Ferrocrys

Ferrocrys is an opaque grey substance that has some of the properties of iron but has a dense crystalline structure making it incredibly hard to work with using conventional tools.
Unlike regular iron, the crystalline structure of ferrocrys gives it a property known as the piezolightning effect, where applying certain amounts of lightning to the material can shrink or stretch it. Additionally, unlike true metals, lightning will only pass through ferrocrys in one direction, giving it a great many hypothetical uses for techno-arcane practitioners and alchemists.

Properties

Physical Properties

Colour : Dull non-metallic grey.

Malleability : Difficult to shape or bend due to hardness, unless a current is passed through it.

Ductility : Difficult to pull or stretch into a thin wire, in its natural state.

Lustre : Non-reflective.

Conductivity : Good transmission of heat. Conducts lightning with almost no resistance parallel to its crystalline structure, but is an insulator perpendicular to this structure.

Allotropy : Only a single known crystalline form.

Tensile : Very difficult to stretch without breaking unless a current is passed through.

Ferromagnetic : Non-magnetic unless a strong current is passed through, then it becomes extremely magnetic.

Melting Point : Unknown. Experiments have been conducted using Tungsten furnaces, but no known traditional furnace is able to generate enough heat to melt ferrocrys. There is one known example of ferrocrys being melted. In the year 340 AP, Arch Mage Jildor of the Ochal Confederacy conducted experiments with utilising a Gate spell to bring plasma from the heart of Autumna's star into a controlled chamber to manipulate ferrocrys. He was unable to control the energies summoned, resulting in the destruction of his tower and everything within 3 miles. At the centre of the devastation was found a now hardened pool of ferrocrys slag. It is unknown what temperatures were achieved.

Chemical Properties

Toxicity : Extremely toxic. Deadly if ingested and causes extreme irritation to the skin on contact.

Reactivity with water : Reacts with very hot water by chemically bonding with the hydrogen, which reduces ferrocrys' reactivity with lightning.

Oxidation : No known chemical interaction with oxygen.

Solubility : Dissolves in extreme alkalis.

Known Sources

There are two known sources of ferrocrys. In nature it is only found in the deepest parts of the underdark, and there is speculation that it forms the heart of the planet. It has never been discovered naturally within 5 miles of the surface. The other source, which is far more abundant, is in the remains of ancient machines and ruined cities from the time before The Purge.

Synthesis

Before losing such arts in The Purge, the peoples of Autumna spent tens of thousands of years attempting to sythesise ferrocrys. Every effort ended in either failure, or worse, disaster. The incredible energies that are hypothetically required to create ferrocrys have never been safely harnessed, and attempts at creating them were eventually banned on Autumna, with all such attempts being moved off planet.

Industrial Use

Based on the abundance of ferrocrys that is found in the remnants of techno-arcana and artifacts from before The Purge, it is safe to assume that it formed the basis of all of their wonderous techno-arcana. With the calamitous events of The Purge, the uses for ferrocrys have been lost, and it is now nothing more than a status symbol for the wealthy and powerful. The greatest artificers and alchemists on Autumna work tirelessly to harness ferrocrys, but none have yet discovered the means to fully utilise it in their works.