Grondhan

The stone in my hand was astonishingly light, much more so than any metal I've seen in my entire life. My Gokh guide asked me to smash it with a hammer— to test the product. As I gently placed it on the table she sighed, and did so herself with great force. The iron hammer head was left dented.

— A Rektouzk trader

Grondhan is a material mined from the great meteorite Grondh which long ago destroyed a Gokh village upon impact. Since, it has become a revered, holy material used in many of their rituals and religious rites.

Strength From the Stars

To the Gokh people, Grondh was a gift from the heavens above. The exact size of the roughly rectangular meteorite is unknown— some even believe that it fills the entirety of the mountain upon which it landed. It stands within the crater it created upon landing, at around thirty-four feet tall.

Grondh is almost as wide as the village itself was, at around a solid square mile in total, with round "branches" splitting off the surface and curving around to another spot along the meteorite's exterior. Its surface is covered in regmaglypts as if it were a great mound of clay painstakingly pressed into by thousands of thumbs.


The surface is a dark turquoise with large patches of deep blue— like tempered steel— with a sandy red-orange filling most of the many regmaglypts along its surface. When cut into, these colors become much more intense— shining as if they had been polished expertly. The cut and processed metal is primarily red-orange— with spheres of blue and turquoise— giving the surface the appearance of orange webs.


The material is astonishingly light— yet at the same time incredibly durable. Not only that— but it melts at a fairly low temperature as well, requiring less material to refine. It's no wonder, truly, why the Gokh would consider such a nigh magical metal to be a gift from on high.

Refinement & usage

As grondhan is such a durable material— it is somewhat difficult to mine. Nevertheless, Gokh resolve led to a creative solution. Kilns were built along the edges of the great meteorite, slowly but surely collecting melted fragments— until holes were born into the material as if many rats had burrowed into its sides.

With this, these kilns were able to melt material above themselves— which would fall into pots to be taken elsewhere. From there on, grondhan can be treated and forged the same as most other metals.


The Gokh primarily have used the material to create armor— which is said to be completely impervious to attack— feared weaponry, and beautiful otherworldly jewelry which captures the eye.


Combining this with the Gokh's hardened lifestyle has created a force few would dare to attack. Rather, a small outpost rests at the edge of their homeland within Nipinoul, and the Rollk Desert. From this outpost— Kohd — the Gokh trade with the outside world, with grondhan being their most popular export.

Grah-n-dah-n

Type

Metal

Odor

Like burnt iron

Melting / Freezing Point

521°F

Density

0.410lb/in3

Common State

Solid

I've never seen such a beautiful material in all my life! The way those colors show in the light...it's unparalleled! Only when I am commissioned by some rich Rektouzk king will I part with this beauteous stone— I can only imagine the wonderful works I can forge with this.

— A Tochkli artisan

Just imagine what such a hardy mineral can do to a man if ingested from an alchemical brew? Kidnap the next trade caravan you find along the river.

— A Louh alchemist

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