Oate Steel
Vorpal Steel
Oate Steel is a metal alloy made from the Iron that comes from the heart of Oate Mountain in the Plashin Range of Novyum, on the major continent of Ethae. It should be noted that not all iron mined from below the mountain will produce the Steel. However, only iron from Oate Mountain has a chance of making Oate Steel.
It is believed that the mountain is sort of node that creates a unique flow of the Kianon from the worlds core. Like most matter of the world, this energy is absorbed into the ore of the mountain, with the Magic concentrating in strange patterns throughout. The magically dense ore is indistinguishable to any other iron pulled from the mine. It is only when after the crucible and the production of steel that one can find the Oate Steel with.
Oate Steel will have a slight green hue to it when viewed in the light. The darker the shade, the more Oate Steel is in the metal. Smith will heat and hammer the metal dozens of times to break apart the metal until the Oate Steel remains. This green hue will mostly vanish during the forging process, though green tint that looks something like a reflection of light will remain in the metal.
Oate Steel, when found, nearly always is used to forge a weapon. This is due to the limited amount found at a time. One also has to factor in the strange quality of the steel, with it being able to be sharpened into an extremely fine blade. This edge can remain sharp far longer than any similar weapon. Unlike standard steel, this metal is also resistant to rust and coercion. Oate Steel swords have been fished out of centuries old ruins, graves, and even shipwrecks with little blemish on them and the blade still sharp as the day it was forged.
As valuable as the above facts may be about this metal, its true strength comes from master weaponsmiths, who, in the past, were able to create extraordinary weapons with the steel. Several of the most famous weapons held have been forged of this steel. Blades that are said to sever limbs and even heads with a mire flick of the wrist.
The metal was rare in the ancient world, but today it is nearly unheard of. It has been a century since the last batch of ore capable of making Oate Steel was pulled from the mountain. this only had enough Oate Steel in the metal to make a knife, no larger than a dinner table utensil. That, however, has not detoured those traveling far in hopes of finding the steel. Many have travel to Oates over the years looking for the metal at its source. Weaponsmith, adventurers, even kings, all have come and left disappointed. Some even claim the Walker's Wardens members made a home in the town to wait for the steel that has yet to appear.
If there is any ore capable of making Oate Steel, the mountain is keeping it well hidden. For now, no new Oate Steel weapons have been produced in over a century. The best most can do is find an ancestral blade from a tomb or private collection.
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