In the last document I had put together, I discussed the uses of various types of dust in firearms. And how vital this resource was to the development of firearms. Now something has piqued my interest, and relatively few things do that nowadays. It has occurred to me there are nearly no documents inside the Schnee Dust Company recording slightly unorthodox uses of dust.
And at the expense of a little nudging in the direction of the company owner I have received some time to compile my own report to add to the archives. First I decided to scour the museum in Mantle as most of the valuables have not been moved to Atlas along with most assets of the kingdom. And I found a manuscript. The Shirrán Manuscript in particular. This manuscript detailed dust usage in villages and tribes long predating the invention of the firearm. Many tactics and uses I myself had never even imagined.
The first few lines in the manuscript were what caught my eye as I read it. It reads as so;
'And so with forearms painted as red as blood, now capable of awakening fire, this man's soul would flicker and so forth the flames would flood, for so long as his soul did not tire.'
And looking at a few paintings from the time period and area Shirrán was known to be in, somewhere between present day Vacuo and Vale, hugging the mountains that stretch across that section of Sanas. Quite a few contained images of a man with fire cloaking his forearms. And a rather large amount from what was found showed the man doing rather heroic acts such as defending villages from Grimm and starting fires for those stuck in the cold. Now whether or not this man existed is debatable. But how he accomplished "awakening fire" was something with a little more documentation.
The line about the man's arms being painted as red as blood is referring to war paint. And although it was uncommon, it wasn't unheard of for some with a strong Aura to mix dust in with the paint. They could activate it with their Aura and cause the effect of the dust to ripple across the paint. The warpaint itself being based in resins and saps and other rather viscous substances offered almost a membrane of sorts to protect the user's skin from the effects of the dust. Because old dust infused war paint was applied in a two layer system. First the more viscous layer was applied as a protective layer. And secondly the layer that had dust mixed in.
Now the reasoning for how it was activated through another layer was originally chalked up to those having the strongest souls. Which wasn't entirely incorrect, but at the same time isn't correct either. The only real requirement was that whoever was attempting to use the warpaint had their Aura previously "unlocked", as Aura is an extension is one's soul and can protect someone, it is almost like a field that envelops the body allowing focus to activate the dust even if it is on a layer further from the skin. War paint isn't used for such things anymore but there is a similar substance used in modern society.
It is a sort of paste that dries quickly that contains electrical dust in the mixture. It is primarily used to fix electronics where there is a small gap in the wiring as it would allow electricity to flow once more. Not exactly war paint but the composition is nearly identical chemically which hints onto that, it hasn't been entirely forgotten as it has instead been used for a rather different purpose.
Yet even war paint of sorts has its modern counterpart. And it's modern counterpart if done somewhat incorrectly can get dust into the bloodstream. While inherently dangerous sometimes these botched attempts grant access to greater powers. But first I should probably speak of what this counterpart is. Dust infused tattoos. The dust is ground very finely and mixed into the ink that is used in the tattoo. And much like the war paint it can be simply activated with Aura.
However, tattoos are put directly onto the skin, and lack the protective layer the war paint had included. And the users must rely solely on their Aura to protect them from any ill effects. And in most Kingdoms, save Vacuo and smaller cities outside of the main cities of other kingdoms. It is illegal to have done. Not to say residents cannot have dust-infused tattoos, they simply cannot have them done in-kingdom as the majority believe the risks of having them done alone are reason enough to prevent them being done. However some Hunters are known to seek out these Tattoo shops in order to improve their abilities.
And this is all I could uncover pertaining to dust being applied to one's skin, and most likely in my next report I will refer to something else brought up in the Shirrán manuscript, implementing dust and infusing it into one's body. One of the most dangerous methods of using dust known to man.
~ Jefferson Tanner, head of Research and Development at the Schnee Dust Company
Author's Note: I finally made another chapter! Sorry to those of you who liked this. Coming up with explanations and adding places to fit with those explanations takes quite a bit longer than my other story. But anyways thanks for reading.