Red Ash

Properties

Material Characteristics

Red Ash is aptly named, being an ashen volcanic expulsion with a vibrant red coloration. In most cases it is an extremely fine ash, causing significant headaches for those trying to filter it out of the many other igneous materials it shares the air with.

Physical & Chemical Properties

In its natural state Red Ash is mildly acidic and possesses an extremely low specific heat capacity, a handful will reach body temperature from freezing within ten seconds of being held.

Compounds

There is some competition for the most versatile commodity on Khthon, but whatever side of that debate one happens to be on, no one can deny that Red Ash is firmly in the running. With no modification whatsoever, it is nearly as effective a fertilizer as the most heavily enchanted materials available. With mild alchemical treatment, it becomes equally useful in dozens of other industries and applications. Notably this includes necessity in some secretive process used by the dwarves in forging their steel, keeping over two thirds of the ancient world's flying cities aloft, and playing a critical arcane role in ending at least two Great Demon Wars. The modern world additionally makes extensive use of it in construction, food preservation, and most varieties of arcanism. By volume, these and similar industries account for over nine tenths of all usage, but very nearly none of its reputation.
Red Ash can be very simply refined into one of the most potent drugs on Khthon. A stimulant, the activated form of Red Ash can induce manic states that persist for days or even weeks from a single dose. High dosages can induce states that would theoretically last for years, but only the best healing in the world would allow someone to live long enough to experience it.

Geology & Geography

Red Ash can technically be found in a slight majority of volcanoes on Khthon, but only intermittently during significant activity such as eruptions. There are some small facilities collecting it at high activity and predictability sites, but the overwhelming majority of Khthon's supply comes from the Dust and the fringes of the End. The volcanic activity there is so extreme that some level of collection can occur literally any time the wind blows from the southeast.

Origin & Source

It is impossible to mine Red Ash, it appears that something happens to its precursor mineral in the actual eruption imbuing it with most of its useful properties.

Type

Ore/Mineral

Odor

Vanilla

Taste

Burnt, mild metallic tinge

Color

Neon Red

Boiling / Condensation Point

Never Observed

Melting / Freezing Point

Unmeasured, achieved only through concentrated and sustained dragonfire

Common State

Solid, almost always in a fine dust, usually filtered from the air