u/AdirondackPhantom

The original artbook of a Dutch artist whose career started after a 10-year stay at Brancrug. After washing up after a shipwreck and recovering in the Hush House infirmary, he was inspired to begin painting after seeing the work of his caretaker, Brian Levinsen. His series of ship paintings enjoyed success in England and the coast of the Continent, though many felt there were deeper meanings under the surface.

I’m Reading: Braam was a talented gouache painter, even in his first piece depicting the vessel he almost sank with. In fact, all of his subjects are vessels that have been wrecked at some point or other, and they are flying nautical signal flags even when it wouldn‘t make sense. When decoded, however, each ship intones sinister things: “Brack-ish; Bottom-less; BLA-CKB-ONE.”

I’ve Read: As each page is turned, the ships’ flags express the horrid circumstances that lead to doomed voyages: disease, strange storms, mutiny, sea monster attacks. The settings of the paintings grow more dire: the skies darken, the seas become perilous; the subjects of the paintings become ships that, according to records, had not yet sunk by the time of the artwork’s completion. The final page before it seems to return to normal fare is of a small passenger ship beleaguered by a storm, flying the flags that mean: “Messenger-of-the-Twelfth.” I recoil in shock. It’s the same vessel that brought me here to Brancrug.

2 x Sea Stories; Memory: Salt.

Hey, all! You probably have seen the amazing work of u/SeaBrush489 and his Silk miniseries. It has really inspired me to do some of my own writing, and I’ve decided to take a crack at my own Silk skill. On his post “Call for Ideas (& Always the Hateful)”, which is my personal favorite, a commenter known as u/WildWasteland42 wrote their own book and Skill name, Coutures and Cocoons, and I commented my own description of the skill. My ideas for that skill kept growing, so I’ve decided to make it a full-fledged thing, compiling my ideas together, editing what I had already written, and crediting those who’ve inspired me. For the two people I mentioned: I hope I did your ideas justice. Hope you enjoy!

Coutures and Cocoons (Silk 2, Grail 1)

“Clothes make the man:” An adage, with many forms, that has been passed down throughout the Histories. It’s more resonant and universal than it sounds.

Commit to Preservation: To Protect

Clothing’s first purpose is protection. As the cocoon of the spider shields its eggs and young, so too can the right clothing protect us, from the harshness of the elements, the assaults of battle, the malign influences plaguing Mansus and Wake. Preservation teaches what protects us. (Gain Health)

Commit to Bosk: To Change

Clothing’s first purpose is to facilitate change. As the cocoon of the moth allows and eases the process of metamorphosis, so too can the right clothing change us outside and in, into what has not been, what needs to be, what we truly wish to be. Bosk teaches what changes us. (Gain Chor)

Book: Aurbe & Weaver 1922 Men’s Catalogue (Mystery: Silk 4, Nocturnal)(This entry was written by u/WildWasteland42)

>A selection of offerings from an obscure luxury tailor, known chiefly for their unusual and exacting choice of materials.

>I’m Reading: The copy provided alongside illustrations of sharp, commanding silhouettes contains extensive, at times gratuitous descriptions of the textiles used and the questionable methods employed to source them.

>I've Read: Less of an advertisement and more of an exercise in poetry, the catalogue painstakingly details the subtleties of exotic fabric on skin. Of more interest is the implication that combinations of specific blends result in benefits to the wearer "beyond those offered by the limits of clothed flesh.” 1 x Coutures and Cocoons; Memory: Satisfaction

Book: The Fashion of Secrecy (Mystery: Grail 6, Nocturnal)

>A collection of newspaper articles, with additional commentary and illustrations, of the pseudo-society page titled The Fashion of Secrecy. The anonymous author, whose nom de plume is Lila Orchid, describes the design and provenance of ritual clothing and religious uniforms of those privy to the invisible world. The column is still a fixture of the Kerisham Review, whose editor has described it as “dangerous, yet entertaining and informative.”

>I’m Reading: Followers of the Ring Yew often wear very little aside from wrappings of green linen and jewelry of copper and malachite; Dancers for the Thunderskin often embroider the scores of resonant music into the seams of their costumes. Bishops of the Unconquered Sun have golden sea silk sewn into their frocks and copes for subtle radiance, and disciples of the Forge create the rivets and accessories of their smithing clothes from unique alloys as marks of pride. Her debut articles are about the rare hues of violet used by Knock societies, where she divulges her personal, fervent passion for the dye known as “The Byzantine Tinct”…

>I’ve Read: The additional material added to the book does give verifiable evidence of her presence at these innermost ceremonies. This raises an important question: How did she gain access and report about these dealings, without receiving complaint, censoring, or retaliation? Lila addresses this, vaguely, with a poetic saying she uses as her sign-off at the end of every article: “With certain colors and threads, the world can see you, but with the right threads and colors, you can see the world.” 1 x Coutures and Cocoons; Memory: Gossip

Scroll: The Tantra of Looms (Mystery: Silk 8, Curia, Sanskrit)

>This Tantra is recorded to be co-written by Abhilash Marak, a master weaver and tailor employed by many Indian nobles, and Chandra Hamal, his apprentice and close confidante from Nepal.

>I’m Reading: The Tantra uses the many types of Indian weaving techniques, from Patola to Mysore, as examples of how certain types of “intertwinings” draw forth a variety of powers depending on the materials. It suggests the combination of rarer materials and configurations invoke greater powers, and offer greater gifts…

>I’ve Read: ”As an army interlocks its shields and spears against the enemy, as the mason mortars the pattern of bricks for strength, as the tree weaves its roots through the earth to brace against the winds, so too do we lay these threads together in honor of those pulsing powers underneath the world.” 2 x Coutures and Cocoons; Memory: Connection

Book: The Inderson Case (Mystery: Silk 10, Nocturnal)

>The fashion reporter Steven Diamond‘s personal investigation into Erich Inderson, the exterminator turned textile connoisseur, who vanished under unsettling circumstances at the turn of the century. The book alternates between Diamond’s biographical research, and long passages and copies of Inderson’s journals.

>I’m Reading: It appears that Inderson’s change of career was due to his newfound kinship with spiders, which lead to studies of the esoteric qualities of their threads, crystallizing into an obsession with the underlying influences of fabric. He came to believe that wrapping the body in certain materials and designs can “awaken the potential of what lies within,” but unfortunately, due to a mismanagement of funds, his only viable test subject is himself. These tests, allegedly, proved successful, for better or for worse. The handwriting of the journals becomes more elegant and refined, but the content grows erratic, as he records his dreams of a hidden sanctuary under a mountain, where he can unleash his latent, burgeoning nature. The final page contains vividly detailed drawings of spiders and webs, and two calligraphic words: “Found it.”

>I’ve Read: Diamond, despite his exhaustive research, admits that he is sure Inderson departed East towards China, but his exact destination remains unknown to this day. He concludes with a sanctioned copy of a police report describing the investigation of Inderson’s house, in conjunction with the Suppression Bureau. They discovered the inside swathed in exotic fabrics, tapestries, and carpets, but also littered in tripwire traps and snares which incapacitated many investigating constables. The only clues to his ultimate fate were a translucent, inhuman liquid trailing from his nest-like sleeping quarters to his back door, and the garments he had sewn for himself, whose measurements seemed to suggest that the proportions of his body had “stretched.” 2 x Coutures & Cocoons; Memory: Satisfaction.

Book: The Madness of the Needles (Mystery: Grail 14, Baronial)

>A historical account of a “spinning fever” which afflicted aristocratic families and servants in the North of France. It was always heralded with the arrival of a visiting noble and entourage, and an invitation to a ball. The appearance and name of the noble has always been debated, even amongst the eyewitnesses, but was always described the same: a beautiful woman in a beautiful dress.

>I’m Reading: After contact with the noblewoman’s seamstresses, the aristocrats’ weavers and tailors began to work on extravagant gowns and suits almost without pause. The sheer detail in the bodices, suit coats, and evening gloves of the provided illustrations, and testimonies of those close to the afflicted, suggest they exhibited levels of skill they had never shown before. They also all began to sing the same song as they worked, one never heard in that region…

>I’ve Read: The night of the ball at the noblewoman’s castle, the aristocrats debuted their attire to wild applause and admiration, but the night slowly turned sour, as they all began to visibly weaken as time passed, until simultaneously collapsing on the ballroom floor. Their attendants found their clothes emanated a sticky fiber that numbed the skin, and after the ball, both the aristocrats and their garment makers were bedridden for over a month. When the attendants went to confront the noblewoman and her entourage, they discovered they had vanished without a trace, their rooms so flooded with cobwebs and dust that it seemed they had been abandoned for decades. 2 x Coutures & Cocoons; Beguiling Melody

Book: Towards the Center of the Web (Mystery: Silk 16, Nocturnal, Killasimi)

>A tome of fabric in which the author, who calls himself “The Ariadnid“, elaborates the journey of his burgeoning immortality. If anything could be considered “Killasimi calligraphy”, this would be it.

>I’m Reading: Eloquent, evocative descriptions of the garments purposed to his ascension are interwoven with grotesque accounts of his metamorphosis. The smooth slither of satin, the elongation of the body; the elegance of Su embroidery, the formation of new joints; the labyrinthine composition of the symbols hand-woven into the jacquard, the euphoria of growing the mouth structures and internal glands for the dispensing of the finest threads…

>I’ve Read: ”With each instar, my brain has grown, my mind has expanded, flooding with knowledge and techniques. Techniques for how the threads of History and Time are woven; Techniques for following even the most complex paths to their source; Techniques which have helped to realize the emergence of two beautiful pairs of graceful, dextrous limbs; and techniques which I have used to personally dispense what you see before you, my dear… dear… reader…” As I rub the corner of the page between my fingers, I feel that it is one of the smoothest, finest fabrics I have ever felt… 3 x Coutures & Cocoons; Memory: Fear

P. S.- The description for my idea for a Silk memory:

Memory: Connection - Common threads lie in all things. “No man is an island / Entire of itself…” - John Donne (2 Heart, 2 Silk)

P. P. S. - I have ideas for how the icons and Skill art looks like, but I don’t have the software for drawing them on my phone. I might show traditional drawings for what I have in mind later.

Hey, all! I’ve had this idea rolling around in my head, so I figured I’d get it in writing finally:

Pierce and Ledge Imports (Location: On the Continent)

Ormond Pierce and Keith Ledge were two prolific industrialists who had been fierce rivals in every aspect of their lives since childhood. Since both went into business against each other, their strivings only grew more and more violent and cutthroat, up to and including militaristic raids on warehouses, and outright bombings and arson on ships, until their mysterious disappearance in 1913. Curiously, there was one warehouse co-owned by both companies, but according to records, it never saw even a single import.

Beginning an Expedition: Pierce and Ledge Imports

It is not hard to reach the warehouse in the busy port, but a substantial number of policemen and former employees still guard it, either out of continued loyalty or unfinished contract. Secondly, the entrance to the building, something only the feuding pair had access to, has been sealed and hidden away: to deter thieves, or to contain what’s within?

Obstacles: Watchers and A Hidden Door

The Never-ending Gambit

Once the dust clears, it is revealed that the main room is covered in chess sets, antique and modern, simple and intricate, in every conceivable material and size, set up on all available flat surface. It is incredibly difficult to move around without kicking some of the discarded pieces haphazardly thrown around the room. There are even some formatted to the walls, a few in the rafters, and one magnetized to the ceiling. On closer inspection, all of them seem to be missing one or both of the kings.

We find the kings in the large office overlooking the warehouse floor. They have been thrown into two grand almost-full glass cylinders, as trophies by the pair. It is clear from the chalkboard in the middle of them that they were both evenly matched until the end. Based on the weapons and bloodstains in the room, this wasn‘t the only contest occurring in this building, and considering the occult items placed on a nearby table, perhaps the pair rose to a higher state yet.

Rewards: Martensite Paste; The Byzantine Tinct; Sthenic Venom; Glassfinger Toxin; Labhitic Grains.