The Metal Shortage

There is a shortage of metal on Æøæ, both native metal ore and refined metal. It is not that the metal has all been mined or all used up; it's just that there isn't as much naturally occurring metal. The whole planet is metal poor. This makes metal items both hard to get and more expensive. Base coinage metals like Gold, Silver, and Copper are rare. Platinum and less common metals are almost unknown. Aluminum has not been discovered. Iron and Steel are hard to get, especially Cold Rolled Steel. Iron ore and the resultant Steel are used to make weapons, and then building material. Most alloys like Brass and Bronze are still undiscovered. Using Zinc is unknown, as is using Nickel. However, there is a unique red colored metal called "Kellium" that can accept magic spells far better than any other known metal. Use of Kellium is very tightly controlled. Kellium looks a little like Red Coral, but is actually metal. It its natural form it is rather soft. But after a unique refining process known only to a few, it becomes far harder than the best steel. Kellium is used for weapons, primarily arrowheads. Enchanted Kellium arrowheads have been known to penetrate the best steel Plate Mail armor. Kellium will penetrate most armor just as well as a bullet from a gun. Very little Kellium has been discovered yet.