Solo Planning for the Future, Working for the Present

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Timestamp: 5th Day of Fall, 515 AV


Ever since Seirei had gotten a big custom order last summer, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. Someone living in Syliras had gotten something she had made for a wedding present. Wedding presents were often admired by the friends and family of the people who owned them. So it wasn't completely out of the question to think that she might have a market for her work if she ever left Endrykas and made her way to that distant city. Following that reasoning, it could be possible that she could find...or create a market for her work in other cities as well. Perhaps even here in Endrykas.

Now that she was free, Seirei didn't have to worry about trying to escape anymore. It still seemed almost too good to be true. And she wasn't at all certain that she trusted the almost complete change in attitude towards her that she was seeing in most of the people around her. But now that she had bonded to a strider, and she was living with the Dawnwhispers, opening a shop was no longer an impossible dream. If the attitude of the Drykas now expressed towards her continued, and they really did accept her as one of them now that she had bonded to Thunder, she might find a market for her work here.

Seirei liked that idea because she had found true friendship and acceptance among the Dawnwhisper family. They treated her as one of their own. She had a few other friends here as well. Those friendships meant a great deal to her. And they made her reluctant to leave them behind for a new start in another city. After the way she had been treated when she was a captive, she was deeply reluctant to trust in the so called "kindness" of strangers. Here she had a home, and people who liked her, and cared for her. While living among people who had treated her like a slave just a season before was painful, she did have people who seemed to like her for who she was. Seirei didn't think she was willing to trust that she would find that again in another city if she chose to leave Endrykas. Her ability to trust in others had taken a severs blow during her time as a captive.

There was a purely practical reason for her to stay here in Endrykas, too. Whenever she could, she had been saving up mizas towards helping her to escape, and supporting herself until she could settled into a new city. If she left Endrykas, that money would have to be used for just that. Buying passage with a trade caravan, and as a nest egg to keep her going until she could get a job wherever she went. But if she stayed here...those mizas could be used as a start towards buying what she'd need to open a shop. It would mean getting her own shop a lot sooner than she would if she left Endrykas.

Seirei knew that the mizas she already had saved up was only the start of what she'd need, though. If she was going to open a shop, she would need a pavilion sized tent to put it in. She would also need a tent she could use as a work shop. It wouldn't be good enough to work out of her own personal tent any more if she was supplying an entire shop. And that was only the start of what she would need. Seirei would be selling her own work, of course. But it would also be a good idea to sell carving tools, and wood carving kits. Buying enough of those to offer in her shop would cost a great deal of mizas. Building up a supply of ready made items to sell would cost her both in mizas for the wood she would need, and in time to actually make the items.

She knew that she would be able to offer custom orders as well, but she would also need a ready supply of beads, bowls, spoons, figurines, and all manner of other things. In order to start getting custom orders, she would first need to build a reputation for herself here in Endrykas. And that would take a great deal of time. In the mean time, she would be able to sell ready made items. If people bought her work, and liked what they saw, hopefully they would come back and ask for custom orders made to their exact specifications..
.
.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

In order to achieve her goal, Seirei planned to make one thing to add to her supply for her future shop for every one she made to sell in the present. Her project for today would help her with that. Teisaia's family was close friends with a pavilion who specialized in carving. But their specialty was stone, not wood like Seirei. And they did more in the way of carving arrow and spear tips than the more generalized work that Seirei did. The youngest son of that pavilion foolishly accepted a large commission for beads...only to ruin all of the wood he had available for the project out of his inexperience with the medium. And with wood being as rare as it was in Endrykas, he had no means of getting more in time to complete the commission unless he was willing to deal with foreign traders...and pay a premium price for their goods. Since his pavilion wasn't willing to deal with the foreign traders, that wasn't an option either. But now that she was free, they were willing to deal with Seirei.

Teisaia told her that if she agreed to help them fill their order in time to save face with their buyer, they would owe her a huge favor. That favor might well take the form of their endorsing her work to customers who bought from them. They wouldn't be competing with each other since although they all carved for a living, they specialized in different areas. If members of that pavilion sent their customers to her when they needed beads, and such, that would be a big step in building a reputation for herself. Simply helping them fill their commission would benefit her as well. She would gain a reputation for being willing to help her fellow craftspeople when she could. That alone would help her considerably.

Making beads was also a task that would lend itself easily to allowing her to make extra beads for herself while filling the order for Teisaia's friends. Seirei began by taking stock of the supplies she had on hand. That would give her a better idea of what she should charge for her services. She found a pouch filled with beads that she had almost forgotten about. They were left over from a day she had turned to carving out of a desperate need for distraction. At the time, she had no set purpose for them beyond the actual carving. But they would make a good start towards this order.

For now, though, Seirei selected several willow branches she wanted to use for this project. The wood would need time to dry out before she could shape the beads she made out of the branches. That would take the most time, so she wanted to get this part of her task out of the way first. So she grabbed her tools. The twins were sleeping. That was another reason why she wanted to get this part of the job out of the way. Lukar and Lira could be incredibly distracting while they were awake. And if they distracted her at the wrong time, like when she was drilling holes in the pieces of wood to turn them into beads...they would crack, and be rendered utterly useless.

Using her knife, Seirei began the process of stripping the bark off of the branches. As she worked, her mind wandered. Stripping the bark off of a branch was a simple enough task that it didn't require her full attention. So she planned out what shaped beads she wanted to make. There would be some spheres, and ovals, of course. They were the easiest shapes to make. It was also easier to carve designs on them. But she would make a variety of sizes of these type of beads.

Seirei wanted to challenge herself, though. She also wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to show off her skill. So rather than sticking with what was easy, she planned to make a wide variety of shapes. Square beads, triangle beads, beads that looked mostly one shape, but were different in some way like squares with a rounded or pointed side. She even hoped to make some spiral beads if she could figure out how to carve that shape. Seirei really wanted to give her imagination free rein on this project. Doing so would hopefully help to give her a good reputation as a versatile carver.

.
.
.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

When she was done stripping the bark off of all of the branches, Seirei began cutting the branches into pieces that would eventually become beads. Since she wanted to create a variety of different sized beads, she made sure to cut different sized pieces. She heard a rustling sound coming from within the tent, so she hastily set her work down, and went to check on the twins. Lukar was shifting in his sleep, but neither child was awake. Nor did they show any signs of waking soon. With a quiet sigh of relief, Seirei went back outside.

She finished cutting each of the branches into pieces. Then she traded her knife for her drill, and began the tedious task of drilling holes in each piece. This part of her project was the one that required the most focus. It wasn't that it was a difficult task. After making as many beads as she had over the years, it came easily to her. But drilling a hole in a small piece of wood was a delicate task. The slightest distraction could cause a slip of the hand at the wrong moment, causing her to shatter the bead she was working on. If she was lucky, the drill wouldn't slip and stab her hand in the process. And since there were a lot of beads to drill holes into, it would be all to easy for her mind to wander away from the familiar task. Likewise, if the twins woke, their cries would be distraction enough to cause her to destroy the bead she was working on.

So she worked as quickly as she could. But she was careful not to sacrifice quality work in her attempt to work quickly. That was a mistake, too. There was a good chance of her ruining several beads that way. And even if she didn't, offering poor quality work was not a good way to build a good name for herself. Besides...it was a matter of pride. Seirei had no intention of ever selling anything but the best work she could do.

After Seirei finished drilling a hole in the last piece of wood she had, she gathered up the pieces, and spread them out on the ground near her tent so they could dry out. Lira's fitful cry filled the air, causing Seirei to tense as she finished spreading the beads out to dry. It was soon joined by a cry from Lukar. The twins were awake, and they would be hungry. Judging by the position of the sun in the sky, a couple of bells had passed while she had been drilling holes into the pieces of wood. It was about time for them to be waking from their nap.

Seirei quickly spread a tarp out over the drying bits of wood, and weighted the corners down with rocks that would be too heavy for the twins to move. They would have to dry another time. She would have to keep the twins with her now that they were awake, and if they saw the beads, they would almost certainly try to eat them. When she was done with that, she gathered up the bits of bark left over from earlier, and headed back into the tent.

The twins were hungry, and impatient to eat after the delay. Seirei fed them as quickly as she could without rushing them. When they had had their fill, she burped each of the twins. Then she gathered up some rags that they could play with. She didn't have any toys for them to play with. Now that they were a bit more than seven months old, they were starting to need more entertainment than Seirei could easily provide on her own. Perhaps she should make them some? What about a doll like the one she had made on commission last summer? No, a doll would be almost as big as they were. What about a ball? If she wrapped an old rag over a balled up rag, and tried to sew it shut...that might be something the twins could play with. For now though, they had the rags. Seirei gathered children and rags up along with several pouches filled with beads in varying stages of completion. Then she headed back outside.

.
.
.

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Seirei set the twins on the ground, and gave them the rags she had for them. Then while keeping one eye on her children, she began to open her bead pouches and take stock of what she had. Roughly one third were pieces of wood that had been cut into a variety of sizes, but needed to be shaped before they could truly be called beads. She examined the rest carefully, dividing them into two separate piles. The prettiest of the beads would be left alone. With those, the natural beauty of the wood shone through, and needed nothing else to enhance the beauty of the bead. The third pile was bigger than the second one, and consisted of beads that Seirei planned to either paint, or carve designs into. With some, she would do both. That would give her a wide variety of beads to offer for the commission she was working on.

Having decided what she wanted to do, Seirei studied her piles. Which beads did she want to work with first? The biggest task by far would be shaping the beads. That would be the most time consuming...but also the most delicate work. Making a mistake while carving a design onto a bead could be corrected by altering the design. Likewise, making a mistake while painting a bead could be fixed by repainting it. But making an error while shaping a bead might well destroy it. On the other hand, if she got the paints out so she could paint the beads that required it, Lukar and Lira were sure to want to "help" her with the paints.

Seirei glanced at the twins. They were playing happily, babbling at each other as they waved their rags around. Could she devote enough of her attention to shaping the beads while keeping an eye on the twins? Or would it be a better idea to wait until they were taking another nap? As Seirei watched, Lukar noticed her attention, and waved at her. Seirei grinned, and stuck her tongue out at him. He shrieked with laughter, and blew a raspberry at her. This gained Lira's attention, and she dropped her own rags to wave at her energetically. Seirei's heart warmed at the obvious fun the twins were having, and she gave in to the desire to watch them play for a while as she made her decision.

.
.
.

[Azmere]

 

Seirei

Experience

• Logic: +2
• Planning: +2
• Organization: +1
• Carving: +1
• Childcare: +1

Lore

• Seirei: Wants to open a business
• Lukar & Lira: Can be distracting
• Carving: Drilling is a tedious task

Notes

This was a nice read, Seirei. I could almost see inside her mind while the wheels were turning.