Tinkal
The crystal is like them childhood days — all clear and beautiful when hiding in the dark. But the second it sees the outside world it turns brittle and opaque.
Summary
Tinkal is a crystal native to the Galawa mountains, specifically in the northern part close to the Summer Dry Lakes. It is very brittle and colourless, and depending on the type of deposit can appear as opaque and whitish or transparent. The mineral is quite rare and not many locations are known where it could be mined on a larger scale.
Discovery
Tinkal was found a very long time ago during one of the first search expeditions for new ores and minerals. The skalds responsible for the mining took some samples while travelling towards the Cymrian border. During their stay at the camp (where now Gwydr carreg is situated) some of the specimens of the mineral were found to be sensitive to humidity. Only after some years it was found that some of the minerals had similar appearance but different properties. The humidity-sensitive mineral was identified as Tinkal but it was not until many years later that its glass-forming trait was found useful.
Traditional use
Tinkal is a key ingredient of the forest glass recipe, which transparent slabs and ready to use products are prepared by Luaithre - the ash folk. It functions as the softening agent by decreasing the forming temperature of the sand glass.
The first step involves dehydration, where the bounded water is released from the mineral. It is extremely important from the point of quality of the prepared glass — if not executed properly it could result in entrapment of the water vapour by the viscous melt. The end product would become bubbly and brittle, which would render it useless. Sadly, a significant portion of the mineral's mass is lost in the process; a second reason for its high price.
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