Brightsteel

Brightsteel is an uncommon metallic ore found almost exclusively in the Daggerjaw Mountains, and which is renowned for its toughness, shine, and difficulty to forge. It has a deep cultural significance for the dwarves of the City-State of Forgehome, who venerate it as the metal that embodies their people and society.   

Properties

Material Characteristics

When first extracted from rock, Brightsteel is a shiny, jagged, and blue-tinted metal that crumbles away easily from the stone surrounding it. This makes it easy to mine, although smelting temperatures must exceed almost 2,200 degrees Celsius for the ore to be moulded into an ingot. Typically, only the dwarven forges of Forgehome can reach such temperatures, so Brightsteel is almost exclusively processed there. When smelted, the ore loses its blue tinge and becomes an exceedingly bright, mercurial silver. Shaping Brightsteel takes great effort, and intricate designs on Brightsteel armour and weapons are practically non-existent for this reason; it is said that a Brightsteel breastplate, when catching the sun, can easily blind the wearer's opponent. Despite its robustness, Brightsteel is deceptively light and ideal for light infantry or skirmisher soldiers.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Brightsteel is warm to the touch as an ore, retaining a radiating heat that lasts up to four or five days after being mined. Afterwards, it cools to room temperature. It has long been held by dwarven miners that Brightsteel is the product of dragons breathing fire into silver, copper, and iron many millennia ago, although the validity of this story is dubious; most likely, the mountain stone retains warmth from the nearby volcano, Mount Cauldron, and this transfers into the rock. Brightsteel is dense and retains heat well, meaning that the heat dissipates at a by far slower rate than it does in other, more common metals. When smelted, however, Brightsteel becomes almost abnormally cool to the touch.

Compounds

In due part to its difficulty to forge, Brightsteel is sometimes mixed in small quantities with ordinary steel, in an attempt to make it easier to shape. Items made 'par-Brightsteel', as it is known, are quicker and cheaper to make as well as tougher than steel alone. However, they tend to be on the heavier side than pure Brightsteel items, and are by far less durable. The Legions of Forgehome are typically outfitted with par-Brightsteel armour and weapons.

History & Usage

History

Brightsteel was first discovered and documented by dwarven settlers in the Daggerjaw Mountains, in the area that came to be known as the City-State of Forgehome, over 4,500 years ago. The first shafts dug by the dwarves hit veins of iron, copper, tin, silver, and gold; clumps of Brightsteel were said to be plentiful around mines rich in silver, coal and iron particularly, leading many to believe that the metal is an amalgam of the two (hence the name Brightsteel), although this has never been proven and is likely a myth. The ease with which Brightsteel could be mined led Forgehome miners to dig greedily into the mountains to find more of the ore, although being relatively uncommon and difficult to smelt and forge led to it being reserved for only the most expensive weapons and armour in its purest form - typically those held by an Archon or champion of high renown.

Cultural Significance and Usage

Brightsteel is an exceedingly important metal to the dwarves of Forgehome, who represent it in their crest with a hammer and anvil made of Brightsteel. However, the metal is increasingly scarce, so it is generally used for the making of the finest weapons and armour, usually for persons of great import. The edge of a Brightsteel axe is said to never dull, and this has become something of a proverb among the denizens of Forgehome - particularly the soldiers who defend its borders - as they liken themselves to the weapon that will never cease its vigilance against threats.

Distribution

Trade & Market

The dwarves forbid the trade of pure Brightsteel outside of Forgehome, as it is considered to be more valuable than anything another nation could give them. However, par-Brightsteel (Brightsteel mixed with ordinary steel), is a valuable trade resource for the city-state, and they often trade it with Mhiilamniir for vital resources such as food, medicine, and wood. 

BrSl

Type

Metal

Rarity

Uncommon

Color

Blue-tinted as ore; mercurial silver when smelted

Boiling / Condensation Point

Unknown; Brightsteel has never been successfully boiled

Melting / Freezing Point

2,197 degrees Celsius

Common State

Solid

Related Locations

• Daggerjaw Mountains