Quote Originally Posted by TheMightyMollusk View Post
Did I miss where the hourglass was associated with Azem? Because I don't remember that ever coming up. Mostly I've just been wondering why the core of it looks like a spiraled piece of white auracite.
Ending spoilers:

When we pull out Azem's Crystal right before The Interphos, we are shown that the key/chalice lights up with the same symbol, in the same color as the crystal. I think this is meant to imply that the key/chalice is also a creation of Azem, or at least invokes the same magic.