Zeldarian Steel

The most common misconception about Zeldarian Steel is that it is (or was) the product of some far-away or long-vanished city or nation called Zeldaria. This is very unlikely. No place by that name currently exists and the only records or stories mentioning Zeldaria or Zeldarians are found in stories describing the origins of Zeldarian Steel. The "Zeldarian" portion of the metal's name refers to a process, not a point of origin. Steel made using this process is stronger and holds an edge better than more common steel, is nearly indestructible, and has several semi-magical properties. The last credible practitioner of the process was Ulsta the Zeldarian, who supplied the The Eternal Empire with large quantities of Zeldarian Steel during the time of the Dragon Pacts.
It's very likely that Ulsta took the secrets of Zeldarian Steel to his grave, but that's done little dissuade the small army of "alchemists," "master smiths," and other swindlers who conduct a brisk trade in convincing the gullible that they've found Ulsta's secret journals, reverse-engineered the process, received prophetic dreams or divine visions, or otherwise learned the secrets of Zeldarian Steel. While most of these are grifters and madmen, a handful have actually found a way to produce high-quality steel with properties resembling the real thing, but it deteriorates quickly, is all but impossible to smith, or otherwise fails to impress when tested.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Zeldarian Steel is superior to other types in every way. It's lighter, stronger, holds and edge better, and is easier to forge. It has a silvery-white color that's slightly darker than platinum.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Zeldarian steel is impervious to rust and other forms of deterioration due to age and the elements and can withstand the heat of dragonfire without melting. It is also reputed to have the ability to "cut through" certain kinds of magical enchantments (especially dragon magic), which may explain the empire's interest in the ore. Despite its anti-magical characteristics, the metal is very receptive to enchantments.

History & Usage

Refinement

The fact that nobody's known how to create Zeldarian Steel for over 1,000 years hasn't stopped people from speculating about the process. Some of the most common claims regarding the manufacture of Zeldarian Steel include:

• Zeldarian Steel was created by some ancient and now-forgotten god, and the manufacturing process involves an ancient ritual to him that includes blood (or human) sacrifice.
• The process of manufacturing the steel requires some rare object or substance (Dragonstones  the Philosopher's Stone, and Unicorn Blood are commonly cited).
• Zeldarian Steel can only be created from ore harvested from rocks that fell from the heavens.
• Zeldarian Steel was created by the Men Beneath the Mountain (Dvergar), and can only be made with their assistance.
• The ore used to make Zeldarian Steel must be smelted with dragonfire, the heat of a volcano, or in Dvergar furnaces in the heart of a mountain.
• The process of creating Zeldarian Steel is difficult but not as elaborate as the stories claim. The real reason that Zeldarian Steel is so rare is that when an avatar dies by Zeldarian Steel, the god's celestial body dies as well. Before the Avatars descended to rule the Empire, Kyra  erased all knowledge of how to create Zeldarian Steel from the world and placed an enchantment on all the existing Zeldarian Steel that removed its god-killing properties

Type

Metal