The Threads

The Threads are vestiges of the shattered Fragmát. The fragments fall, slowly, towards Reigín, where they get shredded and filtered through a gap between the sphere and the planet, eventually falling over Azafát in a rain of silvery threads (see Fig. 1). Though reaching most of the planet, the Threads build most heavily around Yu’hn and her borderlands. In their natural state, the Threads easily irritate the skin and are unsafe for human consumption, but after processing, are a major commodity throughout Azafát.

Once processed, the Threads can be spun, and then woven or knit together to make a light yet durable array of fabrics, used for clothing, décor, netting, sutures, and many other functions. It takes most dyes well, though even colored it has a shimmery quality to it that betrays the original fiber. Undyed, the fabrics are a pale silver. Threadcloth is a high commodity in most places and therefore can get incredibly expensive, so it also functions as a show of wealth for many areas.
In Vagapariña, Threadcloth is seen as a gift from their god-king, Yan-Reigaste (when looking into the night sky, it appears that the Threads fall directly from Reigín to Afazát). So, clerical groups and exceptionally pious laypeople use the fabrics for specific vestments, denoting the sects to which they are pledged.

Once processed for textile-making, the Threads can be further distilled, separated, and used for medical purposes. As sutures, the Threads can hasten a wound’s healing, leaving behind a silvery scar in its place. So far, medics and scholars are not sure how this happens, as otherwise they have only been able to use the Threads subtractively (i.e. removing growths and performic cosmetic surgeries with a significantly shorter recovery time than surgeries performed without— because of this, certain gender reaffirming surgeries are incredibly accessible, though anything additive is still being sought out).
As well, the distillation process creates a filmy byproduct which can be used as an intense hallucinogenic drug. While used recreationally in some areas, in Vagapariña, it is also used clerically because of the Threads’ status there as a holy gift from Ya- Reigaste. Depending on the sect, using hallucinogenic Threads either represents their god’s messages (in other words, artificially prompting mystical experiences) or is simply a way of thanking him for bestowing the important commodity upon the planet.