Desert Worm Chitin

Desert worm chitin makes for fine armour of medium & heavy weight. The thickness of it and given that it is a little malleable, especially when heated in hot water, makes it prized by many Middle Eastern elite soldiers. It is iridescent, showing a slight metallic sheen too it with multiple colours, primarily purple.

Properties

Material Characteristics

The chitin is iridescent, giving of a slight metallic sheen. Colours are apparent on it, especially purple.

Physical & Chemical Properties

The chitin contains some trace metals in it's structure making it quite hard & dense. It can be heated in hot water to make it slightly more flexible, and be cut with gem edged saws. This material is very light compared to base metal, and has the ability to be turned into some medium & heavy armours depending on the layers, and how flexible it is. It makes for a good alternative to leather or steel armour depending on the desired outcome, and the processing method.

Origin & Source

The only way to get the desert worm chitin is to kill a desert worm, and go to work cutting it off. Due to the predatory worms' nature, and the hostile environment it lives in, getting it is the problem. Also, the desert worm has a tendency to rub off the layers as it grows instead of shedding it. This helps get rid of parasites as well as the trace elements building up in the sands around it's layer.

History & Usage

History

Since first being encountered by some races, especially Humans, in the Empty Quarter there has been conflict between the races and the worms. At first the sapient species generally avoided the regions it was found in, as the worm could easily swallow a man whole. Over time, many peoples learned to hunt it, especially for the chitin. Since the worms' flesh is toxic, the chitin became the only part of use, along with it's spines.

Discovery

Early Humans migrating out of Africa, and settling around the Empty Quarter, discovered the desert worms, and their unique chitin after one was killed millennia ago. They are very rare creatures so when one is downed or found dead, scavengers of all types will quickly strip the carcass. The chitin parts are usually the last to go, so it stood out, and peoples such as the Bedouin & other ethnic Arabs started to se what could be made from the chitin.

Everyday use

Mainly used for armour and expensive items, though usually the former.

Cultural Significance and Usage

Many Arabic peoples view it as a prized type of armour when treated. Many a leader will have suit of it to use, while their elite troops regularly are adorned at least in part with sets of it. Sometimes other objects, like bowls & drinking vessels, are made with leftover parts to show wealth.

Distribution

Trade & Market

The trade of chitin is rigidly controlled by the respective caliphates and tribal leaders. Only the wealthiest can afford it, and the average prices are usually by weight. Smaller parts of chitin, and lower grade chitin is sold in the bazaars of many Middle Eastern & North African towns & cities, with a few scraps making its way to the Iberian Peninsula & the Umayyad Caliphate.
Rarely if ever seen outside these regions, the prices for even a pound (lb) in other nations can see it sell for almost double the original price range. Most times even the most worthless pieces are sold for high prices in foreign lands.

Law & Regulation

The Abbasid Caliphate is the main supplier & consumer of the chitin, and regular hunts are organised for new sources. It is strictly controlled with each section brought back and sold under the eyes of specific court officials. Each part is graded, and marked accordingly with the Caliphate taking a cut of the best material for itself. Usually this comes to about 10% on average and can go as low as about 5%. Buying, selling, working with, or hunting for it all requires special permits, and officials regularly check to make sure nothing is skimmed of or hidden away, and all parts accounted for.
If an average citizen is buying or selling any raw or worked chitin, there is a slight price hike to make room for a tax rate of 2% above normal on the chitin or worked item. This goes to the Caliphate to pay for the hunts, the elite troops who use it as armour, and the armourers who make it into armour.

"We hunted the worm once. Excellent way to make money we were told. Horrendous it was. Out in the Empty Quarter under a blistering sun, constantly looking for the sands the worm turns oddly coloured. Always needing water too, and salt to survive, just to hunt a worm.
Talk about a shock when we found one.
We noticed the antenna first. Looked like a shinny bush poking out of the sand, and looked kind of wilted. Its when we got closer we could see the twitching in them, and a slight shake of the sands surface. That's when the men got in position, with large billhooks and a camel posted out near the 'bush'. Next thing the worm shot out to get the camel which was braying like nothing normal. The men rushed with the billhooks, positioning them to catch the worm's softer smaller regions between the chitin. And I was still dismayed when they stopped it burrowing back in.
The camel of course didn't survive, it was nearly bit in half the second it was bit.
The sound this creature made was like nothing I had heard before. A deep bass note came out of the ground where it tried to go back in, and the size of it was horrific. It seemed to be about 10 feet in length and the thickness of two camels. The remaining men appeared with ropes and started tying it around the worm. They then started dragging it out, slowly of course. And then they finished. It lay there, about 20 odd feet in length and stinking in the sun. Eventually pegged down with the billhooks and rope they moved in for the kill.
What they had to do was to take a long straight sword-like blade with a thick twohanded handle, and a flat copper covered end. They positioned it to the back of the head, and started pounding it in through two segmented chitin plates, effectively killing it as best they could. After this they started to cut the chitin of the segmented body and used the sides where the spines are as a guide mark & entry point. Each was dressed in tough strong leather as the animal is still quite toxic at this time.
Once they got all that we could carry we marked the area the kill was made and headed home. We knew there could be parts left for later as long as the Bedouin, or worse, appeared and stole the rest. At least ours would be officially marked and could be traded within the city.
One thing I didn't like though was the warning from an old-timer that accompanied us. He said we should pray to Allah, to sate the spirit of the desert worm. I asked him why and he stated that the worms were sent by Allah to protect the world, and stop the evils of Iram of the Pillars being found again. I'm inclined to believe him, seeing one up that close."
Ilbin al-Azheem, recounting the one & only Desert Worm hunt he participated in.

Type

Organic

Value

Suit of armour: 50,000 GPs, bowl or equivalent: 1000 GPs

Rarity

Very rare to legendary