Chardalyn

The lore and knowledge listed here applies to locals of the Frozenfar, elsewhere only scholars or those who have visited the north would have even heard of Chardalyn.

Common Knowledge

Chardalyn is a material believed to be found only in Icewind Dale. In its pure unworked form it is very brittle, cold to the touch and has the appearance of a crystalline shard. Thrown against stone, it is likely to shatter into powder, like glass. However, when found as a mineral ore, suffused into stone, the material is as strong as metal but much easier to shape into items (often tools or weapons), even easily taking rounded shapes - no longer remaining insistently edged and brittle like the volcanic glass obsidian.

The material is exceedingly rare south of the Spine of the World, where it can only be found in museum collections or as trinkets of the rich.

Superstitions and Folk Lore

While most of the townspeople of the Ten Towns and the tribes folk of the Reghed clans take little notice of the material in their daily routines to survive in the harsh climate, all have heard stories of caution regarding the bluish material. Elders eagerly tell children tales of the material being the culprit in tragedies of ruin, curses, and hauntings. In some, the crystals are the tears of a great power - a giant, a demon, or Auril the Frostmaiden herself. In others, the veins of chardalyn grow from gaps between this world and another - perhaps the Feywild or an elemental place or even the outer planes (and more likely the infernal ones such as the Hells or the Abyss rather than the realms of the divine).

The advice is uniform: beware of the dark crystals and of those who carry them.  However, its usefulness in tools and weapons has made it far from unusual to see in the hands of the more practical and less superstitious residents of the north.

Smiths and Scholars

Many smiths will refuse to work the material, lending some legitimacy to the folk lore. They will often state something like, "I don't trust anything so eager to change its shape to reliably serve as what I make it." And indeed, many have stories of bad luck and illnesses of the body and mind for those who have used it too often or too long.  As with the common folk, it is easy to find  other smiths who simply shrug off the myths and are happy to use whatever materials do the job, and can sell.

Scholars, priests, and wizards, of course, find anything mysterious tremendously interesting, if not useful in projecting their own stories and importance. Once within the libraries or temples or "dens of the learned", nearly any imaginable story might be related - but narrowing to a few of the more commonly-repeated themes:

1. Chardalyn-infused weapons are often more effective, but also take their toll on the minds of their owner. (When these are Reghed barbarian berserkers, of course, this can be difficult to tell the difference from their usual madness.)
2. Chardalyn easily accepts magical enchantments, making it ideal for crafting staffs and wands and other useful magical items, including weapons.
3. About 100 years ago, the notorious arch-wizard Akar Kessel of the Arcane Brotherhood created a great black tower in Icewind Dale, somehow growing its Chardalyn walls out of the ice itself. (After the tower's destruction, these walls likely became many of the Chardalyn items now scattered throughout the Frozenfar).
4. In ancient times, the material was sought out by The Netheril, perhaps merely for enchanting items, perhaps used in building their legendary flying cities. It is not unusual to find the material used in Netherese artifacts or near their ruins.

Mormesk (Orb)

Trapped within the glass orb by the Arcane Brotherhood, the wraith Mormesk, once a descendant of the Netheril, is a useful source of information regarding their lost lore. One area of expertise he is able to share concerns the materials used for the great ancient magics, such as those from which the Mythallar were crafted. The material Chardalyn is very similar to the magic-tuned ores mined from the Wave Echo Caves, far to the south in the Sword Mountains. (The same ores that powered the Forge of Spells).

Mormesk insists what has been learned by the Sewer-side Squad concerning the nature of Chardalyn is only partly true, and he tries to clarify understanding as best he can.

Due to how easily it accepts magical enchantment, Chardalyn is also susceptible to being charged with positive or negative energies. 

Negatively charged chardalyn: The most common to find, it seems, is indeed dangerous. Imbued with the energies of the Lower Planes, this chardalyn can be risky to touch or be near for extended periods of time. Any creature touching this chardalyn directly or keeping it on their person for more than one hour may gain a sense of “I must keep the black ice with me at all times… it’s mine!” and then further exposure risking developing more significant forms of madness. This curse can even manifest physically, showing small slivers of crystal protruding from the skin (generally closest to where the black ice was being held/kept).

Positively charged chardalyn: Much rarer than its risky cousin, positively charged chardalyn can prove beneficial to those who find it. Imbued with the energies of the Upper Planes, this chardalyn can boost the health and mood of the user. 

“Empty” chardalyn: The rarest chardalyn, “empty” chardalyn is simply that which hasn’t been imbued with any magic. This works in a number of possible ways, most to the benefit of whomever has the black ice in their possession - and is of tremendous value to wizards for creating powerful enchantments such as the Mythallar the Netheril used to power their flying enclave-cities.

Mormesk's recollection of the first discovery of the material (at least by humans) was near the city of Fluvion, where the Wont Surge joined the Zweihaus River, in −1205 DR (NY 2654) by an arcanist named Elorian. Miners brought her what they considered useless rocks, but she sensed they were magical and soon discovered their capacity for spell storage and release. This tremendous discovery brought immediate prosperity to Fluvion and ushered in what historians called the Age of Discovery that lasted for over half a millennium. After the Fall of Netheril, Fluvion was just a ruin on the Plain of Standing Stones.

He believes the ore beneath the Sword Mountains, in the Wave Echo Caves, has been depleted - making the discovery here in the north significant. Mormesk and one of the Red Wizards of Thay (named Hamun Kost) were exploring an ancient ruin that once led to such a pocket of the material - built by the Netheril nearly 6,000 years ago, but it appeared what was being mined by the Wave Echo Caves was the meager remains of a vast supply stolen from the Netheril (the whole project had been a trick!) by a far more ancient creature from the Days of Thunder (long before even Dragons and Giants of the Dawn Age).