Elven Ironwood / Ikurnamon

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Ikurnamon, (from elvish: Ikurn’Amonn, meaning ‘Iron Wood’) is a special type of wood whose cultivation was a secret only known to the ancient Seeds of the Wood Elves for centuries. It is harvested from its namesake, the Ironwood Tree.

Origins

The cultivation of Ironwood trees and harvesting of their Ikurnamon began in the early days of the Era of the Seeds, where the wood elven race was young and had recently made their exodus from the rest of elf-kind to live nomadic lives in the deep forests.

With no reliable access to forges and metals, the wood elves of the Seeds turned to the trees to provide them with the tools they needed to survive. Being creatures of long life, the wood elves learned to selectively breed the trees around them. These tree-farms, as they were, were known as Ame’lie and was among the most unique and definitive art of the ancient wood elves. The ‘ame saved and planted the seeds of trees with the most favourable traits. It took centuries, but eventually the Mali’ame were capable of growing trees with wood soft and malleable enough to wear, or hard enough to use as weaponry. Ironwood trees were the latter of these.

Any Wood Elf seed capable of holding its own needed access to Ironwood trees and the Ikurnamon they provided. Many different wondrous trees were cultivated in the Ame’lie of the ancient Wood Elf tribes, but Ironwood was the most common and vital. Ironwood was as hard as steel when tempered and treated right. It was essential to creating arrowheads, spear-tips, knives, hooks and other things which were also essential to nomadic seed life. The Seeds were very territorial about their Ironwood, in fact, it was not unheard of for Seeds to raid and skirmish with one another to either defend, or steal Ironwood seeds or take over and Ironwood grove.

Ikurnamon was a difficult wood to work with. If not tempered right, it was brittle and could easily splinter. In order to turn it into proper weapons or tools, the right craftsman was needed. Wood Elves devoted their entire lives to the cultivation and crafting of ironwood. Some masters were legendary, creating tools with ironwood beyond beauty. They were so well known that Elves from other seeds traveled miles across thick forest to seek their skills.

Ironwood cultivation declined during Garthon’s great war of unity. The Seeds became embroiled in a fierce civil war which raged for a decade or more. During this time, raids were conducted. Ame’lie were burned and sacked. Ironwood trees were destroyed to stifle the enemy’s weapons supply. When the war ended, the Seeds all migrated and formed the city of Laurelin in the new Malinor. Much of Seed culture and practice faded away.

The cultivation of Ironwood was lost to time.

Properties

Ikurnamon has two forms: Tempered and untempered. Untempered ironwood is the raw, unworked form of the wood, and tempered is after it has been treated to make it suitable for use as a tool or weapon.

Untempered Ironwood

Varied hues. Rose brown to dark grey to silvery colour

Brittle

Rough, coarse texture

Often knotted

Does not burn well, produces wispy smoke at best

Tempered Ironwood

As hard as steel

Slightly lighter than iron

Smooth, polished texture

Fireproof

Tempering/Crafting

Tempering Ikurnamon and crafting it into various byproducts is an art which takes years of practice to perfect. It follows these fundamental steps.

Harvest the Wood

The craftsman must harvest a good chunk of ikurnamon from an ironwood tree. Traditionally, the first pick of wood would be any parts which have fallen off, out of respect for the tree. However, living wood is generally easier to temper and thus the branches of the tree are most often used.

Peel off the Bark

Ironwood bark is too thick and much too brittle to work with, so it must be paired away to reveal the flesh underneath. The craftsman must carve away the shell of bark from the ironwood branch he has just harvested. This is not an easy task, as the bark is hard and does not part easily, one must be careful not to shave away pieces of the wood’s usable flesh alongside the bark.

Shape the Wood, Approximately

Using carving tools, the craftsman shapes the now exposed ironwood into a rough shape of whatever he is trying to make. A sword, a knife, a hook, spear tips, et cetera. He must not be too precise, as the final stage requires more shaping.

Heat the Wood

Much like metals, ironwood is easiest to shape when it is hot. Unlike metals, the temperature at which ironwood can be shaped is extremely finicky. This is the hardest part about tempering Ironwood. Under too hot a fire, the wood burns up. Under a fire that isn't hot enough, the wood remains too coarse. Under the right temperature, the wood will begin to smoothen slightly and soften up.

Finish Shaping While Heated

It is during this crucial stage that the ironwood must be crafted to its final design. Raw ironwood is too brittle to shape precisely, and tempered ironwood, while durable, is far too hard. It is only while the wood is heated that it enjoys a brief period of being soft enough to bend. The craftsman meticulously shapes the ironwood while it burns over the fire, he must know when to take the wood off the flames to prevent it from overheating, and putting it back on to prevent it from cooling down too much to work with.

Varnishing

After shaping the wood under heat, let it cool down. By now, the product in progress should be just about done. An ironwood tool or weapon smooth to the touch and hard as steel. However, some more steps need to be taken to ensure it doesn’t rot over time. The ironwood appliance is soaked in a special chemical mixture which both prevents rot and makes the wood resistant to fire. It must soak in the substance for a week before it can be removed. At this point, the ironwood tool is completely done and free to use.

Uses

Ironwood was used for all sorts of purposes among the ancient mali’ame seeds. The more wealthy seeds could afford to have them as some form of tribal jewelry or display of riches. Their most common usage however was as tools.

http://img08.deviantart.net/4f50/i/2015/212/2/3/nature_sword_design_by_infinitydevin-d93lryy.jpg

Ironwood Swords, crafted in ancient times. The green patterns atop the blade is ochre, painted on weapons to signify which Seed they belong to.

Ironwood was a staple of the hunter and warrior. Almost all mali’ame tribesmen would have ironwood weaponry. This could be anything from spears to bows to swords. Armour wasn’t unheard of, but only the most well off of Seeds could produce enough Ironwood to make even the most basic of armour pieces, it also took more skill than most craftsmen had.

Pros and Cons

To clarify, Ironwood isn’t supposed to be an inherent advantage. I wrote it so it is more or less balanced with more conventional weapons. It’s meant to be mainly aesthetic and a cultural thing for the wood elves to work on. I’m also writing this as a player, not an LT, so treat it like a lore submission, not server canon.

Pros

A slightly lighter, faster alternative to Steel

Additional cultural aesthetic to the wood elves

Unique tools/weapons designs in RP

Cons

Trees are relatively small. Only enough wood for tools/weapons/MAYBE armour. (No Ironwood flame-proof houses or city walls)

Slightly less durable than steel (wouldn’t work well as a blunt force weapon like a mace. Only really effective as sharp slashing weapons)

Harder to pierce platemail armour

Lost art. Will take time and tree cultivation to fully rediscover