Mithril
Mithril (also known as mithral or catchstar) is rare, durable metal found in deep, subterranean deposits throughout Holos and the Plane of Earth. Said to be stronger than tempered steel and half its weight, mithril is famed across the realms as one of the Elder Elements. At one time, mithril was as common as iron but continuous, widespread mining has largely removed all easily accessible deposits. Today, mithril is extremely rare and all known active excavations for the material extend deep beyond the planet's outer crust and into the dangerous caverns of the Underdark. Working mithril requires a great deal of time and expertise and the secrets of its smelting and refinement are closely guarded secrets among the various mining guilds.
Properties
Material Characteristics
In its natural state, mithril ore appears dark grey to black in coloration and bears a physical resemblance to iron ore. When smelted, mithril loses much of its darker coloration, becoming pale grey or silvery. The material also has a faint internal crystalline structure, which gives off a subtle glimmer when held up to light. When polished, mithril is said to gleam like the stars, a trait which many have pointed to when explaining the origin of the material and its common name, catchstar.
Physical & Chemical Properties
Mithril is exceptionally light, weighing half as much as tempered steel. Despite its light weight and low density, mithril is extremely flexible and durable, able to bend even under immense pressure. After being smelted, the metal can be hammered like copper and polished like glass. It is often considered as beautiful as common silver but it does not tarnish or grow dim over time. As an Elder Element, mithril is highly receptive to alchemical and magical enchantment, allowing for it to be used in a variety of arcane crafts. Though mithril can be sharpened, it rarely is used by bladesmiths.
Geology & Geography
At one time, mithril could be found in surface-level deposits with the same frequency as iron or copper. However, extensive and continuous mining over the millennia has led to the material becoming nearly impossible to find by the Sundered Era. Some communities nearly once lucrative mithril veins, such as those in the Shanindar or Basceron, have continued to mine for mithril, resulting in great, yawning shafts that plunge deep into the crust of the plant Holos. These mines extract mithril from the Underdark, the vast network of caverns and tunnels formed to trap the Dread Dragoness Valdra at the final battle of the War of the Dawn. The location of these facilities makes them even more treacherous than traditional mines, with workers continuously exposed to hostile subterranean settlers and deadly chthonic monsters.
Origin & Source
Some claim that when the Abyssal Kahré struck the final killing blow on Sharun-sharek, the sun god Uriah leapt from the strike as a spark of astral light, illuminating the cosmos for the very first time. That first burst of starlight was caught by the ancient rocks that swirled amid the watery chaos and became mithril. This legend is where the word's common name, catchstar, appears to come from. Those rocks filled with mithril were used to form the vaulted foundations of the Celestial Mountains and some believe that the veins of mithril found in the Material Plane once stretched all the way up to the Realm of the Gods in the earliest days of the Dawn Era. Today, mithril is naturally only found as ore in twisting veins found beneath the planet's surface, long ago cut off from its heavenly origins. It is said to also be found in the Plane of Earth, where all minerals grow in abundance.
History & Usage
History
Mithril is said to have originated in the Time Before Dawn, when the first light of the cosmos struck the shards of rock that swirled amid the waters of chaos. Those rocks were then used by the gods of the Heavenly Council to construct the Celestial Mountains, which eventually led to the formation of the Material Plane. Mithril is listed among the various materials used in the construction of the vast palaces and gardens of their divine realm. It also is listed among the treasures stolen from the Vaults of Heaven by the Unspoken One and former court treasurer Deverin, the Hungering Secret—though its theft does not appear to have lead to an immediate shortage.
The first documented use of mithril by mortals appears in the aptly named Mithril Era. This period gets its name from a line in one of the many epic poems of the period: "It was an age of gleaming gold and silvered mithril; when the gods walked among mortals and the names of heroes thundered in the souls of the righteous."
During the Mithril Era, mithril was readily accessible and its products were a part of everyday life for many. Across the Realm, great kingdoms rose and fell like the tide and each of their glimmering cities are said to have been made of mithril and other precious materials. However, as the Era wore on, great conflicts and legendary battles grew more and more frequent. With demand for mithril increasing, vast excavations ripped through most of the Realm's easily accessible deposits. With the arrival of the lich pharaoh Ozha-Ban, much of the world's supply of mithril was hastily excavated and then obliterated in the subsequent Reckoning of Temekan.
With the fall of the Temekanian Empire and the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period, mithril diminished in use as supplies of the metal dwindled. Some veins were still accessible however and those who could gain access to these sources achieved great wealth and power. Much of the Palladian Empire's aristocracy used mithril as a status symbol and the Empire's most elite soldiers, such as the Order of the Radiant Dawn, carried mithril armor and weapons. Overtime, mithril mines within the Palladian Empire dried up, resulting in several attempts by the Palladians to invade regions said to contain meaningful deposits. By the end of the Palladian Era, most of the planet's supply of surface-accessible mithril had been mined, smelted, and lost to time.
Today, most mithril seen in the world remains in the hands of the elites or buried in ancient ruins. What few natural sources still exist lie deep underground in the perilous realms of the Underdark and the Plane of Earth. Some groups have attempted to dig these deposits to varying degrees of success, but the constant threat of attacks by marked folk or monsters makes the process exceedingly difficult and expensive.
Cultural Significance and Usage
During the Mithril Era and later Palladian Era, mithril was substituted for the even rarer temōrtra in the Khaghat region of Iroa. This mithril was first mined in the desert canyons of the Hotan before being traded north to the Khaghat Steppes and south to the jeweled kingdoms of Decca. The indigenous Khaghate used mithril to construct their infamous half-plate armor. To this day many mithril heirlooms are passed down from generation to generation by the Khaghate, whom have created a long tradition of forging and reforging the armor and weapons of their ancestors.
Refinement
Mithril ore is refined using a process similar to smelting steel.
Manufacturing & Products
Historically, mithril has been used in everything from armor to art and architecture. Today, mithril is rarely used for anything other than the crafting of specialty armor and weapons. It most often is made into various kinds of plate and chain armor. Mithril chain is particularly prized due to its light weight and the fact that it does not rattle when moved. Weapons are also sometimes made from mithril, but mithril's hardness makes it difficult to sharpen. As an Elder Element, mithril is quite receptive to enchantment and so many products made with mithril are imbued with some kind of magical augmentation.
Type
Metal
Value
Six times its weight in gold
Rarity
Very rare
Color
glimmering silver-bright grey
Density
3.925 g/cm3
Common State
Solid ore
Related Locations
Related Professions
by aegeri
by Grant Wilson
Basceronese dwarven plate
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