A method for fabricating a ceramic material, the method comprising: providing a mixture of a reactive metallic filler material with a preceramic polysilazane material; polymerizing the preceramic polysilazane material to form a green body; and thermally treating the green body in an environment that is substantially free of oxygen to convert the polymerized preceramic polysilazane material into a ceramic material including at least one nitride phase that is a reaction product of the reactive metallic filler material and the preceramic polysilazane material; and characterised by: infiltrating the mixture into pores of a fibrous structure, wherein said fibrous structure has coated fibers, wherein the coating on the coated fibers has an average coating thickness, represented as a variable t coating (nanometers) and the mixture has an amount, represented by a variable X (weight percent), of the reactive metallic filler material, wherein X and t coating are selected such that a ratio of t coating /X (average coating thickness in nanometers divided by weight percent of the reactive filler material) is from 3.75 to 25, and the mixture has an amount of up to 40 weight percent of the reactive metallic filler material; and wherein the coating includes a layer of silicon nitride that is in contact with the mixture upon infiltration of the mixture into the pores, and the average coating thickness is of the layer of silicon nitride. providing a mixture of a reactive metallic filler material with a preceramic polysilazane material; polymerizing the preceramic polysilazane material to form a green body; and thermally treating the green body in an environment that is substantially free of oxygen to convert the polymerized preceramic polysilazane material into a ceramic material including at least one nitride phase that is a reaction product of the reactive metallic filler material and the preceramic polysilazane material; and characterised by: infiltrating the mixture into pores of a fibrous structure, wherein said fibrous structure has coated fibers, wherein the coating on the coated fibers has an average coating thickness, represented as a variable t coating (nanometers) and the mixture has an amount, represented by a variable X (weight percent), of the reactive metallic filler material, wherein X and t coating are selected such that a ratio of t coating /X (average coating thickness in nanometers divided by weight percent of the reactive filler material) is from 3.75 to 25, and the mixture has an amount of up to 40 weight percent of the reactive metallic filler material; and wherein the coating includes a layer of silicon nitride that is in contact with the mixture upon infiltration of the mixture into the pores, and the average coating thickness is of the layer of silicon nitride. infiltrating the mixture into pores of a fibrous structure, wherein said fibrous structure has coated fibers, wherein the coating on the coated fibers has an average coating thickness, represented as a variable t coating (nanometers) and the mixture has an amount, represented by a variable X (weight percent), of the reactive metallic filler material, wherein X and t coating are selected such that a ratio of t coating /X (average coating thickness in nanometers divided by weight percent of the reactive filler material) is from 3.75 to 25, and the mixture has an amount of up to 40 weight percent of the reactive metallic filler material; and wherein the coating includes a layer of silicon nitride that is in contact with the mixture upon infiltration of the mixture into the pores, and the average coating thickness is of the layer of silicon nitride.