Anything
"'It could be anything' is not a phrase to be used lightly, my pupil. A mage must speak with the utmost certainty, as even the slightest of technicalities are the difference between the most harmless of objects to the most destructive force this land has ever known."Magic is bloody scary, alright? It's this unseen-but sometimes very seen force that has the power to hang up your unmentionables on the washing line as well as drop swarms of molten rock onto a civilisation and reduce it to naught but ash. And that's just what people wielding it can do. The magic that manifests from the land itself has this creative and destructive potential tenfold, and no better example of this can be found than with Anything.
Is this a bit
Why yes, it is. But to answer your inevitable question-- The material is literally called 'Anything', and is distinguished by the very clear and visible use of the upper-case 'A', see? Ol' mage-y farts didn't use it in their quote, but I did. It is a naturally occuring material found all throughout Vertinall, and is formed of the lifeblood of the planet, or rather what the planet used to be. When Vertinall was one part of a whole globe, these lands were interconnected with these cool, magical little channels called-- Wait for it-- Leylines! Yes, yes. I know. Very exciting stuff, BUT, when one giant overgrown worm decided to rip a chunk of the planet away from the rest of it, it has to be said that it did a shockingly awful job at pruning the branches. Entire lines were completely severed away, leaving veins open to scatter bits of it's own magical essence all over the shop. These droplets condensed and fused to create what we know understand to be.. Anything. Okay maybe I'm seeing why that's a little silly now.Properties
Material Characteristics
Anything is formless, and yet can maintain and retain any form. The magical uncertainty of the material allows it to shift and transform into quite literally anything (the other kind of anything, not the Anything kind of anything. (I'm not sorry.)) Shiny new sword? Yep. Piano? Sure. Three suspicous looking kobolds in a dashing trench coat? Well, probably not.. but.. Maybe? I've never seen one of those stick around long enough to know for sure.
Geology & Geography
While it's possible for Anything to appear anywhere at any point, it is most commonly found at the world's edge, the closest points at which the Leylines were severed. It's also conveniently found in dungeon chests where it is looted by eager beaver adventurers who don't heed the warnings of letting the casters do the most basic of Magical detection checks.
"Uhh, Maximal.. I don't know what you just stuffed into your backpack but it just scorched out my retinas when I tried to sense it. Maximal? are you still ther-- Oh you utter shite"
Life & Expiration
As time trudges forward, it has been noted that previously identified pieces of Anything have slowed in their transformations, and will hold their states for far longer periods of time than before. This does add a certain amount of value to the oldest of them, as it allows ample time to study before you have to leg it in case it decides to turn into a grenade or something to that effect.
History & Usage
History
The first folks to find this material were probably so horrified at the rapid shifting of whatever this material was, that they thought 'fuck that' and steered well clear of it. It took a few years for the shifting to slow down enough for them to acutally try approaching one. Since then, it's been the focus of many a scholar's study, with varying amounts of success and or explosions.
Refinement
On a happy day, when it decides to be a glass of milk or some other easily manipulated object, you can indeed warp and refine Anything the same as you could the traditional object. This comes with it's own healthy list of warnings and risks, usually ones with big red text that say 'DONT DO IT' or 'KEEP AWAY'. However you decide to forge or temper Anything in whatever state it happens to be in will have dramatically dire consequences depending on whatever it shifts into next.
"You know what happens when you boil what you think is water, and then that thing suddenly decides to turn into a grizzly bear? That's why we wear the Safety Goggles, class."
"There's a nice tale, spoken amongst smaller circles. The great Beast coils itself around our World's surface, yes? It is believed that by doing so, the spread of deadly Ley magic was contained, but consequently sealed the Serpent in the fixed state we see it in now. They remain vigil for our sakes, preserving what little of the world's lifeblood is left to grant us life."
Funnily enough it's the sign that's Anything
by
TheDumbOwl (Me)
Odor
It smells of consequences.
Taste
Marshmallows-- Wait, no Paint. Wait, no copper. Wait, no Salt. Wait, no Apple. Wait, no--
Color
Pain. Is pain a colour? I'm sticking with pain
Density
Anywhere between Zero and Infinite. Don't put it in your pockets
Common State
Suspiciously carryable
"My Gran gifted me a really Sweet set of dice for my last birthday! Only, I rolled one of them once and it turned into a Bear trap. Da' says I'm not allowed to play Crypts and Great Wyrms anymore."
Just perfectly executed.