What gives a virtue gem its particular power? [lore]

My apologies if this is a repeat thread but it's hard to search for.

What exactly defines the actual skill of a virtue gem?

We seem to take them for granted, with their intricate golden embellishments depicting what the gems do.
But does that embellishment cause the gem to bestow the effect on the wielder?
Does it get added onto an identified gem later for easier categorization?

Is it the cut of the gem that does it?

Is it the gem structure itself and if so, are there intermediate/hybrid skills in the gem layer/cluster found in the rocks/soil?
Like a raise zombie gem and a firestorm gem 'tangled up'? Like crudely/superficially mixing two lumps of playdoh where some parts are mashed up while some bits are still 'pure' enough to extract the originals from?

How are mined gems tested if they could be mashed up?

Etc.

Yeah. I wanna know.

If it is actually defined or at least hinted already, of course.
If not then I guess this thread is pointless.

Act 4 all has the answers yo

and we bout to fuck Kaom up for being a traitorous dog

I thought it was pretty clear. Devs give them the power they have. Duh

current lore doesn't really say anything about anyone "mining" these gems.
it only specifies those who used it. from the Vaal, to Malachai/Maligaro/Shavronne and the Eternal Empire, to Piety.

unlike us Exiles who slot them into items, all these people were inserting them into flesh. which implies they are pretty much designed for evil as a primary purpose.

designed by who? well, there's a thing called "the darkness" repeating in most of the lore, or "Kitava the Black Spirit" by Haku - which may be the answer.
I think we may know for sure in Act 4, which I expect to be some kind of freakish outer world similar to Half-Life's Xen or Torchlight 2's Nether Realm - where we will ultimately get to fight this "Kitava" thing.

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johnKeys wrote:

current lore doesn't really say anything about anyone "mining" these gems.
it only specifies those who used it. from the Vaal, to Malachai/Maligaro/Shavronne and the Eternal Empire, to Piety.

unlike us Exiles who slot them into items, all these people were inserting them into flesh. which implies they are pretty much designed for evil as a primary purpose.

designed by who? well, there's a thing called "the darkness" repeating in most of the lore, or "Kitava the Black Spirit" by Haku - which may be the answer.
I think we may know for sure in Act 4, which I expect to be some kind of freakish outer world similar to Half-Life's Xen or Torchlight 2's Nether Realm - where we will ultimately get to fight this "Kitava" thing.

The tears of Maji (Virtue gems) were Buried in Highgate by Tarcus Veruso.

Years later, slaves would extract them for thaumaturgists and aristocrats.

"

johnKeys wrote:

current lore doesn't really say anything about anyone "mining" these gems.
it only specifies those who used it. from the Vaal, to Malachai/Maligaro/Shavronne and the Eternal Empire, to Piety.

It actually does. It mentions about Ezomyte, Karui and Azmeri slaves being sent to mine virtue gems from the mountain, and how they return deformed and twisted.