Albar

The igneous rock filled with pockets of trapped gas that causes it to float in mid-air.

Overview

Albar is a type of igneous rock packed with dense pockets of gas that heat up and cause it to rise from the ground during (or after) volcanic or geothermal activity. It can take hundreds or even thousands of years for significantly large rock formations to slowly rise from the earth, and many of them look like small hills to start with. The process can accelerate rapidly during volcanic or seismic events that cause the rock to either heat up very quickly, or break free due to an earthquake.

Floating islands

The largest rock formations have so much gas trapped in the albar that they rise from the ground and continue up into the sky to form floating islands once they are no longer tethered by other soil, tree roots, or rocks.
The islands rise higher if they're bigger but begin to cool down and descend to an average altitude. From this level they may rise and fall a little during the heat of the day and cool of the night, and significantly more during seasonal changes.

Use in transport

Due to its incredible light weight and bouyancy, albar is incredibly valuable to the transport industry. It's notably used as the core of airships, where the entire crew can collaboratively use their heat magic to agitate the gas trapped in the rock and raise the altitude of the ship, or cold magic to lower it.
Smaller chunks of albar are sought after for use in lightening the weight of cargo, and not just for airships - it can be used to aid in transport using wagons and carts, and seafaring vessels.

Type

Rock, Igneous

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Floating Islands
Airship
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