First Day on the Job [Solo]

Working at the Undeniable Interests will be interesting to say the least

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This shining population center is considered the jewel of The Sylira Region. Home of the vast majority of Mizahar's population, Syliras is nestled in a quiet, sprawling valley on the shores of the Suvan Sea. [Lore]

First Day on the Job [Solo]

Postby Marian Tarmikos on June 1st, 2012, 2:29 pm

-1st day of Summer, 512 AV-

For about the tenth time since arriving at this store, Marian lifted his hand to sneeze the dust out of his nasal cavities. To think anywhere could have so much filth confused the Zeltivan. Had the owner ever heard of Spring cleaning? No he couldn't put it like that. He needed to exchange owner for boss. Why did his boss, Dominac Ariva, not know how to clean?

Marian sat there, pondering his current situation, while Dominac was rummaging in a pile of "stuff" behind him. Marian probably would've found himself here at the Undeniable Interests eventually, but not for a job. Yet when he had arrived at his apartment the day before, a note was left for him by the man sent to Syliras by his father. It directed him to this store, telling him how one Dominac could provide him a job if needed. Exhausted and hungry, a job anywhere seemed nice to Marian. But now that he was here, he was having second doubts.

Although as he looked around, his interest did peak whenever his eyes scanned over a pile of books. There was bound to be tomes of history somewhere in this store. Maybe working here got him a discount or something; paying full price for books wasn't what he needed right now when money was tight. No, he needed to worry about work today. His first day on the job. What did Dominac need of him?

The old man returned with a rolled up map in his hand; an obvious choice seeing that Marian was hired as a cartographer under the man. His father meant well in getting him this job, but working in a place like this, Marian would've rathered manning the counter and selling rather than making maps. But he would take was given to him. And today is was a dusty map.

Dominac sat it in front of Marian, wiping dust off with his wrinkly hands. It unrolled itself, sitting flat on the table. Marian studied it for a moment, noticing that it was not of a region, but of a city. "It seems you're new in town so I figured you might need a map. But I'm not giving it to you. Make a map of your own with this as your guide. It'll let me gauge your ability while I come up with other tasks for you."

Marian nodded. A simple task that shouldn't take too long.
"Yes sir."
Dominac grunted in response and returned to his work, leaving Marian to his own devices. Marian glanced back at the map, and cracked his knuckles. He was ready to get started. First day on the job was not his first day for failure.
"The mind can travel farther in a single day than the fastest horse could traverse in a lifetime"
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Marian Tarmikos
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First Day on the Job [Solo]

Postby Marian Tarmikos on June 6th, 2012, 7:34 pm

Thankfully there was a quill and ink vial on the table Marian was sitting at so he could label when needed. And it wasn't needed just yet; first he needed to put the outline of Syliras on paper. He sat his backpack down on the table, pulling out his toolkit. Out of the kit came his ruler, colored coal, and a map to perform his drawing on. His map wasn't like the older map; it was pristine and it roll up on itself if left alone. An ink-well and small book became his weights to hold the map down. Finally settled, the man picks up a dark blue coal, and studied the map he was copying.

A lesson Marian learned in Zeltiva was to draw the less important things first. And since his focus with this map was the city of Syliras, first he would draw the Suvan sea. Hence the reason he held the blue coal; blue water, blue coal. Ignoring the gridline as it helped little when he didn't know the actual grids, Marian began to slowly draw the border of the Suvan sea and the city of Syliras. It was simple, but time-consuming. Marian had an eye for detail and he hated mistakes. But thankfully the attempt went without difficulty.

With that done, Marian switched over to a black coal to handle the city wall of Syliras. Since doing the Suvan Sea first, he had already started the wall on one side. Again, this was just a crude map Marian would be using to get around, so he didn't bother drawing every guard tower in the exact spot. He did take his time though, trying to draw the wall in the way it was portrayed. So for several chimes, Marian sat, poised over his parchment as he tried to make his map look somewhat similar to the other map. Or atleast able to read, as he was the only one who needed to use it.

Eventually, Marian did finish with the outlining of the city wall, giving him a crude drawing similar to the map he was copying. It was usable though, and that was all that mattered to Marian. Now came the most difficult part; it was time to trace the districts in. There were several of them, with open-aired streets in between them. Marian had walked through several of these districts, so he had a feel for them. In fact, his apartment was located in the Maiden District and he worked in the Nettles District; so he had two of them already down.

But knowing the names of them didn't matter until he drew them, so Marian set to work. For the next bell Marian worked with a focus on getting the districts done. It wouldn't have taken so long for a master catrographer, but Marian was no master. So he slowly worked, starting at the docks, and moving left. After the docks came the Winthrop Alley, Bittern District, and Dryes District. Maiden and Nettles followed suit, along with Jordon, Illythian and Roshin district. The Windmount Stables became his last district, but Marian drew no stables or fields. It was just a bare blank that would later be labeled.

Setting the coal down on the table, Marian wiped his hands on his pants as he looked at the work for a moment. Nothing worth selling in this store, but it was worth a fortune to Marian. It showed him just how he would be living his life. Living in a castle.
"The mind can travel farther in a single day than the fastest horse could traverse in a lifetime"
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First Day on the Job [Solo]

Postby Marian Tarmikos on June 15th, 2012, 7:50 pm

Next came the actual labeling of the map. By now Marian had the outlines of the city wall and the districts without the actual names of the districts. That meant his map told him nothing but the shape of the city. Could he have gone out, wandered for days, and figured out whether or not what he drew was accurate? Possibly. Did he want to? Not at all. So he began to label the map with landmark names. And he started with the Nettle District.

This one proved to be the most labeled on the regular map, so Marian took the time to label his map like it. He first marked the area where the Main Gates was located; on the better map, there was an actual hole where the gates were, but on Marian's it was just a drawn line with Main Gates written over it. He also drew three squares, which he labeled Welcome Center, Traveler's Row, and Taverns and Inns. They were located on the outside, so he could actually place them if he were to walk outside. Finally, he carefully wrote the words Nettle District over the outline of the actual district.

And he repeated the process with all the other districts. Over the outline of each district, he wrote the name in black ink, careful not to leave splotches on his map. Locations that were found outside the districts, where Syna could bathe it in light, Marian labeled in the approximate area where it was located (Kova's Well, Stone Garden, and the Docks). Wiping his hands once he finished, he paused to admire his work. All the districts were labeled, so he would know at least which one he found himself in. But a map wasn't suppose to work like that. He had failed to label specific locations. He had failed.

And that was when a light went off in his head. He had centered the city of Syliras on the map, so there was blank space wrapping around the walls of the city. Blank space left open for things like a legend and cardinal directions. This was where Marian would perform his solution; something an expert cartographer would scold him over. But he didn't want to start over, and this was the next best thing. Marian picks up the quill once more, dips it in the ink, and sets to work.

He began by writing in the top right corner the word Location. That was the title of his legend, and after that it became all information. The first item in the list was Marian's apartment, with a dash between the word, and finally Maiden District (Marian's apartment- Maiden District). Since he couldn't put exactly where the location was, the best thing he could do was write what district it was in. Since this was a personal map, it didn't quite matter. He would save his talent for maps other people would look at.

This process didn't take long due to the fact that Marian had only been to his apartment and to this shop. Of course, he had walked past other places, but until he actually set foot in them, he wouldn't bother putting them on the map. Although, even with only a few locations to write down, Dominac still caught him before he had finished. He had shook his head, but the only words he spoke were, "You'll get better with practice." And then he walked away. Marian looked after him, and shrugged. He didn't say he was fired.

After adding under his apartment that the Undeniable Interests was located in the Nettles District, Marian packed up his equipment and waited for the ink to dry. The map was crude, but it was a start. And he had survived his first day on the job. Now the second was a whole different story. . .

-End-

"The mind can travel farther in a single day than the fastest horse could traverse in a lifetime"
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Marian Tarmikos
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First Day on the Job [Solo]

Postby Emblem on June 22nd, 2012, 12:04 am

Congratulations!
You Get Glorious Experience!

Marian
Skills
    Cartography- 4 XP
    Drawing- 4 XP
    Writing- 1 XP
Lores
    Syliras (Partial)
    Dust is Bad for My Health

Other Shenanigans: Add a crude map of Syliras to your possessions!

Comments :
Nice little work thread here. Mizahar needs more historians and the like, such as yourself, so keep it up! Any questions, go ahead and PM me!
Currently working at new job so I am still trying to balance it out with Miza. I apologize for any delays.
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