| Maelojen baeylum, lehozaet!
You may have already begun to notice some new materials for this year's Hollow Eve Festival. Below are some informative snippets that may be useful to you.
Metals
KELPZYTE
(Must Be Provided for Alterations)
Kelpzyte is believed to only exist near active undersea volcanoes. Kelpzyte forms once sediment and magma from the eruption site rises above the water's surface, as a bubbling seafoam. Within moments of hitting the air, the liquefied shale and glass, coral, sea salt, and other various minerals coalesce to create a hard, deep, rich brown metal.
Kelpzyte is glossy and smooth, and at first glance appears to be a true, velvety brown hue. However, variations of brown ranging from auburn, mahogany, umber, and chocolate are possible.
Most commonly, however, it is a deep chestnut color striated with an iridescence that creates uncanny visual depth. In less pure pieces of kelpzyte, strands of grey are typical. Pure pieces have no grey.
In any piece of kelpzyte the iridescence along with its unique composition, create within the material an impression of a fluid substance.
CORALITE
(Must Be Provided for Alterations)
Coralite is a curious material formed from coral and infused with liquid gold. Merelew smiths looking for a metal that would have a unique hardness, but also possess the ability to be honed to a sharpness required of the tips of their spears spent years formulating this metal, only to have it turn a rather lurid coral-pink regardless of the color of coral used, the amount of gold used or the time the solution was given on the forge. After some time, the Merelew smiths simply gave up. The metal fit their purposes otherwise.
Coralite is a deep coral pink, with glittery gold inclusions.
Gems/Minerals
ASARENJAN
(Must Be Provided for Alterations)
The translucent gemstone is most notable for its ghostly blue glow. The shape of the glowing light within can be manipulated by the alchemist-artisan prior to preservation, although this is limited to simple patterns, such as spirals or fans, not complex imagery. Due to its nature, asarenjan is not suitable for faceting and is typically presented as a cabochon or other rounded shape. It can also be made into simple, stylized shapes, though not with intricate detailing.
Origin: Mariners who sail through shallow seas are familiar with the phenomenon of mareel or sea sparkle, a ghostly blue glow that sometimes appears on the surface of the water as it is disturbed. Scholars of the Merelew faction of the Trickling Sun discovered that this blue glow is created by marine plankton, which exhibit bioluminescence when disturbed. Early attempts to harness the glowing blue water were unsuccessful, as the organisms stop glowing when they die.
Fortunately, determined alchemists of the Inverted Crucible discovered a process that allows them to preserve the glow within a glassy resin. Further, they discovered that they could create patterns within the glowing light by controlling how they manipulated the plankton just before preserving them.
Usage Guidelines: The proper spelling/capitalization is asarenjan (lowercase). When describing quantities of asarenjan, amber is a good analogy. (It would be "three pieces of asarenjan," not "three asarenjans.")
Additionally, the stone's glow is most evident in darkness and it is not bright enough to light up a room. If the tap references any light giving properties (glowing, luminous, bioluminescent, etc.), asarenjan must be explicitly named in the tap so as to identify the source of the glow (and distinguish it from magical items). Words like "bioluminescent" or "bioluminescence" are acceptable descriptions of the glow, as the glow is biochemical in nature.
GLOOMGLASS
(Must Be Provided for Alterations)
Gloomglass is a strange and mysterious stone that began washing on shore after the explosion of the massive biomechanical arachnid. It is overall crystalline in appearance with all hues of the rainbow shifting inside of the natural facets of the stone. Because of the inherently chaotic nature of shifting colors, rumors have arisen that gloomglass may possess some strange form of sentience, or worse, that it contains the souls of those that were lost in the tragedy.
While the hue of gloomglass can range through the full spectrum of color, it most often shows in purple, orange, green, red. Rainbows shifting with purple, orange, green, red, and blue are rarer, while the spectrum ranging with purple, orange, green, red, blue, and pink are the rarest.
Common Description: The crystalline stone is awash in a rainbow of <4-color, 5-color, or 6-color> hues that shift for dominance as light plays across it.
(quad-hued, penta-hued, hexa-hued could also be used)
SUIRITE
(Does NOT need to be provided for alterations)
Suirite is a mineral with a low to medium hardness, and is comprised of calcium carbonate and found near sedimentary rocks on the ocean floor.
Colors include clear (when free from impurities), yellow, blue, and pink
Suir is Asaran for "salt".
TAIGO
(Does NOT need to be provided for alterations)
Taigo is a mineral with very hard mineral that is a tetragonally structured gem. Meaning the gem has four angles, and four sides. Taigo is formed in high-temperature hydrothermal veins that are often located near large coral formations.
The crystalline surface of taigo may be found in banded, fibrous or smooth varieties. It is transparent to nearly opaque and can be found in nearly any color.
Taigo is Asaran for "knife".
ZUZARET
(Must Be Provided for Alterations)
Mined from the bases of active undersea volcano. The gem itself is formed from opalescent strands of volcanic sand mixed with both the frigid ocean water and magma. As the gem is formed deep within the mid-crustal gabbro near the magma chamber, it is spun into an untraceable labyrinth of color.
The final product of the gem becomes a tangled network of fragile, interwoven filaments. The gem is expelled through the volcanic vent, encased in sediment which tumbles and turns within the deep ocean waters. The sleek surface of each uncut zuzaret speaks of years spent in an aquatic embrace, smoothed and shaped by the movements of the sea.
Uncut zuzaret are always cabochon, naturally - they may be cut into simple shapes (emerald-cut, baguette-cut, tapered baguette-cut, table-cut, trapeze-cut, step-cut, pyramid-cut[RL French-cut] ONLY)
Zuzaret commonly runs the spectrum in common shades of lighter blue: blue-grey, peacock, powder blue, periwinkle, ice blue, light blue. Zuzaret occasionally forms in crimson, amaranthine, violaceous or niveous but these are rare.
Zuzaret is Asaran for "water gem".
Fabrics
SEASILK
(Must Be Provided for Alterations)
Developed by the Merelew, seasilk is made from the long silky filaments or byssus secreted by a gland in the foot of giant clam shells. The shell, which is sometimes almost a meter long, adheres itself to rocks with a tuft of very strong thin fibers, pointed end down, in the intertidal zone. These byssi or filaments (which can be up to 6 cm long) are spun and, when treated with red algae extract, turn a golden color.
Seasilk may be dyed, but always retains a golden cast.
Undyed seasilk description: The glossy silk holds a deep golden sheen over the fabric.
Dyed seasilk common description: The glossy <predominant color> silk holds a faint golden sheen over the fabric.
TURTLEPLAIT
(Does NOT need to be provided for alterations)
Made from ground and crushed sea salt, combined with coral and various colors of algae. Turtleplait combines these materials at a boil which turns into thin fibers. The dyeing process can be initiated at this time. The fibers are then placed on a loom, and woven into various cloth sizes.
Turtleplait is suitable for a variety of uses: soft sided containers, clothing, and cloth armor. It is usable, but not ideal for furniture.
Standard look Undyed -- "mottled-brown turtleplait" Dyed -- "mottled-(COLOR) turtleplait"
Woods
AYABERE
(Must Be Provided for Alterations)
Ayabere is the name given to driftwood that has been specially processed by Merelew craftsmen. The driftwood is treated with a mixture of sea salt, coral, red algae and extract from jellyfish. The result is a hard coating that allows for manipulation of the wood within the water.
Ayabere is bright azure blue with a satiny luster.
Ayabere is Asaran for "Blue wood".
Kat derias lehozaet!
~Evike
Twitter: @EvikeDR
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