Ragnite

Ragnite Ore

Ragnite is a type of mineral with many different uses, from anti-tank weapons to fuel and medicine. The country of Gallia is known for its large Ragnite deposits. Sufficiently refined Ragnite emits sunlight-like light, while Ragnite ore glows blue.

Control of viable Ragnite sources in Europa was the primary reason for both EWI and EWII.

Usage and extraction

The Imperial siege tank Batomys used a powerful Ragnite-powered cannon as its main armament; the inset shows one of the radiators fitted to the tank to cool this weapon after firing.

Ragnite sees a wide variety of commercial and industrial applications. It is primarily used as an energy source, and Ragnite engines power tanks, wheeled vehicles and even locomotives and ships. Characters use Ragnaids composed of Ragnite in the field to heal wounds. Ragnite derivatives are also used as propellant and payload explosives in grenades, shells and rockets, and to make strong armour plating, such as the upgrades used for the Edelweiss and the Shamrock.

The wide variety of uses indicate Ragnite is somewhat like crude oil; much as crude oil can be refined into many different hydrocarbons with differing properties, so Ragnite can be formed into numerous specific types such as the "Ragnoline" used in vehicles. Most forms of Ragnite appear to be relatively volatile, though stable forms exist. It appears to replace petrochemicals in all applications; Ragnite is used for everything from vehicle propulsion to lighting. While oil is present in Europa, with the city of Fouzen possessing the bulk of Gallia's refineries for it , it is clearly behind Ragnite in importance.

Ragnite also has solid forms: it is apparently dense enough to be used as an armour material in tanks, as well as a penetrating element in armour-piercing ammunition. This usage is similar to the use of depleted uranium, though it seems hardened Ragnite is used as exterior plating rather than a middle layer in a composite armour scheme.

Heat seems a primary concern in a Ragnite engine; vehicles are fitted with large radiator panels to disperse it, which emit the characteristic bright blue glow of Ragnite itself when operating. While Ragnite seems to generate electricity, the power from a Ragnite engine is from mechanical action; Isara Gunther modified the Edelweiss to use a turbine, and the Equus makes sounds which would be associated with a steam boiler. Presumably, the Ragnite is primarily used to supply heat to such systems, though combustion engines also appear to exist. Ragnite engines do not seem to produce visible exhaust; even though warships like the are seen with structures resembling smokestacks, these are simply used to elevate the radiator plates, and do not produce any smoke trail.

In Valkyria Chronicles 4, it is revealed that Ragnite can also be compressed: while this process was invented for the benign use of creating compressed Ragnite cartridges to power equipment in homes, it turned out to have military applications, with Ragnite implosion producing far greater levels of output than conventional systems. This technology was originally developed by Albert Miller and Heinrich Belgar, and has been the subject of extensive research in the United States of Vinland.

Ragnite generator

Ragnite is mined from deep underground deposits, and mining is said to be hazardous. The refining of Ragnite is equally dangerous and involve large amounts of pungent chemicals that leave workers with a distinctive and disagreeable smell; there is significant social stigma attached to this, and it is part of the negative stereotypes surrounding the Darcsens. Gallia's primary source of Ragnite is the mining works and refinery at Fouzen.

It is said that the Empire controls an enormous deposit of Ragnite beneath the Crystal Sea, but as of EWII has yet to develop any means of extracting it.

Ragnide gas is a thick, blue aerosol and a powerful nerve agent, apparently used extensively during EW1: it was banned by the Land War Treaty of the continental council, but Gallia still maintains some stocks of Ragnide shells in "pre war armouries." During the DLC mission pack, Selvaria's Mission: Behind Her Blue Flame, Georg von Damon deploys these shells during his attempt to defend Ghirlandaio from Imperial attack, the gas proving potent enough to even disable a Valkyria. Fear of such weapons is apparently sufficient for Imperial engineers to carry antidotes to the gas.

Ancient Ragnite

The Valkyrur possessed much greater capability to refine Ragnite than is possible in present-day Europa, and used it to form powerful weaponry which they could manipulate with their natural abilities, usually taking the form of a shield and lance. These relics can be manipulated by those with Valkyrur blood when they "awaken" near death; when activated, they increase dramatically in size from their dormant state, emitting the blue curling flames that are the hallmark of a true Valkyria's power. As well as making the Valkyria practically invulnerable, they can also channel energy into destructive beams of light, creating machine gun-like rapid fire, powerful pulses, or enormous shockwaves of energy. This ability can be replicated technologically to a limited extent, and attempting to reproduce the ancient weapons has led to the development of Artificial Valkyria technology; this apparently required experimentation with Ragnite derivatives on true Valkyria held at an Imperial research facility, these including a young Selvaria Bles. However, while this technology creates powerful soldiers, their abilities are far inferior to those of a true Valkyria wielding the Valkyrur's relic weapons. In addition, Artificial Valkyria require large amounts of external power to operate.

The Valkof, mounted on the Marmota

The largest known Ragnite weapon to have been unearthed is the almighty Valkof, a huge Valkyrur lance once used in the War of the Valkyrur, said to have been mounted on a enormous vehicle called the "ark;" the precise nature of this vehicle is not known. The Marmota was able to power and fire this device after recovering it from its resting place within the tower of Castle Randgriz, though the weapon was ultimately destroyed when the Marmota was defeated by Squad 7.

While not clearly Ragnite-derived, the Valkyria's "final flame" power also emits the blue glow of Ragnite; this power produces a nuclear-scale explosion, capable of destroying anything within a huge radius. Selvaria's final flame destroyed the whole citadel at Ghirlandaio, while Maximilian seemed to be convinced Alicia Melchiott's would be more than sufficient to destroy the Marmota.

Notes

Ragnite appears to have its healing abilities naturally; missions set in the Doerfein Mining Quarter during the course of Valkyria Chronicles 2 and Valkyria Chronicles 3 have areas where the Ragnaheal effect is present; Ragnaid is simply a distilled version of this.

Trivia

• Ragenō is a proto-Germanic term for "Gods" or "Ruling Powers," most well-known as part of the Norse word "Ragnarök." Ragnarök was the name of a mythical battle where many Gods would be slain and the world destroyed and remade.
• Its role as a ubiquitous power source that is useable as either a compression reactor or as a fuel for combustion engines brings to mind a combination of nuclear and petrochemical energy.