Odrun Fell

The Molt Troughs are one of the older Barley breeding rings. Here, a set of connected shallow pits are used for the shedding and collection of hardened exoskeletons from unique breeds of beetles, like the Huskbelly, used for meat and chitin. Once shed, these husks are sorted by quality and purpose, chitin for armor, fine filaments for fabric, and any remaining powdered flakes for alchemical use. The meat from beetles like the Huskbelly is immediately preserved with magic and shipped in to Odrun Fell. The process is time-sensitive and physically demanding, but handlers and breeders here are used to the challenge. The troughs here have been run by the same families for generations, and apprentices from outside the traditional families are not even allowed to observe the handlers here until their third year of tending.

A series of long, sunken basins filled with dark clay and ringed with heat-lamps and incense braziers, the Molt Troughs radiate an earthy warmth. Scattered across the edges are sheared fragments of gleaming shell in shades of crimson, black, and bronze. Above, mist-nets hang from tall spindles to catch floating husk particles before they settle into the breeze.