Dark Iron

Dark iron is yet another unfortunately named metal. Much like Cold Iron, it shares its name with the extremely common metal used in almost everything, and thus is assumed to be 1) quite common and 2) completely mundane. This is untrue. Dark iron is a special form of iron, one that has an extremely high melting point. In fact, in order to use the metal in any forging, it is necessary to have several mages focusing extremely potent fire spells upon the metal, or perhaps to use molten lava to speed the process up.

Given these constraints, many people rightfully decide that dark iron isn't worth the trouble, and leave it alone. Though roughly equal to steel in weight, strength, and properties, dark iron's extremely high melting point makes it quite heat resistant. In fact, a person wearing a suit of armor made from dark iron can withstand even a dragon's breath without feeling any change in temperature. If you're adventuring in an area where you expect a lot of heat and flames, dark iron is the best metal you can be wearing. Weapons are rarely made from dark iron, though there's probably a few nutcases that have one or two.

Due to low demand, dark iron is not usually forged into anything useful. Hunks of the unrefined metal have lain dormant for years and years, never used. In fact, Doma Castle has a large supply of the metal, bought when it was first discovered and still full of potential. Due to the fact not many smiths know how to work the metal, it is expensive to forge, but cheap to buy unrefined.