Dragonsteel is an incredibly hard mineral made from typical steel, but heated by the breath of a dragon while being forged. It is incredibly rare in modern times, given that dragons are nearly extinct and difficult to locate. In the Age of Legends leading all the way up to the Sixth Era, just prior to the Dragon Wars, dragonsteel progressively became more and more common and therefore cheaper. Most repositories that carried dragonsteel were situated in Drakonia, so that when the city burned, most of it was lost.
Strength and durability
Ironically, dragonsteel's only weakness is dragonflame itself. It is believed that only the best of smiths were allowed to attempt to create dragonsteel; too much of the dragon's flame would make the steel only more brittle than it was before. Further analysis of pieces of dragonsteel indicate that there was a very small window to make the steel perfect; any less or more and the steel would be weak.
Against all other obstacles, weapons and projectiles, dragonsteel is nearly impervious. A suit of armor fashioned from dragonsteel would make a man hell on earth for his foes on a battlefield. Mere arrows would bounce off the suit, dented from the sheer recoiled impact. Thankfully, or perhaps regretfully, there are no known suits of armor made from dragonsteel currently known to exist. A helmet, discovered in a Drakonian ruin by Thysian archaeologists in 331 AC, was brought back to Thysia, where it currently resides in the mansion of the magister. There, exists, however, several weapons made from dragonsteel, some of which have been adopted as ancestral weapons from the various houses.
Dragonsteel's actual capabilities are truly unknown. It is known that once forged and sharpened, the blade never dulls, and can cut the ear off of a man without so much as a gentle whisk of the wrist. Dragonsteel is incredibly rare; much more than any gold or diamond jewel. It is said that the theoretical amount of money earned from selling a ton of dragonsteel could feed the entire city of Drakonia at its peak for two years. The Dragonsteel Mine crisis, which occurred nearly two centuries ago, unearthed an estimated 800 pounds of the mineral; the most ever discovered at once, and 95% of all dragonsteel on Andoras; 45% ever found in the world after the Dragon Wars, including Doras Edrossi.