Ivyweave

Ivyweave is a cloth produced from a vine called Cloudcatcher Ivy that grows at high altitudes and grows along cliffs like a creeper. This hardy nature makes it useful to harpies, who also live high up near mountain peaks. They were the first to cultivate this ivy, though other mountain dwelling species like dwarves have learned to use this ivy as well.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Ivyweave is a stiff yet soft cloth with a pale yellow hue. This neutral color makes the cloth very accepting of dyes, allowing for a rainbow of colors available.

Origin & Source

Ivyweave is made by processing the fibrous vines of Cloudcatcher Ivy. Cloudcatcher Ivy is a sturdy vine that gets its name from its specialized leaves. To get its water requirements, the plant has evolved specialized leaves that scrape clouds and gather wisps of water vapor. Once it has caught some clouds it drinks it fill, but it has a second use for the water it collects. If it collects enough, the Cloudcatcher Ivy can unleash a small but powerful burst of water to crack the ground. It then grows its roots into the crack, anchoring it even further into the rock.

History & Usage

History

Clothmaking was an important art for early harpies, allowing them to move from primitive, birdlike nests to actual structures. These early structures were much more crude than the wide array of harpy architecture seen today, but they also required the harpies to find a source of cloth. Many early harpies stole cotton or linen from the surface, until a tribe of harpies settled on a mountain overrun with Cloudcatcher. In that vine they found a useful basis for their own fibrous cloth. Those ancient harpies spread news of this wondrous ivy to other communities, and soon mountains across Savinaru has peaks lush with Cloudcatcher.

Everyday use

Harpies commonly use ivyweave as a building material. They need lightweight building materials for their nests because it's hard to get more conventional building materials up to the heights they live at. They stretch large sheets of ivyweave around wooden frames like tents, creating sturdy shelters. Some also use the cloth to create clothing, but its stiffness works against it in that regard. It is thick enough to be useful for insulating cold weather clothes, but day to day wear made from ivyweave is uncomfortable and harder to move in.

While it started with harpies, ivyweave has found its way into many races hands. Dwarves have spider silk for lighter textiles but the heft and structural integrity of ivyweave has been put to good use in several places. Those of the surface also use ivyweave for camping tents, cold weather clothes and grand banners.

Cultural Significance and Usage

Harpies treat Ivyweave in a similar way to how humans treat cotton: such a ubiquitous part of their lives that its seen as commonplace, but at the same time such an important material that they can't imagine life without it. Surface humanoids treat it with more interest: it is an exotic and useful fabric that many will pay a hefty sum for.

Type

Textile

Related Species

• Harpy