Silver

In regards to Magicalurgy, silver is rather unique. It only interacts with one type of magic, that being soulbound magic, where as most other materials also interact with Elemental magic. There's the way it interacts with soulbound magic that is rather unique, with numerous interresting quirks.   The most well known is its interference with a soulmage's spiritual link, which partialy or completly prevents them from using their magic abilities. Silver is also known to be immune to the ether's mana surcharge effects when its being transported through the dimension by Soulstrider.   But by far the most interesting characteristic of silver metal is what it does with light coming from Veos. Soulmages that are exposed to Veosian moon light may find their magical abilities strenghtened, even if said light comes from a reflective surface, such as a bronze mirror, or even a pool of water. However, that is not the case with silver mirrors, as according to most scholars, the metal seems to be able to nullifie the effects of the light before it reaches them.

Silver is one of the metals used in the creatio of Sterling Silver, the other being copper. Sterling silver has some of the same quality and quirks as regular silver, with the added bonus of not only being able to disturb a soulmage's magic, but also drain them of their Mana energy. Used in large quantity, this metal alloy can be deadly to them.

Silver can be found in many places all around the globe, and is usualy extracted alongside copper and zinc metal. In Osian, the Kingdom of Nan-Tao is said to have a lot of silver mines in the mountains of its western territories. In Enaskia, the kherokomia region is rich is all kinds of metal ores and silver is no exception. The Salsian plateau and the Khron peninsula also contains decent amounts of silver mining. One of the region with the largest amount of silver mining in the world is Rumalia, particularly around the foothills of the Vekhonian mountains.

Silver has had a weird history with soulbound magic. In the first Age, it was used as a non-magic precious metal, but in the Second Age, Silver began to slowly replace iron and lead in the crafting of specific magic inhibitors made for Soulbound Mages. However, it was overwelmingly used by elemental mages and especialy humans, who forced soulmages to wear them in order to restrict their magic abilities.   Because of this, the metal has always had a less than stellar reputation amongst soulbound mages. However, by the end of the Second Age, attitudes began to change. Some human communities became more accepting of soulbound mages, and in turn, soulbound mages, particularly Shapeshifters, began using the metal to regulate their magic abilities, which are greatly influenced by Veos.   This also lead to changes in how those inhibitor Talismans were created. Whereas before, during most of the Second Age, they were usualy cheaply and crudely made, they slowly became more refined and beautiful, like real peices of jewlery. Despite these changes, wearing sliver is still largely unpopular amongst the general population of Soulbound mages in both Arros and Enaskia as most still see the material as simply dangerous.

Silver is a material that's been used by humanity for thousands of years. Most notably, silver is extensively in the production of coinage all around the world, along with copper, gold and bronze. Silver jewelry is also very popular with people that can afford it, and wear it without issue, like Humans and Elemental Mages. For Soulbound Mages, silver is mostly worn not as jewelry, but as great and efficient inhibitor Talismans, allowing them to better control their magic abilities. However, these must be worn and used in moderation, or it may cause problems in the long term.

Most people in Arros and Enaskia will assume someone is a Soulbound Mages if they see them wearing silver, especialy in the form of a necklace or ring, as these are popular Talismans shapes. This recongnition may attract unwanted attention and even hostility towards them, depending on who sees them. As said before, many soulbound mages will choose to wear silver on them when around humans in order to have a easier time hiding their abilities. However, they will usualy also keep their talisman hidden to avoid the ire of the people they cross.

Blacksmiths, many of them being Metalmage, handle the smelthing and casting of silver. However, unlike bronze, iron or even steel, silver usualy isn't as popular and therefore finding a blacksmith specialised in its craft can be harder than for other metal.

Despite having been proven to be useful to some soulbound mages, the metal remains very dangerous for them. While skin contact incites a light burning sensation that grows worse with time, cuts or penetration of silver is much more dangerous, as it can directly harm their spiritual link that connects them to The Ether, leading to serious problems like a Permanent Ikshai Possession for Shapeshifters, or a complete loss of magic abilities for all other soulbound mage types.

Silver is a highly valuable material, just slightly less valuable than gold, and more valuable than bronze and copper. Producing countries get a substantial revenue from extracting and exporting silver to other countries get a substantial revenue from extracting and exporting silver traded and consumed across the entire Continent of Arros, making some of their principalities quite rich from its trade.

In the Rumalian Confederation, where silver is abundant, any use of the metal is outright forbibben. Silver mining is allowed but heavely restricted, and any silver extracted from those mines is immediatly exported south to other kingdoms, which generates a hefty sum for the Halserats(principalities) who possess such mines.