Bronze

The main metal used in The Frost Marches, owing to it being easier to work than iron. Most of your weapons and armor are made out of this. Being the prevalent metal alloy around the lands of Savarra, it also is a sought-after commodity and a status symbol, thus making the arts of bronzework some of the most lucrative businesses, going as far as dictating the current political state of Tronarii, what with it being led de facto by merchants. Having a melting temperature lower than that of iron, bronze is easily cast into various implements with sand moulds, something that is not readily possible with iron.

Tin and copper ores are sluiced and panned out from rivers in the region, washed out with snowmelt from the many mountains and glaciers around. Prior to development of large-scale technologies for such, ore was mined by the boreal elves in caverns beneath the Frostwood. Being condemned to the mines was a punishment reserved for the most heinous of criminals and considered exceedingly cruel; the practice was eventually stopped by Etheryn's grandmother after development of the requisite technologies for sifting ore from the rivers. While hematite and other high-quality iron ores are plentiful in the region, they are considered a by-product of tin and copper extraction and are often disposed of as waste. Kitsune, who have no tin in their homeland and thus never developed bronzeworking techniques, are more than willing to put on disguises and cart these off.

Tools and weapons of steel such as those wielded by Lusina are considered relics of the now-fallen Belharan Empire and highly prized for both their function and historic value.

Trivia

• Although bronze was almost completely replaced by iron (and later steel) in real-world history, this is not as simply due to bronze always being mechanically inferior. Without better forging and purification techniques, iron and even steel can be outperformed by bronze in many instances. Additionally, it is more resistant to the elements as it does not rust. The main issue with this alloy is the availability of tin, which in some times and places could be inaccessible, leading people to search and trade for new hard metals, since copper itself is limited in manual uses.

• Although the typical color of bronze is as the name implies, it can take on various colors, depending on what is the amount of tin and other metals, such as brown, golden, coppery, or green/blue (if the metal has developed patina).