Otataral
An ore that has the ability to negate magic in an area around it. Used by the Malazan Empire for mage-killing purposes. However, it has no effect on Elder magic.
Origins
Otataral, I believe, was born of sorcery. If we hold that magic feeds on hidden energies, then it follows that there are limits to those energies. Sufficient unveiling of power that subsequently cascades out of control could well drain those life-forces dry. Further, it is said that the Elder warrens resist the deadening effect of otataral, suggesting that the world’s levels of energy are profoundly multilayered. One need only contemplate the life energy of corporeal flesh, compared to the undeniable energy within an inanimate object, such as rock. Careless examination might suggest that the former is alive, whilst the latter is not. In this manner, perhaps otataral is not quite as negating as it would first appear . . .
Musings on the Physical Properties of the World
Tryrssan of Mott
HoC, UK Trade, p.628
'...Otataral never ran down into true bedrock. Found only in limestone, the veins ran shallow and long, like rivers of rust between compacted beds filled with fossil plants and shellfish.
Limestone is just the bones of things once living...So now I'm led to believe that Otataral is not a natural ore...If not natural, then what?...Otataral, the bane of magic, was born of magic...Those veins we dig...they're like a layer of once melted fat, a deep river of it sandwiched between layers of limestine. This whole island had to melt to make those veins. Whatever sorcery created Otataral proved beyond controlling...'
- Heboric
DG, UK MMPB, p.118-9
"Gods, we tore a warren to pieces on that distant continent. Turned the eastlands into molten stone that cooled and became something that defied sorcery. The T'lan Imass sacrificed thousands to cut away the cancer we had become."
- Treach
MoI, US HC p.265
Properties of Otataral
'The specific properties of Otataral as a magic-deadening ore remain largely mysterious...'
- Duiker
DG, UK MMPB, p.23
"Otataral cannot quench their magic - believe me friend, it's been tried. The Warrens of the Imass are similiar to those of the
Jaghut and the
Forkrul Assail - Elder-, blood-, and earthbound - that flint sword of his will never break, and it cuts through the finest iron as easily as it will flesh and bone."
- Adjunct Lorn
GotM, US HC, p.203
Otataral and the Malazan Empire
‘The precedent of shipping prisoners to the Otataral mines on the island reaches back to the Emperor’s time, although he generally reserved that fate for mages...madness claimed most of those sorcerers, although it is not known if that was the result of exposure to the ore dust, or the deprivation from their Warrens.’
DG, UK Trade, p.23
See (DG, UK MMPB, p.314-5) for an example of a mage driven mad by Otataral.
Effects of Exposure to Otataral:
'...her (
Adjunct Lorn) own senses, honed by the strange, unpredictable effects of the Otataral.'
GotM, UK Trade, p.409
'Mostly healed,’ she (
Adjunct Lorn) replied. ‘Otataral has that effect on me.’
GotM, UK Trade, p.416
'Otataral destroys sorcery, drives mages insane - '
- Kulp
DG, UK MMPB, p.83
"...the mage's mind must have been destroyed by Otataral. Likely an escaped miner, a prisoner of war who had scaled the walls only to find he took his prison with him. Losing control of his warren, it had then taken control of him. It surged with power far beyond anything the mage himself had ever wielded."
DG, UK mmpb, p.314-5
Applications of Otataral:
in armour:
'...Otataral links interwoven in
Baria's chain armour'
DG, UK MMPB, p.129
Walls:
'
Aren’s walls are high, well impregnated these days with Otataral, I (
Duiker) believe – proof against any sorcery.'
DG, UK Trade, p.641
Otataral Swords:
'...the weapon’s dusty red blade...An Otataral sword...the ore that kills magic...And mages'
GotM, UK Trade, p.205
Materials
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