Aeldrum Basalt

is the hard basalt-like material which makes up the Spires of Aeldrum.
== Characteristics ==
Aeldrum Basalt has no equivalent in the cosmos except for the Pin Jump and some apparently synthetic versions found around the Black Pyramids. The material is remarkable for its extraordinary durability: though it can be cut or blasted, it rarely ever cracks or chips and must typically be drilled or sawn at enormous effort. Further, Aeldrum Basalt has significant adaptive properties, harnessing ambient etheric energy to reorder its own internal structure for maximum interior and surface resilience whenever it is damaged: this “mineral scarring” is not immediate, but occurs sufficiently quickly that structures like the Aeldrum Spire have been tunneled for centuries with only very few cave-ins or collapses. No direct observation has been made of Aeldrum Basalt growing, but geological surveys from major digging projects over the centuries suggest that it does very slowly extend itself, on the order of a few millimeters per year.
== Uses ==
The extremely high cost of shaping or cutting Aeldrum Basalt has meant that for centuries most Aeldmen adapted their architecture to the cuts that had already been made in the spires by previous inhabitants. A sure sign of an up-and-coming Aeldman neighborhood remains the presence of fresh cuts in the stone to accommodate the design vision of residents. In grand old neighborhoods, polished geometric stone faces (against the natural cylindrical structure of the mineral scarring) and intricate sculptures in the rock kept perfectly detailed through centuries are signs of lavish and perennial aesthetic effort.
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