Orichalcum

Orichalcum is the rarest and most prized metal in the world. Native orichalcum, as with native gold, silver or copper, occurs naturally when the geological conditions are right. Finds of orichalcum made the fortunes of more than one kingdom.

Dwarven Monopoly
In antiquity, dwarven smiths discovered how to extract orichalcum from its single known ore - adanvdostone - and quickly became the sole producers of the metal. They remain the most accomplished at working it. Four hundred years ago, a human emperor conspired to steal the secret of working it, and from him it was released to the world. However, it is still uncommon, as the ore is found deep. Knowledge of the principles of its extraction is not sufficient to work it - great skill and patience is required to develop a method that produces acceptable quality metal.

Properties
In its pure form, orichalcum is extremely hard and brittle, far moreso than steel or titanium. It is a deep purple colour. Sheets as thin as parchment cannot be deformed, even with leverage and horses. It is denser than gold or lead, and resists all forms of corrosion completely. It has a very low melting point and loses almost all of its strength with even moderate heating. The aforementioned sheet can be bent after just a brisk rub with the hands. Pure orichalcum is therefore only of ornamental use. Traditionally, orichalcum is never used to set gemstones - it is considered an insult to the noble metal to sully it with mere gems.

Alloys
Many alloys of orichalcum are commonly used. All were first developed by dwarves.

Vulgar Orichalcum
1 part orichalcum to 30 parts iron, forged as for steel. Vulgar orichalcum is almost identical to ordinary steel, except that it does not rust.

Smith's Orichalcum
1 part orichalcum, 7 parts iron to 2 parts zinc. Smith's orichalcum is used for tools and weapons, and is identified by the orange sheen to the metal. Apart from the anti-corrosion properties, this alloy has much of pure orichalcum's hardness and brittleness but with a higher melting point. Such equipment is much sort-after as it only requires sharpening every century or so - although it needs to be taken to a skilled orichalcumsmith to do so.

Royal Orichalcum
1 part orichalcum to 3 parts gold. For the budget-conscious, royal orichalcum offers a cheaper way of getting the prestige of orichalcum ornaments. It lacks the characteristic purple colour, resembling a darker shade of red gold, but has a perfect hardness and melting point to hold intricate designs. Cheaper versions add copper to the alloy, and have a less brilliant shine.

Black Orichalcum
1 part orichalcum, 6 parts titanium, 1 part iron to 2 parts zinc. The most recently-developed alloy, incorporating the secret of titanium extraction learned from goblins. Unlike Smith's Orichalcum, it does not keep and edge. However, its strength is even greater than that of pure orichalcum, making the ultimate material for armour and shields. The name comes from its very dark, reddish colouration.