Night Steel

Drow Steel

Night steel, also known as drow steel, or adamantine, is steel produced from the dense ore known as adamantite. It is theorized that this ore is as common as traditional Iron but can only be found in the deepest parts of the Night Below, where magma has bubbled up into the crust of the world, depositing veins of this ore. For millennia this ore flowed through the worlds mantle absorbing the Kianon energies from the heart of Aldern. Adamantite is considered in the iron family of metals. It is harder that traditional iron, with a black hue.

The Juhl'are are the primary miners and users of this ore. It is found deeper than most surface mines reach. Even the Dwarf people rarely delve so deep as to reach adamantite deposits. The regions it is found are also often hotter, being dangerously close to magma flows. Poisonous gases are common in the mines.

The ore is extremely dense, and hard to work. Dwarves have experimented with the ore and the metals that can be produced, but most consider it a waste product, to be ignored or thrown away when found. It is hard to work, with labor and heat requirements beyond their established forges capacities. At best it is seen as a novelty to be played with. The only known dwarves to use adamantite in forging is Clan Blackaxe of Tinjir. The dark elves, however, have created forges especially designed for this metal. These forges run much hotter than normal forges and can be dangerous to use. With them the dark elves can create the steel known to them as adamantine, what surface dwellers call night steel.

Night steel has similar edging properties as traditionally steel and can make fine weapons. Its density, however, give these weapons more weight than their traditional counterparts. This makes night steel more favorable for impact-based weapons like axes and maces, rather than finesse weapons like swords. It is in its use as armor where the metal shines. The dense, hard metal makes it ideal for stopping blows. Its superior hardness means thinner night steel plates can be used in armor to counter the heavier weight. Master smiths have even been able to produce night steel armors thin enough to wear under garments. The thin sheets affording the same protection value as traditional plate armors.