About Glasswork and Other Things

by **Syveris** on November 3rd, 2013, 10:40 pm

55th of Fall, 513 AV

The day hadn't been that exhaustive. Virat had mostly given her some 'quick' exercises to do, which involved mostly doing some paperweights and beads as fast as she could without actually ruining the pieces, and he had asked her questions about the tools and how to do more complex pieces. That was what most impressed Syveris about her mentor: he knew much of the theory of glassblowing, even if he still didn't have the skill to actually do said things. Basically, the day had been an evaluation of her skills until now. Hopefully, her mentor had been satisfied.

And now, she was entering the Enclave after him, because he had invited her to spend the rest of the day reading. Syveris knew Virat well enough to know that this wasn't a request to relax. He was probably going to give her some book about glasswork or something related to it. Since she had asked for a book recomendation, she wasn't going to complain.

Virat guided her towards the glass section, and waved to the furniture near it. Syveris walked to the table and sat on one of the chairs, watching as her mentor searched for some book. She frowned when he left the section, but just laid on the table, waiting for him to come back.

When he finally did, he had three books with him, one of them so large that Syveris almost had a headache just by looking at it. She truly hoped she wasn't supposed to read that.

Her mentor rested the books on the table, taking the bigger one and pushing the other two towards her. He sat on one of the chairs and opened his own book. Religion. A simple and not so informative title, but one that made Syveris frown.

"Since when you worship the Gods?"

"I worship them more than you do." her mentor answered, without looking at her. "Besides, this isn't about worshipping. It's about the effect that worship has on people. I've been wanting to read it for a while, but work had kept me busy."

"You mean I kept you busy?" the soft chuckle from her mentor was confirmation enough. "And I respect the Gods. All of the ones I know about, at least. I just don't think we should depend on them all the time. But they are necessary! I just..."

"I know what you think about the subject, Syveris." Virat interrupted her ranting, sending only a quick glance from behind his book. "But you have changed a lot your opinion about the matter. Maybe you will change it even more." before she could say anything, though, his attention returned to what he was reading. "Read the books I chose for you. You will like them."

Syveris sighed, deciding not to argue about it. Looking at her own books, she took the thinner one first. Glasswork of Mizahar. Opening it, she saw that the book contained numerous paintings of very different objects, all made of glass. The illustrations were incredible and very detailed, and it was if she was seeing the actual piece. She rested her chin on her hand, flipping through the pages slowly, appreciating the pictures.

One of them caught her attention. It was a huge tiger head, made of orange and black glass. The work was so detailed that if Syveris didn't knew it was made of glass, she would have thought the artist painted a real tiger on the book. The mouth was wide open, and every wrinkle on the animal's nose had been beautifully crafted. That was the work of a master, and Syveris wished she could produce something like that someday. But the tiger head also made her remember something else.

"Virat, I met a half-Myrian the other day." she told her mentor, looking up. The Avora couldn't hold back the laugh when she saw the Virat's worried face, his book forgotten on his hands.

"Syveris! This is no laughing matter! Myrians are... They can be..."

"Turrin is very nice. He is an Endal, you know. Come on, Virat. I thought you would be the last person to hold something against someone without even meeting them."

She was surprised at the very faint blush that crossed her mentor's face. It was a rare sigh, and Syveris couldn't even remember the last time she had seen it. But she also felt a little guilty. The Avora knew that if she hadn't said it with such a serious voice, then Virat wouldn't have minded the fact.

"Read your book." he ordered, raising his hands and hiding his face behind the thick book. Syveris bit her lip to keep herself from chuckling, and returned the attention to the table.

Taking the other book, she glanced at the title. The Art of Glassblowing. It looked interesting, and although it was a big book, she supposed it wouldn't be too boring to read.

Laying back on her chair, she opened the book.

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by **Syveris** on November 3rd, 2013, 11:39 pm

A glassworker or glassblower is a person who knows how to shape and transform hot glass into an art piece. Glassworking is, thus, work and a form of art. The length and arduous process of forming glass from sand and then shaping it is something that may be thought as easy by those who do not perform the trade, but are in truth a very difficult art. The hot glass can fall and deform if not worked right, and the final piece can crack if not cooled right.

Despite all the drawbacks, glass is something highly sought after. A window made of glass is a beautiful view, and many would love to have glass sculptures adorning their homes. But glass is not used only to decor: philters have discovered the superior nature of glass if compared to clay, and even magecrafters have found use for glass.

And it's because of all this that glass is so hard to come by, and because of its fragile nature it's hard to trade it around. For that, glass remains a sigh of wealth and even power.

However, the home of the Inarta, Wind Reach, where I spend most of my time learning about the arts of glassworking, is a wonderful exception to this rule. Glass is easy to come by due to the city's location near a volcano, but this doesn't make the glass pieces any more easy to make. In fact, I would dare to say that the technique developed by the Inarta is amongst one of the most difficult, what just shows how marvelous their work can be.

"Glass is hard to come by?" Syveris exclaimed, putting her book down and glaring at Virat. "Only for the rich? Really?"

"Other cities aren't located near a volcano, Syveris. I think the book has already told you that." Virat answered, and she could see a small smile on his lips. "We have plenty of the right sand to transform in glass, and our production doesn't cost too much because, well, we have a natural heat source. Other cities don't, and so the price on the glass rises greatly on other places."

Syveris frowned. Well, it did make sense, but the idea that not everyone had access to glass in other places was really foreign to her. Well, at least the book was interesting. The fact that it seemed more like a journal than a book was also a welcomed bonus.

She kept reading the introductory section, which detailed the way the Inarta produced glass using the heat from the mountain. Although the Avora already knew all that, being born in Wind Reach and all, she found that the book was interesting, and she didn't mind reading it.

The next chapter was about a brief history of how the author had become interested in the art, and why he decided to travel to Wind Reach to learn more about it. It was quite obvious, actually, since he had already said that the city was the best on the art of glassworking, but it wasn't any less entertaining to read. Syveris chuckled when she reached the point where the author described the first time he tried to make a glass piece. It made her remember her own first time. Hers had ended much better than the author's, who managed to ruin the piece as soon as it had gotten off the oven by dropping the blow pipe.

The following section, though, interested her even more, as it told about the process of melting sand to transform it into glass.

Most sands contain many compounds that will make the finished piece clouded and sometimes very odd-colored. This is widely known, but I also heard about a philter being able to take off some of said impurities, and I wished to know if the refined sand would make a acceptable piece.

It did not. The final piece was colored a sad brown, not very nice to look at. Of course, Wind Reach has supplies of the finest sand available for making a clear and beautiful piece. And, as it happens with the heat, its source is also natural. In fact, it swims inside the Twin Lakes.

The Inarta take their supplies of soda-lime from a type of fish. I'm not familiar with how they manage to digest moss into this fine glass, but it works. And the result is a almost pure white powder that will make beautiful and clear glass. And if one is not satisfied with colorless glass, one can always add some minerals to the powder prior to heating it.

It then described each compound and their appearances, although not the quantity needed to color the glass. Although Syveris was a little disappointed by that, she didn't mind it too much, since she doubted she would remember all of them. The only one she had already been taught by Virat was the iron, that could make the glass colored in the range between green and brown.

The fact that there was impurities on the sand and that it made the final piece show an ugly color was new to her. Wind Reach, as long as she knew, always used soda-lime, because of its purity, but she never thought about questioning what would happen if the sand wasn't "pure". Syveris had been more interested in starting to do the actual pieces than to listen about the theoretical stuff. It obviously had given her some troubles at the beginning, and when Virat threatened her with the loss of apprenticeship, she had listened to everything he had said since then carefully.

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by **Syveris** on November 4th, 2013, 10:07 pm

After mixing the compounds, the glasswork will then proceed to heat the glass in extremely high temperatures. Eventually, it'll turn the sand into a semifluid. I've heard some people describing it as 'cool honey', and, as much as I hate honey, it's an accurate description.

Syveris chuckled at the way the author wrote the book. It really was like a journal. Maybe it had started that way, and someone had decided to copy it into a book. And it was exactly the way it was written that made her enjoy the book more than she had the others. Looking at Virat once more, she spoke.

"Why haven't you told me about this book before? It's certainly much more interesting that the other one."

"Syveris..." her mentor spoke, slowly, and she knew then that somehow she had missed something. "This was the very first book I recommended to you. But at the time you didn't want to hear about any 'boring book', as you said." it was her time to blush, and she looked down, trying to find something to say. Syveris heard her mentor chuckle softly, and was glad when he broke the silence. "I'm glad you're enjoying it, though."

The Avora nodded, still not really knowing what to say. She knew that Virat wasn't offended by her initial lack of interest in books, but she wished she could have paid more attention in the ones he had offered her. This particular one would have been very helpful in the beginning.

She returned her attention to the book, reading the next passage where the tools and the best ways to use them were described. Syveris noticed it was very similar to the way Virat had taught her, and she smiled. The book would really have been helpful. After a while, she rested the book on the table once more, still looking at it when she spoke.

"Lavira was a little... Well, she was very annoyed at me in the beginning." she commented. When her mentor lowered his own book and looked at her with his eyebrows raised, Syveris knew he probably already understood what she really wanted to ask. But she wouldn't give up that soon. "I know I was mistaken and that I should have brought what I would need. But she was really nice after a while. But... do you know why she was annoyed at first?"

"It was my mistake, also." Virat sighed, and Syveris wondered why. "But don't blame Lavira. She had the right to be annoyed. Hunting is very scarce right now, and we did ruin her day off."

"Hunting is scarce? Already? This early in Fall?"

"You haven't heard of it? Really?" her mentor was surprised, and Syveris blushed again, making a mental note to pay more attention in things that were happening around. Many of it she just shrugged off as gossip, but it seemed that this time was real. "Well, I heard from a colleague that has a hunter friend. He said it's worse than last year, and so there is a lot of worry about what's going to happen on Winter. But Syveris" he crossed his arms, looking at her with a stern face. The Avora felt like an Yasi again, on her first day of apprenticeship. "This isn't what you want to ask me about."

"Why do you want me to take falconry lessons?" she asked, and then groaned, frustrated, when Virat simply picked up the book again and started reading. He wouldn't answer. She knew him well enough to understand that. "Virat?" her mentor didn't raise his head, but Syveris decided to keep talking either way. "Is there somewhere in the book where he describes actual techniques? Most of the things here I already know. I mean, it's interesting and all, but..."

"Go to the crafts chapter. First part."

Syveris sighed at the short answer, and turned her attention to the book once more. She wouldn't get much out of him now.

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by **Syveris** on November 7th, 2013, 8:14 pm

My favourite part, of course, is the actual creating process. I understand that the understanding of tools and glass is important to the art, but any glassworker will agree with me that what really makes the arduous process of crafting something is the actual craft.

There are many techniques of craft, and many things one can do with glass. Here, the focus will be on my two personal favourites: mirrors and stained glass. There is also a section for glass panels, since mirrors are basically those, only more elaborated. An interested glassworker should search for more crafts techniques, though, as a way to improve their working.

Stained glass? Syveris smiled to herself. Virat had said the craft of it was difficult, and that she still wasn't prepared to try it. However, if he had told her to read about it, she might be ready soon. The thought made her smile broaden, and she returned her attention to the book.

Stained glass. It has yet to come a time where I'll find a piece more beautiful than a stained glass panel. Only those who have had the privilege of seeing it will know what I'm talking about. The creation process requires more than just glassworking ability from the artisan. It requires true understanding on the art form that glass can come to be.

First, one should draw what one wished to do, as perfectly as possible, so the artisan won't make any mistakes, destroying the whole piece before even the beginning. Once the drawing is ready, a wooden frame shall be made to hold the glass while the artisan works.

Glass then should be poured into a cast, and it shall remain there until it has cooled off. The glassworker can now cut the pieces in the format he or she already defined on the drawing, and start to put the piece together in the wooden mold...

Syveris kept reading, entertained. The techniques used for each were described in the book, and she found herself eager to try that. Raising her head, she looked at Virat once more. Her mentor was very concentrated in his book, but she needed to ask.

"Virat! Can I do stained glass painels?" her mentor looked at her, a small smile on his lips. Syveris wondered how could he be so patient.

"Not now. Why don't we try to do a window on Winter? When you manage to do it alright, then you can try stained glass panel." before she could protest or insist more, he shook his head. "No, Syveris. Stained glass is no easy work, and you haven't perfected a window yet. To try to make something more advanced than what you are able to do is only to waste time."

The Avora sighed, resting her head on her hand once again. Virat was right, as he always seemed to be, but she didn't want to wait, either. She would, but she didn't want to. Syveris wished she could perfect the technique in no time at all, so she would be able to do anything she wanted. Unfortunately, she doubted that was even possible.

Then, she frowned, and looked up, just noticing something her mentor had said. It had been something small, but she noticed it.

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by **Syveris** on November 7th, 2013, 8:40 pm

"When you say me... I mean, when you said I could try stained glass panel... Did you mean...?" she was unsure, and the thought of it was so exciting and at the same time unsettling that she was afraid of believing in it and it not being the truth.

"Yes, I mean it." her mentor smiled, and finally rested the book on the table, his full attention on her. "A season more of work, Syveris, and I think you will be finally ready to move out of apprenticeship. Do you want it?"

The Avora was at a loss of words. Did she want it? Of course she did. She had wanted to become a glassworker, a true one, not only just an apprentice since the first day she had saw the Glass Reverie. It was such an exciting thought, that she found hard to put it into words. But there was also something that was bothering her.

"Virat... Will we be working together even after that?" she asked, her voice not more than a whisper. The thought of loosing her mentor, the first friend she had made, someone who was her brother, was terrifying. They could always talk outside the Reverie, but not to work with him would be the same as loosing him.

"Of course we will, Syveris." he reclined in the chair, his eyes locked on her face. "I will be there, and so will you. Glassworkers do pieces together all the time. The only difference is that, soon, you will be the more experienced one." Syveris smiled, and tried to say something. Her worry was gone, she was only happy now, and yet, she still couldn't say a single word. To become a true Avora... How long had she been aching for it? Virat smiled, and picked his book once again. "Read your books, Syveris."

The Avora chuckled, opening the one with the pictures again, and watched intensely the one that showed a beautiful eagle, with wings wide open. It made her remember the time she wanted to be an Endal. She still did, maybe as much as before, but right now, she knew she would be happy if she spend her whole life as a glassworker. Somehow, after Virat's words, the eagle picture was like a promise, of something wonderful. What it was, exactly, Syveris didn't know. But she knew she would fight through everything that was thrown at her, if only to see that promise come true.

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by **Skerry** on December 3rd, 2013, 10:37 pm

Grades

Skill	XP
Socialization	4XP
Observation	2XP
Glassworking	4XP

LORES :

Notes:
Well done, Syveris! Nice bit of learning done here as well as a bit of back and forth between pupil and mentor. It's also exciting that she's becoming a proper glassworker soon. Look forward to more.

Remember if you have any questions about or problems with your grade then feel free to PM me.

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Completed About Glasswork and Other Things