Anharan Silk
Anharan silk is the product of the Coquet Height's silk moths, a rare creature only found towards the tops of a handful of mountains in the capital region. These precious creatures are carefully guarded, as they are the sole supply of silk trim, an important feature of clothing in Anhara, crucial to the designation of ranks on formal robes.
Production
Silk is a difficult to produce material, as the harvest of cocoons requires the moth to complete its metamorphic process, necessitating patience and forming a slow, expensive, supply to the clothing industry. The process of producing silk takes eight lengthy steps, firstly, a grown, female, silkmoth lays anywhere between 300 and 500 eggs. Then, it takes two weeks before these eggs can hatch, forming silkworms. After six or seven weeks of growing to about four inches in length, and having fed on leaves native to small trees only grown midway up the mountains of the Coquet Heights, the worms begin to form their cocoon by producing saliva. This saliva is exuded as the worm swings in a loop from its silk-fibre net, eventually wrapping itself fully in silk, which is formed by contact between the saliva and the air."The silk moth's color matches that of Lady Vestria's clothing, its rarity and location obviously denote sacred status, and the harming of these creatures is immensely uncouth." - Book of Etiquette, "Legality"After about two days of spinning a kilometre of silk, the worm sits in the cocoon for approximately three weeks before hatching into a moth. The discarded cocoons are collected, brushed to find the end of the strand, and then attached to a reel and wound. This process is highly inefficient, as it would be simpler, quicker, and yield up to six times more silk to place the cocoon in warm water, killing the pupa and allowing for the direct harvesting of the silk cocoon. However, given the white color of the moth, its high altitude, rarity, and nature as a flying creature, it is viewed as obviously sacred to Vestria and the harming of the silkmoth is expressly forbidden. The resulting silk is sold to the tailors of Meridia, for incorporation into traditional Anharan clothing, and the dyeing process.
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