[World Lore] Fulgurglass

[Fishy 2709]

Crystalized Storm

 

The tephra that rained over Azuras in a past age of primeval might was not simply volcanic ash and molten stone. Charged by such cataclysmic forces, particles of destruction pelted the earth, striking with unparalleled might as though they were bolts from the heavens. From such sheer kinetic forces a new element was fused, entombed within the fossilized lightning born then. Eroded by centuries and covered by sediment, from those pulverized fulgurites came sand, which within the hands of mortals might be tempered to Fulgurglass.
 

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Fulgursand (Raw Form)

 

 

PROPERTIES
This pale golden sand, hereinafter referred to as Fulgursand, bears a slight magnetic quality, sticking to metallic surfaces and giving off a faint electric blue shimmer in doing so. Though exceedingly rare, it can be found in clumps across Azuras, most often on the coastal ranges of the Skull Sea. Fulgursand is thought to have traveled on the currents of the worlds’ oceans over the centuries from whatever event led to its creation, the material being inexplicably drawn back to Azuras. While any given beach may contain several individual grains of Fulgursand, such miniscule amounts are entirely nonviable for the production of Fulgurglass. Workable amounts of the material are a highly prized commodity, jealously guarded by prospectors. This leaves most untapped deposits out in the forgotten places of the world where few dare tread. Be it on treacherous shores, blighted with storms, or far beneath their roiling waves, bounties of Fulgursand remain out there to be claimed by those willing to brave the danger.

Being a coarse magnetic sand, Fulgursand will rough up whatever metallic surface it is bound to, irritating automatons and clogging up machinery as it gets everywhere, most especially between fine parts of machinery and wheels. This damage is entirely superficial, however, and can be restored through diligent albeit tedious repair work and polishing. It serves as something of a bane to automatons and metallic limbs as it will impede their function, but not outright disabling them.

 

If Fulgursand is added to the preparation of Storm-Forged Oil [See: [Alchemy] [War-Forging]], it will alter the resultant effects. The arcs of lightning will grow in length with the motion of the metal, creating the effect of an afterimage trailing behind. As the kinetic excitement rises, so too will the metal begin to make a chattering noise, akin to birds, that rises in volume until the metal stalls. The color of this effect defaults to a blue electricity, however introducing impurities into the Fulgursand allows one to tinge the lightning whatever color they wish. 

 

Redlines (Raw Form)

-Fulgursand, or derivative items thereof, necessitate an ST Signature to be considered valid.

-Weapons, armor, or other metallic objects of steel or lesser durability that come into contact with Fulgursand will be damaged as if scrubbed with a sheet of 32 grit sandpaper.
-Automatons, constructs, or otherwise metal limbs will find heinous noises, akin to nails on a chalkboard, emitting from their precision components if coated by Fulgursand, impeding silent function. 

 

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Harvesting Method

 

Harvesting Fulgursand is a simple matter, provided one can find it. Simply sift it into an appropriate bag, this is best done with a non-metallic shovel, however one’s bare hands are also sufficient. As for how one would discover the sand, one should begin by hovering a metallic object over a suspected clump and recognizing the telltale electric blue shimmer of Fulgursand when in contact with metal. The harvesting of a typical clump will usually result in thirty-five pounds of Fulgursand, the rough equivalent of an ore chunk. Without exception, the harvesting of Fulgursand will result in the prospector being coated in the material, causing all metallic objects on their person to be superficially damaged.

Redlines (Harvesting Method)

-Harvesting Fulgursand will invariably coat the prospector, refer to Fulgursand (Raw Form) for specific effects. 

-Fulgursand can be identified by its electric blue shimmer when in contact with a metallic object.
 

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Refining

 

An entire thirty-five pound bag of Fulgursand is considered the necessary amount to begin tempering into Fulgurglass, worth two ingots of the material. First, the Fulgursand must be placed within an appropriately conductive crucible, free of adulterants. Then, the crucible must be dramatically heated within a near instant, as the quicker heat is applied the more workable the resulting material is. The exact means of achieving this rapid heat is left to the discretion of the individual. The most common method is for the crucible to be connected to a lightning rod atop a spire, and left to be struck by the elements.

Once the crucible has been properly heated, the Fulgursand within will fuse into a transparent semi-molten goop, glowing the color of straw. In this state, the material can be poured from the crucible and treated with heat to maintain its workability which is much like molten glass. It can be blown with a hollow metal rod, rolled against hard surfaces, or pinched with specialized tongs to manipulate its shape. If continually heated, the semi-molten goop will turn molten, allowing for strands to be drawn from the material, which can be further woven into a string. Alternatively, the molten Fulgurglass can be used to enamel metallic objects, imbuing them with a glossy, neon coating, but none of the material’s other effects.

Once the shape of the material is set to the crafter’s satisfaction, it must be annealed by once again heating the semi-molten object then slowly cooled over the course of three days, which will render the final Fulgurglass product. During this process, the semi-molten goop will harden and its formerly transparent appearance will become semi-opaque, rendering it with a cloudy complexion. Failure to properly anneal the material will leave it incredibly brittle from the internal stresses of the shaping process, resulting in a Fulgurglass that will fracture at the slightest amount of pressure, regardless of the source. Fulgurglass by no means can be reforged or reclaimed or reshaped, once it has cooled its form and color is set, any attempt at tampering will result in its destruction, its shards only usable to render an opaque glass-like slag that bears a vibrant neon glow when in contact with metal, known as Fulgurslag.  

 

Impurities may be introduced into the Fulgursand before refinement takes place, allowing one to tinge the final product and its lightning a particular color, with minimal effect on the material’s integrity. However, if the delicate ratio [10:1] of Fulgursand to impurities is not maintained, the result shall be the same opaque glass-like slag produced from broken Fulgurglass that lacks the full properties of the material, only giving off a vibrant neon glow when in contact with a metallic object.

 

Redlines (Refining Method)

-Fulgurglass cannot be reforged, only processed from Fulgursand.

-A Bowstring’s size must match the Bow-Limb it is used with. 

-A Bowstring [Short] of Fulgurglass consumes [2] ingots of Fulgurglass to produce.

-A Bowstring [Large] of Fulgurglass consumes [3] ingots of Fulgurglass to produce. 
-Fulgurglass will always be semi-opaque with a cloudy complexion, regardless of what color it is tinged.
 

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Fulgurglass (Refined Form)

 

 

PROPERTIES
Fulgurglass is a glasslike, semi-opaque material. While some light may show through the material, it is obscured by its dark cloudy complexion. By default, Fulgurglass bears a gray-green hue, however this may have been altered according to whatever impurities were introduced during refinement of the glass. Objects made of Fulgurglass have a comparable weight as though they were made of steel, presenting little difficulty to their use by descendants. However, Fulgurglass, much like glass, is a brittle material, and will not hold up if struck forcibly by weapons, causing it to shatter into hundreds of smaller shards. Broken shards of Fulgurglass, while sharp, bear none of their former properties, becoming entirely opaque and giving off a vibrant neon glow when in contact with metal, only usable as Fulgurslag.

 

Should Fulgurglass be waved around or otherwise accelerated, it will produce sparks of static electricity around itself, allowing it to briefly illuminate itself, with those sparks subsiding as its kinetic motion ends. The color of these sparks and light correlate with the impurities introduced into the material, allowing for a plethora of color combinations. These sparks produce a chittering sound akin to thousands of chirping birds, which in combination with their light makes concealment of Fulgurglass impossible as any bearer will become easy to spot unless they remain perfectly still.

 

 

Fulgurglass Swords, while largely impractical, are known to be coveted by a certain faction of knights within the Aeldinic Empire.

 

There are two recognized uses for Fulgurglass in a combative sense, those being Shock and Awe, each is mutually exclusive. Shock applies only to solid objects fully made of Fulgurglass no matter their shape, whereas Awe applies only to bows strung with a Fulgurglass bowstring.

SHOCK
Any motion will build up a static charge within a full Fulgurglass object, whether it is a simple jaunt on the road or being wormed between one’s fingers, all in proportion to the kinetic energy of the action. Within the semi-opaque complexion, small arcs of electricity will begin to build as the charge grows, eventually accumulating enough to point at the object’s center mass. Contact with Fulgurglass in this state causes one’s hair to stand on end.  Should an object made of Fulgurglass be thrown in this state, it will release the static charge upon impact, this dispersal protecting the Fulgurglass from shattering. The released static charge, while minute, strikes all within a [3x3x3] area with a non-debilitating zap of static electricity, breaking their concentration and focus momentarily. Once the static charge is spent, the Fulgurglass will need to charge itself before it can be used again, meaning that this effect can only be used once per combat encounter. 

 

AWE

Fulgurglass that is woven into a bowstring will operate differently from its Shock counterpart. Because of its construction, rather than shatter from trauma, it can instead stretch and flex akin to a cord. In this state it can be used to string a bow or for a stringed instrument such as a lute or shamisen. When plucked, a Fulgurglass bowstring will still emit static sparks like its baseform, however the chittering noise instead becomes a much deeper reverbed twang, similar to that of an electric guitar. If fully drawn, the bowstring’s electrical excitement will manifest into a single point and will zip off as a small bolt of electricity once the tension is released. Any target struck by this bolt will receive a concussive zap similar in force to an arrow or bolt of its respective bowtype, while also inflicting a first degree burn. This bolt strikes through metallic armor, shields, and weapons, only being blocked by [Kingstone]. Akin to when Fulgurglass shatters, if a target struck by Fulgurglass bolt possesses any [High-Density Boomsteel] on their person, they will incur a duplicate first degree burn in the area nearest the boomsteel. An archer may continually fire with their Fulgurglass Bowstring provided they remain capable of fully drawing the bow, making ammunition completely unnecessary. 

Redlines (Refined Form)

-Fulgursand, or derivative items thereof, necessitate an ST Signature to be considered valid.
-Fulgurglass shards cannot be reforged, only used as decorative elements.

-Fulgurglass sparks are largely aesthetic and minimally ticklish if touched, akin to a static shock produced by wearing socks on carpet.
-Illumination from Fulgurglass sparks is only enough to illuminate the object itself, providing no lighting or blinding effect aside from easy identification in darkness or at a distance.
-The chittering of Fulgurglass sparks is only heard within #rp range. 
-Fulgurglass will shatter if it receives a weaponstrike of any caliber. Fulgurglass must be /use’d if shattered.
-The effects of Fulgurglass Shock and Awe are mutually exclusive. All Fulgurglass items must state whether they possess Shock or Awe in their description.
-Any object of Fulgurglass that isn’t a bowstring receives the properties of Shock.

-A target in armor of Kingstone making up at least a chestplate would be immune to the effects of Fulgurglass Shock and Awe.
 

-Fulgurglass’s Shock will temporarily disconnect any target struck by it for [1] emote.

-Fulgurglass’s Shock can only be used once per encounter.
-Fulgurglass’s Shock can only affect a target once per encounter.

-Fulgurglass’s Awe cannot be used in conjunction with other munitions without causing those munitions to overload and self-destruct.
-A bolt from a Fulgurglass’ Bowstring will create [2] first degree electrical burns on a target that has any High-Density Boomsteel in their inventory.
-Fulgurglass Bowstrings follow the respective techlock of their bowtype.

 

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Fulgurslag [Player-Signed] [Open]
Should Fulgurglass be improperly produced, shattered, or otherwise reprocessed, the resultant material, Fulgurslag, loses all of its former properties, becoming a dull, opaque gray color. While this material can be reprocessed into any variety of shape or size, and even cast, it can never again be made into Fulgurglass. The only noteworthy property of this Fulgurslag is that while in contact with metal, it gives off a vibrant glow from the object's entire being, akin to a neon gas lamp. Vivid colors and lights can be produced based on what impurities are introduced into the material’s mixture, making it ideal for eye-catching signage. Much to the chagrin of many glassblowers, however, mass production of Fulgurslag is achievable with minimal amounts of Fulgursand, as even a few grains blended with glass-producing sand can turn the entire product into Fulgurslag, leading to many contaminated batches of what would otherwise have been mundane glass.

 

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Credits

Spoiler

Fishy - Writer
I wanted a lightning material so I abused my position on mapdev to shill it >:). That aside, I wanted to explore other material possibilities than your standard [blank]steel to be made into any variant melee weapon and give it a few interactions with other materials, namely Boomsteel and Kingstone.

Islamadon - Concepts, Feedback
Helped conceptualize it so as to not introduce yet another material that would powercreep, and to help give it a ranged niche.

Squak & Shady - Additional Feedback
Additional Feedback to help balance it out and redlines.