Mithral

  The veins of mithral are a silvery black, once these black ores are refined and smelted they turn into a silvery blue colour. The qualities of the metal is very similar to steel both in hardness and the smiting of it. Only the weight of the metal is different, mithral only weighs around half as much as the equivalent of steel. This makes mithral perfect for armor, it even makes less noise and keep the wearer light on their feet.  

  Mined from deep within the ground, often beneath mountains from black veins.  

  Mithral was found more than 4000 years ago, yet it is very rare today and is not often found even by the dwarfs deep beneath the southeastern mountain range.   Mithral has been used very little, thought the most common users of the metal is the elves. Dwarfs and elves don't get along easily, but one thing the elves are interested in and do want to trade for is dwarven mithral. The elves can acknowledge a superior metal and craftsmanship when they see one. The elite imperial elven army have amassed the most mithral of all, this has by far been the biggest expense for the empire throughout history. Even today the elves use the same armour, though they have themselves more or less perfected the smiting of the blue metal.  

  The worth of mithral is well known amongst merchants, yet only a few knows what the metal looks like or have even seen it. When trying to sell mithral many just assumed it has been stolen and won't even buy it. They might even report you to the guard of the city, due to fear of what will happen if word got out someone sold them mithral. Merchants taking a risk stand to make quite a profit since the metal is so extremely rare, and those seeking are willing to pay a premium.   The metal is traded mostly within dwarven cities but other major cities around the world has some available.