Better Shape Up [Garr]

In which Hilana gets her hands dirty and attempts some sculpting.

The Luxium represents the upper half and primary seat of the Solunarian Capital and one of the dual-cities that comprises Solunarium Proper. Situated between the foot of the volcanic Mount Sorokyn and the wide River Vasta, this above-ground metropolis boasts five thriving districts beneath the shadow of the glorious Palatium Furiarum (The Blazing Palace) from which the Solar Court rules in splendour. This bustling metropolis is by far the most populous region in the realm and, along with its shadowy sister-city the Umbrium, houses upwards of eighty percent of the Solunarian population at any given time. During the reign of a Solar Court, every major government agency in the kingdom is headquartered in the Luxium, with the notable exception of The Silver Sentinels, the covert intelligence agency run by the House of Phaedryn-Sol’Aværys.

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Hilana Chenzira
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11 Glade, Year 123

[Closed - Garr]

One of the things that was recommended to her by her paedagogi was that she work on sculpting. While what she did so far was perfectly adequate, but getting into the finer, more delicate details required for extensively detailed shapes meant learning more about the shapes themselves and practicing different forms. That didn’t have to be done with aether; normal clay would do. But Hilana, at that moment, had enough going on with her lessons and training and work and caring for her animals that digging out and straining clay from the riverbank through a fine mesh sieve to clear out all of the impurities was not time efficient, and so she put her aether to work.

She had taken multiple buckets from the greenhouses and having washed them thoroughly, gone along the river to pull out great handfuls of clay. She was mindful of the crocodiles, though for some reason, they didn’t seem to mind her and were apparently content to leave her alone. She’d take it, truthfully. But she found the clay she needed and wanted, and set to work mixing it and feeling for any stones, shells, teeth, pebbles, bits of seaweed... Everything that she didn’t need in there that was hanging out and would interrupt the shaping and cause a problem with her sculpting practice had to go, and back into the Vasta it went. At last, Hilana had two large buckets stuffed full of clay, and due to the obscene weight, used Enmesh to make them as light as air to make them easy to transport.

She took her bounty off and out of the way of the water, but where she was close enough that she could watch the active port while still being out of the way and being in no real danger from creatures or people. Hilana knew full well that she could have left the city, but she had lessons later, and the last thing she wanted to do was lose track of time and be late. So as it was, she settled down in the shade of the various buildings, getting comfortable in the sands with her skirts, and settled the first bucket of clay in front of her with some of the metal trays from work on which she could put her practice efforts. The Vastiana had always been one for getting her hands dirty, and so while she laid a canvas cloth over her lap so that the clay didn’t wreck her brightly-dyed skirts of green and gold, she wasn’t too fussed otherwise. She had borrowed a couple of older tools from some of the potters that she had struck up friendships with, simple basic ones like balls and little pottery knives and spoons to help shape things and play with the earth until she was ready to do it by hand and with aether.

She scooped up a handful of the wet, soft clay, shaking a bit of excess water out, and began to roll it between her palms in order to make a rope. One could well guess, from the pythons hanging out on her shoulders and in her hair, precisely what she was trying to make. Tiaz lounged on her shoulders, content in the warmth of the spring heat, while the smaller, grey python was half on her shoulders, half in her hair, and apparently enjoying that perch while the girl could people-watch and try to form a funny, if lumpy, snake. It had just eaten, and that was her excuse. She would stick to it.




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Cloud Caelum Garr
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Garr had been practicing his astral projection skills, allowing his spirit to wander through the town, observing the daily lives of its inhabitants. It was a unique way to see the world, and he found the experience oddly calming. As he drifted through the streets, he noticed Hilana which was strange because he didn't expect to see her there. Intrigued, he decided to make his ethereal form visible to her and say hello.

Materializing several meters in front of her, Garr called out, "Hello there," while waving his hand. Almost immediately, he felt a twinge of awkwardness wash over him. He hadn't considered how his sudden appearance might be perceived, and he worried that Hilana might think he was stalking her. Hoping to alleviate any concerns, he quickly added, "I was practicing astral projection and happened to see you, so I thought I would say hi. What are you up to?"

He could plainly see that she was trying to make something with the clay. If he had to hazard a guess it was a tail or snake. But even if he knew what she was doing, he was curious as to why. Why would someone with such magical skill spend their time playing around with clay? Was it just another thing common people did to make money? Or was there something more to it? With Hilana he was sure she was going to surprise him.

Garr looked around and tried to familiarize himself with the area in case he wanted to Vault on over. He had never tried to hold a conversation like this before so he wasn't sure how it would go. It made more sense for him to be physically present. If Hilana didn't want to be bothered he could take a hint and go find something else to do.



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Hilana was working along with the clay, not at all minding the way it coloured her hands. Steadily, she was managing to form the clay into a rope with a rounded end and a tapered end, and now she had to shape the neck and head. Every snake needed a cute snout, after all. And this snake was looking, well, rather worm like. Still, no matter. Practice made perfect. Better to do it like this rather than try to expend aether on the shaping. She could make various shapes, rounded or oblong, and was getting better at building them up, but if she wanted to some day produce detailed crystalline statues and figurines with any level of complexity, then she was going to have to have to understand how things were formed, and what better way to do it than this? When she got better, she could dye the clay or paint the figures, but for now… she would be content with making something similar to one of her snakes. So far, it was a lumpy rope with a tail and she needed to kind of smooth that out. And make the head. And try to detail that…

All of a sudden, there was a familiar voice, and Hilana’s eyes swept around her before she saw the younger Vastian man some ways out in front of her. “Hello, your Lordship, how are you doing today?” The herbalist inclined her head in greeting. When he explained what he was doing, that made a lot of sense to her and she nodded. Why not? It was a way to look around the world, and to train yourself to find places and things. She vaguely remembered hearing about that when her uncle had tried to convince her to take it six years prior, but it was something she would need to acquire later in the season. Be it from that same uncle, or one of her mentors here. All in time. She needed that one if she wanted to chase areas that were far away, and if there was one thing the Vastiana was, it was stubborn.

“You know how one of the abilities of Elementalism is Sculpting?” Hilana began. She was sure he did know, what with being enrolled in the Academia Arcanum. “I had an idea that I wanted to be able to produce crystal figurines one day, but I wanted them to be realistic,” the girl explained. “I can make perfectly adequate shapes and lodestones, and I can shape elements as I want them to fit their purpose, but making something like a cat or a person in crystal? That is something else entirely... So what I’m doing is practicing while I’ve got a bit of down time. I thought it would be fun to do. Some of my friends play with clay and sculpture, but they’re a bit busy at the moment, and so I thought I’d try to get some practice in myself. I know what things look like, after all, I know what they feel like. But in order to replicate them... you have to practice making them. And while I could do it with Elementalism... where’s the fun in that?” she grinned. She had no problem getting her hands dirty, but that had been apparent since he had met her, long, colourful skirts and all.

"I've never been much of one for sitting long enough to practice this, but it's been a busy day already," she was cheerful. "Would you care to join me? I've lots of clay." That was, of course, provided that the two pythons hanging out on her didn't scare him off.


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Garr nodded his head as Hilana spoke. What she said made sense in its own roundabout sort of way. She needed to make things by hand, to better make them with magic. It seemed his suspicions were somewhat right, although it didn’t seem as though she planned on making money off of them. At least, she hadn’t admitted to as much.

He shrugged and went over to sit by her, creating a small cube of earth to sit on as he approached. “Sure, I’d love to join you. You’re usually one to give me eye opening experiences.” He smiled at her in a way he’d never smiled at a commoner before. He felt like she was a friend of his, perhaps a genuine friend since she had never made it apparent that she wanted to know him for his status. It was a good feeling that did wonders to keep his aggressive side at bay.

“So, if you get good at making sculptures, would you want to be an artist or something? I’ve no artistic bone in my body so I never thought much about that sort of thing. Never thought about making anything too complicated with magic either.” His line of reasoning was, why make something complicated when something simple does the trick?

He winced when he noticed how dirty her hands were. He gulped then grabbed a chunk of clay and tried playing with it in his hands. He really had no idea what he was doing, but it was a unique feeling that he would have never felt had he not met Hilana. He actually started enjoying moving it between his fingers until he accidentally squeezed too hard and felt some of it get on his face. He used his sleeve to wipe it away knowing that the poor servant that had to wash his clothes was probably going to hate him for this.

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Hilana smiled back at him. “I don’t know how eye-opening this will be, but it’s always a good practice. Who knows, perhaps learning this can help you shape and therefore exert even finer control your lightning. Learning the shapes of other things is supposed to translate well to Elementalism, and if you can control that, then it stands to reason that you can enhance your skills.” Hilana offered. This was a way to do it without needing to expend aether beyond what she already had to prepare the clay, and while she would again later, if there was no need to, then she didn’t have to. But where they were settled in the Port, she liked the spot that she had picked for this: they could watch the sailors, servii, and tamed Cyclopes with the barges and ships to unload all kinds of cargo, from people to crates and sacks. If she wanted to activate her Rune of Semblance, she could try to get an idea of what each of them contained, but in a way, it was more fun to guess.

When he asked her if she thought she might try being an artist, she shook her head. “Oh, no,” Hilana chuckled. “No, I don’t have the patience to do so, truthfully, not professionally,” she looked down at the clay in her hands, using her fingers to carefully pinch and try to shape the head of the thing that she was working on. Now that he was up close, he could see that she was apparently aiming to duplicate one of her snakes. The steely smaller one looked at him from where she was partially coiled around the Vastiana’s bun, her tongue flickering. “I love art and the feeling that it brings me to see what others have put themselves into, and I enjoy what I put myself into. But I’ll leave the sculpting of famous figures and such things to those who truly have the eye for it.” She knew she could teach herself through muscle memory and training her mind into completing complex shapes and figures. And that would be good enough for her. “But I’ve always been taught that if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right. So this just adds to our effectiveness and our capabilities in other areas,” she tried to drape the rope on itself to resemble a coiled snake, and that would let her be able to focus on the head, only for the clay to start to mosh together, and she made a sound of amusement at herself.

“You can’t make an omelet without cracking a few eggs,” she smiled at him when he got clay on his face. “It’ll wash out,” Hilana was reassuring. “A little water in and that will lift it right out. Are you a full-time student at the Academia?” She mushed her snake attempt and started again, not too bothered by the failure as she began to roll the clay once more, her eyes on him. One just had to keep trying. Success usually followed experience.

Usually.
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Garr listened intently to Hilana's words about how learning shapes could translate well to Elementalism. "That's an interesting perspective," he said, intrigued by the idea that mastering one skill could enhance another. "I'll definitely keep that in mind while practicing. He appreciated her positivity and that was one of the best things about hanging out with her. She'd already taught him a lot about elementalism, especially by pointing out stuff he didn't realize was important.

When Hilana mentioned that she didn't have the patience to be a professional artist, Garr nodded in understanding. "Well, I think what you're doing now is already impressive. Better than I can do, I'm sure."
He couldn't help but chuckle at Hilana's amusement over her clay mishap as he struggled with his own creation.

"I wouldn't consider myself a full time student. I have work to attend to. Managing, training, and trading slaves consumes a lot of time. I'm sure you understand, given you work at that shop. Do you have any long term goals?" He wondered if commoners even had lofty goals. Although, he wouldn't consider Hilana like any other commoner

As Garr watched Hilana working on her clay snake, he felt inspired to try his hand at sculpting as well. He decided to attempt making a cat, but soon realized that even that relatively simple form was beyond his current artistic abilities. Undeterred, he settled for creating a rough oval out of the clay, representing the cat's body. To make it look somewhat more passable, Garr crafted four legs and a tail out of earth, which he then carefully inserted into the clay oval. Despite his best efforts, the end result was a hideous, misshapen feline figure that barely resembled a cat at all. Yet, Garr couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment in his attempt, knowing that with practice, he could improve over time.




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Hilana Chenzira
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“I used to make things in the sand as a child, or shape things along the Vasta if we traveled along it,” Hilana was cheerful. “Sometimes by the oases as well. But out there, water is precious, even with Elementalists with you... so I was always taught not to waste it. But if you’re on the shores of the Crystal Sea or on the Vasta,” she nodded at the River not too far from them, “you have a bit more leeway than when you are in the endless sands of the Expanse.”[/color] She watched him with his own efforts with the clay. “Considering how rare storms are, in Tertium it wasn’t uncommon to see contests for sand and earth sculptures, but that was as much a celebration of Elementalism as it is the sculpting that we’re doing now. But any way you slice it, understanding form is a key part. One hand washes the other.”

She listened as he explained what he did daily. “Ah, you work in that industry?” Hilana nodded. Well, someone had to, she supposed. “That must be complicated and it would be time-consuming. Do you work for someone else or for yourself? Family business?” She didn’t know, after all, but it wasn’t uncommon for those to follow their families’ trades rather than starting something new entirely. It was often that way for Equestrians, and so if a Patrician did something outside of politics, that was her first guess. Nepotism was a hell of a thing.

“We all have big dreams, don’t we?” Hilana smiled at him, continuing with her second attempt on her snake. She considered the question and her answer. She couldn’t very well explain what she had told the Founders nearly two seasons prior; and this was only her third time meeting with Garr. “Something I’d like to do at some point is increase the oases that we have in the Expanse,” she told him. “It’s doable with enough Elementalism and perhaps Summoning, which is something I’m going to have to get on with one day... but that’s something I’d like to accomplish.” She was back to coiling the rope that was her snake again, and this time it held. “It’s going to mean adjusting the soil types, bringing in wood and trees, and water sources from deep in the ground... but it can be done. That would be beneficial to those beyond the walls, and for those within them that make trips out,” she was reflective. “What about yourself, Your Lordship?” she wanted to know, smiling at his attempt at the clay cat.

Every expert was once a beginner, after all. Progress was progress, no matter how small.



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Cloud Caelum Garr
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Garr responded with a slight nod, acknowledging Hilana's curiosity. "Yes, for better or worse," he said, his tone casual yet informative. "It can be quite complicated and time-consuming, as you've mentioned. As for my situation, I work for myself am trying to build a small team of trusted individuals to help manage the day-to-day operations."

He paused for a moment, contemplating how to continue. "You see, my family has been in this business for generations. So even though I’m the least favorite and they’re not funding my personal operations, they still help me by giving me advice. Plus I’ve seen how it’s supposed to be done since I was a kid. It’s really the only thing they taught me so it’s not like I had many options.” Garr took a bite out of a ball of water he conjured in front of his face. It was the only way he could think of drinking without making even more of a mess.

Garr smiled warmly as he listened to Hilana share her dreams. He could see the passion in her eyes and the determination in her voice. "That's a truly admirable goal," he said sincerely. "It's evident that you've given this a great deal of thought, and I have no doubt that you have the potential to make a significant impact on the Expanse." He paused for a moment, considering his own aspirations. "As for myself," he began, glancing down at the clay cat he had been working on, "I suppose my number one goal is becoming rich enough to be independent. I haven’t really thought past that. I like to think all my troubles will be solved with money."

Garr looked back up at Hilana, his expression thoughtful. "Although, if there is some way I can help make things better with magic, I say why not? Once I get my business where I want it to be I’ll have plenty of free time to help, if you want help from me anyways…" He trailed off, wondering why he always felt like butting into Hilana’s business. Maybe he was jealous that she always had something interesting going on.


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The girl nodded in understanding when he explained that while it was a business his family had been involved in, he didn’t work for them. Sometimes it went that way. She knew well the position of being the least favourite, though in her case, she hadn’t cared. Her family’s preference for keeping up appearances meant that until she had had to choose between her freedom in the sands and her chosen higher education, she was hardly treated as less than. Though her father had his ideas about what he wanted for her, and it made more sense when she thought about it why he did what he did now that she had had a few seasons away from him and she was seeing the way society worked. But just because she wasn’t bothered by it didn’t mean he wasn’t. Maybe it rankled the young Lord who was struggling right alongside her in shaping things. But asking and prying too much might be a cause for offense, and as such, the girl needed to be careful.

“Is it what you wanted to do, or is it what was expected of you? Where do you source your stock from?” She asked him as she used her fingers to make sockets for the snake’s eyes, pinching up some more clay to roll it into a ball between her palms. It wasn’t uncommon for the nobles to lack paths at this age, she’d found, and many Equestrians had family businesses to walk into… or just benefited from the largesse of their family’s wealth. Her own father was involved in dozens of ventures within Tertium, and his contacts were all over the world. Be it investing, resale, importing and exporting… her father did it all. And as much as she disliked him because of his opinions on what she should be, she would be the first to admit that in that regard, he had done very well for himself and the rest of their family. Almost all of them worked for him in some way, shape, or form, and he did provide multiple opportunities for other nomads. He made the effort with the nomadic tribes to do his best in keeping his fingers on the pulse of everything that went on or was found in the sands, because Consul Argenti could use it, or other contacts in Solunarium Proper, and it was a mutually beneficial relationship.

Hilana, on the other hand, had been perfectly happy in the sands. But as the wind could change its direction, so had she. As long as she got to leave the city regularly and kept busy, not to mention her regular meetups with her partners… the girl found acceptable ways to burn off the excess energy. It was not a complete fix for her fernweh, but it was close enough. When he said he wanted to be rich enough to be independent, she smiled a bit at that. “Freedom is only an illusion,” she offered. “There is always a Master. Parents of the upper castes do not let go so easily, not when their children are valuable for forging alliances through marriage. But if it can help you in the present and in that prospect, so much the better, no?”

The Vastiana smiled at him at his offer to help, and inclined her head. “New businesses always take a while to get off of the ground, especially in such a competitive industry. But I would appreciate the offer, and I will likely take you up on it. It will probably take quite a few of us, but I can’t see why it couldn’t be done. It would be a way to make a lasting, permanent change for the better for our people. I want to get permission to visit Ecith one day, too, when the great darkness is gone… I want to get more soil samples and see the ecology there myself. There’s something about the Ecithian soil that makes plants grow at an incredible rate, and if I can replicate that, then that has profound implications not just for the oases, but our agriculture, too.” Going into Ecith, however, was a dangerous and daunting task, and considering it was the home of their ancestral enemy… well. The round bits of clay that she had made for eyes were slightly too big, and they made the serpent’s face look, well, somewhat comical. Hilana had to laugh at it, and turned it around to show Garr.



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Garr listened attentively, his mind already whirling with thoughts and responses as Hilana spoke. Then came the question that he knew would arise eventually, the sourcing of his 'stock'. He'd often had his own doubts about his father's methods, suspecting that there were shady dealings going on behind the scenes that he was not privy to. But for now, he decided to be vague, to protect not only his father but also himself.

"It’s just what was expected of me. I doubt I’d find any support from my family if I did any other jobs. As for your other question… We source our slaves from various places," Garr responded, choosing his words carefully. "Personally I just go to the market and try to buy low and sell high. But… one does not get rich by doing just that. To build a business as large as my father’s… Well, I’m sure he’s doing something he ought not to be but I don’t want to throw stones from a glass house. Not until my own business is doing well." The thought of his father's possibly unethical practices made his stomach churn. Having spied on him with astral projection Garr knew for sure that there was illegal stuff going on.

He thought about Hilana's comment on freedom. "You're right about freedom being an illusion," he said, his voice slightly strained. "Especially in our position. We're expected to uphold the family name, to make alliances, to tread the path laid out for us. But I still believe we can carve out our own paths, at least to some extent."
Garr then returned to his composure, although the conversation had taken a turn that left him uneasy. He still felt a sense of optimism for the future, particularly after hearing Hilana's vision. Maybe one day, they could join forces and achieve something remarkable together. “I can’t pretend to understand all the stuff about agriculture. I imagine if we travel somewhere together, I’ll mainly serve as extra firepower,” he said as electricity danced along his hands, ultimately dissipating when it touched the clay.

He laughed at Hilana’s new creation then shook his head. “I think I’ve had my fill of this clay stuff for now. I’m going to go get it all out of my nails. Till next time?” He’d stand up and glance at her to see if she had anything else to talk about. If not, he’d be gone as suddenly as he’d appeared.



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