Merchant's Guild Materials Contest

Contest Details

Have you ever wondered what unique riches are hidden within Craughmoyle's stone? What lurks off the coast of Chartsend? What neat things does Schezerade have clear up there that they're hiding from the rest of us on the ground? If you wanted to create a material unique to Lithrydel, this is the contest for you. Write up a description of a material that can be discovered in the game and it may be added to the Materials page on the wiki, and win finely crafted prizes fashioned from local artisans!

Things to tell us about your material:

What is the material? Metals, stones, coral, woods?
What properties does it have? Is it naturally magical? Inert but neat to have? Rare and difficult to obtain? Mundane as a bit of gravel?
Describe its history, cultural significance, its value.
Where can this material be found (region specific preferred)?

Rules

Participants may submit up to three entries.
Each entry must be within a different region within Lithrydel. You must be able to access this region IC (IE: No Prek Realm submissions)
Your character cannot have discovered this material.

Prizes

All entries will earn 1,500 gold per submission.
Winning submissions will get 10,000 gold and an item crafted from the material made by an artisan local to the region the material is most commonly found.

Deadline

Hmails must be submitted to the admins and the current Merchant's Guild leader, Iintahquohae, by July 21st at 11:59 PM EST.

Vote here!

Entries

Spellweave - Mahri

Fabric made from the fine threads of magic spell-casters. It is shimmery and thin yet not see through. The wearer need only think about the style, color and cut of the item they wish to wear and the fabric forms itself if the material is enough to accommodate. Despite its Gossamer look and feel, in summer it is cool and warm in winter.

Smoke Velvet - Mahri

Developed for the clandestine meeting of a Lady and her lover, this fabric became a favorite of Rogues, Assassins and Theives to mask their presense in streets and the homes of marks. Smoke Velvet is soft as velvet and just as warm to wear. It gets its name because of the illusion of an obscuring shadow that surrounds the wearer. Despite its often sentient seeming nature, it is easy to work with and sew into any garment needed for any occasion.

Dreaming Water Opal - Valrae

Location: Rynvale Island, the Dragon Lands

The Dreaming Water Opal is a gemstone of beauty and mystical properties. Its formation deep beneath Rynvale Island, specifically within the natural fault lines of the Dragon Lands, contributes to its rarity and uniqueness. This opal is formed through a process similar to other natural opals, but the location of its forming offers it a unique twist.

The Dreaming Water Opal's enchantment lies in the water that has interacted with hibernating feral dragons. This water carries within it potent magical energies associated with dreams and oneiromancy. As the water seeps into the surrounding rock and minerals, it imparts these magical properties, infusing the opal with a magical essence.

Description: It is a soft, porous stone and can be identified by its remarkable appearance. Visually, it resembles crystal-clear water. Within this watery clarity, luminous veins of multicolored mana wind and twist like ethereal wisps, creating a mystical display of magical energy. The colors of these mana veins can vary, ranging from vivid blues and greens to delicate pinks and purples, forming intricate patterns throughout the opal's surface.

Uses: In the realm of magic, the Dreaming Water Opal is highly revered for its profound connection to dreams and the realm of the subconscious. It is believed to possess the ability to enhance one's dream experiences, unlocking hidden insights. When used in rituals or spellwork involving dreams or divination, the opal's magical properties amplify and focus the practitioner's intent, allowing for deeper exploration and understanding of the dream realm. Additionally, the Dreaming Water Opal can serve as a powerful tool for oneiromancers as an aid in harnessing the energies of dreams for various purposes. Its presence during dream-related rituals can help facilitate lucid dreaming. By wearing or carrying the opal, individuals may experience heightened dream recall, enabling them to better analyze and interpret their dreams.

Lucelence - Valrae

Location: Enchantment

Description: A rare, enchanted fabric that derives from the hair freely given by the unicorns that roam the Enchantment forests. This mythical fabric holds a power that is not only evident in its magical nature but also in its remarkable softness and lustrous beauty. The allure of Lucelence extends beyond its enchanting qualities. Its inherent beauty, with a luster akin to moonlight reflecting on calm waters, makes it the fabric of choice for those who seek to create extraordinary illusionary garments. Fashioned into elegant gowns, regal robes, and intricate tapestries, Lucelence is a symbol of both elegance and illusions.

Known to possess a wondrous resilience and durability, Lucelence can withstand the test of time, never fading or losing its vibrant colors. It resists tears and frays, remaining intact even in the face of the harshest conditions. Yet, for all its strength, the fabric is delicate as a gentle breeze, Its softness is said to surpass even that of the finest spider silk. The powers bestowed upon Lucelence are as varied as the imaginations of those who use it. It is said that no dyes are necessary to alter the shade of the Lucelence , as it is capable of shifting into the exact shade of imagination upon weaving and wear.

Uses: Lucelence is crafted with the utmost care by skilled artisans who understand the profound significance of the hair they work with. The unicorns, known for their purity and grace, must willingly offer a portion of their mane. The unicorns' gift infuses the fabric with an unparalleled magic that cannot be replicated through any other means.

When fashioned into garments, the fabric possesses the ability to enhance the wearer's natural abilities and attributes. For instance, a cloak made of Lucelence might grant the wearer unparalleled stealth and agility, allowing them to move unseen through the shadows. A dress woven from this extraordinary fabric could imbue the wearer with an ethereal beauty. It is favored by illusionists and seamstresses that specialize in weaving illusions into their clothing. Those who don Lucelence garments often feel a subtle connection to the natural world and the creatures that inhabit it. The fabric has been said to whisper secrets of the forests and meadows, evoking a sense of harmony and tranquility. It is believed that the enchantment within Lucelence fosters empathy and understanding, encouraging wearers to embrace kindness and compassion.

However, it is crucial to remember the essence of the Lucelence’s power. Only when the hair is freely given by the unicorn does the fabric hold its enchantment. Attempts to obtain the hair through force or deceit would render the fabric devoid of its magical properties, leaving behind a mere imitation of its former glory.

Aeonian Stones - Lanlan

Fossilized Dragon Bones of Fortune and Blood

There’s a legend. When the world was new, there was a single egg resting in a conflux of all the great elemental powers. When its stony shell cracked into fragments, the first dragons emerged and immediately they fought. They carved up the continents, weaponizing cataclysms of fire, ice, acid, lightning, and the winners would go on to dominate the land for millennia. Eventually, time caught up even to them and as the spirits of the first dragons ascended to the stars, their bones were entombed to join with the heart of the earth. That was ages ago. Prehistory. Now, after eons and eons of time and pressure, their bones were fossilized, transforming into Aeonian Stones.

These stones, if they exist, are supposed to be treasured above all things for their rarity and power. Yet their beauty is just as remarkable. They may appear as obsidian black as the void, pristine white as a twinkling star, or a smooth cloudy gray. In bright light or shadow, they shimmer. Veins of color like emerald or ruby or sapphire or diamond streak across the surface of a great femur, or spiral from the base of a tooth, or form rings around a rib, hinting at the unrivaled power and command over the elements the dragon possessed in life.

The stones’ power is said to be beyond mortal comprehension. After eons in a crucible of time and pressure, their density and durability is nearly unmatched. And though their magical potential is untested, it is theorized by many great magic users and lore masters that the bones would make ideal catalysts for enchantments and foci for spells, especially in regards to the four elements. Some say they even have the ability to awaken and ignite the potential of one’s body and soul to reach the highest limits of existence. That is to say, they believe harnessing an Aeonian Stone can turn you into a dragon.

These claims are all very hard to verify, because the Aeonian Stones elude the grasp of any who wish to find them. Searching for them is a wasteful struggle. They seem to appear when they wish. Dragons ruled the continents unmatched and unchallenged for eons, and so their bones must be buried under every land. And so the best possible place to find them is deep underground like in the underdark, or in volcanoes where the depths of the earth are constantly churned up to the surface.

Stories of adventuring parties or treasure seekers or warbands embarking on dangerous quests to find an Aeonian stone, even a small one, are many. They always end in familial slaughter, hearkening back to the legend of the first dragons. The last laugh of a most imperious and bitter tyrant.

Their value cannot be overestimated, and perhaps the opposite is true of their utility. Could something so strong and unrelenting ever be carved into something useful? The Aeonian Stone is unbowed. Could the hopes and wonders concerning their magical potential ever live up to their reality? It’s never been tested. It hardly matters, the wonder at its true properties only adds to the allure.

To hold an Aeonian Stone is to harness the legacy of the first dragons. It’s a symbol of wealth, power, and nobility; a testament to ideals of sky-piercing grandeur and infinite earthly attainment; an echo of ancient fire-forged glory and a herald to future dominance.

Type: Stone Uses: Uncertain, potential magical and martial applications, causing problems Prevalent Culture: None, but most likely to be found deep underground or in areas of high tectonic and/or volcanic activity. (Underdark, Rynvale)

Copium - Lanlan

The Alchemist’s Folly

Copium is a peculiar and abundant and useless metal with an ironic property: It can mimic other more sought after metals. Not very long ago now, it was created in a lab out of simple mud. An alchemist seeking infinite wealth and power had designs on turning the cheapest and most abundant materials around into pure gold. The alchemist thought they were brilliant. They failed to create gold, and created Copium.

At first glance, Copium appears to be much the same as the base material that was used to create it. However, it is capable of imitating the weight and appearance of highly coveted metals like mithril and adamantium. Skilled craftsmen can easily manipulate Copium to mimic the gleaming silver sheen of mithril or the extreme density of ghroundium, creating deceptively convincing replicas.

However, the true nature of Copium becomes apparent upon a simple test or attempt at practical use. No matter what metal it looks like, it is always incredibly soft and pliable compared to most metals, lacking the durability and strength necessary for use in weapons or armor or tools. While it may be smelted into the shape and even have the prescribed look, actual use would result in its immediate deformation and deterioration.

This uncanny ability to mimic other metals has made Copium a favorite tool for counterfeiters and tricksters seeking to deceive others and its discovery has caused a surge in fraudulent activities. Counterfeiting gold, silver, or copper to make coins or jewelry. Fabricating false ingots of mithril or ghroundium or steel. It has found a home with the unscrupulous and the greedy who appear to sell items of great value at a massive markdown, tempting many would-be bargain-hunters.

Associated Quote: “Check out my new armor made of mithril!” “That’s not mithril, that’s just copium.”

Type: Metal Uses: None, fraud Prevalent Culture: Shadow Gnomes

Elysian Rose - Lanlan

Petals and Thorns

In the realms of the fae, there exists a unique material they call Elysian Rose. This enigmatic substance is grown on vines and has the extraordinary ability to take on two distinct forms depending on which court handles it. Petal, when handled by the Seelie fae, and Thorn, when embraced by the Unseelie fae. Both come from the same source, a special plant they cultivate and enchant through a special and secret process.

The process for both is usually done by human gardeners or botanists or florists who have been enchanted or enthralled by the fae into servitude. That isn’t to say the fae can’t do it, they simply don’t want to. The workers must spend long hours guiding the growth of Elysian Rose vines into the desired shape and then use magic to harden them to use as weapons or armor or tools. This is the general process for both Elysian Petal and Elysian Thorn. The technique is far different.

Petal is nurtured lovingly with lots of sunlight and affection, and sung to each day. Leaves grow wide and long like birds feathers, and flowers bloom and appear delicate and elegant and full of life. When the vines reach the desired shape, magic is done to them that causes them to harden over with a luminous gold-green glow. It is often characterized by a filigree type appearance, appearing light as a whisper and delicate as a butterfly’s wings. It enhances enchantments and healing and natural magics, while being beautiful, and sturdy, and light.

Thorn on the other hand, is grown in dark places, fed only toxic materials, and forced to grow by its gardeners. They jerk and twist the brittle vines, causing spines to emerge where they were nearly broken into shape. The flowers never bloom, and thorns erupt along the vine in an attempt to protect against their brutal handlers. When the process is complete, the vine is magically hardened and takes on a twisted appearance with jagged edges, tangled needles, and macabre patterns of toxic blue or violet. They enhance magical abilities too, but always ones associated with corruption, poison, and melancholy.

Both Petal and Thorn are grown and crafted from the same Elysian Rose vine, but the diverging nature and intentions of their cultivators are manifested in the appearance of Petal and Thorn. Elysian Rose mirrors the truth of the fae themselves, a people of both light and shadow who are forever connected and always separate.

Type: Wood Uses: Armor, weapons, tools Prevalent Culture: Enchantment

Jesterite - Pyde

Witnesses say "The air was filled with mirth and joy and magical dust filled the air. The performance was pretty good but after they released the multi-colored dust it was truly magical."

Jesterite is the crystalline form of the energy Laughter gives off. It can be found in places where folks gather to celebrate great moments. The happiness, the mirth, the joy grows into hexagonal spires. This material was first found by traveling troupes through the land of Hollow, hence the name Jesterite. They discovered some caves where they used to stay at had the crystals forming inside in many different colors. Can be found in Black, White, Orange, Violet, Green, Red and Blue. Rumors from some traveling bands say that there is a large geode that has grown over the ages deep under the Temple of Music. "With all that drama and humor being played on stage that helped charge the audiences over time it makes sense something like that would be found there"

Jesterite is used to enhance costumes for both dramatic displays and greatly enhances comedic performances. It call also be ground into a fine colorful dust that induces laughter if used correctly. Some Troupes have also been said to have used it on armor to give them a little oomph in battle, fracting light to aid with illusions, or depending if it was used in the making of said armor can help that armor be lighter and easier to move in, laughter being light hearted and all. This can also be applied to weapons for non-lethal damage, passing through armor only to cause a tickling sensation if target can be tickled. This effect can cause uncontrollable laughing, or paralysis.

Albinite - Kanna

Location: Kregus

Named for the material’s perfect white color, this metallic ore is unique to the corner of the world where goblins reign supreme, and the goblins' entire reason for staying where they are. Albinite is one of the several magical metals that can be found across the hollows, but due to the constant state of civil warfare Kregus is under, reliable exports of good quality ore are hard to come by. Goblins without power or status constantly mine for ores to trade to warlords for copper pieces, that are then resold to foreigners for barrels of gold, making it Kregus’ main export. That is, if a goblin that is willing to part with the beautiful glowing ores can be located.

Description: Albinite is a hard white metal that glows brilliantly when exposed to even the faintest traces of light, be it sunlight or torchlight. Due to the golden halo that is sometimes seen on good specimens, folklore tells of Arkhen hiding a piece of the planet Maro deep beneath the hollows to keep it safe. It is believed that the goblins originally flocked to Kregus when it was discovered due to its visual appeal.

Uses: Albinite, when smelted with proper ratios of other metals, can be forged into armor and weapons that can go toe-to-toe against those who wear the scales of dragons as armor, and provide a challenge against those who wield ghroundium and even mithril. Due to it's unique glow, items forged from this metal are mainly favored by paladins for its fabled connection to Arkhen, and by lumomancers who can control the radiant light.

Spiritglass - Khitti

Region: Vhys

Material Type: Glass

Description: Each piece of normal glass (whether stained or regular) is expertly crafted within Vhys’ glass foundry. When someone orders something made of spiritglass, however, it also requires the assistance of a gifted necromancer to help bind the spirit to the glass. But these are not unwilling spirits. The necromancer does their research some time in advance, taking stock of those spirits nearby that wish to dedicate their unlife to something more than an accidental haunting or eventually moving on to Vakmatharas’s void. It’s these few that are chosen from via a simple seance, and the single soul infused into the glass as it’s melted down. As the trinket is being formed, the spirit feels no pain, and is often able to hold conversations with the glassblowers and the necromancer, as its new home is crafted. Despite all of this work, should the spirit choose to move on into Vakmatharas’ embrace, it is allowed to do so, leaving the spiritglass empty, and the buyer of the spiritglass is counseled on this before the purchase is even made.

Uses: Most of the time, spiritglass is used to make mirrors. This allows the spirit to keep their spectral form. They become a sort of companion to the mirror’s owner, where the owner may go to the mirror for advice, or even just for a simple chat. Others have their spiritglass molded into small vessels to house things like a loved one’s ashes or precious jewels, so that the spirit might protect it.

Value: Money-wise, the value is not very high, as glass itself is rather cheap to make and depending on the region, spirits may be a silver piece a dozen. But sentimentally-wise, depending on the spirit within it and what the glass was used to make, its value rises per person. Because of this sentimentality, Vhys’ glass foundry charges quite a bit for each piece of spiritglass.

Nerveknit - Khitti

Region: Vailkrin

Material Type: Thread

Description: Not for the faint of heart, to acquire the nerves necessary for nerveknit, they are carefully plucked and peeled from any organic creature (which creature it comes from depends on the need) and are worked together in the same way wool is spun into yarn. Likewise, those skilled in botany can do the same with plants, albeit in this case it would be the plant cells, rather than nerves. In order to work with such delicate materials, the weaver must have mastered their art, though even then some masters still managed to ruin the nerves as it’s being turned into thread.

Uses: Anyone can wear nerveknit, whether because they just want to or perhaps to help boost their social status, but there are those that can get actual use out of it. Carnomancers and herbomancers (depending on the type of nerveknit they acquire) can use it to control undead and plantlife, while electromancers can use it to temper their lightning magic, making it easier to control thanks to the nerves’ original use of being a roadway for electrical impulses.

Value: Nerveknit thread is actually rather plentiful. So long as there are organic creatures with nerves, there will be nerveknit thread.

Spectral Lace - Khitti

Region: The Shadow Plane

Material Type: Fabric

Description: A specialty trade good of the Shadow Plane, spectral lace is made from the ectoplasm of ghosts. Depending on what type of ghost it is, and whether or not they’re docile or malevolent, the extraction process can be quite rigorous and usually requires the teamwork of both a necromancer and a paladin or priest. Once the extraction is finished, the ectoplasm is sent to one of a few tailors in the Shadow Plane that have learned how to handle it, who then creates the lace in much the same way a normal tailor would. Those that have mastered this art are typically those of races with long lives, as it can take decades or even a century to learn how to create the spectral lace without defects.

Uses: Spectral lace is really just for decorative purposes. It can be used on clothing, or on furniture, or used to make different types of accessories like parasols. There is no real supernatural or magical benefit to having it, it’s just nice to look at. However, if the ectoplasm used to make it is extracted from the spirits in the wrong manner, there is a possibility of it summoning said spirit to the owner of the spectral lace, which may result in curses/hexes, possession, or death.

Value: Despite the fact that spirits are rather plentiful in the Shadow Plane, taking the ectoplasm from ghosts can be quite difficult, and weaving it into lace even worse. Because of this, the material is quite expensive. Spectral lace made of the ectoplasm of malevolent spirits is even more expensive.

Inglestone - Kasyr

Type: Mineral Uses: Crafting Weapons & Heating Prevalent Area: Volcanoes, Magma Faults, Caldera's

While at a distance, an Inglestone may look like a piece of basalt, a closer inspection would reveal Pthalo green striations- which become more vivid whenever the mineral's internal heat spikes. Not that it needs any help achieving this.

Inglestone is specifically valued for it's ability to generate a sizable amount of heat- a property that has made itself invaluable to travelers venturing through inhospitably cold regions, or incredibly damp ones.

Still, despite the relative rarity due to the difficulty in both collecting it (and transporting it due to the hazard it poses to ships), it's ability to keep a forge or fireplace going almost perpetually has earned it the second moniker of Hearthgem.

Still, while it's applications in a raw state are hard to deny, an ambitious crafter will have some degree of difficulty making use of it- as it's ambient heat makes potential jewelry hazardous, and it's. Instead, it tends to sees some degree of use in weaponry- most frequently as a fine dust implemented into the edge of a weapon to improve it's cutting power, and increase it's efficacy against undead creatures, or those known to regenerate.

On a purely scholastic level, scholars are still somewhat stomped on what it is that creates this particular form of igneous rock- though at least one Xalian academic has theorized that it may be a Bezoar from a subspecies of salamander, once again contributing to it's overall uncommon nature.

Abyssal Rose - Kasyr

Type: Organic Mineral Uses: Accessories, clothing, poisons Prevalent Culture: Naga Prevalent Area: Stygian Depths

Despite it's moniker, Abyssal roses aren't plants, but rather a coral colony- though, there's certainly grounds for the misunderstanding due to the vast thorny growths which form into tangles, and the blossom like protrusions, whose fuschia like colours oft go unseen in the wild, save for when some luminescent creature draws too near.

It's during these sparse moments where the nature of the growth is revealed, as the 'petals' react to that particular spectrum of light, secreting a subtle neuro toxin which reacts with the salt water. One which is potent enough to cause a progressive paralysis that starts with sluggishness, and culminates in an inability to use their gills. It's through this mechanism that the Rose is able to sustain itself, the coral structure gradually absorbing nutrients from the decaying bodies of those fish which succumb.

While this goes a long way to to explain why the Abysssal roses are occasionally harvested by assassins looking for a discreet means of poisoning a client- especially given it's neutral properties without the addition of salt- that's not to say it still doesn't see some use in more polite society. Once it's been seperated from the thorn patch, a rose will finish it's calcification process, neutralizing the poison, and leaving an especially vivid blossom- which is often used as a centerpiece to some accessories, or as accompaniments to dresses within higher society.

Salt Of Venture - Kasyr

Type: Mineral Uses: Cooking, Scamming Tourists Prevalent Culture: Chartsend

Salt Of Venture is touted to have amazing health effects, whether it's the ability to clear up respiratory problems, improving circulation, settling indigestion, and even loftier claims, such as mitigating a vampires hunger, or reducing ferality in werewolves.

Rumoured to be cultivated from certain offshore deposts unlike Chartsends coast, and then processed through a traditional technique passed down from the Venturil-born alchemist, Vessio A'trax- Salt Of Venture's orange salt is sure to serve as a memorable souvenir to any tourist, and a welcome addition to any bougie chefs repertoire.

Now if only it actually worked, or tasted any different.

Barniyum - Lefty

An odd mineral was recently identified in an abandoned area of Kregus. It has been known about by the native population for decades, but they didn't see any reason to mention it due to how common it is in that area. It can be found in ancient livestock pens from centuries, or millennia ago when goblin forebears attempted and, most assume failed, to raise and domesticate.... something and/or something else. No one is quite sure what creatures were kept in these pens, but they are long gone, leaving only their petrified remains. Forensic zoologists and geologists speculate that barniyum in these pens comes from the specialized marrow of these goblin-bred creatures. Perhaps being raised by goblins altered their physiology to better survive the arduous struggle of not dying, or perhaps their physiology was taken out of the gene pool by the ineptitude of those selfsame caring masters. Regardless, all that remains are what the locals refer to as 'barnagmites' and 'barnactites'. These pillars of stone and ore originate, respectively, from the floors and ceilings of the abandoned goblin livestock pens. The orangish-brown ore is speckled throughout the impenetrable stone edifices. Perhaps due to a vague memory of their former masters, but more likely due to goblin obstinacy, the mineral can only be worked by goblins. No other race has ever learned the particular secrets of the refining and forging process. The barnactites produce a lightweight version of barniyum, or 'barn-metal', and the barnagmites produce a hard, unyielding version, leading researchers to speculate on two different livestock progenitors. The local tinkers use it very rarely. They primarily use it for millinery, cobblery, and gloves. Other uses have not been explored.