Mellow Ice

Not in my wildest dreams could I ever have imagined that I would find not only edible but actually delicious food in the culinary graveyard of your so-called Empire.
But I guess even the incapable ones have to get lucky sometimes.
~ Lingura "Razortongue", Agsimer gourmet

Said to have been created by the First Alchemist himself Mellow Ice is perhaps one of most bizarre food products, out of all the strange and often volatile alchemical comestible good produced within the Vitreous Empire
In its inert state Mellow Ice resembles cubic-shaped, adamantine blocks of frozen sand, which always appear cold to the touch due to the high thermal conductivity of the material.
Yet once it comes into contact with saliva it quickly losses its unnatural cold and gradually transforms into a sticky, viscous mass similar in consistency to chewing gum or caramel.
After additional saliva exposure and continued chewing for approximately four to five minutes, it changes its consistency once again and turns into a low-viscosity liquid reminiscent of honey or molten chocolate.
In parallel to its changes in viscosity, its flavor also undergoes a number of changes, running the gamut from salty appetizer to sweet dessert in a matter of minutes.

Manufacturing process

It is child's play, really. Just be careful with the Brick Juice, we don't want your hand to be getting petrified, now don't we?
~ Sendam, the First Alchemist

Mellow Ice is produced via a simple alchemical procedure, which consists of filling preformed, hollow cubes of clay paper with sifted sand, before adding a couple of drops of "Brick Juice". Following a short incubation period, the now adamantine sand cubes are then submerged in a tub of boiling salt water for roundabout ten minutes, after which they are already ready for consumption.
Given just how simple this procedure is and how readily available the ingredients are -at least in the Vitreous Empire-, it is no wonder that Mellow Ice is one of the first alchemical products created by both junior alchemists and students of the Imperial Academy's Guild Course.
While the process described above allows for the production of both Rubble and Spotted Cubes, based on the grain size of the used sand, it has to supplement with a number of auxiliary reactions, such as the pretreatment of the clay paper with alchemical dyes or the alkali steeping of the used sand with "Rainfall Lye", in order to enable the creation of Checkered Cubes and Monochrome Cubes.

Packaging

Mellow Ice is available in a number of different packaging sizes. The following is a list of the most common types of packaging.

Divine Circle (7 stk.)

Also known as a "Guild", Divine Circles are a special type of packaging used only for Monochrome Cubes and always contain seven differently colored Cubes, whose color corresponds to the seven gods venerated within the Empire as well as the Seven Alchemist Guild.
They are seen as a token of one's esteem by the nobility and are therefore only handed to valued allies, close friends and of course potentially marriage partners.

Stick (10 stk.)

Sticks are the smallest, common type of Mellow Ice packaging and are used for all types of cubes, with the sole exception of Monochrome Cubes.

Pack (50 stk.)

Packs are the most common and widely used type of Mellow Ice packaging, given that they offer a good balance of cube numbers, price, and overall weight.

Bundle (500 stk.)

The largest form of Mellow Ice packaging used in the Empire, which is generally only used for transportation and before being partitioned into ten packs at its intended location.
The only major exceptions for this rule are bundles of Rubble Cubes, which due to their low prices are rarely ever partitioned and instead sold as a whole bundle.

Significance

If we take their Rubble today, we will stand in the ruins of our palaces tomorrow.
~ Senatorix Jaililia Casimili

Given the fact that the earliest types of Mellow Ice were already produced prior to the founding of the Vitreous Empire and the establishment of the strict caste system, it is no wonder that it is happily consumed throughout the entire social hierarchy of the Empire, all the way from the lowest of Mudcross worker to the occupants of the Mirror Thrones.
And even though the implementation of the Shard-based monetary system should have barred both Mud and Blotcrosses from acquiring even a single Cube of Mellow Ice, it was the unanimous decision of the Imperial Senate to add a single Stick of Rubble Cubes to the daily rations of the lower classes, out of fear that failing to do so could very well spark a mass uprising of the Empire's working force.

Item type

Consumable, Food / Drink

Manufacturer

The Vitreous Empire

Rarity

Common to rare, depending on the type of cube.

Weight

20 g per cube

Dimensions

2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm (One cube)

Base Price

12 Grit Shards/ kg (Rubble Cubes)
8 Smoke Shards/ kg (Spotted Cubes)
10 Ribbon Shards/ kg (Checkered Cubes)
6 Mirror Shards/ kg (Monochrome Cubes)

Candy-cooled Lasers

I know that this most likely the highest grade of Mellow Ice you will ever see.
But if anyone of you decides to sample the Ice intended for the Sunspear Cannon, you best pray to Sunya that the cannon gets you before I do.
~ Patovila Meregres, Logistic Commander of the XXIth Artillery Corps

Similar to other frequently produced civilian items such as Bitter Water or Imperial Shards the Alchemists of the Seven Guilds found a way to misuse Mellow Ice for military purposes.
In the case of Mellow Ice, they discovered that its high thermal conductivity makes it perfectly suited to be used in the heavy-duty cooling jackets wrapped around the barrels of the Amethyst-Guild's laser weapons in order to prevent them from melting beneath the insane amounts of heat generated by these weapons.
Given that Mellow Ice quickly loses its thermal conductivity once it has come into contact with saliva, all personnel that perform maintenance operations on these cooling jackets are required to wear mouth-covering facemasks in order to prevent accidental saliva exposure, as this could have catastrophic consequences once the weapon is fired again.