• Memory • [Andaris] Dad Likes Leather

7th of Cylus 722

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Woe
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[Andaris] Dad Likes Leather


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7th of Cylus 722

"You know, it was probably him." Woe said, as Eve folded her hands beneath her chin, sitting opposite him in the study in Scalvoristown. "He made me hate manual work. It's always been more convenient and less painful to leave the crafts to those who knew what they were doing. I can deal with people well enough, in better or worse situations, it doesn't matter. But when it came to crafts, I think he might've ruined them for me."

Woe held the strange vial that Vri had given him nearly an arc ago. The promised ability of the thing, to impart one o fhis memories to the vial, and then lose it forever to whoever imbibed the contents was tempting. He could recover the lessons he'd received so many decades ago, and at the same time discard the most troubling memories that came with them. The harsh lessons and unpleasant work practices.

Eve stared across at him, putting on a sympathetic expression that didn't quite fool Woe. Nevertheless, he appreciated that she felt enough to make the effort, "So, give it to me. You say this phial can do that? I can ensure this memory, whatever it contains, can stay cast into oblivion forever. You can removec the memory, every memory of that horrible man from your mind."

Woe frowned, considering the crystal vial. Was that what he wanted? Would it change anything, or leave more questions? In the end, he could always revisit those memories now, and decide afterward if they weren't worth keeping.

"We'll just see if they are as bad as I imagined." He said, lifting the vial to his lips, "I'll see what I can remember..."

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Re: [Andaris] Dad Likes Leather

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54th of Ymiden 694

For the first eight of so years I was growing up, it seemed like my master Erastus was hardly aware that I was under his roof. For most of that time, I always stuck to the other slaves, and they taught me what they could so that I would be more useful to the master. I learned to scrape the fat and excess muscle and other gore from the hides that were brought in for skinning by our numbers. I was given a knife, barely hard enough to hold an edge for more than a few bit's work. It was my knife, provided by our kind master, and just mine to watch over and make certain that it didn't get lost or go astray. There were few enough things we could call our own, and even then our concepts of possessions were more illusion than reality. Yet still we treated what secret treasures stowed away beneath our sleeping pallets as our own belongings. Perhaps that gave us enough hope that we might earn freedom, as Erastus often promised to those who served him well.

Anyway, I clung to that knife trial by trial, and kept it as honed as was possible for the mild edge it could hold. It was enough, to get most of the grisle off the hides. Although leatherworking was a dirty profession, one that rendered the tanner awash in the stink of death, the fruits of our labor were highly coveted and in demand. There were few other textiles that could match the strength of leather in the short term. Leather was flexible, tough, and fashionable once it was bathed in perfumery by those receiving the product.

Yet even so, we weren't bothered by the smell after a while. Our noses grew accustomed to the stench, a sort of olfactory fatigue.

All the same, it was never pleasant work for the fact that we were more or less immune to the scent of leather tanning. The labor was backbreaking, and no distinction was made between slaves large or small. All hands were on call when we were working the tannery. I for my part remember a time when I was mashing the brains of the animals for the curing process. It seemed all too convenient to me, when the other slaves that were more experienced in these matters explained that the brain had enough of what a tanned hide needed to tan, in the brain of the animal. It seemed too neat, too ordered for the reality that I knew day to day, to be true. But sure enough, the brains we processed into tannin solution were good enough for the hides were were processing, so I had no course for disagreement.

There was the packing and rolling of fully tanned hides, once they were fully prepared for use in the making of clothing and other items. The raw material seemed something so luxurious back then, something far beyond my little hands, even as I touched the surface of the leather, feeling the cool surface and texture of its grain. One of the larger slaves was sent to lug the shipment of leather to wherever it was heading. Erastus had his contacts and clients, but I was not privy to them. Not at that stage, at least. It would take a long time for me to earn his trust.

For now, my task was simple and required less strength than the lugs taking the material to its destination. I was to check the thickness of the leather, and make sure to mark where it was less dense. I was suited to this, as even as a child my limbs were long and spindly, for my age. I could reach through the width of the material to check it's consistency. Having determined that the thickness was mostly uniform, and marking where it wasn't, the leather was taken to those who were to cut it into manageable units of leather.

It was very much a factory process, working in a large scale tannery. Sometimes, I wished and wondered how the woodsmen, who made their skins into clothing, saw the process of tanning. If they saw it as less of a dirty chore of drudgery and despair, or more of a well-regarded passtime. Perhaps I'l yet have time to ask a woodsman survivalist. For the moment though, I was stuck in my role, checking, marking, and then helping to cut the leathers.



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Re: [Andaris] Dad Likes Leather

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Back to the Present


"I really don't want to get into it, anymore than I have. Those tanner slaves were rough folk. If I so much as cut a corner wrong, they'd make a bludgeon of a bolt of leather, and let me have it." Woe shuddered to remember, recalling it to Eve.

She cooed softly, and reached a cold hand out to touch his. It was anything but comforting, but he appreciated the gesture. "Then do what we came here to do. Put the memory in the glass, and perhaps you'll get over your whole... problem with practical crafts. I really do think this may be the root of what is bothering you."

Woe turned an eye up to her apparition, and quirked a brow, "Which of us is the psychologist now? Anyway..." Woe took the decanter that Vri had given him, considering it. "Perhaps you're right. Perhaps Vri gave this to me for a purpose, and this is it?"

Woe thought it over for a few more moments, before bringing the decanter to his lips, and letting the memory pour out of him. Just like that, he forgot about his time in the tannery of Erastus. Eve smiled as the ectoplasmic energies poured out of him, through memory. He considered the fluid, and furrowed his brow. Losing a memory was always a strange sensation. What held such significance in one moment, that you would choose to be rid of, was as nothing the next. There, only a void remained. He wondered if this was what it was like to be a ghost.

Without another thought, however, he granted the drink of the memory to Eve, who purred in satisfaction as she imbibed the memory. "Hm, a bitter memory to be sure, but one we could perhaps use to experiment with? Have you considered that it might be possible to combine a ghost's hex with an ensorcelled object?"

Woe frowned at the idea, wondering how he could get more blasphemous than that, to use Vri's gift in such a way. Not that he cared, mind, but the idea of twisting its purpose in such a way tickled him.

"I'll give it some thought." Woe said, "And maybe mention it to my professor at the University."

That considered, he did think more than once after that, about using the memory in tandem with a well, to create a sort of slide show that others could witness. It might be worth exploring.


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Re: [Andaris] Dad Likes Leather

Your Review
Woe

Overview

Hello Woe. I loved this. It was told very well. The transition from the present to the memory was good, and showed well. I can see why Woe struggles with wanting to do crafts after being forced to do such hard work with no real hope or ability to take pride in his work. Thank you for the Read. Fate

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XP: 10
Renown: 0

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Knowledge

Played to Skill level

Ensorcelling: Combining different power sets, Ectoplasmic and fractive to create a new paradigm of ensorcelled items.
Leatherworking: Scraping excess fat and material from a skinned hide, for preparation in tanning.
Leatherworking: The brain of the animal has enough of the acids and enzymes in order to cure and tan the hide from that animal.
Resistance: Olfactory fatigue can render you immune to certain horrible scents.



If you have any questions or concerns regarding this review - drop me a PM.
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