Wraughtwood

Wraughtwood, sometimes mistakenly called wroughtwood, is a type of tree known for its incredibly hard wood. It is native to the outskirts of the Desert of Kalir bordering the Kalirisadin mountains. The dark, almost black wood is highly sought after by master carpenters and woodcarvers to be used for fine furniture and decoration.

The tree is rather short, rarely surpassing two and a half meters tall. The tree only grows branches at the crown, which never extends past half a meter from the stem. It's leaves have a dark olive green color and are hard, short, and thick, evolved to withstand the strong winds from the desert. The stem itself can grow up to 40 centimeters in diameter, and is covered with a thin, smooth, light gray bark. The sapwood is seldom more than 5 millimeters thick and has a beige tone to it, while the heartwood is so dark it almost appears black. The roots of the tree make up the largest portion of the plant as they reach straight downwards for however long it takes to reach groundwater.

Uses

Woodworking

The wood being as hard as it is has an extreme blunting effect on cutting tools. It is therefore primarily used by the wealthiest of craftsmen whom has access to a great amount of tools and the apprentices to sharpen them. Wraughtwood is dense, nonporous, and has barely any discernible grain. Working it with both sharp tools and rasps easily leaves a smooth finish. Its hardness makes it very durable, even fire resistant, and it holds it's finish well regardless of climate. It responds poorly to being attempted shaped magically, but is not magical itself.

Furniture

A wraughtwood dining table with gold inlay is the epitome of wealth among the nobles of Haverhill. Working the wood into timber, jointing it into a tabletop surface, carving for the inlay, turning the tablelegs, the processes involved takes an enormous toll on saws, chisels, and planes, and the collective work can take thousands of hours. Few can afford to pay for such a job, and so it is rarely done. More often than being made into furniture, wraughtwood is used for decorative inlays or smaller details on other pieces of furniture.

Instruments

As with furniture wraughtwood inlays are popular, albeit expensive to use as decorations and details on instruments. On rare occasion when felling a wroughtwood tree, one might discover that the innermost heartwood have decayed, leaving a no more than 1 centimeter wide cylinder in the center of the tree. On such occasion the center will be preserved and used for flute making. A wraughtwood flute is reserved for only master musicians, and unless you make one for yourself, it is illegal to play on it without the express permission of the Duke of Haverhill.

Jewelry

Small pieces left over from furniture making are sold to jewelers, so as to not waste the wood that took so much effort to process. The jewelers make them into pendants or other trinkets, and while they are beautiful by themselves, they are often marketed as protective charms, playing on the fact that they are hard to shape with magic. Resistant to magic as they are, they do however not give their owners any such boon.

In Sadina culture

Each clan in the Mazi and Qadi Sadina subcultures fell one wraughtwood tree per year. Depending on the clan's needs it is usually made into either shields or spears. There are some, but very few among the Qadi Sadina that have perfected the crafting of kite sleds, where the sled skis are almost exclusively made from wraughtwood.

Medicinal

Working with wood creates a lot of dust, and wraughtwood is no different. Craftsmen discovered early on that the fine dust made from working with this wood creates a sort of cement when mixed with blood, which is good for covering up open wounds and cuts. Severely reducing the risk of infection, the wood dust is assumed to be antiseptic.

Type

Wood