Ektenum
Ektenum is an immensely useful material found in the sands of the Kar' Karak Desert of Zaquii. While it can be found in solid, liquid, or gas form depending on the type, all forms of ektenum are used by the mighty Dragon born of Dar' Rak' Da to create immensely powerful machines and technologies far ahead of what the rest of Laeriss has. Ektenum is extremely reactive and can be exploited to create Masalik energy , an incredibly useful and very powerful form of energy made up of proto-matter fused with the Arcane flux and streams of magic which make up the universe. Ektenum is capable of creating Masalik energy since it is as well made up of proto-matter bonded to pure magical energy, though unlike Masalik energy the matter and energy are bonded but not entirely fused. Of course as all great things are, it is too good to be true to think that ektenum would be a renewable resource. As all of the worlds supply of ektenum dries up, the Dragon born people are on the verge of a crisis.
Properties
Material Characteristics
Ektenum can take on a solid, liquid, or gaseous form, often it appears to be mostly opaque with a yellow hue in all of its forms.
Physical & Chemical Properties
Ektenum is very reactive and able to release large amounts of Masalik energy. It reacts strongly with light and high energy particles, like the ones found in air or water. Because of these reactions, ektenum stings most types of material found in living organisms, being highly lethal if it makes contact with saliva, blood, or other bodily fluids.
Compounds
Longer lasting ektenum called impure ektenum or brown ektenum is made by using transmutation magic or Masalik energy machines to fuse ektenum with sand from the Kar' Karak Desert, increasing the lifespan of the ektenum and decreasing the reactivity of it.
Geology & Geography
Most ektenum on Laeriss is located underground in the Kar' Karak Desert. Since there is very little for the ektenum to react to under the sand, it will not unravel into Masalik energy.
Origin & Source
Ektenum is commonly believed to be made up of strings of Arcane flux weaved together with heavy proto-matter from the beginning of time, it is structured in different patterns depending on the form of ektenum. It is said that if an entire star were to suddenly die an immensely powerful transmuter or god could shape the material into new ektenum.
Life & Expiration
One particle of pure ektenum can entirely unravel into energy after 200 million years to only 4 years when exposed, though while kept in the right conditions it can last for about 750 million years, impure ektenum lasts much longer though.
History & Usage
History
While the Dragon born always had amazing technologies, ektenum was not put into use until fairly recently. It was discovered around 5180 by the Dragon born but experiments to make use of it only went into effect around 5490. In 5543, still reeling from being separated from the rest of Laeriss by The Solstice of Shadows, real results were being gotten from using ektenum to make a newly named power called Masalik energy, after the one who used it for practical purposes first, Kahsklik a gold dragon born, and an olden Dragon born word for energy and magic. Shortly after it became a massive hit and since inspired huge amounts of incredible revolutions and unimaginable technologies as the new material began to overtake the entire society of Dar' Rak' Da. Since the supply of ektenum is very limited though, the ektenum supply situation is getting dire in Dar' Rak' Da.
*some speculate that it is possible that the Terma' Maeri may have dug and used ektenum in ancient times.
*some speculate that it is possible that the Terma' Maeri may have dug and used ektenum in ancient times.
Discovery
Ektenum was discovered around 5180 by the Dragon born of the Kar' Karak Desert. It had its first practical use in generating usable Masalik energy due to the research of Kahsklik the arcane scientist.
Everyday use
Most ektenum takes the form of impure ektenum, it is used all over the city of Dar' Rak' Da to generate the energy which powers nearly everything in the city. An example of how it is used is the Arcane flux resistant Airships which transport the people of Dar' Rak' Da all around the city.
Industrial Use
Ektenum is used all over the entire society of the Dragon born people, it powers all of the different processes which happen in the city, nearly every manufacturing process includes machines which use Masalik energy from the ektenum to carry out their jobs.
Refinement
While ektenum is usually found in a near-pure state, most ektenum will be fused by magic with sand to decrease its potency and increase its lifespan. There are many different levels of purity which ektenum may have but true pure ektenum is incredibly expensive and reserved for only the most important power sources and rulers of Dar' Rak' Da.
Manufacturing & Products
The most important use of ektenum, of course, is the creation of Masalik energy, which powers nearly everything in the entire city. It fuels amazing machines, manufactures Airships, fuses incredible new materials, and can even be changed into very powerful ektenum crystals, though it is technically no longer true ektenum. Though turning large amounts of ektenum into Masalik energy requires large amounts of water to release the energy.
Byproducts & Sideproducts
During the process of turning ektenum into brown ektenum, some of the sand used does not fully absorb into the final product and instead gets overloaded with energy and turns into a disgusting black tar. This tar is extremely hot, difficult to dispose of, and can quickly conjoin itself to whatever its in contact with. When remnants of the tar remain in the brown ektenum it becomes very hard to use and can easily destroy machines with too much tar left, very impure ektenum that has undergone fusing to a lot of sand will often have much more tar and be much less effective, sometimes this form of ektenum is called black ektenum.
Hazards
When ektenum is changed into Masalik energy, the special water used in the process becomes supercharged with power and it is nearly impossible to remove all of the energy residing in the special water for thousands of years. While this water is usually safely contained and will decrease in volume as it gets used to make more power, if a tank of this supercharged ektenum water breaks it will cause huge amounts of damage and be extremely dangerous to those nearby.
Environmental Impact
The mining of ektenum and disposal of ektenum tar is not very good for the environment of Zaquii. Every time a little bit of ektenum is exposed to the air, it produces a little bit of Arcane flux, which adds up to make the sky around Zaquii become more and more dangerous and filled with flux. Digging ektenum also creates huge holes in the ground and destroys the desert landscape. Ektenum tar is not easy to dispose of and often instead of dumping it off the edge of Zaquii, where it gets obliterated and becomes safe, it is often dumped right onto the desert, slowly turning the sand black, sticky, and inhabitable.
Reusability & Recycling
Once ektenum is used up to make Masalik energy it is gone and near impossible to recreate except by an immense feat of transmutational power during the death of an entire star. Of course this creates problems as there is only so much ektenum to be gained from the Kar' Karak Desert.
Distribution
Trade & Market
Ektenum is the most valuable resource of the Dragon born people, it is sold in different forms and quantities across the city of Dar' Rak' Da. Though pure ektenum is usually only owned by the government of Dar' Rak' Da.
Storage
In order to not deteriorate and unravel into masalik energy, ektenum must be stored in special non-reactive vacuum chambers, these chambers range in effectiveness depending on the price. Impure ektenum can last much longer though.
Law & Regulation
It is illegal in the city of Dar' Rak' Da to distribute or sell pure ektenum without it going through the higher government first. All ektenum operations must be sanctioned by the Dar' Rak' Da government since it can be very dangerous to handle. Although many illegal, underground, ektenum processing operations do exist.
Type
Ore/Mineral
Value
120 gold per gram
Rarity
Rare, only found in small quantities in the desert.
Odor
Odorless
Taste
Extremely painful burning, kills taste receptors
Color
Mostly opaque yellow
Boiling / Condensation Point
-143ºC- 4,104ºC
Melting / Freezing Point
1,996ºC- -291ºC
Density
21 g/cm3
Common State
Solid, Gas, or Liquid depending on the form.
Related Locations
Related Species
Related Items
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