Northern legend tells of a terrible winged creature—Angra Mainyu—who, having lost one of its eyes to the blade of an intrepid adventurer, spent the rest of its days weeping as it wandered the countryside. So bitter were its tears that upon striking the earth, they would turn the very soil to stone—a side effect that would both irk farmers, while simultaneously tempt blacksmiths with the prospect of what such a substance might do to their iron.
Used in crafting.
While it certainly hasn't stopped kings and emperors throughout history from trying, every attempt to tame behemoths has invariably ended in tragic failure. Or rather, it had, until the Kingdom of Waloed discovered a means to influence the beast's primitive mind in the form of an enchanted shackle that presumably works similarly to crystal fetters, but without impeding aetherial channeling.
Used in crafting.
A thick, oily substance sometimes found pooling in newly formed wounds in the earth, such as the cracks left by tremors or the passing of an Eikon. Though it burns as hot and bright as any crystal, the liquid has until recently been largely ignored by the people of Valisthea due to the acrid smoke it emits when ignited.
Valuable. Can be traded for gil.
When properly treated with urine, lime, salt, and a lengthy soak in chocobo brains, this ichor-flecked skin will make for a fine piece of leather indeed.
Used in crafting.
Figuratively, the smoldering soul of a bomb given life by unknown magicks. Literally, a very hot rock. Fortunately, there are myriad uses for such a thing.
Obtained by defeating the bomb king.
Used in crafting.
Very little rhyme and reason went into the creation of this ghastly neck ornament, the bones strung along its crude twine most likely belonging to those unfortunate enough to meet its maker.
Used in crafting.
When cut and polished, the spiny, opaline shells of western Storm's briar clam rival the luster of most gems. More importantly, however, when incorporated into armor, they can also provide nigh unmatched protection, being strong enough to turn aside an adamantine blade without suffering so much as a scratch.
Used in crafting.
To see the pattern on the surface of this spherical gem shift and twist, one would think a churning storm trapped within. Though it must surely be a trick of the light.
Used in crafting.
For centuries, these strange egg-shaped clusters of ore were ignored by Waloed's pickmen, since clutchmine is brittle, dull, and of little use in its own right. But when it was later discovered that the substance could be added to metals to increase their strength and hardness, it was mined to the point of exhaustion.
Used in crafting.
Surprisingly, dissection of a coeurl's whisker shows it to be composed almost entirely of metal. While this would go some way to explain why some coeurls can channel lightning, it raises the question of how the metal got there in the first place…
Used in crafting.
As truly red chocobos are rare, one might assume the same could be said of their feathers—yet somehow they are found in nearly every market from Dalimil to Northreach… Contrary to what the merchants hawking them would have you believe, however, the items on sale are more often than not the feathers of robins or even common hens.
Obtained by defeating Dread Comet.
Used in crafting.
The power of the Eikon Odin made manifest. This shard of crystal is as black as a moonless night and can be heard to emit a soft hum when held to the ear.
Used in crafting.
Extremely similar to iron, yet darker, harder, and heavier. Whatever fell magicks Ultima employed in its creation, the metal has thus far proven impossible to reproduce.
Obtained by defeating Thanatos or the Prince of Death.
Used in crafting.
Despite its rose-like appearance, this delicate sandstone formation found in the deserts of Dhalmekia is no rose, but instead an inexplicable peculiarity of nature—a reminder that humankind will never fully comprehend the world in which we live. It is also said to bring good luck.
Used in crafting.
Upon close inspection of a lesser dragon's foot, one may observe that the middle talon is considerably longer than the rest. This extended appendage is used to puncture the fleshy parts of the creature's prey, causing severe blood loss and weakening them for the kill.
Used in crafting.
The power of the Eikon Titan made manifest. This crystal is as heavy as marble and can be heard to emit a soft hum when held to the ear.
Used in crafting.
Semi-priming requires the channeling and corporeal manifestation of aether contained within a Dominant's body. In Hugo Kupka's case, this produces crystalline formations that act as reservoirs to be drawn upon to provide the energy needed to maintain the priming, as well as to cast magicks and effectively wield Eikonic abilities. However, such appendages may be forcibly separated from an injured semi-primed Dominant, preventing the reabsorption of the aether contained within.
Used in crafting.
Valisthean prospectors have yet to locate a source of naturally occurring electrum, the only known samples coming from the remains of Fallen automata. This has led some to surmise that the metal is not, in fact, naturally occurring at all, and rather a creation of the lost people.
Obtained by defeating Severian.
Used in crafting.
A nondescript fragment of a crystal long spent. While the aetherial charge contained within is too faint to serve as a catalyst for any significant casting, when gathered together with other such specimens, a determined individual might coax a final spark from the pile. Most, however, are simply used in jewelry making as inexpensive alternatives for more precious gems.
Valuable. Can be traded for gil.
Despite thousands of years having passed since its forging, not a single blemish, scratch, nor patch of rust can be found upon this metal's surface. As to how that is possible, none can say, and the answer will likely remain lost forever.
Used in crafting.
The power of the Eikon Ifrit made manifest. This shard of crystal is hot to the touch and can be heard to emit a soft hum when held to the ear.
Used in crafting.
"And as she fought, she shed tears of ice, which shattered on the bloodstained earth below."
- A Dhalmekian soldier's account of the Battle of Nysa, Year of the Realm 873
Used in crafting.
The wild flan excretes a sickly-sweet, viscous ooze that is meant to lure would-be predators into devouring it…at which time the powerful toxins within its flesh will paralyze the victim, allowing the flan to envelop and slowly dissolve it over a period of seventeen nights…up to seven of which the victim spends alive.
Obtained by defeating the Flan Prince.
Used in crafting.
Contrary to popular belief, this small insect does not get its name from its appearance, but rather from the fact that it is highly sought after by physickers for use in brewing medicines. In summer, when the beetles are most numerous, children across the realm will spend nigh every waking hour collecting specimens in readiness to exchange them for a handful of coppers. As children have tiny hands, however, this amounts to fewer than one might expect.
Valuable. Can be traded for gil.
Covered in countless scars, these scales tell a tale of supremacy and survival—albeit one now ended.
Used in crafting.
Economists are wont to argue that currency-based commerce is a cornerstone of civilization. If true, this coin would suggest that goblins are far more civilized than humankind gives them credit for…or perhaps that humankind is rather less civilized than we presume.
Valuable. Can be traded for gil.
Grimalkins have developed spots on their skins which render them nigh invisible as they prowl the arid savannahs of southern Storm. Said spots provide considerably less camouflage when prowling elsewhere, however.
Obtained by defeating Grimalkin.
Used in crafting.
The power of the Eikon Shiva made manifest. This shard of crystal is cold to the touch and can be heard to emit a soft hum when held to the ear.
Used in crafting.
Many have tendered explanations as to how imperial dragoons are able to leap to such absurd heights—from the power of prayer to a strict diet of hare, toad, and crickets—but none save the knights themselves know the truth. Whatever the secret, it is plain that heavy plate would only prove a hindrance, and so the empire equips its dragoons with armor forged from lighter-than-linen mythril. This link is part of a vest that would have been worn beneath the breastplate.
Used in crafting.
The power of the Eikon Bahamut made manifest. This crystal is as bright as the sun and can be heard to emit a soft hum when held to the ear.
Used in crafting.
The power of the Eikon Ramuh made manifest. This shard of crystal tingles the palm and can be heard to emit a soft hum when held to the ear.
Used in crafting.
A flame trapped mid-dance, both aetherial and corporeal, fleeting and enduring, but very much alive.
Used in crafting.
A knot of feather-light muscle dislodged from Sigma's colossal frame with a well-placed strike to the sentinel's outer knee.
Used in crafting.
All creation is possible because of aether. It is what gives the formless form, and the lifeless life. When an object is consigned to the flames, whether due to age, accident or ill intent, the aether contained within is released and returned to the land. There are, however, rare instances in which an elemental charge remains trapped inside the resulting detritus, and skilled weaponsmiths can harness this energy for use in their work.
Used in crafting.
Just as drops of molten iron fall from a smith's oven to the floor to cool, so too do they fall from the celestial foundry where the gods forge their divine instruments of war…or so it is believed. We call these otherworldly outcastings "meteorites."
Used in crafting.
A mane used in everything from helm crests to hairbrushes—primarily by those people lucky enough never to have met with a minotaur.
"And lo did Sir Crandall strike the mane from the beast and rob him of his strength."
- From The Noble Knight
Used in crafting.
It is said a morbol only blooms once every thirty summers, and when it does that the resulting flower emits such a noxious odor that flies, beetles, vultures, and other cravers of carrion are drawn from leagues around by the stench. The resultant convergence sees the flower pollinated, with the morbol devouring those late to the festivities.
Obtained by defeating Carrot.
Used in crafting.
Common sense would suggest that any metal taken from the corpse of a centuries-old construct—metal that shudders and quakes like a slab of freshly cut swine's flesh—should be given a wide berth, if not a hefty heave into some nearby lagoon. That said, legendary weaponry is rarely the product of common sense.
Used in crafting.
There was a time when orichalcum was so abundant that it was used in everything from armor and weapons to coins and cutlery. However, when the Twins' only orichalcum mine was finally exhausted, the trading price for the noble metal increased tenfold, causing people to hoard what they had, and ultimately making it rare than even adamantite.
Used in crafting.
As goblin communication seems limited to a painful cacophony of throaty grunts and raspy wheezing, the beastmen will oft employ carved horns such as this one to send messages over longer distances.
Used in crafting.
After taking up the mantle of Lord Commander of the Knights of the Royal Waloeder Army upon Cidolfus Telamon's untimely resignation, Sleipnir Harbard served King Barnabas for the better part of a decade. Intriguingly, though, there are no records of a House Harbard ever existing in either Veldermarke or on the southern continent, begging the question: whence exactly did he hail?
Used in crafting.
One of the hardest metals known to man, scarletite is highly sought after by those with the means to pay its exorbitant asking price—a price determined not by its rarity, but rather due to the fact that a forge must employ no fewer than five healthy Bearers to produce flames hot enough to melt the ore—at which time it takes upon the deep scarlet hue from which it takes its name.
Used in crafting.
If there is one thing for which the fauna of Valisthea do not want, it is more dagger-sharp fangs to line their slavering maws. And so, those Valistheans fortunate enough not to succumb to said fangs have conceived ingenious ways of fashioning them into myriad articles of vertu, ranging from cutlery to bijouterie.
Used in crafting.
Modesty is not a trait that comes to mind when one thinks of an orc, so it is a mystery why they bother to wear a loincloth at all when the thin strips of cloth only afford nominal protection (and leave naught to the imagination). There are some scholars, however, who argue that they are vestiges from when the creatures were more civilized and serve as proof of a devolution of the species.
Obtained by defeating Pandemonium.
Used in crafting.
A rare case in which hyperbole has played no role in the item's nomenclature, steelsilk is every bit as strong as steel, yet soft as silk, making it a popular choice for tailors tasked with crafting durable armor that does not hinder movement.
Used in crafting.
Even should one manage to survive the rows of diamond-hard, serrated teeth lining an archaeosaur's jaw, it is likely one's reprieve will be short-lived, as awaiting one just beyond is a granite tongue sure to finish the job.
Obtained by defeating Agni.
Used in crafting.
"So spake the Lord, and the hills, they did rise. The rivers, they did run."
- Circle of Malius Scripture
Used in crafting.
An inconspicuous shrub commonly found growing near Mothercrystals, its roots are harvested to create a deep red dye. But unlike most pigments, madder root extract does more than merely stain cloth—it imbues it with a faint elemental charge that can aetherially enhance both Bearer and crystal-based magicks.
Used in crafting.
Being fiercely territorial in nature, it is rare for dragons to attain any considerable size in the wild as constant infighting ensures that most die young. Those bred and trained in isolation by the empire, however, do not face this problem, allowing them to grow to unthinkable proportions.
Used in crafting.
The power of the Eikon Garuda made manifest. This shard of crystal is light as a feather and can be heard to emit a soft hum when held to the ear.
Used in crafting.
To most, this nondescript lump of rough-hewn stone is but a nuisance upon which to stub one's toe. To the blacksmith, however, it is much, much more, for the metal contained within may be fashioned into inexpensive, yet durable gear favored by warriors across the realm.
Used in crafting.