RA2

In the year 273SK, a young Gn'elvish inventor named Spiniana Agatestocker found that the fine red powder that resulted from the burning of the red ash leaves had semi-magical properties. Although it couldn't be used directly in the cause of magic, she found it was possible to use the power to conduct magical energy. She tinkered for months with the substance until she figured out a model that could be used to build machines using the dust, making her the world's first artificer.
She named the substance RA2 (pronounced rah-too), and codified its cultivation and usage in fine detail. She recognized the benefits her new technology could bring to her struggling people, and so open sourced its development so that all could benefit.
Mother was an elf, father is a gnome.