Day 82, Fall of 416 AV
Morning
Aylasa Caves
Morning
Aylasa Caves
Waking in to see rock and stone ahead of him, Eridanus groaned as he awoke on the stone floor. He shivered in the cold, realizing that winter was arriving. He should really sleep in a bedroll or risk not waking up at all. Heading to his backpack, he brought out a second layer of clothing to protect against the cold, then headed back to his crafting project.
Noticing several bruises along his wrist, he realized that it was a close call to yesterday and decided to hold off the use of reimancy, instead focusing on activities that would not drain his djed. Today he would work on the medium category of wing bones, and so he first took one, grasping it all over as he considered the best way to go about it. His dagger lay on the floor beside the bones and he picked it up, scraping at the bone tentatively.
Unlike arrows, crossbow bolts were thicker, shorter and did not have separate pieces in the form of arrowheads, stems and feathers. At least, from his observation, bolts seemed to be made of a singular material, and was like a tiny, projectile stake. Keeping that observation in mind, he began to scrape off the outer layers of the bone, scratching and flaking off the excess bits of the bone to streamline into more of a stake-like shape that could fit into the notch of a crossbow.
First he estimated the desired dimensions of the bone, visualizing it in his mind. Then he began to cut away and shave away the unwanted bits of the bone, carving and cutting away as he narrowed its cross-section. When it was thin enough to resemble the shape of a bolt, he then chose the thinner end of the rod-shaped bone, slanting the angle of his knife such that he would sharpen the tip into a point. However he made sure not to make it too sharp or it would be brittle, trusting on the impact of the projectile to do the rest. In order to improve what he believed to be the flight suitability of the bolt, he engraved lines into it to allow some air to pass by and through the bolt, similar to how he streamlined the arrow. He carved four lines into the bolt, spaced equally around the width.
It actually looked like a crayon, though one made of bone. The shape of the bone was that of a stake, though it was one with a small cross-section and width. Next, he picked up his quill, ready to inscribe the symbols that could properly draw forth the power of flight of the eagle through its wings and bestow it upon this crossbow bolt.
Using the quill-tapping, ink-dotting method for a thinner shape instead of simply putting the quill to the surface normally, the vantha began by drawing four straight lines along the length of the bolt. In between these four lines, he dotted four more in between the original four, though he drew them at half length, having the same starting point closer to the business end of the bolt, and ending mid-way. These lines represented the uniform direction the bolt was supposed to travel, with the repetition of lines emphasizing the uniformity and straightness of the desired projectile angle. The repetition of lines also symbolized the magnification of intensity of travelling speed and therefore momentum of impact. He could have used eight straight lines, but there was a reason why he cut short the alternate lines midway, and that reason would be clear in his next drawing.
Connecting the shorter lines to the longer lines, he made a sort of triangle shape repeatedly. The shape of the triangle, with the top tip pointing towards the projectile direction and the base at well, the base of the bolt, not only further emphasized the desired flight direction of the projectile, but also emphasizes again the speed and straightness of the bolt. This is due to the enhancement of stability that the symbol of the triangle brought to this assortment of symbols, as its base coincided with the base of the bolt, while connecting the lines altogether. So while this base-to-base relation represents stability, the symmetry of the design further emphasizes it. As the eight lines could be seen as vectors of force directing the bolt, the triangles throughout connected the vectors to each other as well as the triangles themselves. This locked the entire diagram into one single, connected entity, thus promoting unity and therefore stability further.
Interestingly, tinkering with these shapes allowed him better understanding of geometry, for it forced him to measure the length of the lines, and forcing him to adapt the dimensions of the shapes he wished to use in order to fit the rest of the symbols in the malediction circle. Well, 'circle' was figurative in this case, since there was no real circle drawn, unless one considered the circle as the combination of symbols drawn around the circumference of the circular cross-section of the bolt, in which case it would probably qualify.
The next series of shapes he went for was the symbol of the bird that he utilized in the previous malediction circle. In order to keep with the theme of symmetry and replicates of symbols for intensity and amplified magnitude, he repeated that shape at the edge of the tip of the triangles, directing the energies drawn forth by the shapes into the symbol of the eagle, enhancing the natural flight of the predator within his malediction circle. However, now that the energies were directed into the attribute of the bird to augment this natural characteristic of flight, he needed to direct these energies yet again to a purpose.
To that end, he drew tiny arrows pointing forward in the spaces in between the lines. Repeating them for a total of eight arrows, he continued to keep to the theme of symmetry, as well as replicates of shapes. This not only helped to once again direct the energies from the base to the bird, then to the bird to the point, but also further emphasized the singular direction and speed of fight from the repeated arrow shapes.
However, it was entirely possible that this new addition might imbalance the equation of the symbols, and so he made the decision to draw four squares within the triangles. Although it broke the theme of the shapes, which was the theme of 'charging forward, aiming forward and straight', he felt that it was necessary to avoid the whole thing derailing due to too much power and not enough control. To that end, the inclusion of the squares not only blunt the excessive force somewhat, but by drawing them at the base of the arrow it created the foundation of stability from which the speed vectors drew from. Thus they would have multiplicative effects for the remnants of their energy would still be found as the energies progress towards the bird symbol then to the point of the crossbow bolt.
Now it was time to include the circles proper. He drew a tiny circle at the centre of each square to centralize the energies at the foundation of the symbols into four equal segments. This would be the proper arcane anchor from which energies would be stabilized from and directed from. Further improving the concept of unity, he drew lines connecting the circles to each other, uniting the foundational anchors of this huge malediction circle into one single, connected entity. Just to be cautious, he did the same thing at the base of the arrows much closer to the tip of the crossbow bolt. This echoed the unification line around the circumference of the bone and served as a reminder to the djed being summoned of the requirement to keep together, essentially sticking the force vectors drawn on the bolt more uniformly.
Noticing several bruises along his wrist, he realized that it was a close call to yesterday and decided to hold off the use of reimancy, instead focusing on activities that would not drain his djed. Today he would work on the medium category of wing bones, and so he first took one, grasping it all over as he considered the best way to go about it. His dagger lay on the floor beside the bones and he picked it up, scraping at the bone tentatively.
Unlike arrows, crossbow bolts were thicker, shorter and did not have separate pieces in the form of arrowheads, stems and feathers. At least, from his observation, bolts seemed to be made of a singular material, and was like a tiny, projectile stake. Keeping that observation in mind, he began to scrape off the outer layers of the bone, scratching and flaking off the excess bits of the bone to streamline into more of a stake-like shape that could fit into the notch of a crossbow.
First he estimated the desired dimensions of the bone, visualizing it in his mind. Then he began to cut away and shave away the unwanted bits of the bone, carving and cutting away as he narrowed its cross-section. When it was thin enough to resemble the shape of a bolt, he then chose the thinner end of the rod-shaped bone, slanting the angle of his knife such that he would sharpen the tip into a point. However he made sure not to make it too sharp or it would be brittle, trusting on the impact of the projectile to do the rest. In order to improve what he believed to be the flight suitability of the bolt, he engraved lines into it to allow some air to pass by and through the bolt, similar to how he streamlined the arrow. He carved four lines into the bolt, spaced equally around the width.
It actually looked like a crayon, though one made of bone. The shape of the bone was that of a stake, though it was one with a small cross-section and width. Next, he picked up his quill, ready to inscribe the symbols that could properly draw forth the power of flight of the eagle through its wings and bestow it upon this crossbow bolt.
Using the quill-tapping, ink-dotting method for a thinner shape instead of simply putting the quill to the surface normally, the vantha began by drawing four straight lines along the length of the bolt. In between these four lines, he dotted four more in between the original four, though he drew them at half length, having the same starting point closer to the business end of the bolt, and ending mid-way. These lines represented the uniform direction the bolt was supposed to travel, with the repetition of lines emphasizing the uniformity and straightness of the desired projectile angle. The repetition of lines also symbolized the magnification of intensity of travelling speed and therefore momentum of impact. He could have used eight straight lines, but there was a reason why he cut short the alternate lines midway, and that reason would be clear in his next drawing.
Connecting the shorter lines to the longer lines, he made a sort of triangle shape repeatedly. The shape of the triangle, with the top tip pointing towards the projectile direction and the base at well, the base of the bolt, not only further emphasized the desired flight direction of the projectile, but also emphasizes again the speed and straightness of the bolt. This is due to the enhancement of stability that the symbol of the triangle brought to this assortment of symbols, as its base coincided with the base of the bolt, while connecting the lines altogether. So while this base-to-base relation represents stability, the symmetry of the design further emphasizes it. As the eight lines could be seen as vectors of force directing the bolt, the triangles throughout connected the vectors to each other as well as the triangles themselves. This locked the entire diagram into one single, connected entity, thus promoting unity and therefore stability further.
Interestingly, tinkering with these shapes allowed him better understanding of geometry, for it forced him to measure the length of the lines, and forcing him to adapt the dimensions of the shapes he wished to use in order to fit the rest of the symbols in the malediction circle. Well, 'circle' was figurative in this case, since there was no real circle drawn, unless one considered the circle as the combination of symbols drawn around the circumference of the circular cross-section of the bolt, in which case it would probably qualify.
The next series of shapes he went for was the symbol of the bird that he utilized in the previous malediction circle. In order to keep with the theme of symmetry and replicates of symbols for intensity and amplified magnitude, he repeated that shape at the edge of the tip of the triangles, directing the energies drawn forth by the shapes into the symbol of the eagle, enhancing the natural flight of the predator within his malediction circle. However, now that the energies were directed into the attribute of the bird to augment this natural characteristic of flight, he needed to direct these energies yet again to a purpose.
To that end, he drew tiny arrows pointing forward in the spaces in between the lines. Repeating them for a total of eight arrows, he continued to keep to the theme of symmetry, as well as replicates of shapes. This not only helped to once again direct the energies from the base to the bird, then to the bird to the point, but also further emphasized the singular direction and speed of fight from the repeated arrow shapes.
However, it was entirely possible that this new addition might imbalance the equation of the symbols, and so he made the decision to draw four squares within the triangles. Although it broke the theme of the shapes, which was the theme of 'charging forward, aiming forward and straight', he felt that it was necessary to avoid the whole thing derailing due to too much power and not enough control. To that end, the inclusion of the squares not only blunt the excessive force somewhat, but by drawing them at the base of the arrow it created the foundation of stability from which the speed vectors drew from. Thus they would have multiplicative effects for the remnants of their energy would still be found as the energies progress towards the bird symbol then to the point of the crossbow bolt.
Now it was time to include the circles proper. He drew a tiny circle at the centre of each square to centralize the energies at the foundation of the symbols into four equal segments. This would be the proper arcane anchor from which energies would be stabilized from and directed from. Further improving the concept of unity, he drew lines connecting the circles to each other, uniting the foundational anchors of this huge malediction circle into one single, connected entity. Just to be cautious, he did the same thing at the base of the arrows much closer to the tip of the crossbow bolt. This echoed the unification line around the circumference of the bone and served as a reminder to the djed being summoned of the requirement to keep together, essentially sticking the force vectors drawn on the bolt more uniformly.
Malediction Circles :
Over the rest of the morning, Eridanus proceeded to carve the other four medium-sized wing bones that he selected out of the available pile, his arms beginning to ache as he did so with zest. Using the original bolt for comparison, he followed the model of the shape. The malediction circles were much more difficult due to the intricacy of the shapes and the tiny scale of the symbols. That took the entire afternoon, and by the time he was done it was close to nightfall.
His stomach growled.
The ethaefal had been so focused that he did not even notice that he had to eat, though he had to remember to walk out and absorb a ray of moonlight or two to satisfy his hunger. That was no matter, for he was busy at work with a masterpiece. Of course, it would be not pragmatic at all to make such weapons for battle, but he wanted to see if they could actually work. That was the reason behind creating several pieces such that some could be used while the others could serve as an art piece.
Shedding blood to activate the djed for his crossbow bolts, he took a glance at the pile of bigger wing bones, designating them to be worked on the next day. For now, he would step into the clear evening air and stretch his stiff body from cooping up in the cavern for most of the day.
His stomach growled.
The ethaefal had been so focused that he did not even notice that he had to eat, though he had to remember to walk out and absorb a ray of moonlight or two to satisfy his hunger. That was no matter, for he was busy at work with a masterpiece. Of course, it would be not pragmatic at all to make such weapons for battle, but he wanted to see if they could actually work. That was the reason behind creating several pieces such that some could be used while the others could serve as an art piece.
Shedding blood to activate the djed for his crossbow bolts, he took a glance at the pile of bigger wing bones, designating them to be worked on the next day. For now, he would step into the clear evening air and stretch his stiff body from cooping up in the cavern for most of the day.
