Ashbrick

Have you seen the statue outside the palace? Made of ashbrick, that is. Wrought by the craftsman Klintok herself. The sheen is the telling factor of true quality. Go and look sometime, but mind you don't touch it - it's under watch all hours of the day.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Ashbrick is a smooth, polished-looking substance that, while able to be crafted into any shape, is typically cast as cuboid bricks. It has a reflective shine, and occasionally appears as though wet.

Geology & Geography

Found exclusively in the alps. No other ash deposits known have the same properties and malleability as those in the Alps.

Origin & Source

Ashbrick is created by drying and firing ash from the volcanic regions of the Alps. This ash has been mixed with earth and clay over hundreds of years, creating a shapeable and fireable substance that's easily removed from the ground.

Life & Expiration

When exposed to the elements, ashbrick deteriorates slowly over time. It erodes relatively quickly under rain and wind, with an average lifetime of 10-12 years.

History & Usage

History

Ashbrick is a relatively recent material to come into use, having not been present in sufficient quantity or quality previously to allow any sort of manufacture. It was first discovered by the Rider troop assigned to The Alpine Rift, during their travel to a new region. The typical passes were snowed out and the Riders took an alternative route, becoming mired in deep snow around the site of one deposit. After pitching their tents, the Riders noted the excellent malleability of the raw ashclay and marked the site for later use. When this information came to the rest of Mythia, The Mountain Empire was quick to act on the discovery of this new natural resource. Several parties of workers were sent up into the mountains to establish a base camp at the initial deposit, and to explore the same region for more of the substance. Within a year, the ability to fire the raw ashclay into ashbrick had been discovered.
Ashbrick remains a scarce substance due to the complexity of the obtaining and firing process. In the Mountain Empire, it is somewhat common - outside the empire, it is barely seen by anyone. The few examples in wider Mythia are found in structures owned and usually built by powerful individuals such as royals and leaders.

Refinement

When ashclay is first collected, it must first be laid out in drying frames. At this stage, the ash is still somewhat loose in the substance and can be blown off or fall out of the clay altogether, and so it must be laid out inside on specially designed frames. These frames are made of wood, with fine mesh on the bottom to keep most of the ash from falling out while still allowing air to pass through and dry the clay. After drying, which takes between two weeks and one month, the ashclay must then be fired. In order to do this, it must be fired at a very high temperature, and so requires specially-built furnaces. These are insulated well from the outside to prevent heat loss, and must be fueled by high-grade fuels such as Oilbark or coal.
Finally, after firing, the ashbrick is ready to use. However, the proportion of ash to clay is very important in a batch and hard to judge, meaning that between 20 and 40 percent of any given batch of ashbrick is unable to be used, and must be discarded. This waste ashbrick has no known use.

Hazards

Ashbrick, as it must be fired in an incredibly hot furnace, presents a potential fire hazard and more than one refinery has burnt down during its production. Additionally, the collection of ashclay has been bringing more and more people closer to the Alpsrift, meaning that there is potential for a higher rate of injuries due to Riftbeasts. Finally, although there is no known volcanic activity in the Alps today, the ash deposits are often near crusted-over lahars that on occasion workers have fallen through, incurring broken limbs and on occasion mild burns.

Environmental Impact

The removal of ashbrick affecting the stability of the Alps has been raised by some individuals as a potential problem regarding stability. As yet, no issues have been reported by Rider troops who occasionally pass by the original site on their journeys.

Distribution

Trade & Market

The Mountain Empire has a monopoly on ashbrick, as no deposits outside the alps have been located. As such, all supplies of ashbrick to wider Mythia are acquired solely through trade with the empire.

Type

Ceramic

Value

Variable, but consistently high

Rarity

Rare

Taste

Who licks this stuff? Unsurprisingly, it tastes like ash.

Color

Pitch black with grey freckles