Today's clue ladder, gentlest first. In the game each rung is worth fewer points, so open only what you need — the answer stays hidden until you ask for it.
For centuries the secret of my making was a guarded state treasure, forbidden to carry beyond a nation's borders.
The money in your wallet bears my name, though it's woven mostly from cotton, not from me.
Thin, flat, and traded in reams, I've carried every written word for two thousand years.
Fold me into a crane, wrap me around a gift, or run a pen across me.
Books are printed on me, letters written on me, and scissors cut me in the children's game.
5 letters, starts with “P”.