Trilium and Weaponsmithing
In the early period after the creation of the Federation when the first of the Frontier planets was discovered, colonists quickly found that the blaster weapons they typically used to protect themselves against predators functioned erratically or not at all. The Altans tested numerous theories and found conclusive evidence that Trilium’s fluctuating resonance destabilized the energy produced when charging or trying to fire a blaster, resulting in misfire, rapid dissipation, or in the worst case scenario disintegration of the weapon itself (and likely whoever was holding it). This meant that anyone using Triactor technology, powered as it was by Trilium fuel cells, was incapable of utilizing such weapons - and also were incapable of being harmed by them as their proximity to Trilium caused any energy bolts to dissipate before making contact.
With no foreseeable workaround for the problem the fledgling Federation Congress voted to abandon the development of personal and planet-side blaster weaponry, and individuals in need of offensive weapons were relegated to more traditional staples such as swords and projectile-firing guns.
Biometal
A monastic sect of Altans on the planet of Eyeke - known colloquially as “Greys” owing to their light greyish skin tone and the muted colors of both their clothing and their settlements, and renowned for creating all manner of weaponry from Waxon, the toughest mineral known and very hard to mine or shape without using specially tailored cutting technology - began to experiment attempting to infuse Waxon and other metals with Trilium in order to enhance the properties of the final product. These experiments were ultimately successful with the resultant alloys possessing a modicum of Trilium’s extreme bioreactivity, and capable of causing unpredictable rapid onset genetic mutation to any organic material that they came into contact with. Given such mutagenic properties, these alloys were named “biometals”.
M-Casters & Biometal Forgemasters
The Eyekese Altans forged their new biometals into a variety of bladed weapons including daggers, axes and particularly swords. The process of forging such items was costly, time-consuming, and incredibly hazardous, so only the best of the Altan smiths were permitted to carry out what they termed Biometal manipulation. Collectively they were referred to as Biometal Forgemasters - or colloquially as Splicers - and the special weapons they produced were given the umbrella name of M-Casters.
Not content with the randomized effects caused to opponents by Trilium-infused alloys, the Forgemasters sought mastery over Biometal’s mutagenic properties, modifying Triactor technology to allow it to be applied to the shaft or handle of a weapon and thus restrain Trilium’s chaotic resonance in a similar way as when applied to individuals. This facilitated the creation of a suite of weapons with very specific properties, including the legendary Galactic Fireblade - a bastard sword forged with a liquid core of Trilium-infused lava from the famous Azingoth volcano on Magor - and the brightly-glowing Star Fire Sword - a shortsword purportedly created from an alloy including an unknown metallic element found in a meteorite crater.
The Sandmasters of Neri
A notable early client of the Splicers was a Nerinese Syndicate made up of a group of desert tribes. After centuries of war and attrition, the tribes had come together to present a unified front in the face of the arrival of Federation Syndicates and Megacorps seeking to colonize Neri, and exploit its varied resources - particularly Trilium - for their own gain. Setting aside grievances passed down through generations for so long that the true origins of the rift-causing disagreements between tribes were lost to history, the Sandmasters’ Syndicate built itself into a force to be reckoned with.
As an enduring, ritualistic sign of their unity, they sent an ambassador to the Altans of Eyeke to request the manufacture of a set of special Biometal spears, containing rare and precious grains of soul sand from the sacred temple that members of all tribes often made pilgrimages to, and where the creation of the Sandmasters’ Syndicate had taken place. The Altans agreed, and though the cost was steep, a spear was forged for each tribal leader. These Sandmaster Spears are said to be capable of commanding the sands of the Nerinese desert itself, and incidences of sandstorms springing up seemingly out of nowhere to hinder Megacorp convoys and encroaching groups from other Syndicates, are attributed to use of this power by the Sandmasters.
The Necromancers’ Guild
Another organization that immediately saw potential in the invention of Biometals was the famous Necromancers’ Guild, a multi-racial group dedicated solely to finding a method of reversing death itself. They viewed Trilium as the fundamental key not just to reanimation of the dead, but truly bringing them back to life. Their activities were viewed with wariness, and the Altans in particular - having a wealth of experience experimenting with Trilium and dealing with many unwanted or unprecedented side effects - monitored them closely.
Over a period of decades, wealthy members of the Necromancers’ Guild approached the Splicers with blueprints of what they deemed “fatality reversal devices”, which were in fact a variety of weapons infused with Trilium and concoctions of different elements, the particulars of which the Guild guarded incredibly closely - and the Splicers kept to themselves for reasons beyond mere client confidentiality.
The stories of these weapons being employed in attempts to bring the dead back to life abound across the Federation - notably because none of them actually function as designed, though they possess impressive capabilities nonetheless - with tales such as that of the Necromancers’ Hammer being used to try to reanimate one of the fabled Storm Giants, whispers of an M-Caster known as the Dagger of Creation capable of creating a temporary simulacrum of the wielder out of molten lava, and revelations about the powerful curative properties of the Healing Blade best the most widely disseminated. In spite of their failures, the Necromancers cling doggedly to their quest “to master the mystery that is death”, as their official Guild slogan reads.
Ranged Weapons Revisited: R-Casters
Enterprising individuals across the Federation saw Biometal not just as material for producing close combat weaponry, but also a new evolution of ranged weapons capable of inflicting genetic devastation from a safe distance. Lacking access to the refined techniques and advanced technology utilized by the Splicers, several organizations have nonetheless managed to design crude Biometal production mechanisms, and also methods of melting down existing Biometal weapons, using both to produce a range of Trilium-infused bullets & arrow/bolt-heads, and a series of necessarily reinforced guns, bows and crossbows - known collectively as R-Casters - capable of firing them with some degree of reliability and accuracy.
The ammo lacks the Triactor technology that restrains and guides the mutagenic impact of Trilium, and as such the effects on living organisms are unpredictable. R-casters are also somewhat prone to issues of instability, owing to the fact that the Trilium infusion process is being carried out using inferior technology, and there are gruesome reports of explosive misfires causing entire military squads to die horrifically as runaway mutation wrought havoc on their bodies.
Various factions within the Federation - including the Altans - disdain the use of such technology. However, other powerful factions such as the Khaureds routinely equip their military with R-casters, arguing that in scenarios where they are protecting land-based convoys or conducting ground assaults, ranged weapons are more effective at getting the job done successfully, and in spite of the instability issues are generally better at guaranteeing the lives of the Khaured soldiers & mercenaries wielding them.