Visions of Empire
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Create a metal native to Zakuul to add some flavour to other submissions.
- Image Source: Artstation, Megan Parks
- Development Thread: If Necessary
- Name: Valkite
- Manufacturer: Mainly extracted by Valkori Technologies
- Homeworld: Zakuul
- Production: Unique (White-Gold Variant), Limited (Darkest and Lightest Variant), Mass-Produced (Common Variant).
- Affiliation: Closed-Market
- Modularity: Forgable
- Classification: Metal
- Weight: Valkite's weight depends on it's quality, which can be observed through it's colouration. The lighter the metal gets, the less that it weighs on average.
- Quality: Varies depending on colouration, quality averages between 8-2.
- Colour: Variations of Gold.
- Variations: The metal itself lies deep in areas of the Endless Swamp where many mines are set up around the sights of the veins for the material, it's variations in colour and quality give it many different uses on Zakuul and is the main metal used on the planet,
- Oxidation: Valkite handles oxidation in an odd way compared to most other metals found in the galaxy. Instead of rusting the metal takes on a different quality when it manages to emerge from the depths of the Endless Swamp, becoming much lighter in both colour and weight depending on it's depth in the Swamp and amount of time spend oxidizing.
- Fusible: The metal in it's lightest state can easily be bonded to other compounds or minerals, allowing an easier way to create alloys between Valkite and other materials.
- White-Gold Valkite: Though only one vein was ever discovered where the Gravestone had laid, this vein had both the strength of Valkite at it's darkest and the lightness of it at it's strongest allowing for it to be easily formed into strong armour. The current location of the items created by this vein can be found in possession of the royal family and their most loyal vassals.
- Laser Resistant: Only in it's heaviest natural state, save for the one white-gold vein, does this material have resistant to all types of energy including lightsabers and mining lasers. This makes it incredibly hard to extract and forge into any material that can be efficiently used and can only be mined in a long process that involves melting the rock around it before taking it away with a grav field. It is the melted down in a special forge that uses one of the planet's sun generators in a long and careful process so that the metal does not lose all it's quality. However, it cannot keep this density since it either has to be reforged into something more manageable and therefore weaker or it oxidises above surface and becomes much weaker.
Strengths:
- Valuable: Although Valkite is a fairly common precious on Zakuul, it can also take on rare forms due to it's abnormal oxidation habits and reactions to areas of the Swamp. The Dark, bronze coloured Valkite that is made to use elite armour is found deep in the Endless Swamp and is difficult to be both mined and moulded into anything, causing it to be considered the most valuable of the variations. It's lightest state is often used in crafting jewellery and other precious items.There have been extremely rare occurrences of a White-Gold vein of Valkite that had grown where Gravestone had once laid, though this small vein was the only one ever discovered and could only be used to craft a few pieces.
- Fusibility: The metal in it's lightest state can be easily compounded with other materials to create new alloys, allowing for it to be used for construction though it often lowers the quality of the raw material significantly.
- Laser Resistant: In it's natural state, Valkite is quite laser-resistant comparable to Phrik though this makes it difficult to mine. When mined, Valkite's unique oxidation causes it to rapidly lose strength and it can only be slowed in a stasis field. It is necessary to quickly reforge it using one of Zakuul's sun generators, causing it to lose some of it's strength and the final product is comparable to Duranium as it gives mild protection against lightsabers.
- White-Gold Variant: The rarest variant of this mineral, only one vein has been found on the entire planet of Zakuul and it was given as a gift to the royal family of Zakuul. This variant tempers much finer than the other variants and can often keep much of the strength of the original metal. It is also as lightweight as the light variant of Valkite, though it is the most difficult and tedious to properly temper and forge into equipment. It's durability against lightsabers is comparable to Songsteel, though it is weaker to physical trauma due to it's lightweight nature.
- Weight Variation: At it's lightest colouration the material is far too soft to be used as anything that is not counted as a luxury and can be cut or pierced by essentially any weapon built for combat, at the same time it is hard for the darkest variant to be used properly as armour due to it's heavy weight and only those proficiently trained are capable of bearing the armour. Going for the most middle material is also ill advised as it hardly has significant traits of the other and is the least valuable variation of the mineral. The white-gold variant also suffers from it's lightness as blunt objects can often deal damage through the armour and impact the wearer.
- Difficult to mine: Due to the natural characteristics of a swamp, mining for the resource is difficult due to the soft surface of the area it grows in. It can only be extracted by mining ships specifically designed for usage in the Endless Swamp. The rock around the metal must be eroded or melted, then the raw metal is transported in a statis field directly to the forge so it doesn't oxidate quickly and then reforged in a sun generator.
Previous to The Sith Emperor establishing his Empire of Zakuul as Valkorion, Valkite was known as Draugna to the locals of the Old World and can still be called such by the criminals and natives that live in the Endless Swamp. In these days only the surface veins could be mined by the primitive tools of the citizens of Zakuul, the beautiful material being valued as both a symbol of power and currency with Lords often making crowns of the metal and constructing statues of themselves, some of which are being kept in the Palace of Izax. Early attempts to create armour of the metal came up short even to the lack of advanced weaponry due to it's sheer softness. However this changed when Valkorion brought his advanced technology to the planet and managed to discover the veins ran deep beneath the surface, up to 50 feet downwards into the swamp. The minerals at the top would still remain as usage for currency and luxury, however the darker materials found at the tail end were perfect for elite armour though the difficulty of manipulating it made it impossible to produce in large quantities so it was used solely by members of the Knights of Zakuul.
The lightest form of Valkite can be found peaking out above the waters and marsh grounds of the Endless Swamp, gleaming like moonlight off of the water. It is fairly easy to extract and can be mined by a simple pickaxe like the old days of Zakuul, as such it has been engraved into the history of the planet itself as a form of currency before credits came to the planet. It is often used for luxury and currency due to it's beauty and is the third rarest variation of the metal due to it only being found on the small part of the vein that peaks above the waters. It's beauty is only matched by it's weakness and is impossible to be used in a combat sense because of this weakness.
The darkest form of Valkite is located deep in the swamps of Zakuul, rarely being unearthed due to the shifting nature of swamps, though special vehicles outfitted to properly extract it are able to manage this. Extracting the metal itself is difficult due to it's heaviness and hardness, another reason why it is so rare and why it makes excellent combat armour. It is the second most rare variant of the metal due to it's difficulty to mine and is seldom found outside of the usage of the upper crust of Zakuul, mainly by the Knights of Zakuul and the Royal Family. The armour created by Valkite can give some temporary protection against lightsabers, though under extreme stress it can be cleaved.
Once day an explorer and historian, Salei Croitl, was archiving the area where the Gravestone had lied before it had been rediscovered by the Outlander. To his surprise there was little to find in the area aside from a simple vein of Valkite, though it had looked odd. What he had originally thought to be a trick of his eye caused by the endless swamp soon turned to thoughts of profit when he realised the uniqueness of this certain vein of Valkite. It did not take long before the Minister of Revelry had heard of this unique vein and bought it himself as a present for the royal family, fashioning jewellery for the more diplomatic members and a few odd pieces of armour for the more combat oriented sons of Zakuul. Armour made of the White-Gold variant has lightsaber resistant properties and is able to be made into lightweight and durable armour, though it's rarity prevents this from all but a few individuals.
