Terrestrial Salazarium

A non-ferrous metallic element that is commonly mistaken for iron pyrite, Terrestrial Salazarium is the name for one of the three primary forms of Salazarium (the others are Basic Salazarium and Nova Salazarium). Terrestrial Salazarium was first introduced in the Legion of Lawndale Heroes 'Mini' The Artist's Commission.

History

Terrestrial Salazarium is an incredibly rare material (almost to the point of being considered a 'trace element'; like the element iridium, the greatest sources are believed to exist due to meteor impacts with Earth millions of years ago.

This has been confirmed in part due to study on many meteor-related incidents from the 17th Century forward, such as the Wold Cottage meteorite incident and the 1972 Great Daylight Fireball (unknown to the public, the Canadian and U.S. Governments joined forces to stop the meteor from impacting near the uppermost part of Baffin Bay and recovered it), as Terrestrial Salazarium was discovered in those meteors. Most small meteors of metallic composition that survive planetfall are thought to contain significant amounts of the metal.

Quickly gaining a reputation for its anti-mystical properties and its near-mythical status (as samples of the metal, or objects made from it, were almost impossible to come by), Terrestrial Salazarium was better known by the name 'witchblock' . The amounts of 'witchblock' became slightly more available with the growth of the British Empire and the westward expansion of the American Frontier in the 19th and early 20th Century (due to greater amounts being discovered, and a 'shadow trade' in the raw material as well as objects made from the metal).

Properties

Terrestrial Salazarium has several primary properties that distinguish it from its counterpart materials.

• Terrestrial Salazarium causes complete and immediate nullification of all mystical energies and effects of those energies (without causing innate harm to any beings or creatures generating or using those energies) on contact. In contrast, Basic Salazarium causes complete and immediate disruption of any and all mystical activity in any mystically active being or object within the area of effect (determined by the amount of the material present) or upon contact.

• The radiated energies of Terrestrial Salazarium has the ability to repulse all mystical energies and beings (the size and intensity of the energy field is determined by the amount of material present); vampiric beings and others who are particularly sensitive to the ultra-violet frequencies in natural sunlight are particularly sensitive to the effects of the material. (Humorously, this has led to an unorthodox manner of detecting samples of the material; items designed to generate fluorescent effects under UV radiation will react accordingly to exposure to Terrestrial Salazarium.) The radiated energy also acts upon organic material in the same fashion as sunlight; thus, photosynthesis can occur in the presence of a large enough amount of the material, and beings that need occasional exposure to sunlight can remain healthy through occasional exposure to the material.

• Because of the effects of Terrestrial Salazarium's energies upon mystical energies, the metal can be used to detect latent mystical energies in organic beings. To such persons, the material will affect them as if they have touched a source of extreme cold (causing minor cases of frostbite). (Beings with their mystical potentials realized will instead undergo the normal energy-nullification effects of the material.

• Unlike Basic Salazarium, Terrestrial Salazarium is much less resistant to damage, and also much easier to manipulate and craft into any number of objects. It has the same malleability factors as iron pyrite, and as such, there are many examples of artwork which are actually made of Terrestrial Salazarium. (Since the time of the ancient Greeks, knowledgeable individuals have followed the trade in Marcasite jewellery in order to acquire samples of the metal or to purchase items made of Terrestrial Salazarium for protection.

• Terrestrial Salazarium has different gravitational-oriented effects from Basic Salazarium. When outside a strong field of gravity (such as a planetary mass), it naturally generates gravitons to create a small gravity field of its own; when situated within a field of gravity, samples of Terrestrial Salazarium are naturally drawn to the source of that field. Because of this effect, samples of the material and items made from it feel heavier than objects of the exact same weight. One effect of this is that weapons made of Terrestrial Salazarium (and projectiles of the material for weapons such as firearms and arrows) are capable of doing much greater kinetic damage than other weapons or ammunition of the same variety, but have a slightly reduced range.

• Unlike related forms of the material, Terrestrial Salazarium possesses the innate ability to channel extreme amounts of any form of energy without harm to itself. While this makes it ideal for many electrical and computerized devices, the scarcity of the material and the price for any samples makes the use of Terrestrial Salazarium for such purposes exorbitant to the point of impracticality for almost anyone interested in doing so.

• Unlike Basic and Nova Salazarium, the radiated energies of Terrestrial Salazarium make the metal slightly warm to the touch. The radiated energies can be easily blocked by lead. It was also discovered that deerskin leather also possesses the ability to block the energies and energy-related effects of the material (but not the gravity-effects); in the United Kingdom and throughout North America, those individuals who were aware of the nature of Terrestrial Salazarium used deerskin containers and satchels, etc. to transport such materials. This became especially prevalent among those with mystical ability, who used deerskin pouches to protect themselves and still have the material ready for use. (A prominent example of this is the fact that almost all of the known examples of the weapons known as the Divine Needles were crafted alongside their sheathes, all of which were made with deerskin leather sheathes that were enchanted so as to not decay. The nature of the Salazarium makes the sheathes effective, as it renders the interior soft and of normal consistency but keeps the edges from piercing the sheath.)