Post:Festivals - Cordulia - 10/30/2025 - 2:19
| https://discordapp.com/channels/619301383451181075/619612817057906688/1433354524482994186 · on 10/30/2025 2:19 | |
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| Here are some new materials you may find at Hollow Eve. (These are not the only new materials, just the ones I created.)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14JfMzsFoO18zoUH7ksb3G4BmoLHZZZ4APuD0qWflTLs/ Contents of the above document: araneium [metal] Background: Veins of araneium form only where the Plane of Probability seeps into the Plane of Abiding through the planar breach beneath Taisgath, where the shadows grow unnaturally dense and aggressive. Miners claim the metal is “nested” rather than buried and that striking it too hard causes the shadows to recoil violently. Some hold that the goddess Harawep spun these veins deliberately into the stone and that anyone who forges the metal does so under her watch. Description: Araneium is a shadow-laced metal whose surface seems to drink in light, rendering it a soft grey to nearly black in dim places. When illuminated, faint iridescent filaments stir to life within the grain, giving the impression of threads glimmering just beneath the surface. These inner filaments create shifting halos that appear to slide across the exterior when the piece is moved, as though drifting over liquid shadow. In shadow, araneium becomes unnervingly matte and inert; under light, it reveals a living, web-like iridescence. Usage Notes: Araneium is durable enough to be used as decorative elements in weapons and armor. In taps and looks, it's also acceptable to describe the metal as “shadow-laced araneium.” (If using this description, the metal must be explicitly identified.) Sample: The shadow-laced metal seems to swallow light. When lit, iridescent threads awaken beneath the metal's surface, sliding like webs adrift in the Void.
fang-quenching [metalworking process] Background: Like firestaining, this is a process applied to metal (rather than a specific material). It involves quenching hot metal in a specially prepared bath of spider hemolymph, spider venom, and alchemical salts. (The hemolymph and venom are usually extracted from blade spiders, although venom-quenching requires the blessing of wildling spiders.) The quenchant reacts with the surface of the metal, hardening its grain and leaving behind distinctive markings. Careful control of temperature and timing is necessary, as even slight errors can spoil the effect. Descriptions: fang-touched (merchant): The surface takes on subtle, iridescent web tracery, as though faint threads are caught beneath the surface. fang-quenched (Hollow Eve): The web-like patterns are far more vivid and intricate, forming sprawling fractals that catch and scatter light at sharper angles. fang-tempered (quest): Web-like fractals of violet light pulse faintly across the metal, as though energy were traveling along unseen strands. venom-quenched (auction): The metal is shot with luminous, web-like fractals of bright green light. When struck by sunlight, they refract light into a rainbow of eldritch hues (eerie greens, blues, and purples). Samples: fang-touched [metal]: The surface bears faint, iridescent veins that resemble spidersilk caught beneath glass. fang-quenched [metal]: The surface blooms with vivid web fractals that shimmer in sharp relief, scattering light along branching paths. fang-tempered [metal]: Web-like fractals of violet light pulse softly across the surface, tracing unseen networks beneath the polish. venom-quenched [metal]: Bright green fractals lace the surface, refracting ambient light into a rainbow of eldritch hues. Usage Restrictions: This process cannot be used on metals that emit light, absorb all light, are incapable of reflecting anything, or have other light-related special effects, such as goldfyre, hiromin, moonsilver, starshine, truegold, araneium, aldamdin, dawnfire steel, gweldgold, or widowglass.
gweldgold [metal] Etymology: from Gamgweth gweld (death) + gold Background: Despite the name, gweldgold is not actually an alloy of gold. It first appeared after Urrem'tier's ascension to a god of duality who holds sway over death and rebirth. The unrefined ore is most commonly found near ancient burial grounds but can be found in any site that has been touched by Urrem'tier. The Temple describes gweldgold as a mineral byproduct of divine balance, formed when opposing frequencies of mana meet without annihilating one another. To them, gweldgold is a natural residue of the new equilibrium that governs mortality. Description: Gweldgold is a metal distinguished by inversion of expectations. In dim light it appears as a pale gold with a soft, diffuse sheen. Under bright illumination, the surface deepens into a dark bronze, losing its reflectivity and taking on a smooth, matte luster. The transition is gradual and purely optical. Unrefined gweldgold resembles ashen umber braided with dull amber. Fine striations of warm and cool tone create a faint, layered texture that becomes more noticeable as lighting changes. Edges and raised details usually appear lighter than recesses in dim conditions, and the reverse in strong light, producing a natural visual balance between highlight and shadow. Its alternating appearance lends it an association with equilibrium and the union of opposites. Usage Notes: Gweldgold holds its shape and finish well, making it popular for inlays, filigree, and symbolic ornamentation where visual contrast is desired. It is durable enough to be used for decorative elements in weapons and armor. Sample: The light-reactive metal shifts from pale gold in shadow to umbral bronze under bright light. Alternating striations ripple across its surface, causing edges and recesses to trade brightness as the light changes.
widowglass [metal] Background: Widowglass is smelted from rare ore found only in the abandoned burrows of tomiek-iguji broodlings, the monstrous spider-progeny once spawned by the Massive Arachnid of Hollow Eve. The ore forms slowly in the damp, collapsed tunnels where the creatures once laired, as seepage from their abandoned egg-clutches mingles with minerals in the stone. Over decades, the strange humors left behind by the broodlings altered the stone, creating strata of blackened ore laced with translucent red veins. Miners describe it as “stone that remembers blood,” and some claim the reflections are the lingering essence of the brood. Note: Unlike tomiek chitin, widowglass is not harvested from the broodling itself but from the scarred earth of its nesting grounds. Description: Widowglass is jet-black and flawless. Though resembling polished obsidian or black glass, it reflects almost nothing. Only when illumination strikes at the right angle does its secret emerge: a deep, blood-red reflection that seems to float beneath the black exterior. The red is not scattered like a shimmer or halo but concentrated and jewel-like, often compared to wet blood. It is exceptionally easy to polish, but it always swallows reflections except for its uncanny crimson undercurrent. Sample: The jet-black metal reflects nothing despite its flawless polish. Oblique illumination draws out a deep red gleam, dense and liquid as pooled blood.
venacryst [gem] Background: Venacryst does not arise naturally as a mineral in the ground; it must be grown inside a living spider's venom glands through a ritualized process. If a spider is fed a carefully prepared mixture of mineral salts, its venom begins to crystallize along the inner lining of the venom gland. Over weeks or months, the crystallization thickens into a hardened core: venacryst. Harvesting is perilous, as the spider must be kept alive long enough for the growth to mature, and extracting the crystal requires skilled surgery (or in darker traditions, ritual sacrifice). When the crystal is removed properly, the spider may recover and produce more over time, though few handlers survive enough attempts to cultivate repeat harvests. Description: Venacryst is a translucent green crystal, likened to glass threaded with capillaries of inky pigment. The most prized specimens cast a sickly radiance even in complete darkness and are usually faceted (rather than polished) to enhance this effect. Uncut stones often occur in irregular nodules, their surfaces slick and faintly sticky. Though delicate-looking, venacryst is exceptionally hard and brittle: a gem that resists scratching but fractures violently under the wrong blow. Fragments of broken venacryst retain their faint glow and are dangerous to handle without protection, as they can leach toxin into bare skin. Usage Note: “Venacryst” must be explicitly identified as the light source in the tap if the tap uses words like “glowing.” Sample: A sickly light seeps through the translucent green crystal, bleeding around ichorous capillaries that wind through it like ink-clotted veins.
negerith [fabric] Etymology: from Gerenshuge negeri (spider) Background: Negerith is woven from the silk of lore-spinners, a species of spider bred by the House of the Ivory Scroll. These spiders dwell in the vaults beneath the House's libraries, where they spin gossamer webs in silence. Scholars claim the creatures feed on thought itself and that their silk lends clarity and focus to those who study. Description: Negerith is a pale, diaphanous fabric that drapes like mist, its faint lavender-grey hues seeming to fade in and out of sight as the light shifts. The cloth is astonishingly fine, flowing in soft folds that appear weightless. In dim illumination, its threads catch a subtle shimmer, giving the impression that the fabric is part smoke, part substance. Too delicate for battle or manual labor, negerith is favored in quieter realms. It resists fraying and repels ink, making it a preferred textile in libraries, studies, and lecture halls. Usage Notes: This fabric is too delicate for armor, even as decoration, and unsuitable for items that endure stress. Its natural resistance to ink prevents dyeing. Negerith appears only in pale twilit hues — greyed shades of lavender and blue. Sample: The diaphanous fabric drapes like mist, its lavender-grey folds so fine they seem to hover between air and substance.
brinefang [bone] Background: Brinefang is derived from the immense fangs that sea spiders shed as they grow. Merelew divers collect discarded fangs from reefs, sea floors, and tidal caverns. Only fangs shed naturally may be used; it is taboo to kill a sea spider for its fangs. After recovery, the raw material must be soaked in concentrated brine to remove organic residue, or it will decay into a chalky powder. Among practical Merelew, brinefang serves in spearheads, harpoons, and knife handles, resisting saltwater corrosion better than wood or horn. It is also used in percussion instruments and resonators by the Red Fan Traders. The Supplicants of the Tide use polished brinefang in meditation, believing it “remembers” the rhythm of the sea. They focus on its rippling grain as a mandala to attune their minds to the ocean's shifting will. Drylanders carve brinefang talismans for ship prows, claiming they let sailors “listen to the currents” and sense approaching storms. Smaller tokens are carried as charms against drowning, said to spare those who bear them from “the sea's bite.” Description: Brinefang is a silvery-blue, bone-like material. Its surface bears faint ripple-like patterns that shift subtly as light passes across them, with a pearlescent under-layer that creates an illusion of depth. Brinefang's unusual density gives it a bright, ringing tone when struck. Even small shards, if suspended, will hum for several seconds, the ripple-like grain amplifying vibration like natural striations in a bell. Unlike bone or ivory, which produce a dull thud, brinefang carries sound with clarity prized by Merelew artisans. Usage Note: When describing quantities of brinefang, use ivory as the analogy: three pieces of brinefang. Sample: Silvery-blue ripples shimmer across the surface like refracted sunlight playing across a pearlescent seafloor. | |
| This message was originally posted in festivals, by Cordulia on the Official DragonRealms server. | |