Ochalean smokepowder
by James MishlerPerhaps Ochaleans have had a hand in the creation of smokepowder, but the main component (steel seed) still has to come from the Savage Coast.
Actually, the Ochaleans use a similar (local) concoction to create their smokepowder; until the development of the arquebus in 957, the local version of smokepowder had only been used in fireworks and ceremonies. The local smokepowder is made from combining various materials with a local substance known as "Spirit Ash". This substance was created (in part) by the movement of the Spirit Plane into conjunction with areas of Mystara back in 3000BC (see GAZ 13, The Golden Khan of Ethengar); when the elves set off the cataclysm in Glantri in 1700BC, parts of the Spirit Plane "caught fire"; the material results of this are found in areas where the Spirit Plane is in highest conjunction with the Mystaran plane (it is as yet unkown whether the black sands of Ethengar contain any Spirit Ash, or if the phenomenon hafd different repercussions there). Needless to say, the cataclysm of 1700BC had a profound effect on the local spirit population of Ochalea; the resultant war between the positive forces (matter, energy, thought and time) and the negative forces (entropy) continues to this day...