Thanhium

The blue crystalline material known as Thanhium is both a greatly powerful and highly dangerous substance. Once so rare only the dwarves had access to it, the great use of thanhic technology by the Harbingers of Setherien has led to its proliferation throughout the known world.

While Arcaurum (aka Magegold), the other well-known magical material, is simply highly receptive to enchantment and conductive to magical energies, thanhium actually contains significant amounts of mana locked up in the crystal. This mana began as heat: thanhium passively saps heat from its surroundings, storing it as the mana within.

Thanhic Ore (Lapis)

Thanhium rocks, known as “thanhic ore”, are how thanhium is found in the world. These small, usually fist-sized stones are found buried in the earth in large veins. A clear sign of the presence of thanhic ore is the climate: the slow cooling caused by the huge thanhium veins adds up and makes the climate of the area an incongrously frozen tundra, even when it is surrounded by temperate areas and even warm seas. Thanhic ore is also usually found in small quantities under dwarven cities with such frequency many doubt it is a coincidence. The thanhic ore has a slow cooling effect on its surroundings equivalent to that of cold water. It is also not particularly useful. At the time of writing, the only known use for Thanhic Ore in of itself is when it is crushed up and used in dyes and paints. These paints lower the temperature of the rooms painted with them by a few degrees which makes them popular with Mali’Fenn. Breaking the blue rocks tends to release low purity Thanhic Dust into the air so care must be taken.


Thanhic Crystal (Lapis Block)

With complex alchemical apparatus invented by the Scriberfolk of Ardol and at the time of writing known to the dwarves, thanhium can be painstakingly extracted and purified from large quantities of thanhic ore. Throughout the process the air must be kept arid or the water in it will freeze and ruin the alchemical process. A successful purification by an experienced alchemist results in a Smooth Thanhic Crystal, a purified form of thanhic ore that can turn heat to mana fast enough for practical applications. A semi-successful purification results in some thanhic dust and an Abrasive Thanhic Crystal that releases more dust on rubbing against things. An unsuccessful purification either results in wasted material at best or a huge cloud of thanhic dust at worst. Thanhic Crystals are powerful and almost immediately form a layer of frost around them on exposure to the air. Dropping a crystal into water will cause a cumbersome layer of ice to rapidly freeze around it. The crystals have weight and durability equivalent to glass or ice, meaning that unless they are thin they cannot be broken with bare hands but a hammer, a sword blow or dropping them is likely to crack or shatter them. Those who break the crystals have more to worry about than broken shards, however, as clouds of thanhic dust are released into the air upon breaking.

Thanhic Crystals are the most useful form for most magical technology. While it is not known how to directly enchant thanhic crystals the mana in thanhium can be used to power other enchantments, particularly when the enchanted material is arcaurum. These enchantments never run out of power so long as the thanhium has heat to absorb and provided the thanhium is given time to “recharge.” The most complex use of this is the Golem Core, which uses a very pure and quite large thanhium crystal as the power source. It is impossible for a mage to “draw upon” a thanhium crystal in their possession: they are not mana batteries.

The durability of thanhic crystals mostly precludes their use for armour and weapons. This is exacerbated by thanhium’s cooling nature and toxicity: breaking the crystals releases thanhic dust into the air, and a person wearing full thanhic armour will likely freeze to death before a sword even gets near them.

Thanhic armour is about as effective as ice armor and while daggers and blades made of thanhic crystal are possible to make any significant impact will break them. This means it is impossible to block or attack armour with them. While weaker than Smooth Thanhic Crystals, Abrasive Thanhic Crystals tend to leave thanhic dust in the wound, meaning they have found use for poisonous, anti-mage weapons.

The Harbingers possess the magics to enchant thanhium directly. One method they know is how to superharden it to the strength of carbarum metal, meaning they possess the only known Thanhic Armour. Their incorporeal nature also means they do not freeze to death from wearing it. They also also utilise colossal enchanted thanhic crystals known as Bloodshards. These Bloodshards not only individually leech heat from the land as effectively as the huge thanhic ore veins under the Anthosian North, but they also release the mana the heat becomes as a corrupting blight. Breaking the crystals releases clouds of thanhic dust, small but pure particles of thanhium with severe toxic effects if inhaled or ingested. If done carefully, the dust can be created intentionally by carefully grinding down the crystals while wearing a breath mask.

High purity thanhic crystals are cold enough to cause frostbite injures from skin contact, meaning thanhic crystals are handled with thick gloves.

Due to the risk of the dust both ore, crystals and dust are transported in locked airtight crates which often form layers of ice around them. Any thanhic weapons are stored in sheaths to protect them from abrasion and damage which could release the dust. The Toxicity of Thanhic Dust
Thanhic dust consists of tiny particles of high purity thanhium. It can be inhaled, injested or absorbed into the bloodstream. Unlike most poisons, the effects of thanhium are linear: a smaller quantity causes a weaker version of the same effect. Thanhium Poisoning is caused by being cut or pierced deeply with an abrasive thanhium weapon, from inhaling moderate quantities of the dust, or from ingestion of even a small amount. The poisoning usually lasts for one day/night cycle regardless of strength.


Effects

Physical Effects

The body can usually cope with the cooling from ingesting thanhium by raising the body temperature. Skin pales as blood vessels contract to conserve heat, and the victim usually feels cold. Once the thanhium poisoning wears off, the victim suffers a high fever. With high quantities of the dust, the victim feels far colder, their skin pales to a huge degree, and the resultant fever can be fatal.
The mana, however, can ravage the body and mind. While usually unnoticable, the damage adds up and those who regularly injest thanhium begin to grow weak, physically wither, and begin to go mad.

Specific Effects on Mages

Arcane Mages poisoned with thanhium from a deep cut, inhalation or injestion find their powers destablised, amplified but backfiring, or just plain gone. Aenguldaemonic Mages simply have their powers weakened. Their powers return to normal when the thanhium poisoning wears off. It is not uncommon for mages to experience extreme nausea or even vomit when thanhium poisoned. It is believed that all this is caused by the thanhic mana interfering with their own, either cancelling out or rendering their magic unpredictable.
There have been reports of non-mages wielding similarly unstable and uncontrollable magical powers while poisoned with large amounts of thanhium.

Specific Effects on Non-Mages

For non-mages, thanhium poisoning has the psychological effect of creating a rush of magical power. With normal poisoning this makes the non-mage dizzy or manic, but when the dust is injested the nonmage can go temporarily insane. It has been reported that with large quantities victims do actually wield unstable magic powers. With no training, they cannot control the powers and are usually only a danger to themselves. Use of these powers also seems to make the other effects more severe, especially the cooling and insanity effects. The sensation of weakness when the thanhium wears off often drives the victim to thanhium addiction.

Extended consumption of thanhium causes chronic addiction, physical withering on a dramatic scale and complete and total insanity. Of these, insanity sets in the fastest.