Ambrita (Am-BREE-tah)

"The world runs on the machinery of shapers and golems working together, but ambrita is what keeps the machine running."

—  Kever Toth, KiTo Industrial

When anyone uses their abilities to shape a material, whether it be a piece of driftwood or a perfect diamond, ambrita is generated as a byproduct. The exact source of ambrita is unknown. In the Edicts of the Gods, they explained that ambrita has a singular purpose: to nourish the bodies of their people. They also mention that, compared to all the worlds they have visited and all the species they have worked with, shaping on Adin produces more ambrita than elsewhere. The increased output of ambrita on Adin seems to be tied to the world, not the Adinites. The other species, those that still have shaping abilities, produce more of it as well. Beyond these two facts, the odd substance has been the source of much debate and research on Adin, with few answers.

Physical Properties

Ambrita closely resembles tree resin, a viscous yellow fluid that forms as a thick film on objects as they are being shaped, as well as on the shaper's hands where they make contact with the item. For those that can shape without touch, as well as those who shape less tangible things like electricity or magnetism, the sticky material forms at the point where they are focusing their power, usually the hands.

The Food of the Gods

Ambrita can certainly be eaten. The Gods were sustained on ambrita alone, and some Adinites prefer to live the same way. Because it was the food of their Gods, some believe ambrita to hold the secret to immortality. Those who choose to only eat ambrita do not become immortals, but do live a slightly longer time. They suffer only one side effect from their unconventional diet, impotency, which backs up the immortality argument for some, as the immortals are also unable to bear children. This side effect can be reversed through a traditional diet after a month or so, but those who make the choice to consume ambrita tend to this path for religious or personal reasons and typically do not return to a normal diet for long periods. Some religious adherents will fast from their ambrita and eat regular food on holy days, the 61st of every month, giving glory to the Gods for the bounty of food available on their world.
The exception to this rule is the Sulmu, who are functionally immortal as long as they stick to a diet including ambrita. Sulmu mating pairs will switch to a diet of normal food while conceiving, and Sulmu children are reared on a non-ambrita diet until they reach adulthood at their third year. The Sulmu develop a taste for good food during childhood, and will continue to eat food supplemented or cooked with ambrita to maintain their halted aging process.
While it does seem to be an organic compound, it does not contain protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, or in fact anything that basic science says should be required in a food. Any flavor to a sample of ambrita is imparted to it from the material from which it generated. Stones convey an earthy taste, while carbon-based gemstones provide a smoky, charcoal flavor. Plants will draw from the flavors of the plant, and most who willingly eat ambrita instead of a more traditional diet tend towards the plant-based. The ambrita created by the kursu, derived from the healing or modification of people, is not eaten by the Adinites, though the bloodthirsty Udug have no qualms about eating it. Aside from the added flavor of the material, ambrita is sickeningly sweet and not palatable as a food consumed for any sort of pleasure.

Practical Uses

One thing that the Gods did not teach was that ambrita can also be shaped. To them it was something to collect as needed for sustenance, and otherwise discarded. Generations after the Gods had left, some shapers began to realize they were able of willing the ambrita off of their hands, and uses for the odd material were researched.
It was discovered that by blending other materials into the ambrita, it took on completely different characteristics. This new substance was dubbed polyambritide, though most refer to the versatile material as polystick. As a liquid, it can be used as a lubricant for machinery or used to produce molded items, making it favorable for mass production utilizing factories and golem labor. As a solid, it is lightweight, able to be formed at varying levels of hardness and resilience, and has now taken the place of many non-renewable resources for all sorts of creations.
Once ambrita is converted into a polyambritide form, it cannot be reverted back. Even if a skilled shaper removes all other substances from the sample, what remains is no longer ambrita. It can be recycled into another polyambritide, but is poisonous and provides no amount of nourishment.
Shaping of ambrita itself does not generate additional ambrita. The mysterious goo does not require much energy to collect or manipulate even without shaping abilities, as it becomes more liquid just above room temperature. Combining ambrita with another substance to make polyambritides, as well as the shaping of polystick into different forms, will create more raw ambrita in the process.

Suspected Origins

The most advanced thinking on the source of ambrita claims that it is pulled here incidentally from some extra-dimensional space. By the laws of physics, the amount of energy used by a shaper in manipulating a substance should not allow for the amount of state change in the substance. Someone pressing carbon into a diamond with a thought and their bare hands barely exerts any energy to do so. Ambrita is thought to be some form of quantum debt between those two actions, which pulls the ambrita into a three-dimensional form.

Type

Plastic