Discovery of Dia-steel

Discovery, Scientific

The discovery of dia-steel is probably the single most important advancement in the history of Fahkaugr.

In the winter of 379 HE, a mining crew from the Mountain Kingdom stumbled across a strange metal deep in an iron mine. The miners reported the discovery to their supervisor who sent a sample of it to the region's coven for analysis. Upon testing, the mages discovered its durability and strength, which far outpaced the best alloys of their competitors (mainly the Northern Kingdom).   The kingdom began the production of dia-steel weapons for the Warlord and his court, as well as the regional leaders. However, after a skirmish with a contingent of Central Kingdom soldiers that turned into a drawn-out battle, a couple of these weapons ended up in the hands of Central Mages. They reported it to their leaders, and the quest for the material began.   Before long, every kingdom had at least one mine actively searching for the metal and it became yet another way for battlefield dominance to be established. The only problem: each deposit of the metal was incredibly small - worth only around ten swords each. Even the mountain mines ran dry. This made any catches of the metal extremely valuable, and, in turn, increases the value of mines in general.   The news spread to the Southern nations as well, who also began mining the precious resource for use in their armor and weapons.