Mantisite
Mantisite is a powerful bio-material found deep under Hothiri's seabed. This animalistic material was discovered just over fifty years ago, oanie having figured out how to weaponise it in the last year. These peculiar blobs of rainbow manifest wherever possible; they fill up underwater caves and tunnels, spilling out into any available space like an infestation.
For fifty years wherever mantisite was uncovered oanie would quickly relocate. Mantisite alters the atomic make-up of anything it comes into contact with, causing physical and metaphysical breakdowns.
Mantisite is named after mantis shrimps, brightly coloured crustaceans in the order Stomatopoda. Mantis shrimps are apex predators on Hothiri, the largest species reaching more than twenty metres in length.
Qualities
Warping
When someone comes into contact with mantisite their existence starts to warp. Their physical appearance shifts, body parts switching, growing, shrinking, or even duplicating. The longer the contact, the worse the effects.Mantisite can be described as both a solid and a liquid, and in rare cases, plasma. In its natural, untouched state, mantisite is a liquid, flowing into any open space it can find. It does not mix with water or any other liquid, but like a solid, you cannot pass through it.
When confined to a small container mantisite will fight to break free. Even the smallest sample of mantisite will become erratic and animalistic in its behaviour, attempting to claw its way out. Larger clumps of mantisite seem to have telekinetic abilities, able to control the environment around it.
Mantisite has an ethereal shimmer, kaleidoscopic. The material shines all colours from every spectrum of light and magic, glowing brighter in larger quantities. Small samples are almost complete black, with the faintest hint of colour.
History
The oanie's first encounter with mantisite wasn't even a direct contact. After locating a large oil reservoir, a small team of miners working for Kannvas Oil were sent to open up a small hole into the reservoir, not before unearthing a vein of mantisite. The bio-material lashed out by manipulating the surrounding rock, killing everyone in the area.
After this, worries of repeat encounters were the sole concern of Kannvas Oil. Slithers of mantisite began halting operations across Hothiri, causing the company to lose millions.
Select scientists were forced into studying this material, in order to figure out a way to mitigate the risks of encountering mantisite. Instead of just neutralising the threat, these scientists discovered a way to utilise and weaponise it.
A Horrifying Encounter
"Approaching this next oil reservoir. This one's particularly deep, not sure if the drill is gonna reach." He plunged his mechanic device deep into the ground, steading his boots on the rocky outcrop. Pressing a large red button, the drill whirred to life and began to vibrate. He grasped on as the drill tore through sand, rock, and rubble. Before even a minute had passed the drill suddenly stopped. Everyone looked at each other confused as the sand beneath their feet began to shift into unusual patterns. Rock below the sand began to simmer and swirl, forming long strings reaching out to the swim-suited workers. The string swam through the water in perfect sync, darting towards anyone within reach. A collective symphony of gasps, screams, and horrified gargles rang through the water as every worker scattered, attempting to swim to safety. The strings of rock wrapped around their feet, dragging them into the seabed until their legs and waist were one with the stone.
In Weaponry
Hothirian scientists discovered that by stunning a blob of mantisite with the mucus of an eger snail, it will become temporarily stunned and will not attack. The mantisite can then be scooped up into a sturdy container.
Mantisite pistols have two storage containers, one for mantisite and one for snail mucus. Before firing, the user must stun the mantisite with a single shot of mucus. This gives just enough time to fire a bullet with out it bouncing back and attacking the user. The first iteration of the pistol did not have this safety feature.
Upon the bullet's impact, anything in a close range will begin to warp. Rock may turn to liquid, a person may turn to stone. Body parts can turn to dust or be duplicated; effects are essentially randomised and unpredictable.
Only ten of these pistols exist, all prototypes. This unreliable weapon is currently being tested further, refined before it becomes an essential part of the Karkhala Defence League's weapon roster. While the use of weapons this dangerous is highly illegal, oanie hope that once these pistols are perfected, they will be unstoppable and no laws can stop them.
This is SO COOL. a) I would've expected the mantisite in the pistol to be darker, but I guess it could be concentrated, or just 'enough mantisite'. How low does the concentration have to be before it turns as almost-black as you mentioned? b) Have there been any beings exposed to mantisite for long enough that they just become a blob of flesh-goop, or inanimate things that gained living qualities after mantisite exposure? c) the signature on the pistol background looks suspiciously like a trademark XD
Thank you! I think there's just enough mantisite in the pistol for it to be a bright rainbow :D I don't know exactly how little mantisite you'd need for it to turn black, probably just a few milliletres. Mantisite doesn't have the ability to actually infest living creatures, it just sorta... kills them. hehe, I like to scribble my name on my artworks so people know it's mine :D