02 - Kelp Canvas
A MATERIAL RESISTANT TO DECAY
Among the ancestral refugees that found shelter in the underground coves and caverns of the Allegran coast there were primarily sailors - not craftsmen, shipwrights, or weavers. The few knowledable sailors who survived the perilous trek across the ocean were incredibly important when it came time to begin their lives anew in an entirely unfamiliar environment. Once Captain Orim stepped forward to lead their new crew it was immediately evident that they needed a source of fiber to make clothing and other fabrics.
History & Usage
History
The Eiyudi established kelp farms within the first decade after settling underground on the Dark Coast. Before there was a Town Council the Captain would frequently hold large gatherings of a hundred or so individuals to speak with them, to ask about their problems and discuss current events with every demographic of their people. One of the first serious concerns was the lack of available resources. Carving into solid bedrock isn't quick work, especially without tools designed for such a purpose and the course stone was also incredibly rough on whatever protective clothing the diggers wore, too.
With only an approximate understanding of how cloth was made it took the sailors several months of dedicated work to assemble the first functioning loom. From there they still needed a material to process into fabric. There were many attempts with assorted vegetation found around the coast and through trial-and-error they discovered that a specific kind of kelp that kept it's elasticity when dried in a process adapted from old fishing tradition and oil made from fish that the sailors used to protect the metal on their ships from corroding.
The specific type of kelp was initially very dangerous to gather and grew in deep vertical wells that had no natural light. Eventually a few enterprising sailors recognized that they might be able to grow their own kelp and began construction on a large structure, half-carved into the cavern wall, that would attempt to duplicate the conditions the kelp grew in and would eventually become Tideswake farm. Over the following decades several other farms were built to meet the demand for the incredibly versatile kelp but Tideswake was the first and has remained the most prolific kelp producer for hundreds of years.
"This pale green kelp grows quickly for wholly natural plant-life and seems to only need flowing saltwater to grow. The Eiyudi have several different types of growing tanks where the kelp will naturally grow into the desired form without needing to be handled beforehand. It's processed and dried in a number of different ways depending on the intended use.Their processes are quite advanced for a metaphysically lacking culture. If they had a written language I imagine their technical diagrams would be ineffable!"
Type
Textile
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