Quicksilver

Quicksilver is another name for mercury and is a transformation of silver that has fully bonded with the magic of the Shadow Realms. Highly poisonous if ingested or exposed to vapor, making it dangerous for magicians. It will absorb most other noble metals, but resists iron. Magicians use iron flasks to store and transport quicksilver.

The largest use of Quicksilver is for storing magic and bonding spirits. Gold, Copper, and Silver are excellent conductors of power from the Shadow Realms, but as ill-suited to storing that power in a stable form. Quicksilver can store magical energy or bond spirit without becoming corrupted by that power or spirit.

In addition to its natural properties to hold magic in a semi-stable physical form it readily alloys into amalgams with other metals. The most common of these stabilizing elements are Zinc or Tin.

Quicksilver is most often used for potions or elixers for its ability to store magical potential stably for a long time. Most often kept in low-iron glass or iron flasks to stop it from reacting with other magic - as it will take on other magic readily. When safely stored it can remain stable for years or longer if sufficiently pure. As pure quicksilver is impossible it will not last forever, but decades are possible.

When used to store magic or bind a spirit it takes an increasingly larger amount of quicksilver to remain stable. The precise amount must be used; too little and it will succumb to the chaotic nature of the Shadow Realms, too much and it will readily absorb nearby power and take on unforeseen problems.

Quicksilver is bane against things and power of the Divine Realms or Infernal Realms. It is a creation of the Shadow Realms and the silver from the Heart of Mir.

• Truesilver
• Magesilver