IN> The Silk Wars

[William Keith]

No account of the Words closely associated with China would be complete 
without an accounting of the struggles between both Sides (and, indeed, 
on occasion within them) regarding the wonder of silk.  A surprising 
population of celestials have been involved with this trade.

Bxbmbx ("bix-BIM-bix"), Angel of Spinners, Kyriotate Friend of Beasts 
-- Bxbmbx was the first to understand the potential of silkworms and 
spider silk, well before humans discovered them.  It was Word-bound 
before the Fall and was (and is still) considered one of Heaven's 
noteworthy artists in physical media.  It oversees all manner of 
cocooning and webspinning insects, including silkworms and the spinning 
species of spiders.  Its area of authority overlaps with some other 
angels, but its focus is typically on the protection of the 
environmental conditions necessary for cocoons and webs, as well as the 
appreciation of their innate beauty and utility in the wild.  It is 
less interested in technological applications of silk, leaving that to 
Shao, Angel of Sericulture.  It is a Distincted angel of Animals and 
has several rites and Attunements that it can offer to subordinates or 
particularly meritorious allies:

Rite:
Completely and carefully trace (by *eye*) the threads of a spiderweb.
Promote a beneficial change in someone's behavior patterns through a 
period of voluntary dormancy.

Attunements:

Cocoon: with the expenditure of an Essence, the angel's Vessel can 
sweat a clear goo which dries into strands after a few minutes in air.  
Within a number of minutes equal to the angel's Vessel level, the angel 
is encased in a thin cocoon and goes to dormant (its mind does not 
enter the Marches, and the angel is awakened by a rough jolt or any 
damage).  The angel's Vessel heals one Body Hit for every hour spent 
thus hibernating.  During this time the angel's oxygen needs are next 
to nil, so it makes for a way to survive low-oxygen conditions, as 
well.

Metamorphosis: requiring the Cocoon attunement and serving as an 
upgrade, this Attunement allows an angel to permanently modify his 
Vessel with Songs that produce a physical effect such as Form or 
Numinous Corpus.  The Song is activated and the angel enters a cocoon 
while still under its influence; spending a number of days in 
hibernation equal to the angel's Corporeal Forces causes the angel to 
emerge with the Song permanently active upon his current Vessel.  
(Those with a finite number of uses, like Acid or Barbs, remain so, 
regardless.)  The process may be reversed to rid the angel of the 
feature.  The effects are restricted to physical manifestations: for 
example, Wings only permit flight if the angel's Vessel is light enough 
and the angel strong enough to fly normally.

Spun Steel: the angel produces a stickier, stronger silk from his 
fingertips (though suitable insect or swarm hosts will grow convenient 
spinnerets, and produce double the quantity) that can be stuck to an 
object at one end or both ends, and drawn out as a cable or rope.  The 
strand is capable of holding weight or resisting force up to a level 
equal to the angel's Strength, and can take (angel's Strength x 
Corporeal Forces) in damage before sundering.  For every Essence, 
around 10 feet can be produced, and multiple threads can be strung 
linearly or wound together.

      As intimated, Bxbmbx is not the only angel closely involved with 
silk.  Shao, Angel of Sericulture, Seraph of Lightning, has been racing 
humans to develop the production and harvesting techniques necessary to 
take advantage of silk since shortly after humans were found to have 
developed the art.  Shao was closely involved with both the 
agricultural and the textile side of production, and these days is 
displaying considerable interest in the use of both natural silks and 
artificial substitutes, which he is attempting with some success to 
encompass within his Word.

      Shao was not really a fan of the Chinese monopoly on silk, but 
instead of ham-fistedly passing around silkworms to foreigners he tried 
to convince the Chinese authorities to teach their allies the secrets.  
These efforts amounted to little until the theft of eggs and kidnapping 
of some silkworm farmer girls by the Japanese around the year 300 CE, 
which a demon of Genubath claimed credit for inspiring.  As unpleasant 
as the means were, the spread of the art was seen to bring Shao some 
considerable relief -- silk technology remains one of the few 
technological applications that was *delayed" compared to its expected 
dissemination schedule in Lightning's plans.

      Jordi does not get along at all well with Jean, and Bxbmbx has no 
particular use for Therufix's chemical preparations and talk of 
modifying organisms.  If it prompts humans to appreciate silkworms and 
spiders, wonderful.  If it prompts humans to leave them alone, fine.  
His own Word is fully capable of supporting itself as long as the 
ecological niches for spinners continue to be viable.  The Word of 
Sericulture was contested by a Novaline and a Creationer, the latter of 
whom Bxbmbx supported, feeling that that angel had a much better 
appreciation of the subtleties and value of a fine web, independently 
of any use it had to humans.

      Bxbmbx' opinion of Shao, however, is a mild peeve compared to 
their mutual distaste for Soggaster, Balseraph of Greed, Demon of Silk. 
  This entity was at once responsible for strongly encouraging the 
Chinese government in its monopoly practices while spreading the desire 
for the rare stuff, all the while collecting excellent pieces for 
herself and profiting handsomely both in resale and in a growing 
collection of fine goods.  Given that Soggaster was also known to feed 
information about silk caravans to demons of Rapine when the caravans 
were impudent about providing the right bribes, it is also entirely 
possible that she was in a position to let the Japanese in on the 
monopoly (for a king's ransom) if it seemed like Shao's persuasions 
were about to have an effect.  Though Greed has been diminished, the 
Demon of Silk remains a force to be reckoned with in China, both 
financially and in art circles.  She is a cultured, wealthy demon who 
always has a strong Role and will *not* be seen in anything short of 
the finest clothing -- several pieces of which are subtle relics.

      Soggaster's primary opponent among Trade was Hsien, Ofanite Angel 
of the Silk Roads, and an angel in a very tough position.  To be sure, 
the Silk Roads were a powerful Earthly manifestation of Trade, and 
several points along them produced Tethers that served Heaven well, but 
Greed did fairly well off of the industry too.  (As did several bands 
of raiders, working first for Genubath and later for Valefor; in modern 
times, some of those raiding groups wear power ties.)  Whether the 
cross-cultural flow of religion served monotheism or the pagan gods 
better is debated, as is whether Hsien really had any control over the 
rapid technology and knowledge transfer that ran up and down the trade 
routes he oversaw.  These days Hsien is not so powerful as he once was, 
but the concept of the Silk Roads remains viable as metaphor and the 
physical roads themselves are in some cases still in use.  Hsien is 
safe enough at the moment, and is trying to work out how to expand his 
Word metaphorically to Occident-Orient exchanges of culture in general.

William