Skysteel

Skysteel is a magical creature in the Windrose world. Famed for its ability to be cultivated into powerful weapons and tools, it has gained a reputation as somewhat of a legendary crafting material among smiths and students of mythology. It also has a deep cultural significance to the island of Xiphos.

#### Characteristics

Skysteel is similar to coral, in that it is a mostly sessile organism but is still considered an animal. It is unknown if skysteel is also made of small individual polyps the same way corals are. Skysteel colonies primarily grow by consuming emotions and memories. The nature and character of these emotions and memories influences how the skysteel grows. After a certain level of consumption, skysteel can maintain enough emotion inside of it that certain unique effects begin to manifest, depending on the circumstances. For example, if one was to wear a mask of skysteel for months on end, rarely taking it off, it is possible that the skysteel mask will consume their personality entirely, essentially killing their body and moving their identity to the skysteel.

Dead skysteel can also be used as a substance of some renown for smithing, but it is not as prestigious.

Skysteel is quite rare, and is only known to grow naturally on Xiphos and parts of the country of Asturia. Asturian skysteel is famously dangerous due to the skysteel colonies there feasting upon the ambient anger and violent energies of the region, cultivating the skysteel there into a form powered by rage as a default.

#### Human Usage

Skysteel cultivation is a difficult art, the methods of which are mostly kept secret by one of the ruling merchant families of Xiphos. The usage of skysteel on Xiphos is deeply tied to the country's history, going all the way back to its original ascension. Soon after the ascension of Phos, a large outcropping of skysteel was discovered deep within the island, along with a store of caligite. The skysteel and caligite was combined to create powerful trade tools for the artisans of Xiphos. However, the usage of the caligite attracted some kind of monster to Xiphos, and the tools were re-forged into powerful weapons, each wielded by one of four champions. As each of the champions died in battle, the skysteel, its ability to consume greatly increased by the caligite, consumed their personalities utterly, transforming into the legendary Xiphosi Champion Weapons, which remain an integral part of Xiphosi culture to this day.

Among skysteel items, the Champion Weapons are unique. Unlike most artifacts made of living skysteel, the Champion Weapons mostly remain in a dormant state until interacted with by a human wielder. They then awaken, and can be used to great effect on the battlefield as weapons of supernaturally destructive power. All of the Champion Weapons impress the will inside of them on their wielders, although some do this more than others. Wielders of the Sword, for example, are raised to cultivate themselves in tandem with their weapon, slowly melding their will and personality with that of the weapon. The Spear of Crater, on the other hand, obliterates the will of its wielder immediately on contact, supplanting their original personality with Crater's will and memories. As such, becoming the wielder of the Spear is used as punishment for criminals who commit severe crimes such as treason.

More average skysteel items are generally created as an artistic experiment, as skysteel's tendency to consume if left unchecked makes weapons made of the substance especially dangerous to use, but those who brave both the forging and wielding of a skysteel weapon can make use of an especially deadly blade.