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During the initial exploration of the
Leviathan's Palace some forty years ago, it was discovered that a species of sea snail resided there which produced a purple-ish secretion that could be used to dye fabric. Purple is an extremely uncommon colour in the continent of Pretheya, seemingly having gone largely beneath the Ormr's notice during their terraforming, and so is considered particularly beautiful due to its rarity. Prior to the discovery of the Tyrian snail (named after the first man to find one on an expedition, and what the dye itself is named after) it was impossible to produce dye that reached any kind of true-purple hue, the best alternatives being certain shades of pink-red or dark-blue.
The snails used to create Tyrian dye are only found more than sixty metres underwater within the Leviathan's Palace, which is located nearly a hundred miles off of the western coast of The Jaws. Even getting there requires an arduous trip, and then it is necessary to traverse the submerged corridors of the palace itself, which are rife with all manner of dangers. It is common for would-be harvesters of the snail to lose their way in the maze-like tunnels and become lost, where they risk running out of supplies before they can make it back to their party. Additionally, the mere act of harvesting the snails is in itself dangerous, as they often reside near anemones and other poisonous seacreatures that can kill from a single careless touch. The skeletons of men and women who have died in this way still float around in certain chambers, stripped to the bone by the creatures that dwell there.
Tyrian dye is most commonly used in vestments worn by the royalty and upper nobility of countries, particularly the Karvina Princes in Belyria, where the dye is most commonly manufactured. Enough of the substance to dye the hem of a single piece of clothing can cost more than a castle, and so it is reserved for only the richest of the rich.
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