Vertim (VER - duhm)

Properties

Material Characteristics

Since Vertim is the catch all name for the material created by the Mother's Shepherds from Trees of Sanctuary, the physical material can have widely varying physicality. Vertim can be various types of wood from different trees, it can be mushrooms, vines, even underwater plant life and coral. Pieces of Vertim are small. A fragment of Vertim the size of a gold coin is usually enough to power a small car for several years. Even when used in airships, Vertim pieces generally get no larger than one or two feet in length. The largest piece ever in use was four feet high and a foot thick and is one of the several pieces used to keep the power grid running in Kurleigh.

Origin & Source

Vertim comes from a process of gently extracting pieces of Trees of Sanctuary so that the are kept alive by the magic within them. This is able to happen due to the flood of magic around the year 843 that covered the continent in quickly expanding vegetation.

History & Usage

Discovery

While exploring the Trees of Sanctuary the first Mother's Shepherds realized that there was some incredible potential to be gained from carefully and gently extracting pieces of the trees and tapping into their latent magic.

Everyday use

Vertim is used as a power source for all of the new technology being created in Ovenica. Cars, Airships, Electricity, all of it is powered by Vertim.

Hazards

Though incredibly stable under most circumstances, when exposed to significant sources of magic Vertim has been observed to grow out of control. In most cases so far, the source of magic must be of a magnitude seen only under very controlled circumstances in laboratory environments and the general public is advised not to be concerned.

Reusability & Recycling

The magic of Vertim can fade over time. In most cases this is negligible but larger sources of energy, such as vehicles, can suck the magic out at significantly high enough speeds to warrant replacement. In most cases, if a power source ever begins to fade it is recommended to return it to a local representative of the Mother's Shepherds where you will be given a replacement and the faded Vertim will be taken away to be reconnected back to a tree, to eventually be reusable in 1 - 5 years depending on how heavily it was depleted and how large the piece was.

Distribution

Law & Regulation

Due to the potentials of Vertim, each piece handed out must be catalogued along with the name of the receiver. There is no cap on how much Vertim a person can own, but collecting a lot of Vertim quickly draws the attention of authorities.

Type

Biomaterial

Value

Vertim is offered to the public for free, though the technology it powers is not.

Rarity

Vertim is relatively common, and easily obtainable though the Mother's Shepherds keep tight records as to where each piece is.

Common State

Solid