#Ziptu

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Ziptu

A kind of tarry substance both found and made Below, with the recipe taught Above to some Alchemists, Ziptu is used in the creation of magical rubber and tarmac. Below it was originally only used as a sealant for magical boats, and was historically used in a similar role on the Surface, but with the increase of muggle roads surfaced in Tarmac, the durability of Ziptu, and its ability to be imbued with strengthening magic has become more well known, and thus more tested. An increasing number of wixen-used roads in America and Europe both are using roads laced with Ziptu, after several Alchemists in South Africa proved their concept worked.

Ziptu was originally a byproduct of certain purification processes, but has since been refined to certain specific recipes (depending on available ingredients) and is often inherently laced with magic. A skilled Alchemist can “tune” these magics, so to speak, and thus improve the quality of the Ziptu for one purpose or another. Historically it was tuned to repel water for use on boats, but it has also been tuned to be fire-resistant (for use at Dragon Reserves and in Potioneering and Alchemical labs) and most recently strengthened against wear for use in magical tarmac. There is an on-going theory that it may be a versatile alternative to certain magical items which often  make use of muggle plastics, as muggle plastic often breaks down after extended use in the presence of magic, or exposure to great amounts of magic. 

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Tarquine

The origins of Tarquines is a mystery to even the most thorough specialist in Unicorn-Types. Generally held to be similar to the Dark Phoenix or less dangerous Omikhlē, where life-threatening events utterly warp a specimen, Tarquines are special in that there is a full herd of these creatures. Current theories are that a herd of Unicorns attempted to purify waters polluted with oil, tar and perhaps even magical Ziptu, and, finding it beyond their scope, ended up assimilating the corruption themselves. Some scholars of Tarquines even go so far as to suggest it is not actually a corruption of the “Pure” nature of Unicorn-types, so much as an alternate part of the cycle of life - death and decomposition as opposed to flourishing growth, a theory which fits with the existence of Chares and Karkadanns.

Regardless of the origins of Tarquines they do certainly join Karkadanns and Chares as one of the very few omnivorous members of the Unicorn-Type grouping, as well as preferentially eating decomposing plant, animal and fungal matter, as well as consuming oil, tar, and other pollutants. Several magi-environmental activists, concerned as to how muggle - and magical - pollution is increasingly impacting the magical world have pitched the idea of hybridising Tarquines to Kelpies, or other Water Horses in order to help control and remove muggle oil spills as well as manage other environmental troubles. As yet, however, the Ban on Experimental Breeding is hesitant to grant permission, the Statute unlikely to bend enough to warn muggles working on the spills to be wary. Nonetheless, whispers spread that a tribe of Oil Merrows have migrated from the British Isles to the American Coast, bringing with them a number of Water Horses. Local Merpeople have made no comment, though they are known to regularly interact with local Tarquines. 

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