Plastic

Plastic is nothing less than a wonder material, and serves to back the currencies of most nations of the world.

Plastic is the only material currently known that can permanently withstand the corrosive effects of oceanwater.

Plastic is acquired through mining and refinement, generally plastic will be found near Old Ones artifacts and remains, leading many to believe that the Old Ones somehow created plastic many thousands of years ago.

There is an ongoing race to discover how to synthesize plastic, as mass production of it would allow for true ocean travel and great industrial boons. However, many believe that once plastic can be made synthetically, the economies of the known world will crash as plastic loses its relative rarity. This concern has led some nations to ban the research of plastic-synthesis, while other (generally oceanside nations) have begun to try and transition away form using plastic as a means to back up currency. This is most apparent in the Republic of Mourland, where the formerly worthless metal gold now backs up their currency. Pahonnia, Greater Pomerania, and Dawnland all have ongoing initiatives to transition from plastic to gold, but none have completed the process like Mourland.

On the 12th of Lebra, 884; the Hendrik Research Company in Mourland was able to synthesize the first artificial plastic.