Handmade Hope

[Ixzo]

32nd of Spring, 519AV
Takes place after this thread.

Taking another ferry, Ixzo found herself at the castle commons again, watching her surroundings carefully. Her fresh wounds were numbing now, but she still adjusted the makeshift bandage on her arm. She was dressed simply today, in simple leather sandals and a green skirt, with a quick Myrian-fashion wrapping around her chest and another quick turban wrapping to keep her thick locks out of her face as the spring heat beat down on her. Her scars and tattoos were especially visible, accented by the ax, kukri, and mallet attached to the leather belt on her hips, and an empty bag loosely tied to it as well. Once could tell the make-shift bandage on her forearm matched the cloth of the canvas sack attached to her hip, telling that she had already found herself trouble in the city in the few bells since the sun had risen.

She had met the Stoneman for the first time in the Temple of the Unknown, and of the few times she needed to come into the city it was to the castle commons, so she had some familiarity with the place. Ixzo made a beeline for the Knight’s Armory, on the advice of the stonewoman. It had been nearly two bells of searching before she found this place, and a small part of her hoped she would be correct this time. The sharp smell of metal and the weight of heat fell on her as soon as she entered the small shop. It was only four bells after sunrise, but the shop was already growing busy. A few customers meandered under the watchful eye of the clerk, and one customer seemed to be watching the forgeman work.

Ixzo could see the forgeman was also an Isur, and was surprised that she had already found two of these strange stone people in one day, and neither of them was the one she was looking for. She had come to this shop before, but she had not met the owner, merely looked for the knife she wanted, purchased it and left, and so now she was able to see him work for the first time. The man was pinching metal with his metallic stone arm, even though the metal was red hot and clearly dangerous to touch. Ixzo gawked for a moment, unsure why his fingers were not melting off, before she realized this was not the Stoneman she was looking for. She glanced at the customers through the shop for a tick, assessing each of their arms, rather than her faces, looking for the familiar black arm that stood out to her.

”Ah, Stoneman!” She sighed with relieve, when her silver gaze fell on a familiar black bicep. She had to check his face to make sure but she honestly couldn’t tell all the humans apart, although Crylon was identifiable for his height, arm, and affinity to not wear shirts. Ixzo had already been warmed up to talking that day, having had to ask and answer so many stranger’s words in such a short time, and so she was not her usual surly self. ”I need you.” She said, reaching for his flesh arm to alert him of her presence forgetting for a tick that everyone in Sunberth was constantly on guard.

[Crylon Stonecraft]

32 Spring 519 It had not taken Crylon long to learn of a forge nearby to the Gem. Kelski desired the making of a forge, and Crylon was working on that. But before he went about making one, he needed to see one that was already built. He had worked on many before, but never with an eye of how they were made. A stunning void in his knowledge in Crylon's mind, seeing as he had a tendency to break down the architecture of every building he ran into. But then, a forge was... A forge... It was as existing and constant as anything in his life, so perhaps he had simply not felt the need to examine it. Now though he would be making one, and needed to finely examine such an existing place. The first person Crylon asked about a forge told him of the place within the Castle Commons. He did not see a castle, or other large stone fortified structure he would consider one, but he supposed Sunberth was used to taking such liberties in naming. It after all called many things a "house" or a "building" when in truth they were more of a "hovel" or "pile of piled trash loosely held together". The Commons it turned out was not too far from the Gem, a ride north across the water and then a short travel west. Once there he simply searched for the familiar sounds and smells of an active forge rather than trying to find a single place among many. This area of Sunberth as a market of sorts with stalls and such was much more orderly than the waterside market he had been to. That one, along with daily flooding, was built poorly and haphazardly. This one, the stalls and buildings, seemed to have if nothing else been designed by a person who had seen a line and had a vague idea of the notion. At least compared to the other market. It was still Sunberth, not clean or crisp lines, well made structures, or stout buildings. But still, it seemed a bit more orderly. By Sunberth standards. Next to the stalls were proper buildings, by Sunberth standards. It was then that he heard the sound. The ring of metal on metal. Metal being pounded, formed, made. Industry. The world so common to the Isur, which felt like a second home to Crylon. A forge. As he neared he smelled the smell of the forge, tasted the taste on the air, felt the heat as he was drawn to the building like a wagon at the top of a hill was drawn to the bottom. And it was an actual building, one properly made and maintained, something so rare to see in Sunberth. As he entered the building the sensations increased. The sound, smells, taste, sight, of a forge. Today he wore his dark linen pants and vest, and sandals. Along with that he had only a pack on his back. That pack though held quite a few things, mainly tools- all of the tools Crylon owned that were not of fine Isur make which were kept safely at the Gem. But he felt fine carrying about his more common tools, in case they were needed. He was greeted by a human as he entered, who seemed to pause for a moment as he saw the person entering the forge was an Isur. "Ah, are you here looking for anything in particular?..." Crylon nodded, pointing at the forge behind the counter. “Here see forge. Look after.” Perhaps from having worked with an Isur, this did not seem too odd that a customer would want to see where things were made before actually looking at the things that were made. And indeed Crylon noticed then that there was another Isur, this one working the forge behind the counter. Crylon did not bother him, seeing he was hard at work, instead just watching from afar. Watching while examining the forge and its basic elements. How it was put together. How he might make one. Looking it over, the design was rather straightforward. Basic. You had a forge itself where the metal was heated. You had an anvil for working the heated metal on. Everything else was simply additional things added to allow these things to occur. The main focus though in terms of complexity was the forge. You had a chimney to funnel the smoke from the flame. The hearth was the fire was, coal, heating elements. A bellows or other such things were air could be added from below to the hearth to heat the coals to the correct temperature... Which required a grate, slim enough to let air up from the bellows but not letting hot coals or things down. Air was the food for fire, and it had to be fed. And that was the gist of it. Place things within easy reach, so that the smith could get from the forge to the anvil in a half turn, not requiring walking from one to the other... And build. The design, the idea, was simple. The tricky part, Crylon saw now, would be the actual building of it. The laying of stone, bricks, tightly to not allow air or heat to escape, to keep the fire in. That would take practice, something he did not have. But something he could gain. He half heard someone talking nearby, lost in thought and concentration as he was. It was not until he felt a hand on his bare arm that he jumped and swiftly turned to see who was grabbing at him. Luckily either for the Isur or Kelvic, it was hard to say which, Crylon's nerves were not as razor honed and tight as most Sunberthians and Crylon's immediate reaction was not violence as many in the city would be. But the grabbing limb did not seem violent or threatening in its grab, and as he turned he saw that it was in fact a familiar face. Ixzo, the kelvic woman he had met before who had taken a mans head who had been part of a group attacking him. Somewhat violent, or easy to violence, but also a follower of Priskil like himself. Surprise turning to puzzlement, Crylon eyed the Kelvic. She needed him? For what? “Need for what, Ixzo? What is need?”

[Ixzo]

”I have, uh… plan. For Priskil, and for Sunberth. Want to make… uh, building for Priskil, but not building. Want to make a, um… this.” She threw her arms up forming a rough tower. She had no word for any religious buildings, no shrine or temple in her vocabulary. Worship, Prayer, Location. She signed the Pavi words, as if it would help him understand even though he knew nothing of the horsepeople’s language. ”You are son of Izurdin, you build, yes? You help me build for Priskil and for humans?” She rushed through her common words, a slight thrill of excitement. It was perhaps the longest string of words she had spoken since coming to the city, and while it help no sentence structure, it had all the words with meanings she needed to convey, which was enough for the Kelvic. He seemed not surprised by her finding him, and it occurred to her that he may have other plans for his day. A small part of her thought to ask if she was interrupting him, but a larger part decided he could always deny her his time if he wished. He had mentioned seeing the Goddess, or an apparition of her, and although he did not know much of her mother, he had showed enough interest for Ixzo to be confident she could enlist his help. And with the reverence with which he spoke of his father God, Izurdin of building and strength, she was seeking his knowledge on construction, assuming he had more than herself.

”You will come? I show you where.” She let her hand fall to his forearm, resting there as if ready to tug him along. Now that she could see the stoneman once again, her memory reminded her of his inquisitive nature and earnest curiosity. He was one of the kinder souls she had come across in such a city as Sunberth, and the fact that he was not trying to stab her or make fun of her lack of understanding, was already lightening her mood. She had visions of a small almost-building where one could come to meditate, to light a candle and seek refuge from the city, to host their vigilance and to have their hope replenished. She had no illusion that the people of Sunberth would see this small shrine as an offense, and the lioness was fully prepared to revisit the shrine more than occasionally in order to protect it, but her devotion told her that even in the darkest places, as Sunberth, hope would persevere. It had for her, countless times again, and the very least she could do is gift that same hope to the lost of this city.

”It must build strong.” She muttered, thinking of the duress the shrine was sure to fall under, speaking as if Crylon had already agreed to help her. She knew nothing of what the shrine should look like or how to go about it, and without him her vision would falter to the only construction she knew, a simple A-frame hut thatched with grass and mud.

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Crylon listened as the kelvic struggled with common, trying to make herself clear with varying results. He knew his use of the language was not fluent, but her use of it made his own seem... Good. He had to repeat her words a few times in his head before he felt he had gotten the gist of it, though he still felt like he was missing something. She wanted a building. But not a building. For Priskil, for Sunberth. A... Tall building? But not, something you made but not actually a building per say? A construction not intended for.... Being a building? As in, perhaps meaning not meant to go within? He noticed once more as the woman tried to make odd gestures with her hands, which doubly made Crylon think she was using another language which involved the hands which he was not familiar with. A building that was not a building, for a diety... Confused, Crylon eyed the kelvic, glancing about to see if anyone within earshot seemed to understand her. But the human who ran the shop was interacting with another customer and studiously looking away, not wanting to get involved. And the Isur was working, focused on his task. As he should be. Which left Crylon alone to puzzle out the confused and confusing Kelvic's meaning. “Ah.... Yes, son of Izurdin, know of build. Would do yes. But... Not clear, what wanting make build. Is maybe... Draw, have thing write with? Ah!” Letting out a grunt Crylon turned and reached into his pack, and focusing on chalk pulled a single piece out. It was one of the things that was with his basic construction and building tools, as sometimes it was needed to temporarily mark things in various ways. But, Crylon supposed, it would work as well now. Holding out the piece of chalk to the kelvic, Crylon motioned towards the door. “We go outside, you draw, show mean? Make more sense maybe? Then I help?” Focusing on the task at hand, Crylon tried adding some more clarifying questions which he thought might aid in his understanding of what the kelvic wanted. “Is want building. You mean thing people go in, or... Smaller? Thing people not go in?” He also realized then he had no idea what forethought the kelvic had put in, if she had acquired anything to build with or build out of, or expected him to handle that? “And what is make out of? What tools, materials, have? Wood? Stone? Metal? Nails? What have, to make with?” “Is can help, can help design, help make, but must know what make. What is do, at place? What is people do there, once made? Maybe this also help, if know what use for, know what need make?”

[Ixzo]

He frustration of not knowing a language well was beginning to show on Ixzo’s face. She had not bothered to learn the common tongue, or the unnecessary writing that came with it, because it had belonged to her slavers. It was the tongue they had spoke, and that they had forced her to speak, which was the only reason she knew as much as she did. She detested the language by her first introduction to it, but she was beginning to find issue by not knowing in it Sunberth. That, and she was clearly speaking too fast. Ignoring Crylon for a tick, she took a deep breath in, and then deep breath out, trying to reset her excited thoughts.

”I draw.” She confirmed, nodding at his suggestion and plucking the chalk from his hand that he offered to her. Ixzo followed the man outside, immediately turning to the nearest whole wall and running the chalk over the weathered brick. She formed a simple square with a roof, not quite grasping the concept of three dimensions, but pointing to the two lines that were supposed to be the walls. ”Not wall… sticks, like tree, hold roof. Roof keep out rain.” She explained, not having a proper word for column. Then she drew a small flat circle inside the base of the small house-like structure ”Flat… ground.” She explained, and then started drawing a small stack of candles within the circle. ”Candles.” She said, just in case her terrible hand did not convey the meaning.

It was simple, but that was all Ixzo needed it to be. She was definitely not some architectural whiz, and knew very little about construction other than the basic necessities. ”I want… place for Priskil. Place to go to… pray. Place for hope, for Sunberth.” She said, carefully spitting out her words this time to make more sense. She was excited, having remembered that the Stoneman was more skilled in architecture and construction than she, and that she could try and buy his help.

”Oh! No wood! Candles, burn.”[b] She pointed to her crudely drawn candles in the center, as if he did not already know this. And then, as the crudely drawn depiction of her Goddess’ shrine stared back at her on the weathered brick of the building before them, her brain was off again. Imagining the possibilities and the joy of the thing, without having the grounded thinking that Crylon surely did. [b]” I only know how to make wood. Then I need you… I don’t know how make this. Stone?” She asked, wondering what would be the best use for construction. She thought the baked clay that these eastern humans used was ugly… what were they called? Bricks. ”No brick, brick is…. Bad. Look bad.” She frowned. ”I pay more for stone.” And then she paused, realizing she was getting ahead of herself again.

”You help, please?” Silver eyes flickered down to Crylon’s studying his isur gaze for a tick to see how he was receiving the offer. He seemed to already be thinking about it, but then again he seemed to always be thinking hard about something. ”I pay.” She said, unsure if she had already offered, and hoping it would help sway him if needed.

[Crylon Stonecraft]

It was clear the kelvic was trying her best to communicate, trying but have issues. It did not help that common was not the native tongue for either, but rather one they had acquired later. Neither were fluent, but the woman was even less so than Crylon. This combined to make communication rather difficult, but as it was the only language they both seemed to know there did not seem to be another alternative. Heading outside with the kelvic Crylon watched when she began to draw, doing his best to parse her meaning when combined with her words. Alas she was no architect, and was not skilled at making her intentions clear in regard to the design of a building or structure. It also did not help that, or so Crylon was beginning to think, the kelvic did not fully understand what she was describing. Perhaps something from her own culture, a place or a thing. But in trying to translate that into terms more common to them both, something seemed missing. She wanted a place... Building... Structure... To worship Priskil at. In. By. Beyond that, her explanation was not too clear, and her drawing could have been any number of types of buildings. Realizing the problem was likely in part himself, he tried to speak more simply and in as small of wording as he could. He also tried to further express himself by pointing to a nearby example of the bit of architecture he was speaking of. Wall. Roof. Stone. Wood. “Roof... Keep out rain... But only top. Rain, rain hard, also come in sides. Is... Have walls? Just roof?” He found himself struggling to understand her, but hoped that if he gave enough clarifying questions as to what she wanted, and if she actually answered him, he might be able to figure it out. “Is want... Roof, held up by... Posts... Support... Column... No walls? ” “Is want... Be inside, building, when pray? Under roof? Or... Or in front of thing. Like... Shrine? Shrine, smaller, not go inside, go... In front, to pray.” Not wood. So stone. But stone... Where to get stone in Sunberth? Stone to use for building, if possible shaped for building into similarly sized bricks. And something to hold it together. He knew of mortar, could see it know looking around and at the forge so recently, but only in theory and had not seen it used yet in practice. Seen it applied and placed and used to make something. “Is not make before, with stone. Self, only use wood. But... But could find out. Can... Learn. Need find books. Go library. Maybe can find on how do there? If come with.” “If use stone, still, think, bricks. Stone bricks, made of stone, not mixed like these bricks.. Big stone, not in pieces, too heavy. Not carry. But if lots stone, also heavy. Need learn how put together. How make to mix. Then must get stone. And mortar... Make stay together. Then do. If that is want. Pausing for a moment Crylon met the kelvics eyes, making sure she was paying attention before continuing. “Not pay. Is do, for Prsikil. Not need pay.” After speaking, Crylon realized another thing he had yet to realize. A location. “Is build at, where? Where build? You own... Land? Place, to put on? Keep people taking? If not own land, need place put on where can. Where is put at? Where build?” WC: 575

[Ixzo]

Ixzo sighed. Crylon was growing impatient with her, and he had a right to. She barely had a vision, she knew nothing of what she was preparing to take on… but wasn’t that why she had come to him? Still, she made an effort to concentrate on his words, trying to listen to and piece them together individually rather than group together what she thought he meant and answer as a whole. ”Have roof… must be… open.” She made a abstract figure with her hands as if it would help, listening for his next question, which he seemed to be speaking slower and smaller to her now. Long past minding this treatment, Ixzo listened earnestly.

”Column, yes!” She said, gathering what the Common word meant from his other descriptors of it. She waved her hand at his concern, and made a psshhsound between her lips. ”Rain not matter.”

”Shr-i-ne.” She worked her tongue around the new word, nodding carefully, digesting his words. ”Cover for candles, small place go inside. Not pray outside. Pray inside. Three meters, one side to other side. Square or circle?” She explained, watching the gears work in Crylon’s head as he started to plan it out, and then asking what he thought would work. A relief washed over her, and although she was still full of energy and excitement for the oncoming project, she was glad that the planning of it was being largely taken off of her hands. She had no idea about these things, and it seemed Crylon was the expert, so she was happy to relinquish the planning to him. As he thought out lout he listed the things he would need, and she tallied them in her head.

”Stone bricks, Mortar mix. What need for mortar mix? Roof? What need for roof? Not thatch?” She asked, thinking to her poorly thatched roof in the woods, sure that the Stoneman could come up with something better than her poorly crafted hut, although not sure what it could be. ”I have land. North by Slag Heap. The burnt farms, I buy there.” She said confidently, almost as if she had already bought the land, even though she had not. ”No worry about steal, I live close, I watch careful.” She pointed two fingers towards her eyes and then two fingers east towards the woods, emphasizing the last word with a little bit of mischief. Although she lived far enough away it would be a trek to come into the city every so often, she doubted the shrine would be stolen, it was a building, and there wouldn’t be much to steal. It wasn’t as if Priskil required offerings, she merely wanted to make a safe haven for people to light a candle and pray, to ask the Goddess for the hope they needed to survive this dunghole of a city.

”I get thing, you… go look at book.” She said, still dismissive of a language that needed a written form. ”Stone bricks, mortar mix, what more thing we need?” She listed on her fingers and then asked, making sure she got the list down. Now that this was a task she could handle, which was not so out of her league as planning a building was, Ixzo was already thinking of where she was going to rent a cart and driver to deliver all of the heavy things she would need. She intended to use the recently ruines space before the trees invaded the land on the outskirts of the city, near the trail that she walked into the city every day. It saddened her to see such a scar on Caiyha’s beautiful ecosystems, and a small part of her wanted to help contribute back to it. It least it was a recognizable place, and she would not have to find Crylon afterward… depending on how long it took him to learn things from the book. Books were still a bit of a mystery to the Kelvic.

[Crylon Stonecraft]

While Crylon's best skills involved designing, he had experience with various secondary skills involved in that. The skills involved in building by itself. Wood, stone, metal. Planning, and organization, were both also important for designing and building a place, as was knowing how to take charge of a situation when it was needed. Someone had to lead, even among like minded people with similar goals. While her initial explanation had been rough, with enough clarifying questions he felt he grasped to a degree at least what Ixzo was wanting. A outdoor building, perhaps similar to a gazebo, or small patio style structure someone might have off a main building. Little more at times than some posts to hold it up, a roof to keep out the worst of the rain when it was not coming in sideways. And a flat place on the bottom, for moving around inside. It seemed a bit odd, as a temple, but who was he to argue. She had a vision, one that he was starting to grasp. And it seemed she would be funding the endeavor, and so perhaps for that had more of a say in what was done. How it was done though, well that seemed to be why she had come to him due to her own understanding of lacking knowledge. She knew her own weakness in that regard, and so came to him to make up for it. At her first clarifying question aimed at him, Crylon pondered for a moment before responding. “Square. Circle can be strong, but is more... Difficult... Hard. Square is shape of wood, plank, of stone, brick. If want simple... We do square. Easier to build.” The further they got, the more Ixzo seemed to grasp where the conversation was going, and she in turn asked more and more questions that made him ponder. He pictured the structure in his mind, moving and assembling its bits and then taking them apart in his head to examine what was needed. Starting at the ground he worked his way up to the roof. “Ground... Lay stone, bricks... Then same, for columns. Stone, bricks, held together. Need mortar. Not know what need for, is part need learn. Books. Roof, wood. Planks. Cut, form, nail. Need nails. Make roof. Keep off rain.” Ticking them off one by one, Crylon repeated just the ingredients. “Stone, cut as bricks. Mortar, or ingredients for make mortar. Thing mix in? Wood, cut planks. Nails. And land, to put on. Is what need. Must get, and I must learn what can, to do. How do.” “You go, get things, bring to place. Have brought to place build. We meet tomorrow, at Gem. Is where live. By bay. Close to bay. Is come there, tomorrow morning, I meet you. You take to land. We start work, once you have things, and I have knowledge of how do. Yes?” WC: 483