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lore:materials

Materials

The worlds of Jaern and Cahyali and the multiverse as a whole have many unique materials that require special definitions. Most of these materials can be found around the world and used by adventurers for many things. In addition, one can also find most mundane materials such as gold, iron, steel, diamond, etc.

Metals

Terisium

Terisium is one of the most significant materials on Jaern and Cahyali. It can take a variety of different states, the most important defined by scholars as Terisium-1, 2, 10, and 1000. See the page on Terisium for a more detailed explanation of these states and the history of terisium use by mortals.

In its T-1 state, it appears as a dull metal, mostly a bright gray with moving, branching lines of prismatic color. Terisium-1 can be formed into a loop, creating an antimagic field within the loop that drains away spellcasters' units and cancels active magical effects.

In T-1000 state, it is a crystal with cubic morphology and a variety of different colors. Terisium-1000 focuses and amplifies energy, making it popular amongst adventurers (who are lucky enough to get ahold of it). When cut and faceted, Terisium-1000 is known simply as a Skill Gem.

Adamantite

A super strong, almost unbreakable metal that is a favorite of dwarven smiths. Adamantite's appearance is that of a lustrous and silvery metal, ranging in exact shade from a dark gunmetal to a bright silver sheen. Its most defining feature visually, however, is the shifting green sheen that flows over its surface when properly purified, alloyed, and forged.

Adamantite can be used in an alloy to create high-quality weapons and armor - its pure form is difficult to forge, exorbitantly expensive, and most generally prefer to alloy it with steel, titanium, or other more workable metals. Anything made of pure adamantite is likely decorative or ceremonial.

Chronosium

With vibrant hues of blue, orange, purple, and white shifting across its surface, chronosium is thought to have been created by the Empire of the Veil: one of the first civilizations to arise on Jaern after the destruction of Torandor. It anchors one in the timeline, warding off baleful chronomantic effects or quickening the wielder when made into a weapon.

Chronosium is incredibly malleable, even able to be stretched into a thread that can be woven into fabrics. Some legends say that it is the concept of time itself condensed into physical form.

Enchanted Metals

There are many ways one can alter or enchant mundane metal to transform it into a magical material - depending on the process, the results can vary wildly.

  • Arcane Silver: Created via specific forging processes guided by mages, this variant of silver channels magic far better than its mundane counterpart. This makes it better suited for use in spellcasting than other metals. Arcane silver, over time, gains a slight colored shimmer which matches the magic it is used to cast.
  • Celestial Silver: A variant of silver forged and enchanted in the Celestial Planes. Can only be found in very small amounts in the mortal realm, but grants some protection against the forces of the divine. Identifiable from mundane silver due to the fact that it gives off a faint light.
  • Chaos Iron: Exposure to chaos magic can destabilize a metal. It becomes multicolored, and begins to channel unstable elemental power. The nature of this power is unpredictable day to day, but some adventurers prefer this…
  • Crimson Alloy: A certain blood magic ritual can give metals a strange semblance of life, as well as parasitic properties. These metals turn red, in full or in part, and drain the vitality from anyone who uses them in order to become sharper and more deadly.
  • Fey Iron: After being exposed to the mystical energies of the Dreaming, this iron gains a gold, blue, or green shimmer and no longer damages creatures normally harmed by iron. In addition, its enchantment seems to shield the mind from charming or manipulative effects.
  • Living Metal: Powerful necromantic or psionic rituals can imbue regular metals with regenerative power, much like a living organism's natural healing. This can be done to a variety of metals, and has no distinctive appearance - one can tell living metal when it begins to knit itself back together after being damaged.
  • Lycan Steel: Appearing like regular steel with intricate runes carved just beneath the surface, the secrets to crafting lycan steel are known only to the werebeast tribes of Jaern, and require forging under the light of one of the two moons: Mournglade or Obenar. Depending on the ritual performed, armor made of this metal can greatly enhance physical prowess.
  • Necrosteel: Exposure to blighted energies can change normal steel into necrosteel. This metal has a dark maze-like pattern similar to Damascus steel, and is capable of draining the life from others to heal its user.
  • Warped Steel: Exposure to dimensional and spatial magic can make a metal twist into this. From the right angle, it appears like the starry sky. It is capable of anchoring creatures struck with it in their planes, preventing teleportation.

Fallen Bronze

The machines, armor, and weapons used by demons of the Beneath are often made of fallen bronze: a heavy, strong metal with a reddish-copper coloration. As it drains divine power from its wielder, red vein-like patterns reveal themselves that twist and throb.

It is thought by some that this metal was forged from the blood of archdemons - as such, it is capable of draining divine power from those who wield it, channeling this energy into stronger attacks.

Ismudium

The name of this metal derives from an ancient, forgotten deity with two faces, reflecting its dual nature. Depending on the details of its forging, ismudium can resist force originating from up close yet be incredibly weak to attacks from afar, or vice versa. Its appearance resembles brass, but is a little more silvery.

At a glance, it is hard to tell which weakness an ismudium piece has, but close inspection reveals that melee-weak ismudium is a little more lustrous than ranged-weak ismudium.

Mythril

This metal is light, both in color and weight. It has long been used in elven communities of Jaern to forge lightweight weapons and armor, fit for speeding through thick forests with agility and dexterity. Its appearance is almost pearlescent - an extremely light-colored metal that ranges from silvery to something akin to rose gold.

Mythril veins are often found in large forested areas, pointing to why elves were the first to discover and use it. It is said to be equal in strength to a good steel, but half as heavy.

Noxious Steel

The “steel” in this metal's name is sort of a misnomer, as it is not steel at all. Instead, this metal was first discovered in asteroids that fell to earth. It is porous and soft, but strangely hardens after fast movement - somewhat non-euclidean. Rogues and poisoners enjoy using this material, as it is a splendid way to cut toxins into the body of a foe.

It is normally a dark gray color with little luster, but takes on a slight sheen of whichever poison it holds at the moment.

Silent Steel

An alloy of lead and terisium, and one of the more effective anti-magic materials in common use. Due to the terisium component, this metal cancels out most magical effects attempting to affect it - whether this originates from the tool or armor's user or an outside source.

Silent steel's appearance resembles lead, but the terisium component is betrayed by a prismatic sheen when the right light strikes the metal. It is difficult to forge - as the process can't be assisted by magical means, so silent steel is one of the more expensive materials on the market.

Stones & Crystals

Demonslayer Ore

This pitch-black stone is strangely sharp and light for its appearance, resembling a heftier version of obsidian. Red lines, which can resemble geometric patterns or organic veins, run through it and glow when demons are near. When made into a weapon, infernal runes are etched onto it which have the power to reveal and harm demons. A favorite of many monster hunters.

Eternal Ice

Never-melting icy crystals found only in the freezing depths of the Elemental Plane of Water and wintry regions of the Dreaming. Can be clear like an icicle, or blue like glacier ice. Extremely cold to the touch, but just not quite cold enough to harm its wielder.

Eternal ice is incredibly difficult to work with, as it cannot be forged like a metal. Therefore, artisans working with this material sometimes line metal weapons' blades with eternal ice to achieve a similar effect.

Jinghua

Also known as Living Jade, this greenish stone with fiery flecks reminiscent of fire opal is considered a good luck charm in Ruefang, Cahyali. It is also rarely found in other parts of Cahyali. Initially a rather inert stone that can store minimal amounts of magic, jinghua can be “activated”, turning it into a powerful and dangerous fuel source.

Activating jinghua requires two things: exposure to radiation, and exposure to an organic fluid like blood. After this, it begins to glow and thrum, becoming brighter when close to a leyline. Activated jinghua is capable of initiating and exacerbating a deadly ailment known as Leyline Sickness, which can take many forms and can cause grotesque mutations.

Milphite

Rumor has it that this crystal is made out of the souls of elves who perished in Torandor's Elvesbane plague or Cahyali's Day of Solar Wrath. It grows in spiky clusters, similar to quartz, and seems to have swirling bright spots somewhere deep inside. Milphite crystals come in just about any color, with the most common being green and orange.

Milphite is an essential component of airships, as it provides the ability for these vehicles to fly. Other levitating vehicles also use milphite in their construction. Although it is too brittle and volatile to be used as armor or weaponry, it is still an important material in the world.

Tark Ore

A ruddy bronzish-blackish ore that can be used as-is, or smelted and formed into a fiery metal (which is sometimes referred to as tarkium). In either form, tark can be easily identified by the heat radiating off of it. This material is most common in the Beneath and the Elemental Plane of Fire, though it has rarely been found in volcanoes with significant magical ties.

Tark ore is incredibly dense and heavy, with its heft only being slightly improved when smelted. Demonic smiths have discovered that adding certain chemicals to tark during smelting can change its color, resulting in tarkium shades that range from pitch-black, to steel gray, to fiery reds and oranges and even blazing blues.

Terradite

Scholars disagree as to the exact origin of this crystal; some think it's simply a rare stone from the Elemental Plane of Earth, while others believe it is the result of intentional cultivation by some sapient elementals of the plane. This crystal grows in dense clusters and can be easily sharpened into weaponry. It comes in colors from deep brown to golden yellow.

Strangely for the stalwart nature of earth and earth magic, a piece of terradite gear is no heavier than a piece made from mundane iron.

Organic Materials & Fibers

Balenoigajo Hide

(pr. BALE-uh-noy-GAH-joe) This is the slick, blubbery hide of a massive species of Jaernian whale. No matter how old it is, this material always stays slippery and smooth. It is usually black, white, gray or a subtle shade of blue - favored amongst Semi-Aquatic communities who must brave the cold ocean in the winter months.

Draconic Hide

With scale shape and vibrant color resembling the beast it came off of, draconic hides are a rare and valuable material. Drake skin is comparably more common than dragon hide, but both of these unique leathers are prized by leatherworkers and sought after by adventurers. It isn't uncommon for a monster hunter to bring their quarry directly to a leatherworker, hoping to commission an armor piece from their very own kill.

Enchanted Leather & Fabric

There are a variety of ways to change mundane leathers and fabrics into magical ones, each with their own procedure and result.

  • Arcane Wood: A special type of wood that can be collected from trees grown among strong ambient magic or treated after felling with bolstering spells. Favored by spellcasters for the construction of staves and wands due to its unique ability to channel magic. At first, resembles normal wood, but over time it will develop glowing veins and cracks in the wood that resemble the type of magic it is used to cast.
  • Living Hide/Fiber: Powerful necromantic or psionic rituals can imbue regular materials with regenerative power, much like a living organism's natural healing. This can be done to a variety of material, and has no distinctive appearance - one can tell living hide or fiber when it begins to knit itself back together after being damaged.
  • Runic Hide/Thread: A broad classification of material that has had magical runes worked into its construction. Popular amongst mages for its spell-storing properties.

Prempek

Invented by the Onivero native to Jaern, use of prempek has spread to Cahyali, the Elemental Plane of Water, and beyond. It is composed of ground-up seashells bound together with a substance derived from kelp, resulting in a light and strong material that can be molded into shapes, spun into thread and woven, etc.

Most prempek is light-colored like its seashell component, but it can be easily dyed to any color one may desire just like regular fibers.

Psychic Webbing

In the caverns of Cahyali's Null Labyrinth and the many caves on the islands and beneath the oceans of Jaern live odd, giant spiders with inexplicable psionic abilities. The silk of these spiders is highly prized to weave a material that is not only soft and beautiful, but can bolster psionic power. Psychic webbing resembles normal silk in most ways, but gives off a mystical glint when catching light in the right way.

Shadoweave

Collected from the essence of night and shadow itself using experimental magic rituals, this pitch-black fabric is a favorite amongst rogues who favor stealth and subtlety. It is also a component in some blueprints for invisibility cloaks. It is incredibly light, but can be layered and compressed on itself to form a harder, leather-like material.

Skybough Amber

This unique material drips like sap from the branches of skybough trees, mystical, towering trees that grow only in the Dreaming. When collected properly and carefully cured, skybough amber becomes a strong yet light material favored by fey lords for their personal equipment.

It resembles mundane amber in color: a translucent yellow-orange. Armor sets made from skybough amber are often adorned with other materials such as cloth and preserved leaves.

Thunderblitz Wood

On the Elemental Plane of Air are rare, lonesome floating islands - and on these islands are gnarled trees with purple or yellow leaves and wood that hums with electricity. Though it is too brittle to form armor, the canny adventurer can craft thunderblitz wood into a weapon that is sharper than it seems.

Thunderblitz weapons are unassuming when left alone, save for the occasional arc of electricity that winds down its length. Many have assumed them to be simple toy weapons or training implements, only to be shockingly corrected.

lore/materials.txt · Last modified: 2024/05/02 15:03 by quiddlesticks