Hardlac is a substance (a kind of polymer) manufactured from the sap of the lac tree. The secret of its manufacture was kept close by the elves, and vanished with them into the forests at the fall of the Elven Empire. It comes in opaque, translucent and transparent varieties; the translucent and transparent versions gradually take on a milky appearance over time.

The liquid lac sap is boiled to concentrate it. A flocculant derived from the fruit of the iskenothe tree is added, and it’s cooled rapidly and precipitates into a grainy form. This is cured for several days, and can be stored until needed or shipped to other sites for final manufacturing. A separate process involving a catalyst and several more additives takes a mixture of the remaining sap constituents after flocculation with some non-flocculated, but concentrated, sap and converts it into a binder, which is kept at cool temperatures.
The granular form is ground finer and the binder added, then the mixture is gently heated, which turns it into a paste. This paste can be injection-molded or extruded into the required shapes. After they cure in UV light, you have hardlac – and will continue to have it for the indefinite future.

Lac trees are easily identified by their pale trunks and spatulate leaves, dark glossy green on top and silvery underneath. There are still large groves of them, particularly in the former realm of Denning. The sap has a pungent smell with a sweet overtone.