Petulance Gets You Nowhere

[Jilitse]

Petulance Gets You Nowhere
1st of Spring 510 AV
Circles go round and round and round.

To not know what it is like to feel tired, to not need rest... these are the things that a nuit learns to live by. Jilitse would usually find herself empty-headed for days, her thoughts floating rather than settling. Try as she might she could not focus them. She would feel less and less weary and more and more complacent, she rarely paid attention to time. It was only routine to wash herself before the day breaks, and wash again before the moon rises. Beyond that, she lived in eternity. She had tried to pay attention to mundane things, had tried to remember the importance of moments and memories.

But there was nothing in Sahova but work, and more work. Days and months and years of nothing but magic and golems. Every now and then she would decide to leave Sahova, ride a boat to Zeltiva and walk her way to Sylira - and there she would see the world from an eternity's perspective. People lived and died like candles burning out, one after another. Jilitse would be accepted and hated in a myriad of ways - mingling with other people was a most pleasurable, and at times, terrifying, experience. She welcomed the change in routine.

But when it ends, she would be back at Sahova. And not remember. Not remember why. What she had was a sense of duty and obligation to fulfill. Sahova. Mashaen. Golems. She was not ready to embrace anything outside those three things.

She felt too agitated and restless. But it was not the ordinary agitation that comes to a nuit who was having an unfruitful mad attempt at learning magic. It was something else.

She forbade her mind to go blank. Think, think. What frustrated her was ambition. Her lack of will to act upon her purpose. Beyond her purpose, actually. She sat herself on a stray stool on a corridor. She picked at the hem of her skirt, crumpling the cloth that was eternally smooth. The season had changed, that much she can tell. Ah, that was what she had been looking for.

Change.

And so on the first of spring, a day pretty much like any other, Jilitse decided to change. She would start by learning something new. Or maybe improve on her skills and specialize.

[Jilitse]

And so she found herself sitting on the floor of the library, knees bent in support of two books; one was "The Fundamentals of Drawing", and opened on top of it was, "Basic Mathematics". She had fitted herself in a niche, above her was a window clear enough to let ample light in.

She revisited Eyris' Axioms. It was something that she learned even before she worked as an apprentice at the Royal Academy of Magic. Jilitse's father had taught her simple calculation formulas and basic knowledge for mathematics. Learning, however, did not mean mastery. She could not even memorize Eyris' ten axioms.

Jilitse copied the axioms on a piece of paper she had brought. She double checked each word, copying exactly as it was written. Paraphrasing sometimes brought a different meaning to sentences. She could study them later and bring herself to memorize the axioms. She twisted the quill in her hands and mumbled as she read the ten axioms for the third time. The book was partly illustrated, and for Jilitse, it was easier to memorize and understand the explanations.

She went past some lessons and flipped the book to its geometry section. She was particularly interested in measuring the unit circle, as it is the most important part of performing any ritual. She was taught never to disregard the power of perfecting the circle, and make sure that even glyphs and sigils be checked for proper measures. The more accurate your craft, the less freak accidents you'll have.

She noticed that a piece of paper was folded in between the pages of geometry. It was on parchment, and the paper was old and worn out. Luckily the text and notes were written on the outside flap. It was probably somebody else's lesson. She perused her find and was interested at the drawing it contained. It was a very fine circle with rays passing through the center. Scribbles on the other flap read "Trace from same distance from the center. Create circle by joining points with arcs." There were other intelligible notes, probably an encryption meant for the owner's eyes.

Handling the paper needed extra care and patience. A hard tug might destroy the parchment. The paper didn't look like it could last any longer, so Jilitse had to copy all she could understand. Beyond faded marks she tried to imitate the handwriting, thankful that whoever did the note wrote in a clear fine print.

And when she was done, she used the tip of her quill to slightly part the paper's fold. She was curious if the nuit - or human, or whatever creature - who wrote on the parchment had drawn something at the back. Worn out as it was, the parchment seemed thick enough. Jilitse could barely make out if there was something written inside.

The tip of the quill separated the flaps with ease, but tore a portion of the left side. Drawn hastily with smudges here and there was a model for creating a tool for drawing circles. It was a compass. And Jil hadn't seen one, much less use one, for a while. That would greatly help!

It would be better to create one for my myself. She unfolded the paper, and grimaced as it started to crumble into pieces. Well perhaps she could find a book that might help her design one.

[Jilitse]

Her location was somewhat deep into the library, an insconspicous corner of old books. She was alone, and her surroundings was quiet. Only a small population of the nuit wizards mire themselves in mathematics, or any of its related branches - most of them world mages like Jilitse.

Since there was no nearby golem that could assist Jilitse, she had to look for the book she needed herself. Sad how Drainira used to be able to locate any book any where in the library - or Sahova for that matter. With the supervisor gone, they needed to rely on some of the librarian golems. But, they were still largely unreliable and uncompetent compared to Drainira. Looking for books didn't really take Jil a lot of time. There was a whole stack of books related to the subject.

"Geometry: Uses and application" was a useful textbook that she might use as a reference later on. She wrote the title on the side of her notes.

"Basic Drafting Tools" illustrated common hand tools that were needed in drawing and drafting scale images of inventions. It had a few pages torn out, and did not have the tool Jilitse was looking for.

"Geometrical instruments" contained almost every hand tool available to date. It was complete with illustrations, descriptions and lists of uses. This had the specific tool she was after.

It was called a drafting compass. It allowed the user to create perfect circles. It can also be used as a measuring device. A better variety called beam compasses were usually used for bigger measurements. Both had versions that were adjustable. Made of wood or metal.

Jilitse clicked her tongue. If she couldn't find one, she could probably create her own. She wanted to create her own tools so she could call it her property - a compass infused with magic, but basic nonetheless.

Designing and creating one would not be too daunting for a task. So she went about, traveling into the Citadel's common workshop, picking up hand tools that she might need. A clamp, a small hammer, a ruler, sheets of metal, some wooden sticks, a burner, some wax, wires, pliers, some screw and nails.

She read the description of the compass in the book:

"The drafting compass has a bearing axis that is placed against the drawing aree or surface. An arm extends perpendicularly from the bearing axis. An instrument block is located in the arm and allows the retainment of a writing instrument. The writing instrument is parallel to the axis of rotation/bearing axis and is in contact with the surface to be marked upon. The rotating the arm around the bearing axis draws an arc or circle with a constant radius."

She hummed and took out her pipe. Jilitse happily lit it and started staring at the compass illustration. The illustrated compass was made out of a combination of wood and metal. She could - she decided as she blew smoke from her pipe - create one purely out of metal. The drawing didn't seem to be too complicated a machine. A basic compass just needed to have a hinge-like device, so that the two arms could be opened and/or adjusted, allowing for the creation of bigger or smaller circles.

Scribbling a drawing in a separate sheet of paper she decided to design a basic compass with two legs, one for the axis and one for the radius. The radius arm would have an instrument block, perhaps out of a circular metal ring where a paintbrush could fit. Creating the adjustable joint that would connect both arms could be done by creating a sprocket device... or maybe a hinge.

Jilitse sat down on a nearby workstation and grabbed two steel rods, both measuring half a foot, for the shaft assemblies. Putting down one and placing the other on top of an anvil block, she started to hammer down one end, stretching, bending, shaping it into a conical shape. Although she worked carefully, she was hammering too hard that the end bent sharply and there was no chance of pounding it back to a straight tip. She set it aside and took the other rod, this time her hand served as a fulcrum beneath the steel, rotating the rod as she pounded it more carefully.

After achieving the desired axis tip, she searched for a rod that can serve as the compass' radius arm. She found one of a shorter length and thought about how to create an instrument block. Her first choice was to try and coil the rod's end into a circle which will allow a paintbrush to fit snugly. She tried this but the result ended poorly: one paintbrush would not attach itself, another broke in her attempt to pull it out of the coil.

Her next plan was to wrap an inch wide metal sheet around the rod's leg and attach it by nailing it with a hammer. Executing the plan ended up to be entirely a failure - the metal sheet would twist, bend, uncurl so that it was too deformed before she could manage to drive through the fastener nail.

She tried drilling a hole into a rod first before fastening the metal sheet into the raidius arm, but most of the rods she had was too hard and sturdy to bore a hole into. Two days passed without any success at all.

[Jilitse]

On the third day Jilitse decided to work with a metal sheet for the instrument block. She cut these herself, and the edges were slightly sharp. She started bending it in the middle, making sure the flaps were parallel. However, she ecountered difficulty with punching a hole into the bent metal strips, so she decided to repeat the whole thing. Only this time punching a hole into the middle of the metal strips before bending them into place.

Jilitse's plan was far from being perfect though. When she revised her plan she discovered that she would still have to figure how to properly fasten a writing
instrument.

She impatiently scratched all her previous ideas and decided to redraw her plan: this time with the idea of attaching metal sleeves on the hinge that will join the two arms, melding or clamping the hinge device into the aperture of the arms. She also designed the new compass to have another sleeve attached in the end of the radius arm, where charcoal pieces could be fitted in instead of a paintbrush.

In order to accomplish her new plan she had to use the forge. She was not foreign to heating and molding small pieces of metal, she knew enough metallurgy to calculate how much heat is needed to soften certain metal rods so that they will be easier to be smithed and shaped. She was able to forge and smith small metal items such as rods and metal sheets without too much difficulty.

Jilitse lit a handful of coal in the smithing area, and fanned it until it was stoked. She continued adding in a few pieces of coal in order to achieve the desired temperature. She then placed the rod with the axis tip and waited for it to heat and, finally, glow.

She then started pounding the tip into a fine, pointy ellipsoid shape, dipping it in water once she was done. It produced a dull metal sheen on the axis tip.

Jilitse took another rod of roughly the same size and she brought it into the fire. Because of immersing herself in plans for the instrument aperture, she let the coal cool and the rod melt in an ugly bend unnoticed. She had to repeat creating the radius arm.

She clamped a metal strip around the end of the new radius arm. When both were pliable enough, she pounded the metal strip to wrap around the rod, quickly pulling the sheet into place and bending it into shape. She used a clamp on the sheet and rod and started pounding a nail around the tip of the leg to keep the sleeve into place. Once satisfied with her crude handiwork, she quickly dipped the radius arm into a bowl of water, letting the hot metal sizzle and cool down.

She examined both the legs and judged them as good enough. She now had to work on the hinges that would join the two rods.

But before that she took a quick rest in order to take a bath.

[Jilitse]

Working with hinges, especially with such a small one, was a challenge to Jilitse. She had to plan the gadget in detail to prevent wasting time in creating the wrong kind of machine.

"Peeved," she said, breaking her silence. It was a word to describe how she felt. Already she knew the outcome of her work will be far from the illustration in the book. She was not the kind who trashed about when irritated, but she had the urge to throw or burn the book.

Where was Drainira when you need her? Jilitse sat back on her current workstation, peeved at losing Drainira. Back when the supervisor was still around, every nuit could ask almost anything about Sahova and have it answered instantly. She hummed a broken tune. There was no point in putting the blame into someone else's basket. She would have to start learning to make with what she have. She had to learn to do things on her own.

"Chalk it up to experience," she advised herself.

There were quite a few ready-made resin and metal molds in the workshop, a contribution of endless years of work and practice of Sahovan nuits. She lit the forge once more and picked five small steel balls, enough to make the hinge she needed for the compass. She threw them into a small melting pot. For melting small metal pieces, the workshop had a small furnance that has three stoves of varied size. She set down the melting pot into one of the stoves and waited for the steel to melt completely while patiently adding coal to the furnace and keeping half her attention to the forge's temperature.

She took the book she had and read more to pass the time. The nuit found a scribbled footnote in one of the pages about a ruler:

For more information about drawing done with mechanical aids, read books related to Technical and Mechanical Drawing.

"Mechanical Drawing," she said, claiming it to memory. Continuing on a different section of the book, she read:

Drawing Materials

Brush. A pointed brush dipped in ink can make fine lines. Cutting the tip gives a broader line called the split-hair effect. A brush is often used with a reed pen or quill.

Charcoal. Charcoal can be compressed into stick form. It gives a broad, soft and sometimes bold line, and a variety of tone. Charcoal is excellent for rapid sketching. Sketches made with charcoal are usually delicate, and will smear if not handled properly.

Silverpoint. The tool used is a stylus with a silverpoint. Paper or parchment is coated with an abrasive such as chalk mixed with a binder. The abrasive holds particles of silver to the paper or parchment. This permits a delicate line that tarnishes, giving a warm tone. The silverpoint medium is perhaps the most exacting form of drawing because mistakes cannot be corrected.

As the metal in the small melting pot started to liquify, Jilitse nodded to herself. She could attach a brush tip at the end of her compass intead of charcoal. Charcoal would be a messy writing instrument, a paintbrush would suit her better. Those ideas were for later. Putting down the book, she picked up a large clamp and lifted the small pot. She started toslowly pour out the liquid metal onto the mold. She caused a small amount to spill when her hands trembled but nonetheless, she was able to fill it properly.

When the metal cooled, she was able to produce four metal obloid plates, each with a hole near one tip. Jilitse started trying to put the four plates together using a nail, testing the ones she had in stock. When she found the right one, she marked the four plates 1, 2, 3, and 4; and then paired 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. She attached these pairs into the two rods by soldering them together.

Finally, she tested the compass hinge, adjusting and twisting the metal rods. The rotating angle went past being perpendicular. She adjusted the barrel fastener and tried to secure the it tighter. The pivot joint worked well in her final adjustment.

For the brush, she took one of the workshops' brush and broke it near the tip, sawing off the splinters. She fitted it into the radius arm's sleeve and pounded around to fix it into place. Again, she opened and closed the tool, testing the rotating arm. It took a bit of effort to pull and push the arms apart or together, but at least it was not loose.

Jilitse took a piece of paper and some ink. She deftly dipped the compass' arm in the ink, spraying a few blots in the paper. Setting the axis tip on the surface, she twisted the compass arm in a circular sweep. The result was not exactly a circle, but with practice she believed she could use the compass properly.

[Jilitse]

By this time Jilitse would have felt so proud of herself, having accomplished a feat of creating a rather crude drafting tool. But there was a reason for her seemingly disappointed stare at her tool, for her nonchalant circle drawing using her new compass. The drafting compass she created was very far from how she envisioned a real compass would look like - and while it did come marginally close to the book's illustration, she knew she had done a poor job.

Not that she had always been a self-deprecating nuit - most wizards actually held their inventions in high regard - but she knew, as she impatiently drew one circle atop one another that something was missing.

That something missing was revealed to her in the form of another nuit carrying (lo!) a drafting compass. Now, there were times Sahovan wizards talk to one another: one was when one has the opportunity to brag. Most nuits secretly watch one another's work - spying it was referred to in modern days - in order to learn something new or, in the case of colleagues working in a common laboratory, to ensure quality and efficiency. (Sahova maintains a certain {questionable} standard of both, in ways only Sahovan nuits can understand.) What she would give to have her own laboratory and workshop, complete with privacy and every equipment she could ever imagine? She did not have the money to buy one. A magical laboratory and metalsmithing workshop was beyond the purchasing abilities of a Sahovan nuit who had no idea about entrepreneurship. She whimpered sadly.

Jilitse scampered to find her sketches, and was able to locate one that somewhat resembled both the illustration and the other wizards' tool. In a fit of disappointment she threw away the compass she made into a lit furnace and grabbed her books and papers. She would be better off researching for a while longer.

[Jilitse]

Returning back to the library, Jilitse felt that she was doing something wrong. It was as if she was blindly finding her way around. Even the library golems could not properly assist her, they were poor librarians compared to Drainira. One golem could not even assist her properly, a search of the drafting compass gave her books on various sections: mathematics, technical drawing, land navigation, carpentry and a lot more vague topics. The nuit had to scour books one by one, a tower of them piling up. If there was anything the library golems were good at, it was arranging the books back into place. When she was satifisfied with a handful of reference material, she ordered the librarian golem to put the books back to where they belong.

A better description of the compass was written in "Basics of Mechanical Drawing: Volume 2":

A compass is a technical drawing instrument that can be used for inscribing arcs or circles. As dividers, they can also be used as a tool to measure distances, particularly in maps. Compasses can be used for mathematics, drafting, navigation, and other purposes.

Compasses are usually made of metal or wood. It consists of two parts connected by a hinge which can be adjusted. One part has a spike at its end, and the other part a writing instrument such as a pencil or a pen.

Circles are made by fastening one leg of the compasses on the paper with the spike, putting the writing instrument on the paper, and moving the pencil around while keeping the hinge on the same angle. The radius of the circle can be adjusted by changing the angle of the hinge.

In a way, she understood this description better, and felt more at ease reading about how to use the instrument. The only disappointment was that, for a well written material, it did not have illustrations. She did read about how to use the compass as a divider and a measuring device and found that aspect useful because she needed to learn to read the map of ancient Alahea.

This time she planned her drawing more carefully. Armed with a straight-edge piece of wood which she used as a crude ruler, she designed a compass with a proper pivot bolt and nut that can be adjusted. She carefully drew perpendicular lines and sketched two pointy cylinders for the arms, designing one aperture into a spike, and the other into a shorter arm with a replaceable appendage. She decided to craft into it a screw, so that she might attach either a writing instrument or a spike on it. Designing the detachable arms took extra care in measurements, and Jil took her time drawing and sketching carefully measuring and deciding.

This time she was focused, the compass plan she drew made much more sense, the method she needed to smith the compass much more clear to her. She took notes down about her plans, jotting them down in bullets.

When she was done with the draft, she carefully copied the specific measurements using a pencil and some measuring devices. Once the plan was completed she arranged her notes. And listed the necessary materials she needed.

She praised herself for being organized this time around and started to gather the materials she needed: metal sheets, the usual metalsmithing tools (crimp, hammer, small anvil), bolts, nuts, screws, gears, measuring devices. Once she completed her list she reviewed her plan and started writing down the procedure she needed to follow. There was, after all, an advantage to documenting a project. In doing so she will be able to figure out where she might be wrong and therefore make necessary adjustments.

[Jilitse]

Jilitse had realized her shortcomings - she worked too hasty and planned too little. There was something to be said for being well-organized and methodological, no expert wizard ever finished a grand project without working deeply with calculations, formulas, drafts, and so on. The unorganized wizard is more likely to fail, Jilitse learned. It was probably something she had experienced from being an apprentice for so long. An expert research requires one to work towards a goal using a method and procedure.

So she went back to the workshop with better patience and calmer passion and began to gather the same objects she had listed. Metal sheets, irons, bolts, crimp, striking out one item after another in the list of items and tools needed.

After fixing an apron on her body, she wound a thin cloth in her right hand and wore a slightly rugged working glove in her left hand. Carefully this time, she worked with the metal sheet in the furnace, bending, hammering, bending to create a sleeve for the compass. She pulled and stretched the metal carefully, ignoring the heat and the smoke. Deftly, she inserted a rod into the sleeve and adjusted it to the proper length. Quickly she hammered the tip, heating and hammering as quickly as her hands would allow. She stretched the tip, pulling the metal out into a point, working with combined speed, grace, and dexterity. When the tip formed into a prick, the nuit cooled the first sleeve and began to create another one.

Pulling, bending, and hammering the second sleeve needed extra care and swiftness. She curled and pulled the metal to shape. Jilitse worked steadfastly, checking a piece of paper in a nearby table to make sure she was following her guide. She punched the hot metal with a small drill, slowly working the drill through. Estimating and calculating, giving the invention her best. She designed the elbow into a crimped fan shaped metal, pulling it around another rod, a smaller piece of metal that will hold the instrument block. She hammered and punched the tip into a hook, denting the middle part into a flat surface and then carefully bore a hole to fit a small screw into. When she was done with the final adjustments, Jilitse dipped the second arm in a basin of warm water.

Once both arms cooled, the nuit checked both sleeves, comparing measurements and crimping and hammering the pieces to bend accordingly. She loosely fixed the wing nut bolt, pulling one arm to check if the sleeves matched. The arms were a bit rough to pull apart, but that could be fixed. Jilitse took the arm for the writing instrument and measured the circumference of the rod. She compared this to the specifications of the invention in her draft - all the errors were minor and will not greatly affect the equipment's efficiency.

This time she measured a small part from the metal sheet to serve as the instrument block before cutting it out. She gave a small allowance around the marks and tried to avoid cutting herself. Taking the small piece of metal, she clamped it and brought it over the furnace, this time adjusting the heat to ensure that the small piece will not melt too quickly. With nimble hands, she wrapped the small metal sheet around the instrument arm and crimped and shaped the instrument block around the rod into a cone shaped cylinder. She furrowed her brows, concentrating, working quietly and patiently as possible. She used pliers to twist and fix the sleeve into place, attaching a screw into the sleeve to hold the arm and the instrument block together.

Jilitse guided the metal by smoothing over lumps, hammering down the pieces, crimping the edges into place. A hot draft hissed from the forge, about the same time she finished attaching the bolt.

She smoothed her gloved fingers over the rest of the compass, feeling for any untoward lumps, rough or sharp edges. When the glove smoothly glided on the surface, she examined the compass closely, checking the device for any bubbled areas.

Convinced that the device worked perfectly this time, she tested the arms by twisting the wing bolt. This time the arms glided slowly but easily. The tip of the axis arm was a bit too sharp for her taste so she lightly bumped it with the hammer, pummeling it down a hair's width, blunting the tip. The nuit then inserted a pencil in the instrument and set the compass atop the draft plans, swishing the tool around with one swipe, drawing half an arc.

Another gentle swipe and it came full circle.

[Tarot]

Jilitse +4 Metalsmithing +3 Gadgeteering +2 Mathematics +2 Drawing Lore of drawing circles Lore of not settling for a mediocre result Comments: The final pun is worthy of my own.