Seaspark

Seaspark is a fine lilac powder that can be processed down from the bodies of stollusk through a method that is jealously guarded by the Meretincelle family of Reishi. It is famous for its combustibility, which quickly led to the development of cannons and firearms. Seaspark combusts if it is exposed to too much Primal heat or cold, or too much Motion (including contact with water).

Utility

Seaspark is used to cause explosions, and so sees usage mainly in combat through bombs and firearms, but it also has some application in alchemy and mining.

Manufacturing

By reducing a Primal-energy-bloated stollusk down with an acid and a Stability-rich catalyst such as salt, its Bonds re-stitch themselves before releasing the stored Primal and, if the acid is drained, a purple crust can be found along the edges of the container. If that crust is carefully removed, you are left with a lilac powder, packed to bursting with Primal and in a much more stable state than the fleshy stollusk corpse. Apply sufficient Motion or Entropy for an instant explosion.

Allowing a bloated stollusk corpse to mature for a specific period of time allows some of its Primal energy to be transformed into force and strength, reducing the heat or cold of the seaspark but increasing the force released by the blast.

Social Impact

The introduction of seaspark into the Asamaline Expanse elevated affairs of conflict - especially ship-to-ship combat - from wild melees or volleys of arrows to brief, loud affairs in which the side with more seaspark generally wins. Naturally, because everyone wanted this power, Reishi immediately became a must-visit for anyone who deals in death.

"The firepower of a trained mage in the palm of your hand - or the deck of your ship!"

Inventor(s)

Aschester Meretincelle (now deceased).

Access & Availability

Seaspark is sold at reasonable prices to any who come and buy it. The nature of its creation, however, is a jealously guarded secret that very few people on Reishi know. The goblins of Nokobour are working to recreate it, but they have thus far not had much success.

Discovery

Seaspark was originally discovered by Aschester Meretincelle roughly 90 years ago during a stollusk attack on Korosa. He, an accomplished mage, struck the creature with a spell that froze it solid, and found that the tentacles octopoid monstrosity rapidly swelled in size despite the ice. After only a moment, the creature was free of its icy prison and wreaking havoc once again, so Aschester struck it with a fireball. To his horror, the creature once again swelled, until it was twice its original size and a much greater threat. Fully panicked now, Aschester tried one final spell: a bolt of lightning. His persistence, or perhaps his recklessness paid off - the stollusk immediately exploded in a burst of both cold and heat.

Confused by the event, Aschester began to wonder why. So, he began experiments. He found that stollusks both alive and dead reacted this way, and that they swelled with Primal energy whenever they were struck with it, as if the Amastya bypassed their Bodies entirely to slip directly into their system, and that their swelling was done intentionally to absorb as much energy as they could so they could then transform it into Primal force and strength. He did, however, find that striking a bloated stollusk with a sufficient amount of Motion or Entropy causes its Bonds to fail and release the stored Primal energy in a massive explosion as the stollusk's body is rendered down to formless darkness - unbound Body.

Then he discovered how to create seaspark.

"Why in Chthonic Kismet did that octopus just explode?!" - Aschester Meretincelle