Blackstone

The precursor to blackpowder, and the primary export of the Frontier. While not flammable, the stone reacts violently to an electric current. Striking it will release a shower of colored sparks.
Most technologies use the refined powder as opposed to the raw stone, as it's more predictably volatile. There are however a handful of larger machines, such as machines used in the Last War, that required the raw power provided by electrifying blackstone.

Properties

Material Characteristics

A relatively soft black rock, with striations of color throughout.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Always slightly warm to the touch, and has a faint acrid smell.

Geology & Geography

Veins of blackstone are never far from the surface, and become more plentiful the further one pushes into the frontier. Some have reported spires of the material jutting up from the ground past the Cracks, but most who willingly venture out that far aren't reliable sources.

Origin & Source

This material is rumored to be the byproduct of whatever great calamity struck the frontier, thousands of years ago.

Odor

acrid

Taste

acidic

Color

black with striations of color