Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Vanigo 10-10-05, 11:11 PM	A Treatise on the Nature and Composition of Metals As any educated person knows, the world around us is composed of four elements: Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth. In the simplest sense, any material object is composed of a mixture of one or more of these. What is less well known is that the elements themselves are not homogenous. Not counting the purified elemental form of each element, there are seven known forms of Air, six of Water, three of Fire, and dozens of forms of Earth. Of the latter category, nine forms of Earth are classified as metals. This treatise explains the basics of these True Metals and how they interact to form some of the commonly known metals of the world. The True Metals Of the nine True Metals, by far the most common is True Iron. Not to be confused with common iron, True Iron is the substrate on which nearly all metals are formed. A pure sample of True Iron is nothing more than a pile of rust, but when alloyed with a small amount of other True Metals, True Iron can become a startling variety of different metals. Another important property of True Iron is its ability, under the proper circumstances, to absorb magical essences. Aside from being critical to the forging of magical weapons and armor, this process enables True Iron to form some of the more exotic metals known. This phenomenon is particularly common on the Outer Planes. The next five True Metals we will examine are classified as the Trace Metals. So named for their habit of being found in trace amounts in most common metals, they change the properties of metals they are alloyed with in fairly predictable ways. When True Iron is alloyed with Trace Metals, they bond tightly to one another and cannot easily be separated, to the point that when two alloys are further alloyed with one another, they can easily be separated again without breaking down either of the original alloys. First, and rarest, is Adamant. (Adamant must never be confused with adamantine.) Pure Adamant is a flat black metal, and nearly indestructible; however, when sufficient force is brought to bear on it, it proves to be very brittle, shattering nearly to dust in a catastrophic collapse. Adamant lends hardness to alloys it is included in. Second is Lustre. Lustre is unique among the True Metals in that its pure form is normally a gas. At sufficiently high temperatures, however, Lustre condenses into a bright, shimmering white metal. When alloyed with other metals, Lustre affords them a brighter shine, and also increases their durability. For this second quality, Lustre is an important part of many common metals. Lustre is also unique for its surprising ability to slowly evaporate out of alloys containing it. Thirdly is Flux. The pure form of Flux, better known as mercury or quicksilver, is a heavy silver liquid. An alloy containing Flux is usually more flexible than one without. Lastly are Chroma and Antichroma. These trace metals are very similar to one another, and for some time were believed to be one. The pure form of each is a soft, dull grey metal; however, alloys of the two can take seemingly any shade of the rainbow depending on the proportions of each. Alloys containing Chroma and Antichroma are similarly lent a certain hue. Finally, there are the three Noble Metals. Three metals - gold, platinum, and lead - for reasons unknown, exist outside the framework of True Iron and the Trace metals. Each is a True Metal unto itself, and, while they can be alloyed with other metals, they do not exhibit the same behaviors as the Trace Metals. The Common Metals Save only the Noble Metals, every commonly known metal of the world is an alloy of True Iron and one or more of the Trace Metals, occasionally with a magical essence bonded to the True Iron. Some of these alloys are as follows: Common iron is an alloy of True Iron bonded with a trace of Lustre. It is an easy alloy to manufacture. All that must be done is to heat a sample of True Iron until Lustre begins to condense on it. The Lustre must then be worked into the metal, by any one of a number of means; the blacksmith's hammer and the melting of the smelter being the most common. As the Lustre escapes from the iron, it slowly reverts back to True Iron, or rust. Steel is a close cousin of iron. It contains more Lustre, and also a trace of Adamant. Copper is an alloy often found in natural deposits. It is primarily composed of True Iron, also containing traces of Lustre, Chroma, Antichroma, and Flux. Silver is a more complex alloy. The True Iron in silver is bonded with a magical essence - usually called simply essence of silver - and is then alloyed with Lustre and Flux. The flux renders silver soft and malleable, but if it is removed, the resulting alloy, usually called alchemical silver, is nearly as hard as iron. Adamantine is a remarkable metal, as the concentration of trace metals is actually higher than that of True Iron. It consists largely of Adamant, and also contains large quantities of Lustre and True Iron. More remarkable still is Mithril, which is composed of nearly pure Lustre. It is alloyed with considerable quantities of Adamant and True Iron, the latter of which is bonded with a magical essence. These bind the Lustre so tightly that it cannot evaporate as it cools, and remains solid.
Vanigo 10-11-05, 11:06 PM	So... no one cares?