Tiral steel

Tiral is a rare type of iron ore used to produce ingots of tiral steel, a material with extraordinary physical and magical properties. The process of producing tiral steel is highly guarded, but it is more complicated than just finding the right high-quality ore. Blades made from tiral steel stay sharper for longer, armour is better able to resist blows and keep its shape, and all sorts of items are tougher and less prone to breaking. Tiral steel can be used to make quite small and delicate items, such as jewellery, as well as larger items such as shields and breastplates.

The most remarkable quality of tiral steel is its ability to hold magical enchantments, if inscribed with the appropriate symbols during the process of being forged from ingots into useable items. Items made of this "infused tiral" are extremely valuable. Currently, there is no known method of permanently enchanting heavy armour or weapons which are not made from tiral steel, or of enchanting tiral items after the initial process of forging has been completed (not even if an object is melted down and reforged). Although some scholars believe that yezihun ore has a similar potential to be enchanted, it has so far proven far more difficult to control, and in any case would be restricted to enchanting leather, cloth or other materials which can be dyed.

Some unscrupulous merchants secretly sell doublecast ingots, which are cast out of melted-down tiral from forged objects, at the same price as normal ingots: although doublecast ingots are still suitable for reforging into high-quality mundane objects, they cannot be enchanted. Of course, those buyers who can afford enchantment services, and who truly need top-quality tiral, usually have the means to ensure that any merchant caught selling debased goods in this way is severely punished. Before the enchantability of tiral was discovered, some Arvuyar cities produced irregular coins out of chunks and offcuts of tiral steel, weighing in the region of 1/20th of a pound each (which makes them very heavy for coins). Since it is impossible to determine whether such steel is doublecast until an attempt is made to enchant an object in the forging process, it became difficult to ensure the value of such coins, and they have fallen out of use; but old coins can occasionally be found in hoards and the like, and are valued as doublecast tiral by weight. As such, 5 tiral pieces are the equivalent of 1 aftab.

Some meteorites contain high-quality iron ore with the same properties as tiral, often with even greater potency. Known as tiral starsteel, this material is even more highly prized, and is rarely turned into items unless there is an expert at hand to infuse the metal with the desired enchantments during the forging process.

History & Usage

History

Tiral steel was first discovered in 232 I.A., and the high quality of the weapons and armour it can be used to produce has been known for several hundred years; however, the realisation that it can also be enchanted is far more recent, and has done much to drive up the price to its current levels.

Discovery

Tiral steel was first discovered in Nila Tivanam, and a high volume continues to be produced there, but a number of smaller mines and furnaces in other parts of the world are able to produce tiral ingots of sufficiently high quality for enchanting. This prevents Nila Tivanam from holding a monopoly on the product.

Type

Metal

Value

Unworked tiral steel which is suitable for enchanting sells for around 12 aftabs per 1lb ingot, whereas doublecast ingots of the same weight are worth only 4 aftabs (from an honest dealer).

Color

Tiral ore, and the steel and any objects produced from it, have a slight blueish tint which mark the difference from normal iron. Items made from infused tiral have a slight rainbow sheen when held up to the light.