So, while I was working on a mod for Oblivion to make the armor distribution and stats more "lore-friendly", someone suggested that Mithril armor is actually chain-mail woven from magical Ancestor-Moth silk. While that sounds cool as all hell, and explains why Oblivion doesn't come with mithril weapons, I can't seem to find any sources that say anything to confirm it, or really anything that explains the nature of Mithril in TES. I'm loath to say Elder Scrolls just has a bunch of uber-powerful magic metals spread out Nirn like a Tolkienesque Minecraft, especially when we've got such cool lore on Ebony, and you can https://geoheritagescience.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/the-geology-of-skyrim/ that Bethesda actually puts some attention to detail in where they put the materials, at least for Skyrim.

So, I guess the real reason I'm making this thread is to collect more info on what the "mythical" backgrounds behind each crafting material is. I can accept mundane explanations for mundane metals like Iron and Gold, of course.

To start, dialog in Morrowind is very clear about what Ebony is; a volcanic metal. Except lava is the blood of the gods that sacrificed themselves to make up the Earthbones (or is it just the blood of Lorkhan in particular? would the presence of Ebony deposits in Skyrim and Solstheim would refute that?), so Ebony is basically the crystallized blood of gods.

Adamantium has to be connected to the Adamantine Tower in some form - I would assume the presence of Adamantium gear in Daggerfall (the Iliac Bay, with the Direnni Tower right in the middle) and it's absence in other games is evidence that the ore is dominant around the Iliac Bay area. Outside of the Bay, though, there are Adamantium deposits in Mournhold - particularly, Old Mournhold. Perhaps Adamantium forms in the presence of gods?

I don't know much of the mythical origins of Orichalcum, but Diagna was the one that Orichalc weapons to the Yokudans in days past, and it's the token crafting material for Orcish equipment. Was Skyrim the first game to connect Orichalcum to Orcish? It's an obvious connection in hindsight, but very little is mentioned of Orichalcum (Orcish equipment always calling itself Orcish and not Oricalchum). Fun fact: Orcish equipment in Daggerfall actually surpasses Ebony in quality. Perhaps the Orcish armor common in the Iliac Bay is made by master smiths of Orsinium, and that's why.

At least, that's all of my guesses. I'm probably missing something obvious; what do you guys know?