Khafiyat

Khafiyat owes its fame to the lacemaking guilds, who have become known not only for the complexity of their creations, but also for their secrecy of their techniques. The guilds are incredibly selective, with only a hundred apprentices admitted to their ranks each year. A number of young guilds and smaller companies have opene up in Khafiyat, attempting to trade on the name, and this has lead to Khafiyat lace becoming a protected identifier, produced only by recognised guilds. Throughout history, Khafiyat lace has decorated the vestements of clergy of the region, and became popular with the arisocracy and officials of the region, who wished to draw closer association between themselves and the deity of the region. The lace became an international fashion after Khafiyat lace was worn by the Alalt ambassador at the coronation of Tahar XIII of Al Shiyah in 1543, and was imported at great expense, bringing the town wealth and fame, and leading to massive expansion. Today, Khafiyat lace is still used in official clothing of the region, recognising its contribution to the prosperity of the region.
Whether made of linen, gold, or silver, Khafiyat lace retains a softness associated with down, and the feeling of the lace on skin is said to be similar to that of down or soft fur, and it has other, subtler properties and even traps that defy attempts to reverse-engineer its arcane workings. Many efforts to replicate the structure of Khafiyat lace have been made, first by hand and, later, through mechanisation, but none have been able to capture the intricacy or tactile sensation. Despite the mechanisation of lacemaking in other parts of the world, Khafiyat lace is still made by hand, in comparatively small quantities, maintaining its value and scarcity in an age of abundance.

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Inhabitant Demonym

Khafiyati