The Philosopher's Stone

The Philosopher's Stone is a red gem-like stone with immense powers. It must be created by alchemy, and the exact process is not known by anyone but a few of the most hardcore alchemists. One does not need to create the stone to harness its powers; possessing it is enough.

Powers
The Philosopher's Stone is known to do the following things:
 * Turn metal into gold or silver
 * Turn the elements into gemstones
 * Create flexible, malleable glass from nothingness
 * Create the "elixir of life," which can heal illness and grant essential immortality
 * Grant life to certain things, including dead plants
 * Create illusions
 * Create a clone of the user

Creation
While the exact creation process of a Philosopher's Stone is not known to the public, it is said to be an extremely time-consuming and magical process. Known requirements for the ritual include the presence of a rainbow, a hunk of gold, and some sort of opposites. A lesser known, but still public, requirement is the presence of a great sacrifice, usually thought to be the person most loved by the stone's creator.

Controversy
Due to the element of human sacrifice present in the stone, it is commonly thought that only the most desperate or most evil of people would create, possess, or use a stone. It's been shown that the true essence of a Philosopher's Stone is the soul of this sacrifice, and that this soul is used as an energy source to power all of the stone's miracles. It is unknown if the trapped soul remains conscious in the form of the stone.