Sandsteel

The bounty of the desert and the light of its wanderers.

Written by Acturus Albani

Sandsteel, also known as desertiron and prophet's glass, is a naturally occurring material made primarily from rapidly cooled glass that can be obtained in the northeastern regions of the continent of Ni'Hel. It holds deep cultural significance for the Al Raami, the people from the country of Al Raamahwil and is most commonly sought after because of said cultural importance.

Sandsteel exhibits highly unusual and exotic properties. The most notable ones are its incredibly durability, the capacity to bend light around it in small, sometimes imperceptible ways and the ability to focus all light to a single point regardless of its shape. Because of this, desertiron is sought after as a trinket from distant lands by foreigners.

Properties

Material Characteristics

To the untrained eye, sandsteel appears to be thick, flat sheets of multi-colored, semi-transparent glass that can sometimes be found in strange, irregular shapes, being confidently described by someone with little training with it as they would with any sort of glass. To those how live around it or are in constant contact with it, however, know that sandsteel's true shape is never what it seems because of the way pieces of it subtly bend the light around it. As such, many of the Al Rami know better than to ask for its observable shape.

Physical & Chemical Properties

As described previously, sandsteel has the property to bend light around it, albeit in small, almost imperceptible ways, giving way to its actual shape and its perceived shape to be different. This effect is exacerbated the larger a single piece of naturally occurring sandsteel is. This property also causes the specimen's colors to change slightly, depending from where it is observed.

Another way sandsteel interacts with light is through its convexity. Through some unknown internal structure, sandsteel causes all light rays passing through it to focus on one point, regardless of how large the specimen is. It can most accurately be described as it being a single convex lens independently of its shape. In turn, this allows for the magnification of objects that are far away. However, the energy and heat of the sun are not amplified, and are seemingly absorbed or filtered.

By itself, sandsteel is slightly corrosive to the skin, with prolonged contact being ill-advised. Specimens remain cool to the touch, even when found in the desert's sands, which has lead to many unprepared and uninformed explorers and adventurers to an early, usually gruesome, demise will trying to find ways to combat the unrelenting heat.

Alchemically, it has been proven that certain, dangerously potent acids can dissolve sandsteel. The process is slow and inconsistent, yet possible nonetheless.

Compounds

Sandsteel is hard and durable enough to be used as a core for metal weaponry, giving ceremonial Al Rami weapons their characteristic width. However, because there is no set melting point or technology advanced enough to produce the temperatures required to attempt to establish it, there have been no metallic alloys discovered for it.

To date, there have been no practical descriptions of what dissolving any amount of sandsteel in acid might achieve, other than it producing small amounts of light and heat while it does so.

Geology & Geography

Sandsteel is only found throughout the heart of the Ni'Helian deserts, a place renown for its hostile climate, raging sandstorms and creatures that lurk underfoot. However, there is no specific place where deposits can be found, seemingly strewn about randomly, with a tendency to 'grow' near its center.

Origin & Source

It is widely believe that desertiron is formed because of the extreme heat experienced in the desert heartland, with the sand fusing together to form the glass, which is cooled down rapidly by the sandstorms' violent winds. In theory, it would seem that any sand would do, yet the sand from the heartland appears to have some as of yet unexplained property that the rest of the sand in the desert lacks. Even with this in mind, attempts to synthetically obtain sandsteel have all resulted in the production of mundane glass.

Life & Expiration

So far, sandsteel appears to be mostly stable throughout its existence. However, the older specimens tied to the first settlements of the Al Raami have shown sign of deterioration by losing their luster, their limited transparency and hardness, becoming brittle and ashen. These relics date back to when the Al Raami first landed on the sandy shores of northern Ni'Hel, implying that they are around fifteen to seventeen hundred years old, not accounting for the time the specimens had been deposited on the desert floor.

History & Usage

History

Supposedly, the Al Raami where a people who had wandered astray from their faith in a faraway land and were exiled by its gods, cursed to stay far away from land for seventeen generations. After wandering the seas for an untold amount of time, they found the northeastern shores of Ni'Hel and landed on them. All hope drained from them as they discovered this land held little more than sand and wind, yet so long a time away from solid land prompted them to look for someplace where they might be able to start a settlement and so a group of them began to trek southwards.

However, this group was caught in the middle of a terrible sandstorm when crossing the desert's heart. Malak the Godcaller, the group's leader, was tossed and turned for many hours before the storm finally settled. Night was falling quickly on the desert, yet he was able to see darkened pieces of sand that felt pleasantly cool to his touch, finding that he could look through it to see magnified images of far distant things while also finding it difficult to measure the object. Malak turned his sights towards the dawning night, and there, it is said, he saw The One God staring at him, receiving the guidance necessary to traverse the desert safely from Them. Malak, unbelieving of what he was hearing, sought to talk to the heavenly spirit, yet They would not reveal Themselves again to him until later, when he not only found the place The One had indicated, but had settled in it with the rest of the travelers.

Since then, and long since the Godcaller's passing, the darkened sand that guided him to the oases where future cities would be built can still be found in the desert, its strength against blows earning it the name 'sandsteel', and it holds deep connections within the people of sand and wind's culture.

Discovery

Discovered by Malak the Godcaller, a prophet and settler, around sixteen hundred years ago, using it as a means to find his, and his people's, way across the desert.

Cultural Significance and Usage

Because of the tale of the Godcaller, sandsteel is almost exclusively used as something to bind the people of Al Raamahwil under one same faith and history. As a ritualistic item, sandsteel is mostly utilized as a focusing lens for the sun's rays in archway in Al Masri Kthbyn, the country's capital city. Once a year, precisely on the day of Malak's discovery of the Great Southern Oasis, the beams will align with a small gemstone held in the hand of the Malak statue in the city's central plaza, illuminating the statue and symbolizing the Godcaller's epiphany. The people present will then pray fervently to Malak and The One.

Another important ritual revolving around this is a coming-of-age rite. When an individual reaches seventeen years of age, they are to venture into the desert to obtain a piece of desertiron and bring it back to their hometown all by themselves. This is a dangerous procedure for which people are prepared for throughout the earlier years of their lives. Those who do not come back are said to wander through the skies, still seeking. 

Other than these rituals, sandsteel is a prominent feature in the vizier's and ruler's crowns and jewelry, representing their connection to both the prophet and the God, and is also found abundantly in temples dedicated to the God's worship within stained glass and focusing lenses.

Industrial Use

Before sandsteel can be used for anything, it must be heated up so that it can grow softer. The heat used is intense, yet does not blemish the specimen, nor does it appear to raise its surface temperature. After an hour of gradual heating, the sandsteel is ready to be cut, shaped and pierced to the artisan's wishes.

Because of its possibly nonexistent melting temperature, working with multiple, naturally occurring pieces of sandsteel requires inventive solutions, such as adhesives metal structures that bind them together. To do this, a similar heating process is applied to each piece, working them one at a time before assembling them together to obtain the desired piece.

Manufacturing & Products

The most widespread use for sandsteel, outside of its ritualistic and spiritual uses, is for it to serve as the core for the ceremonial swords carried by the Windguard, Al Raamahwil's most elite military, tasked with the protection of the Lord of Sand and Wind.

Byproducts & Sideproducts

Sandsteel does not generate much residue, with this being the shavings obtained after carving it into something. However, the sand found around obtained specimens has been described as powdered or pulverized sand, and has been used for certain moisturizing ointments and salves.

Distribution

Trade & Market

Within Al Raamahwil's borders, its trade is prohibited, citing the commerce of religious symbols and materials as the reason. Elsewhere, one might find small shards in a bazaar being peddled as magical glass from the depths of the unexplored deserts of Ni'Hel, sold as exotic curios to those unwilling to travel and obtain it themselves.

Storage

Sandsteel is stored in secure locations overseen by trustworthy guards, mostly due to the superstition surrounding and for safekeeping rather than because it requires these conditions to maintain its integrity.

Law & Regulation

Al Raami law strictly forbids the trade and commerce of sandsteel, with all found specimens, shards and pieces having to be donated to the settlement's communal hall, or directly to its vizier by the individual(s) who found them. People caught hoarding sandsteel in their homes, or stealing from the deserts to sell elsewhere, are severely punished. This applies to all who venture to and from the desert, not only the locals.

Other countries in the known world have no laws or cultural connections to the materials. As such, they are seen as trinkets and baubles from lands distant.

Type

Glass

Value

Largely depends on who it is being sold to. While most buyers might find it to be a droll decorations, an Al Raami will find it to be priceless.

Rarity

Extremely rare

Odor

Odorless

Taste

Mostly tasteless, faintly tasting of iron

Color

Varies. Usually blackened, as if burned

Boiling / Condensation Point

Unknown, but speculated to be extremely high

Melting / Freezing Point

Unknown, but speculated to be extremely high

Common State

Solid, though some have been unfortunate enough to attempt to harvest it while it cools