Colored steel is a magically enhanced alloy, that incorporates trace amounts of Livith. Rare, Vitalis-reactive ores as well as the right amount of the right kind of Livith crystals are needed to create colored ore out of its raw materials.
Adding Livith to an alloy changes the metals properties. If a blacksmith tries to add a random amount of crystal dust to a random metal, the result usually is unstable, unpredictable and useless. In these samples, the Livith did not settle properly and reacted to the metal and Vitalis in the environment. This causes the sample to degenerate and lose all structural properties.
Over the course of history, artisans found several alloys that formed stable materials, which can be used in different applications. These alloys show a distinct discoloration, leading to the name “colored steel”. The weight of colored steel is similar to regular one.
Black Steel
- Properties: Incredibly durable, high edge retention, high resistance against corrosion, temperature and wear
- Weaknesses: Brittle under sudden or excessive force. Shatters into razor-sharp micro shards when overstressed
- Interaction with Vitalis: Absorbs but does not circulate Vitalis. Suppresses passive Aura interactions
- Uses: heavy plating, weapons, tools
Blue Steel
- Properties: Flexible, bends rather than breaking, feels alive when touched
- Weaknesses: Worse edge retention than regular steel, less durable, becomes brittle when exposed to extreme temperatures or high Vitalis concentrations
- Interaction with Vitalis: Lightly conductive, starts resonating with higher levels of exposure creating instability
- Uses: Flexible joints, prosthetics, as elastic backing to black steel to increase shock-absorption
White Steel
- Properties: Soft, malleable, easily moldable
- Weaknesses: Melts or deforms quickly, not suited for any load-bearing task
- Interaction with Vitalis: Exceptionally conductive. Excess Vitalis is converted to heat, melting the material almost immediately
- Uses: Magical devices, Vitalis-conducting layers in armor
Yellow Steel
- Properties: Soft and waxy at regular exposure of Vitalis
- Weaknesses: Needs active attention to be used, reacts to surrounding Vitalis
- Interaction with Vitalis: Changes its physical properties depending on surrounding Vitalis levels: low: soft and malleable, high: hard and brittle.
Green Steel
- Properties: Stretchable, durable and semi-living. Behaves like muscle-fibers
- Weaknesses: High resistance against forces in one direction, but weak to forces perpendicular to fiber structure
- Interaction with Vitalis: Expands and contracts based on the Aura it is currently residing in, controlled by the intent of the Aura source
