming off them.
 
{{reflist}}