Shadesilk
I find happiness in knowing I keep nine outfits in the closet instead of nineteen. Unfortunately, the cost was quite high and every few moons I find someone trying to steal away with some of the clothes.Expeditions into the Shadowfell would always return with new curiosities for scholars to look over, wondering what it is they could use these new things for. Most of these were slightly different versions of what already exists on Erisdaire, only imbued with magic which could be activated. Among these resources was a peculiar kind of silk produced from Shadowfell silkworms, proving to have a notable capacity for magic related to illusions and changes of appearance. The most popular use for shadesilk is to create garments for the wealthy which can be enchanted with "glamours", allowing the individual to appear to be wearing almost any clothes they wish. Adventurers, naturally, also find uses for shadesilk which are "more practical" for their profession.
Properties
Physical & Chemical Properties
Finished shadesilk normally takes the appearance of a slightly translucent soot-black silk, and has most of the other normal properties one associates with silk. It's smooth and cool to the touch, with clothing woven of the material seeming to flow when in motion. When exposed to illusion magic, it can be easily made fully translucent or to appear as another type of fabric. This, along with the aid of an accomplished illusionist, allows a fine shadesilk outfit to be a replacement for a large number of regular outfits.
Geology & Geography
Shadesilk is a product derived from silkworms in the Shadowfell, an arrangement which causes a great deal of headache to many. At least three major efforts have been made to manage this resource, beginning with the obvious answer: gather the silkworms from the Shadowfell and transplant them to farms on Erisdaire where they would be tended. As misfortune would have it, the silkworms would only produce normal silk on Erisdaire. Scholars and Sages worked on the issue for some time, and eventually concluded shadesilk's properties were due to being created in the Shadowfell; without the ambient magic of that realm, only normal silk would be produced.
As these silkworms would produce only normal silk on Erisdaire, numerous attempts were made to start small farms to harvest the "shadesilk". All these attempts would eventually fail as shadow fugue would set in, causing a near-total loss of the farms due to neglect and aggressive wildlife in the Shadowfell. This second attempt brought the troublesome nature of exploiting the Shadowfell into the forefront, leading a majority of those seeking to quickly get rich on this new industry to become destitute.
Those companies who persevered were those who knew about adverse conditions and were prepared with a plan already in place. The Sebile Trading Company had long been running mines on the Fireshard Islands and learned to use rotating shifts of people. With the added layer of checking those returning for shadow fugue symptoms, or simply relying on cleansing magic, a farm became established which was handled only seasonally to prevent over-exposure to the Shadowfell's problems. The expense spent on these precautions, however, means shadesilk is a fairly rare commodity - with the cost of such procedures passed on to the buyer.
As these silkworms would produce only normal silk on Erisdaire, numerous attempts were made to start small farms to harvest the "shadesilk". All these attempts would eventually fail as shadow fugue would set in, causing a near-total loss of the farms due to neglect and aggressive wildlife in the Shadowfell. This second attempt brought the troublesome nature of exploiting the Shadowfell into the forefront, leading a majority of those seeking to quickly get rich on this new industry to become destitute.
Those companies who persevered were those who knew about adverse conditions and were prepared with a plan already in place. The Sebile Trading Company had long been running mines on the Fireshard Islands and learned to use rotating shifts of people. With the added layer of checking those returning for shadow fugue symptoms, or simply relying on cleansing magic, a farm became established which was handled only seasonally to prevent over-exposure to the Shadowfell's problems. The expense spent on these precautions, however, means shadesilk is a fairly rare commodity - with the cost of such procedures passed on to the buyer.
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