Silk

From Almeopedia

Silk is a fiber made by many types of insects, often to form webs or cocoons. For its size, silk is one of the strongest available fibers. Woven into cloth, silk is the finest known fabric, soft, strong, and iridescent.

Several insects make silk suitable for producing cloth: the silkfly and silkmoth of Eretald, the striped silkworm of Dhekhnam, and the spinnerfly of Belesao. In each case the silk is spun by the larvae, which are carefully fed and guarded by humans, and then killed before metamorphosis can occur (as the intact cocoon consists of a single strand of silk, which is spoiled if the insect burrows out of the cocoon).

For centuries, Eretald has debated the relative merits of silkfly and silkmoth. Silkfly silk is softer and more translucent, and better adapted to the coastal regions; silkmoth silk is easier to cultivate (since the cocoons are larger), but has a darker color that does not take dyes so well, and grows best in the mountains. Somewhat ironically, adult silkflies are great pests, as they bite farm animals and even humans and drink blood; domesticated varieties cannot fly.

Silk was first domesticated by the Meťaiun; it was a great luxury, the secrets of its production carefully guarded by royal workshops. The Cuzeian invasion scattered many of the workshops, allowing production to greatly expand. In modern times the insects are often cultivated by peasant women as a sideline; nonetheless, because the process is highly labor-intensive, silk remains the most expensive of fabrics.

Dhekhnami silkworms are small, making cultivation even more difficult, and the silk is considered to be of lower quality; as labor is cheaper, however, Dhekhnami silk is cheaper. (The Dhekhnami also export silkfly silk produced on the Mišicama coast.)

The spinnerfly of Belesao has a very restricted habitat— Hònpó, two islands off the coast of Mǎɔráŋ— which naturally are a great prize for whoever can control them; usually they have been directly controlled by one queen or another. In the last century, however, Kebreni merchants have swamped the Bé with finer and cheaper silk from Eretald.

Etymology: Meť./Keb. seṫa, Caď. seṫa, Ver. seta, Bar. sedh, Ismaîn sese; Lé hòn, Uyseʔ hon.