Valkite

I am not entirely sure wherever to call the rediscovery of this substance a blessing or a curse. For most it probably depends on if they have been saved or hurt by it. The dead do not count, no one is listening to them anyway.

— Alexiana Severa, Empress of the Fourth Hegemony

Few other metals have influenced the world quite like Valkite has. Similar to how Iron enabled mankind to jump to a new level of technology, Valkite has helped in bringing forth the modern age. Although few among the masses are quite aware of it, the influence of the blue-grey metal is far reaching indeed.

Blue Gleam

Found only deep within the earth, Valkite is a metal ore distinguished by a strong blue-grey colour. Very dense, it requires more effort than most to be taken from the stone around it. It is non-magnetic and requires temperatures of around 2.000 C to melt. Both in natural and purified form, Valkite remains unnaturally cool to the touch.

Engine of Modernization

Perhaps the most coveted material of the modern world, Valkite is used in a large variety of fields:

Military

Main consumer of Valkite are the various militaries of the world. Valkite when mixed with iron creates a extremely potent alloy that increases the effectiveness of weaponry and armour drastically. The pulverized version is an important component of various explosives that are used to produce ammunition for artillery.

Civilian

Other alloys that include Valkite have found widespread use in civilian sectors such as construction and manufacturing. Tools made from Valkite are resistant to corrosion and well-suited for precision work. The blue-grey gleam of the metal makes it a popular component of jewellery and art as well.

Medicine

Last but certainly not least is its use in the medical field. A whole new range of drugs utilizes Valkite among other substances to fight a wide variety of diseases. Most famously, treatments using Valkite negate the effects of Nasivian Fever, helping to combat a devastating plague that washes over Vardania every year.

These are only the most famous uses, but they do illustrate how Valkite influences the world. It has enabled the people around the Divide to make significant leaps in the areas of warfare and construction. Every year, several million people survive plagues that would have previously killed them. And in all fields that Valkite is applied in, mankind has been making further progress and is discovering new things every day.

The damn Vardanians love it. Artillery is their bread and butter and anything improving upon its lethality is bound to sell well there.

— Vylonian Tradesmen

Type

Metal

Value

1kg = 200 Descali

Rarity

Rare

Related Locations

• The Rodine Hills
• Karnhem - Light at the Edge of the World

Rarity

All uses aside, one thing that makes Valkite so valuable is the rarity. For a substance of such importance, it is incredibly hard to find. Only a few dozen deposits are known, many of them in the Rodine Hills.
By far the largest deposit lies under Karnhem, in the far north of the world. Extremely remote it may be, but the amount of Valkite found there dwarves all other known deposits.
With the veritable annihilation of the Rodine Hills during the Brightflame Hour over a century ago, the amount of available Valkite has decreased even further, intensifying conflicts over the few known deposits.
At the moment, the Masters of Metal, a guild operating out of Vylon, holds the monopoly on any form of Valkite trade. A fact that has earned them many rivals. Rumour has it that both Ainach and Nurn are planning to strike as soon as an opportunity presents itself.

by Tam Nguyen