Icesteel Ore

Found very rarely in the mountains of Kiera, Icesteel Ore is processed into Ingots and Weapons that exhibit visual properties akin to pure, crystal-clear ice. Due to its rarity, Icesteel weapons are only used by nobility and warriors who earn the favor of nobles. While Icesteel is called such for the way it looks once processed, it also possesses an innate magical energy which causes weapons made from it to freeze skin it comes into contact with, often causing frostbite to set in around those wounds.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Straight from the earth, Icesteel ore has the appearance of a chunk of rock with missing pieces. The pieces are not, in fact, missing of course. These areas are instead the actual Icesteel Ore. Closer inspection reveals that looking through the clear sections causes a slight distortion, almost as though one is looking underwater.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Icesteel Ore is cold, though not dangerously so in its unprocessed form. It can be handled by bare skin, and there are ancient accounts of people using the ore to cool themselves during the hotter months of the year.

Geology & Geography

Icesteel Ore is only found near the core of mountains at elevations higher than 15,000 feet above sea level (4,572 meters). On Kiera, this means it is only found in 3 different mountain ranges. Icesteel Ore is found in several places in each mountain range. This raises the number of sources of Icesteel Ore discovered so far to 7 mines.

History & Usage

Discovery

Icesteel Ore was discovered by a group of Dwarven Explorers in the ___ Mountain Range. Part of a group dedicated to finding new veins or minerals for their people, they sought to find if any ore could be found in the highest reaches of the mountains. The actual discovery of Icesteel Ore, which the Dwarves call Hakr Sten, took several years of searching before the Dwarven explorers chanced upon a vein. Initially, they mistook it for a natural formation in the rock. They thought that melting snow in the summer months had caused cracks to form, or some similar phenomenon. It was only when they attempted to continue mining and discovered that the "empty air" in front of them fell to the ground as they mined.

Everyday use

Icesteel Ore is most commonly made into ingots through a very difficult process. These ingots are most often kept as status symbols by nobles from whatever nation has access to it. Some of the more militaristic nobility, or those who have decided to bestow a gift to some warrior or knight which has earned their favor, have the ingot remade into a weapon. Most often this is a sword, though other types of weapons have been made before. Icesteel is seen as being too difficult to work with to make effective armor.

Refinement

During the refinement of Icesteel Ore into Ingots, three things are required. The first is a forge capable of reaching the temperatures required to melt the ore. The second is a purification system through which the molten Icesteel can flow. This process removes any impurities in the ore, leaving only the Icesteel. Finally, magic is required. A ritual must be performed while the pure Icesteel is folded and shaped to ensure that it does not cloud. If the Icesteel is cloudy at the end of the process, it will actually lose it's cold properties and the weapon will be more akin to glass than steel and just as easily breakable. If performed correctly, the ritual also increases the magical resonance of the Icesteel, which is what gives the final weapon the ability to freeze a wound it has made.

Hazards

If improperly handled either during or after the forging process, any bare skin that comes into contact with Icesteel will freeze as a thick layer of ice forms over the affected area. If not amputated in time, the ice will continue to spread until the smith is merely a frozen statue. Though some have tried, a way to undo this has never been found.

Type

Ore/Mineral

Rarity

Very Rare

Melting / Freezing Point

2192 F (1200 C) / 1832 F (1000 C)

Common State

Solid (Ore)