Salt

A necessity of life, a source of salt is a precondition for the foundation of any settlement. Folk and beast alike require salt to survive, and particularly those who must trade for food or preserve it for winter have regular need for it. Nevertheless, large quantities of salt are not always easy to find. Beasts may make do with salt licks, but for any folk who wish to preserve their food or make do primarily with grains, large-scale sources of salt are needed. These can be found underground, or boiled off from seawater or saline lakes.

While most salt comes from small-scale brine evaporation efforts, large scale salt-harvesting operations have been known to make their owners and operators fabulously wealthy. From the The Fields of Glass to the salt mines of the western Mekub, salt in quantity is one of the few goods worth transporting over large distances. Particularly in the Mekub, many local rulers have sought to monopolize and centralize salt production in order to secure their own power base.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Crystalline rock salt usually appears as a brittle whitish crystal. Sea salt in turn is formed of coarse grains.

History & Usage

Everyday use

Like the rarer natron, salt has many uses. A necessity of life, a food preservative, and a basic input into many processes of leatherworking and pottery. However, unlike natron, common salt is not used to make glass.

Distribution

Trade & Market

A curious good, salt is used by all but retains a status similar to a luxury good, as even small amounts of salt are fairly valuable. Those powers that find themselves with a surplus of salt often find it worthwhile to sell it far abroad, even on camel caravan if need be. Salt is one of the most reliable trade goods as it keeps essentially forever and will never be useless. However, most salt is produced and used locally.

Type

Ore/Mineral