Chardalyn

Many years prior to the Spellplague, a wizard named Akar Kessel found an artifact suffused with demonic magic called Crenshinibon (better known as the Crystal Shard) and used it to erect a great black tower in Icewind Dale. When this tower was destroyed, the magic used to create it fused with the surrounding ice to form what is now known as chardalyn: a nonmagical, crystalline substance as strong as metal, though considerably easier to work with than steel. In the years since, more deposits of chardalyn have been found across Icewind Dale. Like the Crystal Shard, these deposits tend to be suffused with demonic magic. Prolonged contact with chardalyn that has become suffused with demonic magic can warp a creature’s mind, causing madness that usually fades away once the contact is broken.

Long before Akar Kessel left his mark on Icewind Dale, Netherese wizards created their own chardalyn. Many items made from this dark-colored crystal can be found in the ruins of ancient Netherese enclaves.

Chardalyn is cold to the touch and readily accepts magical enchantment, making it an ideal substance for wands, staffs, and other magic items. A chardalyn object suffused with the magic of the Upper Planes is considered a consecrated object, while a chardalyn object suffused with the magic of the Lower Planes is considered a desecrated object; both can be identified as such using a detect evil and good spell or similar magic.