Iapren (Yah-pren)

Iapren is a rare type of wood-biocomposite found in the northern areas of Brist, where the Broken Sea meets the edges of the forests.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Iapren resembles a piece of wet driftwood or other rotting wood, usually consisting of one main portion ranging in size from a finger to a full tree trunk. Iapren often appears dark brown to black in colour, with ocassional inclusions of clear/translucent material. In some cases, "live" iapren will contain green aspects or will have small plant offshoots including leaves, flowers, roots, or other plant aspects.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Iapren is an extremely hard material, with high durability and resilience to damage from impact sources. It is always cold to the touch, even in high heat environments, and it is very stable. When treated properly, iapren can also be flammable and will burn for prolonged periods while still maintaining a cool surface (though the flames themselves will be hot). However, one must be careful when burning iapren for fuel as though it can provide a long-lasting, reliable flame source, the eventual degredation of iapren when subjected to flame can be explosive.
Iapren is extremely difficult to break, shatter, or chip unless magic is used. Iapren is non-reactive with most other materials, though due to the high level of ice within iapren, some acids and other corrosive materials will cause volatile reactivity.

Compounds

Iapren is formed when the sap of a crafanian tree freezes very rapidly, either due to an extreme shift in local temperatures, or because the tree falls into the Broken Sea (magical attempts to make iapren have thus far been unsuccesful for unknown reasons). When this occurs, the high-water content sap expands and freezes, causing crystaline ice structures to form within the wood. Due to the chemical compostion of the soil in the Bristian forests of the north, these ice structures do not easily melt and reinforce the wood. The effect of the expanding ice also compresses the wood itself as crafanian bark is naturally durable and often prevents expansion of the total area of the wood.

Geology & Geography

Naturally-forming iapren is only found in the northern forests of Brist and Varenval, as well as in very select locations on the Split Stone Islands. Crafanian trees only grow along the shores of the Broken Sea and thus iapren is only found in these areas.

Origin & Source

Crafanian trees require low nutrient soil (often salinated) with high moisture levels, yet they also require deep, loose soil as their root structures tend to grow nearly straight down. Crafanian trees also require low temperature variation and low maximum temperatures or else they are liable to dessicate.

Life & Expiration

Iapren is extremely stable in natural, cool environments. After prolonged exposure to high heat environments, the ice crystals often catastrophically fail, resulting in explosive deterioration. Otherwise, if left alone, iapren can last for hundres of eochs with very little deterioration.

Type

Wood

Color

Dark brown/black with clear portions

Common State

Solid