Iridite

Magically bespelled ice from the Sphinx's Claw peninsula of far-east Ostelliach.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Iridite is known for being permantly cool to the touch (but not cold as one would expect of ice, magically preserved or not), very sparkly-reflective in sunlight, and hard. It is able to be chipped or cracked but does not shatter as easily as standard glass. Typically it is not transparent, coming in various shades of opaqueness and often preserving bubbles or impurities from the ice that add to the appeal but make it harder to see through. Ice that is shaped before being magically fixed tends to be smoother and more matte in appearance than ice shaped after it has been made into Iridite, where the magical properties of the spell constantly reaffirm the solidity of the piece in ways that make it extra shimmery and slick, as if permanently frozen just as it started to think about melting.

Origin & Source

Iridite is able to be created solely from the ice found in the Sphinx's Claw peninsula, where temperatures are just right to create ice that has the proper microscopic structure to be affected by the spells used to preserve it. Other ice simply splinters or becomes a nebulous, goopy semi-solid that is still sometimes collected but is not viable as an art medium or building material. (This goopy not-Iridite typically falls apart within a year or two. Properly made Iridite will outlive its creator.)
The ice sheet is carefully extricated from the earth (or from the specialized frames made to catch it for this purpose now) and subjected to a specific spell taught to artisans in the region. This spell is a 2nd level Evocation spell created centuries ago in order to create the homes in Zuri Nexus, fixing ice into more reliable forms in a place where typical building materials were scarce.
Once the ice is preserved by the spell, it is often used as building materials, but some also use it to create sculptures and artwork. There are ways to manipulate the ice either before or after it is bespelled for these artforms, with different artists having different preferences.

Type

Glass

Color

Iridescent pale pinks, blues, purples, white, or clear

Melting / Freezing Point

Unmelting/freezing, permanently fixed as solid pieces