Orichalcum

Orichalcum is a super-hard, bright, golden metal to which only the Solar Exalted feel a natural affinity. Although they can wield all of the magical materials with equal facility, the Solars much valued orichalcum, for it resonated with their own Charms far more strongly than any other substance. Orichalcum can sometimes be found in naturally-occurring veins, often on mountains, plateaus, and other elevated locales. In the First Age, a process was known that could refine gold into orichalcum by using lava and mystical mirrors to concentrate the light of the sun, but those refineries were destroyed or abandoned during the Usurpation and the centuries of collapse that followed.

Orichalcum’s properties lead to diverse and powerful Evocations. The substance is a natural amplifier for power, and was frequently used for this purpose in mixed-material artifacts. It is the best magical material for empowering sorcery. Orichalcum has great potential for harnessing the power of light while taming shadows, channeling divine judgment to burn away that which is tainted or unclean, and channeling elemental power into stored energy, then unleashing it as omni-elemental or non-elemental force. Powerful orichalcum artifacts can harness celestial and terrestrial phenomena, provoking earthquakes, calling down shooting stars, or raising a tempest. Orichalcum can unleash cutting or smashing Essence-pressure like no other substance, and can take on the qualities of other magic; it was often called “wishmetal” by those who worked with it, for its diverse applications.

When the Solars were murdered, they were buried in lavish tombs to appease their powerful ghosts, and most of their orichalcum panoplies were sealed away with them as grave goods. Solars reborn in the Age of Sorrows sometimes dream of these tombs’ locations, and the wonders hidden within.

Game Effects:

Orichacum (Solar) Perfective Unity. Drawing upon the weapons themes the character may either assign an additional favoured skill and reduce the cost of its full excellency by a number of motes equal to permanent Essence.