Valiant Omen Sapphire

Latin valēns, strong — present-participle of valēre, sharing root with English value and valor. As a color modifier, valiant implies a saturated-and-courageous-and-firm quality, the deep-rich color of Crusader-and-Knight-Templar military-religious-order vestment. Sits at the bold-and-chivalrous end of the grid, parallel to gallant and heroic in usage.

Latin omen, prophetic-sign-or-portent. As a color modifier, omen implies a prophetic-sign-and-augur-and-portent quality, the visual register of Roman-augur-omen-and-Etruscan-haruspex hand-prophetic-sign-and-augur-and-portent Roman-augur-omen-and-Etruscan-haruspex-and-bird-flight omen-and-prophetic-sign-and-augur surfaces under Roman-augur-omen-and-Etruscan-haruspex-and-bird-flight Capitoline-Hill-and-Etruscan-templum prophetic-sign-light. Sits at the modifier-and-myth end of the grid, parallel to sigil and rune in usage.

An iron-and-titanium-bearing corundum — the same mineral as ruby, hardness 9 on the Mohs scale, mined for two millennia from Sri Lanka, Burma, Madagascar, and the Cashmere mines of British India. The color refers to a fine Kashmir-cut sapphire: a saturated, slightly violet-shifted deep blue with the gem's signature internal velvet — a quality of light scattering in the stone that faceted glass cannot replicate. Cooler than cobalt, deeper than azure.