A Grumpy Nord Blacksmith Talks About Bone

Thanks to my good Dark Elf friend Morvyn Oryn of House Redoran, I’ve learned how to make and patch bonemold armor. It’s a Dunmer creation, though I can’t imagine how the Dark Elves thought to use bone of all things for armor. (The novel Bone, which you might have read, offers one possible explanation, but personally, I think it’s ludicrous.) Bonemold armor is created by taking bone powder, the same kind used in alchemy, and combining it with a unique mix of resins traditionally taken from flora and fauna native to Morrowind. It is then poured into a mold and left to cool, after which you add the straps and fittings, ideally with netch leather. The result is an armor that is surprisingly pliable and durable. It makes for a good medium armor as is, but depending on the owner’s preference, you can work in a little iron to shore it up at the cost of a little flexibility. Bonemold flexibility makes for outstanding bows, but not blades, obviously.
On a humorous note, the resins also make bonemold armor slightly bouncy. By tweaking the proportions of the ingredients slightly, I’ve created little bouncing balls I call bonemold balls that kids just love. I’m not lying when I say that I caused a brief fad in Whiterun with those little balls. Every kid had to have one; many needed several. Even the Jarl’s children bought some. I heard that you couldn’t step foot in Dragonsreach without slipping on one or catching one in the face. I went from being was known as “the smith on the west side of town” to “the bouncy ball lady,” almost overnight. I use to hate those cursed little things, but they helped fund my expenses while I was learning to craft malachite, so it was necessary, even if it gave me the wrong kind of attention at first.