Magetwine

Tying knots

Magetwine is a series of yarns, plies, fibers or strands that are coated in arcane energy to give it special qualities. It is usually twisted or braided together into rope that can be dyed in any shade of color. Though it is used all over the world, it is most commonly used in The Provinces of Mhirriah .

The material has a pseudo-sentience. While it is neither alive or capable of thought, it can sometimes behave as if it is. Magetwine can be" taught" specific behaviors based on key triggers using older forms of Arcana Formulae. A prime example is often used in the province of Xiander, where prisoners of war can be unbound when the captor says a specific word, or performs a specific action. Another example is seen in the warriors of this province. Many tie a harness around their chest. When grabbed by an opponent, the harness will animate and proceed to bind the individual who grabs it, sometimes going so far as to strangle the victim they bind. In Xiander, the art if Xiandan Rigging has a firm place in the culture or the province, and magetwine is thought to be ideal for the art form.

Production of magetwine

There is a process that goes into making a strand of magetwine. You first need a simple strand of material, usually plant fibers, as a base. This material must be kept clean and moist to avoid drying and rotting. Then you need to be able to harness the Arcane energy.

Manifesting Arcane energy in a pure form is incredibly difficult. The process will take hours of consistent channeling to be able to produce even a little amount of physical energy. Once the amount of energy needed to imbue however much material you have has been obtained, you simply combine the two.

Dumping all the strands into the container that has the manifestation of energy inside of it, the energy will slowly begin to imbue itself into the strands. This can take days to weeks depending on just how much you are trying to create. During this process, the container is usually put to the side and allowed to mature until strands of magetwine are all that remains.

Making the rope

Once you have the magetwine, producing the rope is like making any other kind of rope. Those who make the material professionally have developed machines to make the process easier, quicker, and produce a higher quality product.

Individual strands are threaded through slots on the device. When the strands are threaded on both sides, the strand is stretched out evenly from end-to-end. It can take 5 to 20 strands to produce a single rope, though this depends on the thickness and length of the rope needed and the size of the strands.

A wheel on the end of the device is turned, rotating the slots the strands are threaded through. This creates a perfectly braided rope as the strands wrap around one another.

Other unique qualities

• A common usage of magetwine still practiced in the present day is using it to produce baskets that serve as carriers or beds for infants. Not only can it be taught to protect the infant, but it can also be taught to retain and build warmth as well as diffuse heat if one is travelling is dangerous climates.

• There are some manuscripts depicting ways of using magetwine as a weapon. The rope can be thrown at an opponent and will actively attempt to bind or choke that opponent if it can manage to grab them. Another example is a drawing depicting a mage. This mage is wielding a staff that is nothing more than magetwine taught to strech out and keep itself solid.

• Magetwine is also use for various practical applications where rope would normally be used. Mage twine has been used on seafaring vessels, taught to rebuild itself should it ever be broken or cut. They can be used on siege weaponry like trebuchets and ballistas as well as ranged weapons like bows and crossbows to increase the distance of velocity of projectiles.

Innovations

There are many innovations made over the years to encourage specific qualities in the material depending on what it is one needs it for. Double braiding the rope, meaning repeating the process by braiding another layer of strands on the first finished rope, creates a significantly thicker and stronger product. This product can be made even stronger by changing the plant from which fibers are gathered before they are imbued with Arcane energy.

In Xiander, rope is not only valued for its tensile strength, but also for its texture. Materials that produce strong yet lush, soft rope are usually ideal. Those who make the material in this province produce various conditioners and teach techniques that one can use and apply to the rope to achieve an even higher level of quality. Various oils, catered to support the Arcane energy in the rope, can lock in moisture and slowly work out the rough texture of the rope.

An example of a technique involves boiling the rope in water numerous times after briefly exposing the surface of the rope to open flame. Each time the rope is boiled, the weakest threads are split. This results in course threats that fly away from the body of the rope. These flyaways are abrasive to the skin, regardless of how soft the rope may be, and are felt even through various fabrics. Exposing the rope's surface to a flame will burn these threads away, and after continuing the process numerous times, the boiled rope will reveal no loose threads and is left to dry. After this it will be smooth and as soft as Lartasian Silk.

History

This material was first invented by The Seven Centurion Legions of Ozlith. They wanted to have an efficient means of binding prisoners without doing harm to the prisoner and giving opportunities to escape or bring harm to the centurions. Magetwine proved remarkably effective. The rope could be taught to loosen and tighten when needed depending on the actions of the prisoner it binds.

The development and use of magetwine directly coincides with the development and use of a martial art called Turtlohn, which centered around the use of rope in times of war. When the empire fell, these elements were carried on by Mhirrians, eventually being taught to travelers in exchange for whatever was needed at the time. In the present the material is used all over the world, but to varying degrees of success.