Kaden sat quietly as Drusilla talked, once she was done Kaden spoke. “First, I don’t take anyone’s word about what they can do. We had a foreigner come in and tried telling us that he was a skilled blacksmith, after putting him at the forge for a day, we could tell that he never held a hammer in his life. So after talking with Avora Dai, she has accepted to test your skills at weaving. After we are done, someone will guide you to her and you will spend the day working. If she approves of your skill, then you will be accepted as an Avora under Dai.” A wicked gleam came to Kaden eyes.
“She is a hard mistress and will likely test you on the basics more than some fancy techniques. My suggestion is to work hard and fast, and she will at least accept you. If you fail, I will give you the chance to leave Wind Reach, or you can stay here for a time and work as a Chiet. As long as you are here, you will obey our laws, or you will not be fed.”
“Firstly, the eagles, if you stay here be prepared to see large eagles everywhere. It’s important that you understand they are not animals. They think and speak through their riders, in many ways they are the true leaders of Wind Reach and if they pass a judgment on you expect it to be heard and followed throughout the city. Those few people chosen to bond to an eagle are sacred. When they speak act as if it comes from the eagles themselves, should they abuse their power, the eagles will let us know.”
“If you are given an order from an Endal that conflicts with the good of the Wind Reach or the orders you have received, you can take it to the Master of your Caste. They can argue with the Endal and clarify the orders. However, if you are not at work or under direct orders from another Endal, you should respond to the requests of the Endal, if they are within reason.”
“Should you pass your test in crafting, you will be in the Avora class. This means that for the bulk of the day you will be given orders from Dai to finish. Every ten days she will likely give you a day to craft for yourself, otherwise stay late at the looms to do your own work. Being an Avora means that you will only take orders from Endal, Masters of their Castes, and Elders. If you need untrained labor you can ask Dai to assign Chiet to you, or if you need messages to be sent or the like she can get a Dek.”
“The Dek are our lowest castes, they are people who have no ambition or intelligence to improve the city around them. You can do almost anything to them that you like, except kill or hurt them in such a way as to stop them from working. If you are interested in having relationship with a Chiet it is consider important that you gain their acceptance, this is due to amount of time it will take them away from their schedule work. If you choose to enter into a relationship with a Chiet then expect to pay for their lost of work. If you don’t, we treat the matter as stealing.”
“We are a simple people and have few rules. Stealing or hording of food is completely forbidden. If you are caught doing this we will strip you naked and chain you to a stone beam for two days. You will not be given food or water while you are exposed to open sky. Should you survive you will be branded and thrown from the city gates to live in exile.” Kaden looked at Drusilla with deadly gaze. Pausing he wanted it to sink into Drusilla and make sure she understood that this would be carried out with brutal efficiency.
“As for stealing of property or murder, you are expected to repay the person or caste the amount you took from them. For murder, you owe the caste the amount of work that would have been done from that person for 15 years. Should you kill an Endal, their work is so valued that you will likely never make enough to repay them. Also, in murder cases the caste can argue for a champion to be chosen to duel the murderer. This is only done if the murder was without reason or so brutal that your death would benefit the whole of the city.”
“The last major law is that everyone works for the betterment of the city. Do anything to interfere with that work or actively work against it and punishment will be swift. Depending on how the work was effected, the punishment will be adjusted to reflect the crime.”
Kaden stood up and pulled a cloth rope. The sound of bells echoed and Kaden sat back down. Looking once again at Drusilla, he spoke in a clear voice. “We have enough time for you to ask one question and then a runner will take you to Avora Dai to be tested.” Kaden waved Drusilla to ask if she had anything to add.
After Drusilla spoke and received a response, a skinny dirty clothed man came to the office. Kaden spoke the sing song language of Wind Reach to him and the man bowed. “Please follow this dek.” Kaden then went back to his office looking at the pile of gray slates that needed his attention. The Dek smelled of sweat and human filth on his clothes. Though his body was clean, it was his clothes that were in bad need of repair and cleaning. Once Drusilla started following the Dek, she began to see the greater caverns of Wind Reach. Thousands of Red Haired people could be seen rushing here and there doing work or speaking to an eagle. Some stopped an stared at the Symenastra, while others just went about their work or play.
As Drusilla entered the Craft Gallery, she could hear hundreds of looms working as seamstresses worked at an almost blurring speed. Weaving shuttles steamed to be flying and large reams of cloth with colorful patterns were being created. Drusilla saw that the majority of the looms were made of metal, seeing wood, only where it was absolutely needed. As she pasted the looms, spinning wheels were next, young women and men sat next to bushels of wool and some hemp building spindles of thread. Once again the wheels seemed to be compromised mainly of metal instead of wood. Still the spinners talked to one another, probably gossiping over this and that, some laughed, while others simply had a look of intense focus. As baskets were emptied workers brought in more coming from a carved entryway. Seeing a break in the flow of traffic, the dek brought Drusilla to a carved entry way, and entered a big carved stone room.
As he stepped inside, bushels of hemp and wool were piled everywhere, while an older woman yelled at a young man, pointing to a crack in the wall. The dek simply waited till the woman was done yelling and the young man seemed to run from the storage room. At this time the woman came over to Drusilla and began to examine her. It was a silent and dreadful the way the woman inspected her. Every once and a while she would simple prod or poke some of Drusilla’s muscles and then shake her head. Finally, she waved the Dek away and spoke, “I suppose it’s too much to ask that you speak Nari? Hmmmmmmm, well girl, I am Dai and in weaving section I am leader, if you show that can spin thread and work a loom, I will front you enough food for one week’s worth of work, but it will only come after you past your test. Any questions before we began?”
Dai had a look of intense impatience upon her face. Drusilla could see that the Weave had worn premature wrinkles into her face from an almost permanent scowl. Though as Drusilla looked at the rest of her, she could tell that Dai kept fit by working the looms and wheels herself. The clothing about her should well built muscles from endless days of weaving. The cut of her cloth was also amazing, though Drusilla saw it was made from hemp, the woman must have spun the fibers into the tiniest of threads, for it looked as if the garment woven like silk itself. Dyes had been applied on the threads prior to the loom, making the garment hundreds of different shades of red and yellow. There were several embroider eagles throughout the shirt, the skill needed in needle point was far beyond Drusilla’s as she looked at one.
by Drusilla on September 2nd, 2010, 7:44 pm 
