Black Salt
by hughpierre
Properties
Material Characteristics
Salt gains are cubic crystals in appearance.
Physical & Chemical Properties
- Explosive in low quantities
- Stable in high amounts
- Attracted to itself
- Soluble
Beyond any sensible thought or reason, a single grain of black salt is immovable on its own. In one of many efforts by the Sang to recreate Teek techniques, they found that when rolling a single grain laid in a flat array of rows and columns, other random grains follow in the motion. Even when picked up, the same random salt grains would levitate in the air and continue along the same path that the researcher is directing the master grain.
Seemingly, these sets are entangled together through some supernatural force and cannot be acted upon independent of each other.
Geology & Geography
The three Black Salt Islands are entirely composed of the salt, from the surface to the lake bed and encircling a hot spring open to the rest of the salty lake.
Origin & Source
The mines are being constantly push up and out from the epicenter of the boiling spring which seem to be surprisingly volcanic in nature.
History & Usage
Discovery
The Teeks were the first people to settle the islands and used to collect black salt from the shores in a limited fashion.
Cultural Significance and Usage
Their use is heavily restricted now, but when the Teeks had it their way, they would use the black salt as entertainment by which shamans incorporated it into dazzling shows or rituals to maintain the class structure.
It is questionable what the full knowledge of the Teeks were anything like they claim, as they never appeared to utilize it for its war potential as Sangsalgu does now. However, according to the oral traditions and artworks of Teek descendants, the fabled shamans could apparently do more with the salt than make it explode into colourful lights. More than what can be done now. They could:
- stretch the grain's activation time for longer
- make clumps move in concert with each other
- delay activation when it should be impossible and,
- amplify their teotl projections
Byproducts & Sideproducts
Chili Water
It takes about 3 jars of water to dissolve 1 palm of black salt. The resultant solution is nicknamed 'chili water' for the pungent smell that emanates from it; the more pungent, the more salt is dissolved. It is a very jealous material when in solution as to banishes all other solutes dissolved in water to skim the surface layer, including normal white salt. Chili water is the form in which small amounts of black salt can be transported with little risk of exploding during the rigors of travel. Purple salt is also added to further stabilize the solution in floating clumps. When its reaches its destination, the purple is filtered out and the water allowed to evaporate away.Environmental Impact
The salt mines that have been burrowing through the islands for many years, have somewhat destabilized the ground. As a result, Sang engineers have closed most of the mines and carefully determine where the salt would be extracted so as to avoid collapse.
Reusability & Recycling
An unexplained phenomenon that takes place after detonating black salt is the lack of reside of any kind. That is to say that the quantity used disappears entirely.
Distribution
Storage
Black salt can only be extracted and stored in large quantities. Strangely, they are less reactive when there is a lot of them in a given space. However, the store sizes are often considered too big for supply lines to move them reliably and timely. Therefore, logistics mix in purple salt during transit and storage to neutralize its most dangerous properties; and are separated when their use is expected.
If you try to sneak just a little bit from the mines, it will disappear in your hand. That strange feature makes it safe to transport in mass until they are stuffed in wands to explode.
Law & Regulation
The state tightly controls and limits its use to the benefit of the state.
Because of the salt's unique properties, its trade is confined to within the Triple Alignment. Sangsalgu only publicly allows for shipments to select cavern cities in exchange for completed wands.
Salt in Sinks
While the caverns of Long Step keep their salt securely, during the Second Vanilla War a few Sinks revealed they had managed to stock pile salt for new weapons of their own.
Type
Metaphysical
Rarity
Only one known Source
Odor
Spicy
Color
Black
Common State
Solid
Related Locations
Related Technologies
Comments