Solo Custom Orders

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Timestamp: 5th Day of Summer, 515 AV

It was a beautiful day. Seirei doubted that everyone else would agree with her when they saw the clouds floating through the sky, partially covering the sun, but Seirei didn't care. It was a beautiful day, and she couldn't wait to get to work. One of the traders currently visiting the city had seen samples of her work the last time he had been in Endrykas. He had been impressed enough with her work that he had spoken of it to friends of his that lived in Syliras. One of those friends was getting married, and had been interested enough in what the trader had said of her work that the trader had decided to commission her to make something for a wedding gift for his friend.

Seirei couldn't help but wonder at the thought. Someone in Syliras knew of her work. Oh, they didn't know who she was. Nor would they likely care if they did. She was nothing to them. But a friend of theirs had told them of her work, and they were interested enough in it that that friend wanted to buy something she made to give them as a wedding gift. The people here in Endrykas thought that she was useless for anything other than the children they could force her to bear...but someone in Syliras knew of her work. It boggled the mind. Perhaps if...no, when she found a way to escape, she could go to Syliras. If one person there was interested in her work, perhaps others would be as well. Or perhaps someone in another city would be. Riverfall, maybe? That would probably be the easiest city for her to get to when she escaped.

It was enough to give her hope. Hope that had been steadily crushed since she had been captured. But if one person in another city was interested in her work, others might be as well. Interested enough to buy from her if she ever managed to escape. Those were thoughts of the future, though. In order to escape, she would need enough money to buy passage with a trade caravan, and supplies for both her, and the twins. It would be better if she had enough set aside to keep her going until she could find a place to stay, and a job, too. She did have some saved up, but it wasn't enough. With the trader's commission, she would be one step further in the right direction. One step closer to making her escape. Escape was something that Seirei barely dared to even dream of anymore. It seemed so far away, and impossible that Seirei would never manage it. But then something like this happened to stir the tiny, dwindling flame of hope once more.

Seirei's thoughts turned to the gift the trader wanted her to make. A set of bowls of a size made for eating, and a larger one for serving food. Possibly some spoons as well, if she had the time to make them. It was a lot of work. There was no denying that. But it was also a challenge, and a test of her carving skills. And Seirei loved a good challenge.

Teisaia had agreed to watch the twins while she worked, so that was one concern that she didn't need to worry about. And the trader had provided the wood she would need out of his own stock. As a result, Seirei would not have to go foraging for her own supplies. Which was just as well. The nearest source of wood that Seirei knew about were the willows that grew by the river. And willow wood wasn't the best to use for making bowls because the branches were too thin. They would work for the spoons if she had enough time to make them, but not for the bowls. So if Seirei had had to supply the wood for the commission herself, she would have had to buy it. She suspected that the trader who had commissioned her had realized this, and had supplied the wood so that she wouldn't have to increase the price for her commission in order to cover the cost of the raw materials she'd need.

When Teisaia arrived to take Lukar and Lira in hand, Seirei got to work. The first thing she did was to examine the wood she had been given to use carefully. It wouldn't do to use flawed wood in one of her projects. Especially not in one as important as this commission was. Fortunately, the wood she had been given was all of good quality. The trader asking the commission of her was clearly one of the good ones. A fair man, rather than one who was willing to cheat people in order to make money. Had he given her flawed wood, she would have been forced to by more - without raising the price she would charge for her work since he had provided her wood for it.

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[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Seirei decided that she wanted to start with the largest bowl she needed to make. With that thought in mind, she turned back to the wood she had to work with. She needed a branch large enough to accommodate making a bowl as big as the one she had planned. Fortunately, she had one. The trader who had given her the commission had understood her needs well. The branch was heavy, and difficult to manage, but with considerable effort on her part, she was able to drag it over to where she wanted to work. Her arms ached from the strain, but she shook them vigorously to ease the strain. Then she sat, and made herself comfortable. It was time to get to work.

Using her axe, she cut off a foot long segment from the base of the branch where it had been attached to its tree. That part of the branch was the thickest, and the thickness of a branch was important when it came to making a bowl. If the branch she was working with wasn't thick enough, the resulting bowl wouldn't be deep enough. It was for that reason that a willow branch wouldn't be useful for making a bowl. And it was best to use a branch that was slightly thicker than the bowl that you wanted to make. Doing so gave you some leeway if you made a mistake that had to be corrected, or discovered a hidden flaw in the wood that needed to be removed.

When she was done with that, she set the rest of the branch aside to be used for other things. Seirei thought that it might be nice if she added a second serving bowl to the set if she had time. If the trader liked it enough, he might be willing to pay extra for it. And if not, it could be her own personal wedding gift to the couple. Either way, the gesture might be enough to give her a little credit with the trader who had given her the commission. Not a discount, as such, but he might well speak of her flexibility when working within the boundaries of a paid commission. He might even be willing to speak of her work to other friends and fellow traders. Gaining a good reputation for her work would be more than worth the cost of the extra work. Especially since she hadn't paid for the wood she'd be using.

She stood the log she was going to work with on one end. Knowing that she would need more control than she could get from an axe, Seirei selected three of her chisels. With her mallet, she carefully drove each one into the flat surface of the log, until it was two inches deep. The first one was driven into the center, and each of the others were roughly three inches apart from the first one, on either side. With that done, Seirei tapped each chisel sharply with her mallet, until the log split in half.

Seirei eyed the two halves of the log thoughtfully. It took her a couple of chimes to pick which half of the log she wanted to use. After she had done that, she set the remaining half aside with the unused pieces of the branch. Then she began her next task; carefully stripping the bark off of the wood. As she worked, she made a pile of the pieces of bark so she could save them for future use.

Happy babbling coming from inside her tent made Seirei pause in her work, and smile as she glanced in the direction the sound was coming from. But there was work to be done, and little enough time to do it in. Teisaia had the twins well in hand, and Seirei trusted her to come to her immediately if there was a problem. That meant that there was no problem, and that Seirei had best get back to work.

When she was done stripping the bark from the first half of the log, Seirei went ahead, and began doing so with the other half as well. She wasn't entirely certain that she would have the time to make two serving bowls for the wedding present, but she figured that it would be a good idea to at least prepare the wood, just in case. Since she already had the right tool in hand, it would be easier to do it now, than to switch gears, and strip the bark later if it turned out that she did have enough time to make another serving bowl. The time she saved now might make the difference between having that second bowl, and not having it.

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[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Once she was done stripping the bark off of both halves of the log, Seirei lay the first log on the ground, with the flat side up. She went into her tent to get her charcoal sticks. Then, using one of her charcoal sticks, she drew an oval shape on the surface of the log. After staring at the sketch for a few chimes to judge the distance, she drew a second oval shape within the boundary of the first one she had drawn. The second oval shape was roughly one inch away from the outer edge. It would become the inner edge of the bowl. Seirei repeated the process with the other log.

After Seirei was satisfied that her lines were straight, and positioned correctly, she flipped both logs over so that the rounded side was facing up. Then she drew an oval in the center of the curve in the wood. This oval was smaller than the other two she had just drawn; roughly two thirds the size of the oval she had drawn to form the bowl's inner edge. It was harder for her to draw on a curved surface than it was to draw on a straight one, so her lines weren't completely straight. But her ability to draw had improved since the last time she'd carved a bowl, so it was easier for her to manage than it used to be. As before, when she was done with the first log, she did the second one as well.

Seirei turned the first log so the flat side was face up once more, and braced it as best she could with her feet. With the wood braced firmly, she leaned forward, and lined her chisel up with the inner edge of her bowl, and positioned it at an angle. Then using her mallet to tap the chisel, Seirei began the tedious work of carving out the inside of her bowl. She needed to carve out thin strips so that the wood wouldn't be too damaged as she worked. Cutting at too deep an angle risked cracking the wood, and rendering it useless. Ideally, no more than one eighth of an inch would be shaved away at a time. In order to achieve that, Seirei worked slowly, positioning the chisel carefully each time, and checking to make sure it was where she wanted to make the cut before striking it with the mallet.

The last time she had made a bowl, she had been heavily pregnant with Lukar and Lira. Hollowing out the inside of the bowl had been very difficult for her then. Even now, it was a very time consuming, and demanding task. One that required considerable precision. But Seirei quickly lost herself in the work, and barely noticed the passage of time.

When she was done carving out the inside of the bowl, Seirei paused to examine her work carefully. For the most part, she was satisfied with her work. There were a few areas where she had misjudged how much wood to remove. These areas were thinner than she would have liked, but not so much to affect the overall quality of the bowl.

Satisfied that her work was progressing as she'd hoped, Seirei took a few ticks to glance at the other log. Although it had taken her several bells to hollow out the inside of her first bowl, the sun was still high in the sky. She had plenty of time left before it started to get dark. The twins were still behaving. At least, they weren't crying. It was quiet for the most part, although she could hear the occasional burst of happy squeals coming from her tent. Teisaia had said she was willing to spend the entire day with the twins if it would be helpful. Seirei knew that her friend enjoyed playing with Lukar and Lira, and looked forward to the time when she had children of her own. So with those thoughts in mind, Seirei decided that she had enough time to complete the extra serving bowl.

So she stood, and gave herself a few chimes to stretch out stiff muscles and walk around a bit. Then it was time to get back to work. She sat, and made herself comfortable. Then she turned the second log so the flat side was face up once more, and braced it as best she could with her feet. She picked up her chisel and mallet, and settled in for another time consuming task. Hollowing out the second bowl seemed like it took longer to do than the first one had because her hands started to ache with the strain. Each blow of the mallet caused a new jolt of pain, and the strain of holding the hand that held the chisel perfectly still hurt just as much. By the time she was finished, she was ready for a break.


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[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Seirei headed into her tent to see how Teisaia and the twins were doing. Lukar cried out happily when he saw her, demanding to be picked up. Seirei was happy to obey. She played with the twins for about a quarter of a bell or so, before they got hungry. Then she fed them, and Teisaia helped her to settle them down for their afternoon nap when they were finished.

"How's it going?" Teisaia asked curiously as they stepped outside so they wouldn't disturb the twins.

"It's going well. I'm getting a lot of work done. And with you here to keep an eye on the twins for me, I have the time to make an extra bowl for the commission. A wedding present of my own to add to the set."

"That's wonderful! And it's good for business, too. People are often willing to pay more for a person who not only gives their best work to their commissions, but adds a bit more on their own time on occasion. All of the best artists here in Endrykas do that, and I imagine it's the same everywhere else, too."

Seirei nodded. She was feeling refreshed, so she decided that it was time to get back to work. Since the children were asleep, Teisaia asked if she could watch Seirei work, and she agreed with a flush of pleasure at being asked. After sitting, and making herself comfortable, Seirei carefully braced the bowl with her feet so it wouldn't move as she worked. When she was ready, she started at the edge of the oval on the bottom of the bowl. Using her chisel, she carefully cut away thin layers of wood. She worked from the top down, chiseling away from herself so that she wouldn't stab herself accidentally with the chisel if her hand slipped.

Before long, the world faded away as Seirei became completely absorbed in her work. She didn't even notice that her friend was watching her anymore. Nothing existed but her and the bowl in front of her. Slowly, but steadily, she continued to wield her chisel to shape the outside of the bowl. When the lip of the bowl was only an inch thick, she was done.

Once again, Seirei examined her work critically. There were no obvious flaws that needed to be corrected. No dents in the surface of the wood, caused by removing too much wood in one area. No bumps showing that not enough wood had been removed. Seirei nodded to herself, satisfied with her work.

She stood, and stretched for a few chimes, easing the strain out of tense muscles. Then she sat once more, and pulled out her smoothing cloth. She rubbed it over the outside of the bowl first. She worked steadily, starting at the top, and working her way over the entire surface using small, circular motions. Gradually, the outer surface of the bowl became smooth. Seirei ran her fingers over the surface lightly, and couldn't find any rough areas that might cause splinters to form if left untreated. The wood had taken on a nice shine as she smoothed out all of the rough areas.

All that remained to be done was the inside, so she flipped the bowl over and got back to work. Starting on the lip of the bowl, she worked her way downward. As before, she used small, circular motions, as she rubbed the smoothing cloth all over the inside of the bowl. When Seirei thought she was finished, she rubbed her fingers over the inside of the bowl to see if she had missed any rough places. She found none. Satisfied that she had done a good job, she set the cloth aside.

The first bowl was finished. Seirei offered it to Teisaia so she could get a better look at it. Then she turned her attention to the second bowl. She hummed softly under her breath as she cut away thin layers of wood with her chisel.

Teisaia joined her, and before long, they began to sing. Their voices blended in a pleasant harmony as Seirei worked. But her mind was on what she was doing, so when Teisaia changed the song suddenly, Seirei continued singing the first one. This made Teisaia giggle in amusement. Seirei looked up in confusion. When she realized what had happened, she gave her friend a mock scowl before returning to her work, and pointedly ignoring her.

Music made the work go faster, and before Seirei knew it, she was done. She traded her chisel for her smoothing cloth, and carefully smoothed away all of the rough edges. When she thought she had gotten them all, she gave the bowl a once over. She found a few places she had missed, so she continued rubbing her cloth over the surface of the bowl until no more rough areas remained.

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[Ssezzkero]

SKILLS

❖ Observation +2
❖ Planning +2
❖ Carving +2
❖ Carpentry +2
❖ Organization +1
❖ Endurance +1
❖ Childcare +1
❖ Socialization +1

LORES

❖ People in Syliras know of your work
❖ Planning to leave endrykas
❖ Willow wood: Not good for making bowls
❖ Working with fair tradesmen
❖ Identifying quality wood
❖ The benefits of gaining a good reputation
❖ Music makes work faster
❖ Carving: Wooden bowl
❖ Carving: Wooden Spoon