Dymwasp Paper

"Wait, you people harvest that stuff?! You're crazy. Absolutely crazy."

— Cavin Shortbridge, Broken River Trader

One of the more common sights in the lands of the Broken Spine mountains are insects of unusual size, though most of the time these creatures avoid interaction with human settlements. One notable exception is the 'Dymwasp', which is an oversized species of what is commonly called 'paper wasps'. They are known to encroach on human habitation without fear, should an infestation spread far enough. However, the risk of dymwasp nests being close can yield a valuable asset in the paper the nests are constructed from. In the northern reaches of the mountains, the weather between late autumn and early spring is cold enough to force dymwasps to hibernate. During this period, the nests can be harvested for the paper - though it is recommended to be certain the dymwasps have truly entered hibernation.

The paper nests are remarkably durable despite feeling dry, and a number of uses have been found for properly prepared dymwasp nests. One of these uses is to process it into paper, which can be used to wrap fragile objects to keep them safe. Several experts who deal in antiquities have need of materials which are durable but also unlikely to damage what they're protecting. A secondary concern is material which also tends not to attract vermin, who might in turn cause damage to what is being shipped due to their presence. As such, dymwasp paper has become a favored packing material - it not only admirably resists crushing forces, but it is imbued with pheromones which tell most common insect vermin to stay away. It is very much advised to avoid using dymwasp paper for long-term storage, because the same pheromones may also attract other dymwasp queens looking for a new nesting location.

Alchemists have further found a use in processing dymwasp paper through similar processes as one does wood pulp in order to create writing material. Dymwasp paper is made from similar source material in the first place, only broken down by the insects' own methods to yield a different result. Alchemists can process dymwasp paper into a superior quality of wood-pulp paper more resistant to moisture, and the end result has slowly begun seeing increased demand among arcanists who are not able to procure fine vellum. The broader availability of dymwasp paper compared to parchment and vellum is something which has caused interest in other methods of creating paper in places where dymwasps are not quite as common. This is opposed to the other proposed solution of introducing dymwasps to other regions in order to increase availability. These ideas have met with notable resistance from practically everyone approached by proponents of 'cultured dymwasps'.

"No. No. A thousand times no. There is no reason I can think of, no potential gain worthy of introducing those... creatures... to Imperial lands. By the Twelve, leave now before I have you thrown in a cell for merely suggesting such a concept! We have enough problems without importing flying death-wasps."

— Modirin Seshiel, Imperial Bureaucrat

Type

Organic