Silk

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk

Properties

Material Characteristics

Silk appears like other fabrics when undyed, which is a color akin to white or bleached bone.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Silk is smooth to the touch and quite durable - well-made dresses have been known to last for a few centuries should they be properly cared for by their owners.

Geology & Geography

Silk is made exclusively in Ortesia and Sedfaya, where its manufacturing process is a closely-guarded secret. In those regions, anyone found guilty of soliciting and passing on these state secrets is often punished with execution in the most horrible ways imaginable. In Ortesia, for example, a condemned secret thief is sentenced to death by a thousand cuts, where the person is tied to a stake secured to the ground and small pieces of flesh removed over the course of hours or days until he or she dies. Meanwhile, in Sedfaya, the same crime was punished by a series of mutilations. First, the hands, feet, eyes, nose, and tongue are removed. Then, the person was force-fed milk and honey until his or her feces turned to liquid. After this, the one sentenced to death was tied out onto a boat or tree trunk and insects were allowed to feast upon him or her.

Origin & Source

Silk comes from spinning the cocoon of the silk moth, which is created after the caterpillar is ready to become a moth. The caterpillars only eat the leaves of the mulberry tree. When the moths leave their cocoons, the latter are harvested and are spun into threads, which can be then turned into garments.

History & Usage

Discovery

Silk is believed by Venian writers to have been discovered thousands of years ago in Ortesia, a land far to the east of their home island.

Everyday use

The most common use of silk to make garments such as robes and shawls. They are then colored with various dyes. Undergarments are also made, but are seen as excessively lavish.

Distribution

Trade & Market

The item is a luxury. The further a roll of silk travels from its land of origin, the more expensive it becomes.

Type

Biomaterial