Infitialis

Properties

Material Characteristics

Purple metal with a faint sheen. Not too dissimilar to silver in weight and density, but with a slightly lower melting point.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Capable of suppressing magical abilities if a person is encircled by the metal. Whilst a high conductor of electricity, it is too unstable for any sustained use.

History & Usage

History

Discovered thousands of years ago by the Ancient Domian people, its usage was first turned to ensuring their slaves were unable to use magic. The use of infitialis in this manner has since spread throughout the three empires and, curiously, the small kingdom of Demarn.

Everyday use

The base usage is as collars to keep spellster slaves from using magic without permission. In this vein, it is also used to line prison cells in many of the empires and in the isolation cells of Demarn's spellster tower.
On the more recreational side, some Udynean nobles have thin rings embedded in the headboards of their beds. These are usually wide enough for a fist to fit through to limit the damage caused by uncontrolled magic during certain activities.

Industrial Use

Every aspect of infitialis, up to the final product, is considered a hazard to handle. Its instability as an ore requires miners to gently extract it from the surrounding rock as any excessive force will cause it to explode. These miners must also have no magical abilities or even a history of spellster bloodlines.
Working the metal requires skill and a delicate touch. Whilst melting under direct heat can be done without issue, it cannot be beaten as one might do iron as the combination will cause an explosion. Casting is the typical means for sheets or singular rings, but the creation of collars utilises the talents of specially-trained spellsters with very little magic.

Reusability & Recycling

Once worked from its raw form, the metal becomes more or less stable. However, the process deems it impossible to rework. Any attempts to do so only upsets the stability and can lend to an explosive reaction.

Distribution

Trade & Market

Because of its rarity, constant high demand and the danger behind mining and transporting, infitialis prices are steep enough that only the nobility and wealthy merchants deal in the metal. Many merchants never see the product as sales are conducted far from mines to limit any magical contact.

Storage

When transporting infitialis ore, every inch must be coated in a paste known as miner's wax. Without this protective coating, the metal has a high chance of becoming unstable and exploding at the faintest brush with magic.

Type

Metal

Color

Purple

Melting / Freezing Point

873.7 °C

Density

10.49 g/cm³

Common State

Solid