Zil Dust
"The zil is the whole strength of the Tetran people, and the Tetran Empire. Just as we must spread the product of the zil to every corner of Sammerden, so we must hide the source of the zil from every outsider. All must feel our power, none must know its source"The whole world knows the incredibly tough green metal known a 'Tetran Steel' (after the Tetra who maintain a monopoly on its production). Only a few outside the Tetra lands, however, know how it is made - and fewer still have seen the bright green dust which gives the resulting alloy both its distinctive hue, and its amazing strength. Zil dust is a fine mineral, mostly encountered in thin sheets deep below the Tetran mountains. These thin crystalline sheets are so brittle and fragile that it has never been practical to transport them. Instead, they are almost immediately ground into their individual crystal particles - making the distinctive 'dust'. Indeed, the crystals got their name because early Tetran mining techniques were so violent that the mineral was only ever encountered as a dust swirling around as the latest boulder was rent asunder. The dust cannot be mined for, occurring in seemingly random seams around other metals and precious stones. The dust has been of significance to the Tetran kingdoms and states throughout their history, so significant studies of the material have been undertaken. Despite more than a millennium of research, the Tetra still do not know how it forms, how to predict its presence, nor its real composition. Most importantly, every attempt to synthesise or manufacture the crystal has failed - often disastrously. So common have attempts been to manufacture the crystal - and so complete have been the failures - than any attempt to do so is forbidden in every land controlled by the Tetra. Even advertisements claiming the power to do so, or seeking volunteers for the experiments, are harshly punished. As might be expected of a mineral with such an important role in traditional Tetran society, several myths and superstitious beliefs have become attached to the dust. Some miners say that the crystal is always found near the riches seams - as the Creator's guide to great prosperity (as if the prosperity brought by even a barrel of the dust is not enough!). Others swear the opposite - that the dust can only be found in 'worthless' parts of the mine, away from worldly treasures, to encourage only the pure of heart and labour to seek it out. Studies by the most senior Tetran sources consistently agree that neither of these beliefs are borne out by the evidence - and that zil dust is equally found alongside the most precious gems and the most worthless clay.
Properties
Material Characteristics
Individual grains of zil vary between the size of a fingernail (a Tetran fingernail being half the size of a 6ft tall Weld's) and the size of a grain of sand. The crystals are a bright green - the shade of lush grass after rain. However, it does not shine, and does not catch the light - being almost as visible in a dark mine as the open air.
Physical & Chemical Properties
The crystals have incredible compressive and tensile strength - being essentially impossible to split or fracture by normal means. Indeed, so great is their strength that few wizards have the strength to perform spells of sufficient power to break a crystal in two. However, the dust cannot be reconstituted into a meaningful form on its own - no furnace has found the temperature high enough to melt the crystals into a solid mass. Equally, any attempt to form the dust into an alloy where it is the primary ingredient is doomed to failure - once the resulting mass cools, it inevitably shatters under its own weight, leaving the separated crystals, and small globules of the mixed metal.
Even when successfully combined into compounds, zil crystals (and their compounds) are incredibly difficult to sharpen, and cannot take or maintain an edge. This property has determined Tetran armament and warfare since records began - with a focus on heavy crushing maces and mauls, over sharpened swords, axes, or spears.
Compounds
The only successful compound of zil dust is the metal known to the Tetra themselves as Bronzil, and the rest of the world as Tetran steel. The only successful way to incorporate the dust into a metal is to melt 9 parts copper with 1 part tin to form a traditional bronze and - while the mix is still liquified - sprinkle one fifth of a part of zil dust into the alloy. The liquid must then be mixed for a whole hour (only granite rods are up to the task).
The resulting Bronzil is a duller green than the crystals, but entirely unrecognisable from the base bronze - and possesses some fifteen times the strength.
Geology & Geography
Thus far, zil dust has only ever been found beneath the northern mountains of Sammerden. While this means that occasional Bolmor miners will find the dust inside their seams, practically every Bolmor mine has a Tetran agent on the staff precisely to resolve these situations - selling the produce to the highest bidder in the Tetran lands for a price which tends to exceed the reward of finding a fist-sized ruby in the same seam.
Naturally, efforts have been made over the centuries to replicate Tetran finds in more southern lands - but none have been successful. In part, few involved in these attempts would know what they are looking for, but even those using willing or unwilling Tetran assistance have been fruitless. In most cases, the Tetra involved have agreed that 'the mine smelled different, and felt too cold' to find zil dust. However, since neither smell nor heat can be used to detect the crystal in Tetran mines, it is unclear whether these statements are literal, the product of longing for home, or deliberate attempts to throw other miners into confusion about the nature of the dust.
History & Usage
History
Zil dust has been highly prized for the entire duration of recorded Tetran history. Indeed, among the first written Tetran books is 'The Finding of The Dust' - a manual to miners purporting to explain the rituals needed above and below ground in order for the expedition to return with vast quantities of zil. Not a single recommendation contained therein has proven valuable to future zil mining efforts.
Despite the relative complexity of mixing the bronzil compound, it is clear that at least some settlements had learned the process by the beginning of written Tetran history - and their resulting military advantage made the 'Green Kings' the lords of the Tetra (and many Bolmor) for a millennium and more. As the key ingredient of this powerful metal, the dust was naturally both extremely valuable, and extremely well guarded. Mines with known seams often had miners working under close guard, living in gated communities, and regularly washing into large collecting pots to recover the dust which adhered to their bodies during the dig - every grain was precious in the production of more weapons and armour.
Later, as dust production slowly outstripped the need to forge more war hammers, the dust became an incredibly high-class status symbol. All records suggest that the initial attempts were extremely ill-fated. Still seen as a military resource of the utmost importance, Dzalak V'iltek (a high-born Tetran noblewoman) was killed in the street by two officers outraged at her zil dust pennant she was using to display her fabulous wealth - her hands were later chopped off by a crowd who believed the rumour that she was wearing precious jewellery of zil and bronzil.
Similarly, Tzebo the Hungry was a Tetran mountain-lord who gained his name for his incredible decadence and resulting fate. Throwing a banquet in celebration of a great zil bounty, he determined to show the guests the extent of his wealth and prestige by replacing all the salt on his banqueting table with pots of zil. As his outraged retinue bickered with him, guests began looting the items, and brawled with his guards. Fighting worsened, until a full-blown rebellion began at his banqueting table - and he and his family were murdered in the mass brawl.
Despite these early setbacks, zil dust eventually enjoyed a position as an extreme status symbol in Tetran society before the Empty invasion - the Holy Sanctorum has consistently preached against zil's prideful misuse since the reconquest, and the decadent traditions have never been seriously re-established.
Type
Ore/Mineral
Rarity
Extremely rare
Odor
None
Taste
Tart and metallic
Color
Bright green
Melting / Freezing Point
Unknown, no successful attempts
Common State
Crystalline solid
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