Blackrock

Blackrock is a naturally-occurring, combustible mineral located deep below ground. It is a relatively uncommon material and is mainly located in the Torgenn Mountains of Dagach-Tír and the Aflhead Mountains of Svekanheim. It is used in a variety of functions, and can be processed and refined into an explosive powder known as flashdust. Due to its relative rarity and variety of uses it is a valuable export good.
Blackrock is highly flammable and when ignited will burn openly for an extended period of time, emitting a bright light and incredible heat. A single piece the size of a man's fist can burn for up to three days before being spent. In its natural state, it forms as a jagged, dark black stone. Its black color is so deep that it is nearly impossible to see the stone's edges or gauge its depth, appearing as an amorphous black mass to a casual observer. Its edges however are razor-sharp, making it quite dangerous to mine. Due to the difficulty in determining its size, miners tend to wear tough protective equipment to avoid receiving a nasty gash from an edge they did not even see.
Once mined, the raw ore is ground down and smoothed out to avoid lacerations when handled. This process is extremely dangerous, as in addition to the danger from the stone's edges the powder generated from this grinding process can be easily ignited to produce a rapid combustion explosion. Over time the powder came to be known as flashdust and found a variety of uses in its own right.
Due to its the intensity of the heat and light emitted from it and its longevity, blackrock can be utilized in a variety of ways. Despite its practicality however, its rarity makes its use a luxury of sorts. Many upper-class nobles of Dagach-Tír will use chunks of blackrock for illumination and heating of great halls, and particularly affluent blacksmiths might use it as fuel instead of coal or charcoal. Whie something of a novelty outside of Dagach-Tír, wealthy individuals from as far as the Mitican Empire have imported quantities of the stone for a variety of uses, such as long-burning hearths on sea voyages or even as a heat source in bathhouses and saunas.

Type

Ore/Mineral