Solo The Weight of Paper

[Kanri]

Timestamp: Fall 4, 512
The Glass Reverie

The Glass Reverie always smelled warm and sticky, a very distinct smell never to be had in any other place. It also felt warm and sticky with sweat. Kanri always liked the heat of the Glass Reverie though. It made her feel as though she had been working hard. Today, she planned to simply fulfill a large order of paperweights for traders that were leaving the city right before the first frost. Kanri thought they were cutting it a bit close to the end of the traveling season but she was not one to judge.

She picked a marvel that no one else was working at and took a blowpipe off the top. It's weight in her hands still felt strange, even after using them for so long. She walked carefully among the other glassblowers, her newfound ambition making the whole process seem new. Avoiding the other bodies in the room, she made her way to the huge Batch Ovens at the center of the room.

The heat was shockingly intense. Just moving near the furnace caused her to sweat. Her hands felt dangerously slippery on her blowpipe. She simply gripped the metal pole tighter and stepped up to the furnace, and dipped the end of the blowpipe into the molten glass. She slowly twirled it, like leading a feather through water without letting it touch itself. The glass gathered itself up into a wad. Kanri then moved back to the marble tables, even more careful now with the slightly glowing glass.

She began by blowing gently through the pipe so that the glass began to expand. A nice little bubble formed at the tip of her pipe, already looking smooth and perfect, even though it was not perfectly even. She then began to roll the pipe across the marble surface in order to cool it off when she noticed a pair of critical eyes watching her…

[Kanri]

Kanri initially simply ignored the sharp, intense gaze, giving the onlooker the benefit of the doubt. He could very well have been looking at someone else. It would not be right to judge someone just because they gave you one mean look. He could be having a bad day. Any number things could happen so Kanri decided not to jump to conclusions and continued with her work.

The glass weight started looking nice, even if a little off center. However, slight imperfections like that defined her artwork. She did not think the perfect equality of some paperweights was nearly as appealing.

"If you are going to distribute the glass like that, you need to make it look intentional," a deep voice appeared right at her side. So he had finally spoken to her. This man had an intense, serious aura around him. He was probably in his early thirties but he somehow felt ancient. His eyes were a striking gold, green and his hair was a jaggedly cut red-orange, like the color of the sunset, falling to his shoulders. He had a muscular build and a tattoo of an Eagle-wing all down his left arm. His glass-beaded belt was even more crimson than his hair but besides that, he wore all black. He wore a pair of black Bryda and had the falconers' sontav. "Your paperweight looks sloppy. If you want the glass imperfectly distributed, put it into thirds. Go reheat it and try again."

He was older and clearly knew what he was doing so Kanri obediently returned to the oven and melted the glass down again. However, she also felt a bit defiant of the man's orders. She may not have the work of a master, but Kanri certainly thought she was not bad at her glasswork. The glass quickly turned back into its glowing liquid form. Even from standing back at the oven for a short while, Kanri felt sweat trickling down her sides and her hands felt even more slippery but she couldn't spare a moment to wipe them off and returned to the marvel where her self-appointed teacher was waiting.

Without even asking her, he took the blowpipe from her hands and began rolling it quickly and expertly across the marvel. Kanri had held the blowpipe a least a little loosely in her hands, thanks to her minimal sword training, but she still surprised herself by how easily he snatched it away. She watched his hands twist the blowpipe with fluidity that made the awkward readjustment of the fingers look completely natural. Just as the way the Wind Eagles leapt into the sky and caught the air with their wings with ease. However, he was not spinning the little bulb of glass in a complete circle. He lifted back up and blew into the blowpipe slowly and the glass that had not cooled welled up a little more, creating a very a bulge in about a third of the glass. He rolled the glass a little more so that the bulge in the glass cooled. Then, he held it out for me to see.

"See? Now it looks intentional imperfection instead of sloppy work," he said in an even tone. I could tell he was bragging, however nice he was being about it. "Put on a pair of gloves. This one is done."

I picked gloves out of the shelf and put them on while he pulled out a pair of shears with a free hand. Holding my hands under the paper weight, he snipped it off at the end. The ball of cooling glass began to become more see and less orange. It still felt quite warm, even with the gloves on. It was also very heavy. But that was the point of the paperweights. I slowly walked the paper to the Annealer. I appreciated the man helping me but he was also belittling me at the same time. I did not know what to think of him. And why was he helping me? What did he want? I shook my head as I put the perfectly imperfect paperweight he had made for me and returned to my self appointed master.

[Kanri]

The man held his arms crossed across his chest and still watched with that unnerving, steady stare. Kanri felt an emotion something like fear creep into her but still curious. Like a bird being eyed by a larger bird as prey. As she kept her eyes plastered on the floor to avoid eye-contact, she nearly bumped into someone with a hot, glowing wad of glass at the end of their blowpipe. With a muttered "excuse me", Kanri dodged around them and kept her head up from then on. Besides, the man had gone to putting his palm over his face in annoyed, "What-an-Idiot" expression. Kanri felt a rush of embarrassment fill her. It wasn't her fault he was staring her down like a she was a rabbit and he couldn't decide if he was hungry!

"I appreciate your assistance, but why are you helping me?" Kanri asked confrontational voice. She wanted answers, but she still did not want raise too much of a scene.

The man looked up with those intense gold eyes. "I have seen you come in here in an irregular pattern. It seemed as though you did not really care about your work. This is the third day in a row you have come in and done something productive. Since you have decided to do something for a change, I figured you might as well produce something we can actually use," he said matter-of-factly.

He had insulted me again. Yet, Kanri still felt compelled to listen to him. She wanted to run away. She wanted to cling to his every word. She wanted to cry. She wanted to laugh at him. She hated his lofty personality. She liked the way he commanded himself.

"What are you thinking?" the deep voice broke in.
Kanri just looked at him blankly.
"Don't expect me to read your mind," the man prompted her.
"I was-- What's your name?" Kanri said, shifting quickly. She wasn't going to tell him she did not know what to think of him! It was embarrassing!
The man eyed her suspiciously. "It's polite to give your own name first."
"Right, I'm Kanri. It's nice to meet you," Kanri told him, nodding slightly.
The man smiled a sly smile. The first Kanri has seen out of him. "Likewise," he said, holding out a hand for her to shake. So she did.

He still didn't tell her his name.

[Kanri]

"I don't think 'Likewise' is your name," Kanri mused.

"Wind Reach is a surprising place. I would not put it past them," the man replied completely unfazed. "Now stop standing here gawking, get back to work. I didn't ask for quality chit-chat, I asked for quality work. And frankly, this conversation is useless."

Kanri wanted to tell him that the way he was making suddenly made Wind Reach sound as though Wind Reach was not his hometown. She continued to work under his instruction, though with his critical eyes and harsh comments, she only got two purposefully, off-center glass weights before taking a break for lunch. She felt those eyes analyzing her every move, as though he were sizing her up for something. She did not question him aloud, however, she did not feel completely trusting towards him. She felt miserably hot towards the end of her work shift and breaking out of the hot shop into the seemingly chilly air of Wind Reach was a relief.

However, she also felt as though she had accomplished something. It felt good! It made her feel important. Even if her master was a jerk at times, something still drew her to listening to him. Maybe because he was such an overachiever. And so was Kanri! If she had a goal or a meaning, she was perfectly willing to do her best. When that man talked to her, she felt as though she needed to obey him, but she had no idea why. She was surprised he had so willingly let her go off to lunch.

Much to her surprise and suspicion, he was waiting down a shortcut she was planning on taking to the Kitchens. He leaned casually against one of the walls, but did not look her way. But he was still aware of her every move, it seemed. Kanri approached him nervously.

"What are you here for?" She asked, a strangely hostile tone in her voice. Did she feel hostile towards him now? She had not noticed a change in her own opinions. She felt all confused on the inside.

"I am not good at killing innocent people."

What the petch was he talking about? She froze where she was, an almost safe distance from him. But she almost felt like she couldn't back away.

He continued speaking nonchalantly. "I usually deal with misbehaving Deks. I was supposed to shove you into the furnace this morning but with my own eyes, I saw that you were nothing to be afraid of. You may have a bit of a rough tongue at times but, no you are not dangerous. So, I am leaving you alive. Now you owe me a few favors. I helped you with your glassblowing and spared your useless life. I don't have anything in mind now but if I ask you to do something for me later, you will do it or else you might finding yourself falling off cliffs or into furnaces. I am going to disappear for a few days and if you see me again, don't come talking to me like you know me."

With that he stood straight, and walked past me without looking back. She couldn't move, she was so scared. She just stood there numbly for several ticks, not sure what to make of it all.

Someone wanted me dead. Someone wanted to kill me. I had a nice assassin, it seemed. At least on this attempt. I hadn't done anything! I had been good! If anything, I had recently bettered my life by working harder!

Slowly, she moved her fingers, telling herself she had to move. Then she wriggled her toes in her boots and rotated her ankles a little. She rolled her shoulders a few times and loosened up her neck and face to try to appear normal again. She had to pretend like she didn't know. Nothing had happened and nothing was allowed to change. She slowly continued walking down the hall, unable to run. Each footstep was painfully loud until finally, she could see other people again. But any one of them could be her enemy and she would never know.

How did one send an assassination note anyway? Did you whisper the details in their ear? Did you send them a note via messenger hawk? Did you send them a message through magic? Kanri decided she would never order someone's death. She would never write out an assassination note. If she ever hated someone that badly, she would do it herself.

That's how Kanri was burdened with the Weight of Paper.

[Phoenix]

Kanri

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Glassworking	5
Socialization	2
Observation	1
Interrogation	1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	The Gratification of Hard Work
•	Glassworking: The blowpipe
•	Unnerved by a Spectator
•	Glassworking: Distributing the Glass
•	Criticism from a Stranger
•	A Nice Assassin?

The Order of the Phoenix

An interesting thread! I defiantly wasn't expecting the twist at the end! You should do a follow up and continue this storyline, it would be interesting!

On thing that I noticed is sometimes you switched between "I" and "Her". Try to keep the person that you use constant to avoid confusion

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.