A potent, medicinal grey salt mined in the eponymous Bay of Grey. Grisodate is a powerful antibiotic, and readily corrodes finstyrite. Its antibiotic properties are utilized to fight disease and to promote general good health.
Properties
Grisodate's antibiotic nature is also useful in fighting necrocytes created by strains of Necrophagus. Elixir of grisodate may be sprinkled on contaminated tissue and wounds to rid them of infection, or applied directly to living necrocytes, causing them great suffering.The salt's ability to chemically destroy finsteryte makes it a deadly weapon against black-blooded creatures, such as Ælfa. It instantly corrodes the finsteryte in their tissues, causing immediate and agonizing chemical burns. Grisodate grains may be sprinkled around sites of high Otherworld saturation to dissuade any black-blooded creatures from passing through.
Culture & Politics
Grisodate elixir is available in nearly any settlement or city, and is widely consumed by the Coastal populace. It tastes of seawater and tonic, and is frequently included in food. In fact, utilization of grey salt in cuisine is considered to be a tasteful show of wealth. It's mixed with alcohol to produce gin and tonic, patted on foie gras before searing, and sprinkled on iced flowers with caramel.
As grisodate is mined only in the Bay of Grey, Coastal powers are forced to maintain good relations with Firlund, which holds the Bay as a duchy. No Coastal power dares incense the Queen of the Firls, lest she tax or curtail the trade of salt. Due to its monopoly on grisodate, Firlund holds both immense wealth and titanic political might.
Despite grisodate's potency, it is no miracle cure. Its active duration in the human body is incredibly short and unpredictable. The salt may ward off pathogenic infection for a matter of days or hours, but no longer than that. Additionally, the period of time in which it is active is difficult to predict, and is only partially influenced by dose.As grisodate is mined only in the Bay of Grey, Coastal powers are forced to maintain good relations with Firlund, which holds the Bay as a duchy. No Coastal power dares incense the Queen of the Firls, lest she tax or curtail the trade of salt. Due to its monopoly on grisodate, Firlund holds both immense wealth and titanic political might.
Effectiveness & Side Effects
As a result of this patchy effectiveness, Coastal folk consume grisodate as often as they can afford it. Aristocrats have it with every meal. The working class take it medicinally or as a luxury. The poor and the peasantry are largely unable to afford it, and are thus most at risk for disease. Wealthy metropolitan areas are mostly free of sickness, while slums and sorry countrysides crawl with affliction and necrocytic life.
Use of grisodate salt carries a variety of side effects. Its presence in the body curtails certain varieties of cell replication. Short term or immediate use produces no visible side effect, and is valued for promoting general good health. Regular, light consumption of grisodate induces temporary sterility (in both men and women) after a month. This is also valued, as it is the accepted means of Coastal birth control. Heavy use over a period of several months induces fragility of the nails and hair, and causes the skin to become delicate and transparent. Digestive and respiratory issues also ensue. Some circles of Firlish aristocracy find these side effects to be highly attractive. They value an air of fragility and wealth.
Some folk abstain from grisodate consumption. They ague that it weakens the human race. Their opinion is that inhibits the body's ability to fight disease naturally, and lowers fertility to a rate of non-replacement. While these objectors may be true, they tend to live short, ugly, diseased lives.
