Talk:Cinder Fall/@comment-24.140.136.244-20141013215625/@comment-4010415-20141014010023

"Magical sand," huh? That's a perspective I haven't seen before. Most people go with it being like volcanic glass, since it's black, much like obsidian, which is basically glass created from lava.

The obsidian theory wouldn't be too far-fetched, though, considering that obsidian was historically used in making weaponry in some cultures, due to the fact that it forms extremely sharp edges when fractured.

It has, more recently, been experimentally used for making scalpels. It was found that obsidian scalpels can be a lot better than even the highest quality steel scalpels. Steel scalpels still have serrations on a microscopic level, meaning that they tear flesh at a microscopic level. Obsidian makes a cleaner edge, which means it slices more cleanly and easily through flesh - the clean edge is the same reason paper can cut you. In the end, wounds made by an obsidian scalpel heal faster and have less scarring because the wound was purely a smooth, clean cut.

TL;DR Obsidian makes a fantastic blade that can make quick and easy work of flesh.