Aether-Moss
Odor Details
Aether-Moss has a shifting, memory-linked aroma—smelling different to each person who encounters it. To some, it smells like a lost childhood place; to others, like grief after fire, the breath of a first lover, or rain on forbidden ground. These scents are not illusions but emotional projections encoded in the moss’s memory-responsive structure.Color Variants
In its neutral state, Aether-Moss is a glowing teal-green, with veins of silver that shimmer softly in low light. When reacting to emotional energy or memory resonance, its hue shifts in gradients:- Amber for sorrow
- Indigo for pride
- Soft violet for longing
- Rose gold for joy
- Dull grey for repression or trauma
Properties
Material Characteristics
The moss forms soft mats or lace-like drapes that grow along stone, Sashweave - draped altars, or abandoned loompaths. It is cool to the touch, slightly damp, and pulses gently when held close to skin or enchanted cloth. It is semi-biological and cannot be replicated outside of ley-infused zones.
Physical & Chemical Properties
- Emotion-reactive
- Light-retentive – glows gently even in total darkness
- Memory-preservative – used in binding ancestral records into textiles
- Spell-infused photosynthesis – absorbs ambient arcana to grow, no sunlight required
- Weave-sensitive – resonates with magical leylines or old Weavespire echoes
Compounds
When distilled into alchemical compounds:
- Yields Glow Ink (used for ritual calligraphy and memory-scrolls)
- Can be mixed with threadglow to produce temporary emotional wards
- Produces Scentcord, a vapor-suspended filament used in meditation chambers
Geology & Geography
Primarily found in:
- Virelin’s Step canal banks
- The outermost spiral ridges of The Shatterdeep Expanse
Origin & Source
Believed to have first appeared during the Great Sundering, where leylines ruptured and raw magic bled into the land. Some theorize it is a mutated symbiosis of Myriathian loomroot spores and leyline aetherial fallout, hence the name Aether-Moss.
Life & Expiration
- Loses glow after 12 days away from a leyline or emotional source
- Retains scent-memory up to 5 years in an airtight sashwrap
- Cannot survive arcane sterilization or fire-based processing ,it must be handled with care and reverence
History & Usage
History
Discovered shortly after the founding of Virelin’s Step, when Threadwalkers stumbled upon naturally glowing patches where no sun reached. Elders recognized its emotional properties immediately, and its use in Threadsend Ceremonies became canon within a decade.
Everyday use
- Lined within Sashweaves to hold emotion-threads
- Burned slowly in Thread Vigil Bowls during mourning and memory rites
- Crushed into memory-ink for rites, scrolls, and binding oaths
- Brewed in Glowroot Stew for dream-weaving rituals and spiritual communion
Cultural Significance and Usage
Aether-Moss is regarded as semi-sacred. It is believed to “breathe the emotions of the ancestors”, and thus is handled by Threadwrights, Loomseers, and Memory Keepers only. To mishandle or disrespect Aether-Moss is to sever the thread between generations.
In Thalrani homes, a small moss-bowl often sits on the family altar, pulsing gently with the emotional resonance of the space.
Industrial Use
Used sparingly due to fragility. High-cost artisan uses include:
- Emotion-linked jewelry
- Illuminated signage in diaspora sanctuaries
- Encoded archival mosspaper, storing ancestral bloodlines for generations
Refinement
- Harvested at dawn or dusk by Threadwrights during Loom Vine Devotion
- Must be dried slowly in moonlace cloth to retain memory potency or brought to Virelin’s Step thread guilds for special refinement
- Infused with ritual oils before integration into Sashweave glyph work
Byproducts & Sideproducts
- Residual essence can be used in dream incense
- Moss oil can be extracted and used to embalm ancestral relics
- Discarded fibers are used in Loombless Meditations (rituals where participants touch ancestral emotion without a full Sash)
Hazards
- Overexposure can cause memory flooding—the sudden reliving of ancestral pain
- Can create scent echoes in enclosed spaces, confusing emotional states
- If corrupted, emits a pungent, acrid smell that induces nausea and hallucinations
Environmental Impact
Positive in native environments—stabilizes nearby Weaveflow and prevents leyline fraying. However, introduction into urban or arcane-scarred areas has caused wild growth and sentient memory bloom events, where spaces become “haunted” by collective emotions.
Reusability & Recycling
Carefully harvested moss may be replanted near living patches. Its distilled compounds can be safely reabsorbed into Threadvines or Ancestor Gardens. No magical pollution if returned to ley-ground respectfully.
Distribution
Trade & Market
- Traded only through Thalrani -thread guilds primarily located in the Virelin’s Step
- Commonly smuggled by Silkcutters in woven effigies or enchanted satchels
- Some sanctuaries offer ritual bartering, exchanging memory for moss
Storage
Must be kept in thread glass canisters wrapped in Weave-silk, infused with low-grade emotional resonance (usually joy or peace). Light exposure should be ritualized; moss reacts poorly to UV and sudden grief.
Law & Regulation
- Protected under the Thalrani Thread Concord
- Sanctified by rites tied to The Laws of the Last Loom
- Outsiders are forbidden from possessing raw Aether-Moss without a sanctioned Threadwright’s bond glyph.
The Weave breathes through this moss. It forgets nothing.
Type
Biomaterial
Value
Extremely valuable—especially emotion-specific strains. Traders of high-quality, ritual-harvested Aether-Moss can command 1,000 gold per handspan in secret Thalrani markets. Replication attempts by foreign alchemists have uniformly failed.
Rarity
Rare and protected. Harvested legally only during Loom Vine Devotion rituals. Illegal harvesting is punishable by cultural exile and Sash-severance.
Odor
shifting, memory-linked aroma
Color
hue shifts in gradients
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