Marvelous Materials of Otherlore

In today's Otherlore update, we'll take a break from breaking down the mechanics of play in order to get back into a bit of the flavor of the setting- good to mix things up every now and again to keep your brain moving. Here, we're getting in to some of the stuff beyond leather, wood, linen and iron that exist in its Known World. Enjoy!

Rivengold  

Those who pan for gold are looking not only for fortune, but for legend. For it is said that in some rivers, particularly those that have become more alive than others, the flakes of gold that float from waters washing over an exposed vein fuse and become one of their own volition. No simple golden nugget bouncing down a river wash, this cold-pressed ingot spends ages drifting down the stony river floor, pressured along by the push of rapids and currents, said to be waiting to be found by someone that can see it to the shape it aspired to be when it first came to being.

When pulled from the river, a Rivengold ingot resembles a literal golden egg, varying in size from as small as a robin’s egg to as large as an ostrich’s. It isn’t rough like a nugget, but polished, often to a mirror sheen. It’s also heavy, heavier than gold should be. But what is most striking about these ingots is the cold they carry with them, a cold that not only never fades when pulled from the river, but resists all heat applied to it. Hence the problem of forging anything out of it, as this normally soft metal that is easily melted in a crucible has learned new hardness and resistance from its time beneath water. Rivengold requires a supernaturally hot flame to reduce to a molten state, meaning there are few craftspeople around that can work with it… on paper. However, each piece of Rivengold has its own destiny, and in seeking that destiny, it can empower others to help it on its way, including making a forge that extra bit hotter, an anvil that extra bit harder and a smith that extra bit more precise, strong and self-confident.

Rivengold shines with a mirrored and pale hue of gold, looking more like burnished bronze of an uncommon hue, rather than gold jewellery. Any shape it is forged into will resist any attempt to deform or break it, not simply because this is a stronger metal than ordinary gold, but one that has a will of its own, one that is strong as it is simple: to inhabit the form of a masterpiece. Anything made from it cannot be broken with mundane means- a steel sword will shatter as easily trying to cleave apart a Rivengold amulet as it would a shield. It’s that same will that allows it to hold the edge it does, as it is the same will that makes it lighter and lighter with each hammerblow and quench towards its final form. It’s also that same will that it strengthens its wearer with, imparting upon them the metaphysic understanding wrought from an existence spent hardening beneath river water- the ability to withstand cold and wet without ill effect or discomfort, to keep breathing while beneath water, to survive being chilled unto frozen solid, even by supernatural cold, and to inflict wounds that spread numbness through an enemy’s body.

Ashrin Steel  

The vaunted and revered ‘Steel That Breaks Both Knight and Nightmare,’ created by the founders of the Iron Collective, the Ashrin Society. From their Foundry Fortresses in the mountains beyond the Gulf of Alaam, this society of apprentices, journey-workers and masters not only produces this marvelous alloy, but grade it, ship it and distribute it to smiths of the Known World according to their ability to make the best use of it.

A high carbon crucible steel, Ashrin Steel is produced from not only the iron mined out of the mountains by the Ashrin themselves, but also from red and black sands they gather from the surrounding desert foothills. It has a distinct wave pattern on its surface, caused by the carbon concentration crisscrossing through it like a lattice. It’s this lattice that gives it its strength, flexibility and its ability to hold an edge. Impressively, its moniker is not simply a phrase, for batches of steel graded to be suited for weaponsmithing is tested by a random selection of ingots being forged into functional weaponry, which is then tested on captured suits of Throne Knight armor and peeled away pieces of Dread Matter. If the steel penetrates both to a sufficient degree, it’s suitable for use.

Beyond the various grades made for production by trusted craftspeople, there also exists a rare form of Ashrin Steel, one which has such razor thin margins of error that even a master can easily spoil it, resulting in an inferior grade of the normal steel. It’s known as Blazing Steel, because when it is successfully produced, the carbon patterning in it is joined by a red hue to the metal, which makes it look as though it never fully cooled after being quenched. While this does not impart any tricks upon it relating to heat or fire, like some bards and even a few scholars of questionable merit have claimed, it is striking visually, and the durability and sharpness of the metal is easily ten times that of the normal alloy.

Chromasand  

Beyond the northernmost reaches of The Cradles lies a strange place in between, where the Nightmare’s influence can be felt, yet in no way that can manifest as a direct threat. No one quite knows why; perhaps because the place itself is an otherwise bleak place of no consequence, a waste of dunes made of stuff so fine, it’s less a sand and more an ash, where little grows or lives. In this place In Between, which has so many names that few people just call it as such, the Nightmare and its powers become disjointed and vague. Anything it can do is devoid of the crushing weight of existential despair it normally inflicts upon the soul; it just comes out… weird. Time can flow strangely, but not in any way that causes real peril, just odd beats and skips here or there. Hunger or thirst leaves you, because sensations remembered in mind become of more substance, and can sustain you alone. You can awake from a sleep to find that your dream has followed you into the waking world, but less any sort of threat, and more a curious, fleeting creature that may try anything from long range observation to conversation.

And sometimes colour explodes out of the ground.

It’s that colour that’s largely the reason people come to In Between, that or people looking to cross from the Western Dimense to the Many Shores without going through the Cradles. When stained into the fine sand-stuff of the waste, this dream-conjured colour can be mixed with hot water or oil to create a magnificently brilliant and indelible dye or paint. More remarkably, it can be added as flux when making steel to apply its hue or hues to the finished alloy, with multiple colours resulting in alternating waves and subtle mixes at the fringes. The most common Chromasand varieties are yellow, green and blue, while oranges and reds are less common; violet, white and black are among the most rare. Prices vary wildly, namely because those that trade in the sand without any sort of proxy or reseller are individuals who have more shaky grasps on reality than others; try not to take advantage of the poor, In Between-addled merchant-gatherer that momentarily forgot that four is not the same as forty-eight.

Spidersilk  

A material that is not magic in and of itself, though the method of its harvesting may require some cunning means, the silk of spiders makes a marvelous cloth. Light, airy and capable of holding colour for ages and ages, it only feels delicate. In fact, it’s the exact opposite, having a tensile strength many times that of steel per weight, quite capable of blunting the punch of a handgonne’s bullet to a painful but far less lethal welt. It’s a material in demand by garment makers, tapestry artists and even armourers, for all can get something that will hold against ages and abuse in something so enduring and resistant.

It’s also for this reason, and the fact that there is yet a proven and sure method for harvesting or producing spidersilk that is reliable and replicable, that it’s so rare. The Western Dimense has its supply split between a collective of Wild magicians to the Midden’s north and a union of textile workers and mechanical scholars to its south, who both have used their specific talents to create devices allowing grown spiders to produce silk and collect it, without the spiders themselves eating each other. The Cradles is home to a grove in which a lifetime of patient observation of nature has resulted in a place where this stuff grows from the trees, because the keepers of it have nurtured what can only be described as an arachnid detente between a dozen species, together producing a superior cloth. In the Southlands of the Many Shores, where production has historically been doubly difficult for reasons yet known, clothmakers are discovering what little thread they can produce provides reinforcement to traditional silk from the Mulberry Mothworm. The end product is not to the level of a pure spider’s silk cloth, but something greater than merely the sum of its parts, and more than enough for most people’s needs.

While highly prized by garment makers, spidersilk is commonly used in crafting armour and other martial equipment. It is finely woven enough to be extremely resistant to puncture, yet it breathes and shuts out the elements surprisingly well for how light and insubstantial it is. While it does little to absorb the blunt impact of a strike or a ranged hit like heavier armour would, it is just as good if not better at resisting tearing and piercing as mail or lamellar plates. In addition, it is extremely resistant to the elements, able to hold its form against flames and corrosives equally well.

Emberine 

A common charm produced by both Light mages and glassmakers that know the proper hedgery to make it, Emberine is a peachy, opaque glass laced with a simple enchantment of light and heat. On its own, it’s little more than a dollop of teardrop-shaped glass. But when placed in a fire for an hour at a time, a charm of this material will store the heat within and release it, slowly, over the next twelve, at a lower temperature. Carried in a pocket or from around the neck on a cord, it can make a canvas mantle a cozy bastion in a blizzard and anything adequately waterproof a shelter from any storm. In addition to radiating sufficient heat to keep a body warm and alive against exposure, charged Emberine also emits a mild orange glow capable of lighting a darkened trail or giving enough light to read by. Though humble by the standards of a magical substance, Emberine has a way of becoming a cherished heirloom, a night light that has protected the young of a family from things hiding in the dark, a traveler's ward against the misery of rain on a trail, the thing that let someone survive a night in a frozen wood beneath their mantle in relative comfort.

Pristal

In the farthest east reaches of the Western Dimense, throughout the clan-lands of the Levzek, through and past the natural gateway of the Omskilis and into the first mountain-home domain of The Cradles, there exists a strange material that grows and collects in odd and furtive places. Scholars claim that it’s a form of primal transitory matter that simply got… stuck. The more creative liken it to paint laid on a canvas thicker than in other spots, it’s a bit of the world that hasn’t dried yet, so to speak. This is more apt a description than most expect, as upon finding a deposit of the stuff, most are at a loss as to what to do with this deposit of vividly coloured gunk that smells faintly of flowers, earth and wood.

Luckily, some people did have some ideas, which is why it’s commonly pressed, then baked into tiles or beads, which depending on the region are either used as currency or worn or sewn into clothes as jewellery. These little facets of colour are seen as distinct from gemstones, but also a thing that can be just as valuable that is capable of being ways a gem can’t. A ruby can’t be poured into a mold to impress a likeness or value amount; a cut sapphire can be set, but it can’t be pressed flush, half-hardened, into a mount, then carved into a relief and finished with a torch. An emerald may alter the colour and properties of a light shined through it, but a well-made piece of Pristal will radiate that light with its own colour as if it was shining from within.

Pristal is seen by travelers through and within the areas it grows as something of both a windfall and an annoyance. A windfall, because there’s great value in both raw deposits and finished specimens of Pristal. An annoyance, because in areas where it’s not known commonly, attempting to trade with it is akin to convincing someone that this piece of inedible taffy is just as valuable, if not more, than the piece of silver they’re used to dealing with. That said, were you to find a buyer that that understood what you had in such an area, you could get a real payday from the deal, or possibly even trade for something that pieces of silver can’t buy...