Melcarite
| Melcarite | |
|---|---|
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| Materials | |
| Official Name | Melcarite |
| Common Nicknames | Drovv Silver, Sihn-Nightsilver |
| Category | Daen Family Metallurgy |
| Origin | Drovv |
| Uses | Decorative, Religious |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Accessibility | Sihndar and Estelley faithful |
Melcarite is a beautiful, glittering-blue metal with deep ties to the deity Melca of the Estelley faith. Originally a god of the mysterious and now extinct Drovv, worship and veneration of Melca involved the use of this material. When the Sihndar later rose, they adopted much from the Drovv, including the use of this lightweight, strong, but thin material. It is used in weapons, ritual armor and decorative objects, but remains rare as the Sihndar can only extract so much ore from their chaotic homeland.
History
Melcarite’s ancient origins lie deeply intertwined with the god known as Melca and the now Extinct Race known as the Drovv. When this Race rose is a relative mystery, as they lived beyond the reach of the Elves, on the far side of what is now Ithania in a region that included Drowda and other lands now long lost. However, after the fall of the Asha and the Dewamenet Empire, it is believed the Drovv were among the first to suffer invasion and the expansion of the Allorn Empire. Why or what was different compared to the many Races the Elves ended up enslaving is a mystery, nor is it clearly known how the Drovv god Melca came to join Estelley as a key deity, but it happened regardless. The Drovv were also left relatively alone, their task and system of belief of guarding some vague dangerous gateway, soon forgotten. This reduction to the fringe of history and Allorn society allowed the Drovv to carry on as they had, while the cult of Melca remained small, especially in the growing collapse of the Allorn Empire.
Melcarite, meanwhile, wove its way throughout this history. Found only in Drovv territory, its forging was an art taught to the Allorn by Drovv smiths. It obviously had a strong association with their god, and later, those Elves allied or sympathetic to the Drovv as the Allorn Empire reached its end. It was also a common metal found and used across Drovv society for decorative purposes. In the wake of the Cataclysm, the untimely extinction of the Drovv, and the calamitous reshaping of the world, the Sihndar would find themselves picking through the wreckage of their scion’s lands. Melcarite was one of the only materials the early Sihndar had access to, breaking down older objects and with time, their smiths forging new items from new examples of the metal as the Sihndar were able to mine the earth once again. In the modern day, the special order of Sihndar warriors known as Blue Sky Wardens have come to use Melcarite armor as an expression of their faith but also their skills, as the ritual armor leaves little in the way of real protection. Melcarite also sees an ornamental use among the Sihndar, with charms or small items of jewelry exceedingly common.
Characteristics
Appearance
Melcarite is a dense, teal-colored ore riven with lines of gray and sparkling flecks uncommonly found in Drowda. When it has been properly forged, the material is a gleaming cyan-blue, emitting a soft phosphorescent glow and marbled with both pale hues and dots. It is commonly claimed to look like a piece of a celestial nebula and the night sky brought down to earth.
General Uses
Melcarite serves a practical, religious but also decorative purpose. The first, and best known use, is in the creation of weapons, though such precious items are often unique gifts created for stellar warriors or students, or passed down from one generation to the next. The Sihndar create and wear ceremonial Melcarite armor far more, in imitation of the robes and clothing Melca is commonly seen wearing, which many believe accurately represents the fashion of the Drovv. Billowing robes of glittering black cloth, with notable Melcarite accent pieces and a Melcarite helm for headwear make up the uniform, and these are worn by the Blue Sky Wardens, the greatest of the Estelley god’s servants in Aloria. While it often has the visual characteristics of armor, the helmet, in particular, Melcarite is actually relatively thin. It makes up for this with significant strength, but its limited use with the majority of the outfit being fabric serves the purpose of both hiding body damage in a fight, and also proving the skills of the fighter, to avoid damage to the fabric entirely.
This armor is emblematic of the decorative style in other Melcarite objects held by the Sihndar. Small religious charms, emblems, and symbols are commonly found attached to other suits of Sihndar armor or on their normal clothing. The most common of these items are clasps for clothing or weapon sheaths with a delicate three-finger hand design in mimicry of the hands the Drovv possessed. Others are objects like necklaces or bracelets with emblems and the like derived from Melca's helmet, or the stylized image of Melca's ten arms. Statuary and larger Melcarite pieces are rare, though statuettes and icons still sometimes appear. It is these objects that also make their way to other Estelley faithful who follow Melca, but the amount exported out of Sihndar territory remains minuscule, as the Sihndar are very protective of the metal.
Trivia
- Some believe that Nightsilver was a metal created in mimicry of Melcarite, relatively rare among the Elves during their earliest centuries.
- The early scavenger days of the Sihndar in the wilds of Drowda resulted in the loss of most Drovv-created Melcarite objects, but the majority remaining intact were household goods and similar pieces.
- The destruction of Alamat Hold significantly slowed the pace of Melcarite armor and object creation, something only resolved around 300 AC.
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