Tone metal naturally occurs in veins and is only slightly rarer than gold. In fact it is more common that tone metal deposits are left unharvested or dumped than see actual use. While there is difficulty in extracting tone metal there is greater difficulty in forging it. Tone metal when struck makes a noise. This alone wouldn’t be a problem. The problem is the tones the metal makes when struck can shatter anything made of a certain material. What material depends on the shape of the tone metal when struck. Considering the forging process requires the metal to be struck into shape (casting doesn’t work as fluid tone metal is no where near viscous enough) and each time it is struck the shape changes. One shape can shatter all the wood objects exposed to it and the next could shatter all copper objects and so on. There are very few metalsmiths who would dare forge tone metal. Those that would sticking to simple, well documented shapes. Formal tonesmiths who understand tone metal at a fundamental level enough to forge whatever they desire only occur once every few generations.
Normal use:
The vast majority of Tone metal that finds its way into forging is made into tuning fork like shapes. Such tuning forks are exceptionally well documented in not only what material the final fork will shatter but in recommendations as to what should be removed from a workshop when making them. Such tuning forks are typically owned by individuals and only have a small range. By volume tuning forks outnumber the second most common use by a factor of 10. While the final result of Tone Metal bells is also documented the documentation of tone metal bells isn’t anywhere near as complete. Not only is the selection of tone metal bell types smaller but there is no list of expected intermediaries. Tone metal bells however have a much wider range than tuning fork types.
Relic examples:
Blade breaker: One of the three constituent relics that eventually made triple fissure. Blade breaker was a tone metal blade which when striking an object would change blade breaker such that the material of that which it struck, or that struck it, would shatter.
Weather Vein: Looks a lot like an umbrella. When electricity is run through the umbrella weather vein begins to hum. This hum destroys the electrical resistance of objects. Making striking objects with the charged umbrella incredibly effective. It should not be used, even as an umbrella, during thunderstorms as it tends to summon lightning towards itself.
Chao Concordia: An xylophone of tone metal. If wielded by someone who knows what they are doing chao Concordia can be used to select both materials, ranges and directions to destroy things at through the combination of sounds. It is incredibly dangerous in the hands of the untrained though. There being multiple accounts of large numbers of broken bones.
Seal: A pipe that when swung whistles instead of rings. While this has no effect on classical magicians and little effect of arcane magic. Instead it has a crippling effect on arcane magicians, those which hear it’s whistle while using an arcane glyph can never use the same arcane glyph again. Seal damaging the arcane magicians ability to cast.
Once And Once Only: In contention for the name of best tone relic in existence how it works is not entirely understood OAOO is a shield which when struck changes it’s general shape so much so that the sound of the shield being struck completely shatters the object which struck it. However only breaks the object that strikes the shield. You could be in a room full of glass, be struck by a glass arrow and only the arrow would shatter. Something completely unique to this tone metal. The secrets as to how it selects a specific object is known only it’s creator. Blade breaker was the prototype for OAOO.
Miraculous curse: The other relic in contention for the name of best tone relic in existence. The name of the tonesmith is not known nor is it known why this is their only piece of work. The blade is made in such a way that when it strikes an object inertia brings the rings that form the hand guard together. Being one of a few, lateral separation, arcane glyphs to exist. Due to how the blade, handguard and handle are formed much of the arcane glyph is hidden and any good magician wouldn’t sign up to use an arcane glyph they didn’t first know. Miraculous curse is odd it two respects though. First is when striking an object the tone the blade releases breaks the sacrifice part of the arcane cast but as the pommel of the blade contains the cost of the arcane magic the arcane magic can activate without consuming the sacrifice hidden within the pommel. Second is that the actual arcane glyph in question doesn’t have a magical effect one would normally associate with a sword. The glyph apparently being some kind of modified healing glyph. The sword cannot injure targets, and will even heal injuries the target has. Lost limbs regrown. Those blind from birth able to see. Stamina restored to the exhausted. Youth regained by the elderly. Even the structural integrity of inanimate objects recovered. The blade effectively working miracles. However much like the name implies these miracles are not without their curse. Those that are healed by miraculous curse are destined to have a severely reduced lifespan. In the best case scenario death is delayed by 4 months. Those who keep using miraculous curse on themselves may be able to continually reset this timer, but with each use the remaining time of the timer decreases. Miraculous curse apparently causing death and destruction of it’s target through excessive unnatural growth.