Alchemist's Glass
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 4:29 pm
80 Ash 121
Stained Glassworks
Stained Glassworks
"Don't look at me like that," Master Jacun admonished. Sivan only scowled. "If you think after all these seasons that I would set you up for failure, then I am wounded by your lack of faith in me."
The dapper man held a hand to his chest like some tragedian treading the boards of the Golden Peacock. With a sigh, Sivan nodded.
"I had expected my apprenticeship to move faster, Master," he admitted. "But I spend more time learning the business of it all with you than I did with my former master; it's different. I'm just still getting used to it."
Jacun nodded, his smile a bit sad remembering the Hytori who had been such a good friend and keen colleague.
"In any case, I'm off." Sivan waved, shouldered his rucksack, and walked out of the shop and over toward the Stained Glassworks, which weren't far. Jacun had his supply chain set up quite locally, mostly within the Plaza of Jeweled Arches. Sivan had to make deliveries farther away, but in general, it wasn't so bad.
The walk to the Stained Glassworks wasn't bad at all, and it wasn't his first time there. He had been sent over from time to time when Jacun needed something done straight away, but generally, he had enough stock that he could make due even if something broke. Sivan wasn't going to be able to afford that, so he was glad on one level that Jacun was having him make his own glassware. He would know how to do it and he wouldn't have to pay for it as it was a part of his apprenticeship and all he offered was his service for the education he was getting.
When the door opened, there was a tinkle of glass. Instead of a brass doorbell, they had some hardy glassware. It even looked pretty: glass beads and glass chimes.
"Ah, hello, apprentice," said an Orkhan man, pushing his spectacles higher up on the bridge of his nose. He smiled, his tusks somehow charming rather than alarming. "Right on time."
"Master Tsekhov," Sivan replied with an elven sort of bow. "Thank you for helping me today."
A little crinkle in the artisan's brow smoothed with surprise and delight. "Ah, and your Common has improved. That is good. I regret I haven't made the effort to study any elven languages."
"That is kind, Master Tsekhov, but you needn't regret it. You don't live in Dalquia or Sol'Valen, after all. And I have been a motivated student while in Kalzasi, and I have made some friends to practice with when not at work."
"Indeed," he said, motioning Sivan to follow him. They both nodded at an Orkhan shop girl, one of his sisters or nieces or similar. "Well, you are quite polite, but why don't we call each other by our names? I'm not your master, and we might enjoy a professional relationship once you have finished your apprenticeship. We needn't stand on ceremony here." He smiled.
Sivan smiled back, though his was smaller and less sure.
"As you wish, Aulus."
"Excellent, Sivan."
What followed then was a rather thorough tour of the place. There were faces he recognized, and many he didn't. The Tsekhovs ran a large business here, but not everybody was Orkhan. Sivan did stand out, though, which he hated. Thankfully, they were all craftspeople, and he was more comfortable with them than with most. As they walked and Aulus pointed things out and introduced him to people, he also gave Sivan a bit of a rundown on what glass was and how it worked. Pleased that Sivan had done his homework, he was only too happy to skip over large swaths of information, though he asked several pointed questions to be certain Sivan actually knew the background information that he needed.
In a less updated section of the building, Aulus had set up what they would need.
"Someday, you may decide you want to do free blowing," he said, "but for now, mold blowing will be easier. We have molds already inscribed with the pictographs that Master Jacun finds most useful. In time, we can make molds specifically for you, but because you are his apprentice, he has allowed us to share his molds with you for the time being. Now, have you brought the lyrethillium?"
Sivan nodded.
"Excellent," Aulus said. "Gloves, then."
There were a pair of leather gloves waiting for Sivan, and Aulus had a pair slung from his belt. They both covered their hands and then Sivan pulled a sack of decayed pesticyte from his rucksack and poured it carefully into the furnace per Aulus' instructions. They discussed what would come as the lyrethillium melted in the crucible. It took time for the glass to reach the proper temperature, white hot and glowing. They waited longer, as the glass had to fine out, the tiny bubbles rising up and out, escaping so as not to leave obvious weaknesses within the work. When Aulus deemed the material ready, he turned down the heat and they waited even longer until the glass was only glowing orange. Sivan was already sweating. There were windows high up that let the heat escape, stolen by autumnal winds, but still, the workshop areas were hot.
First, Sivan preheated the tip of the blowpipe; then dipped in the molten glass in the furnace. The molten glass was gathered onto the end of the blowpipe like viscous honey on a honey dipper. Aulus was pleased to see that Sivan was in good shape despite his magical vocation; the blowpipe was not light, and with molten glass on one end of it, he had to have a sure grip and strong arms. The glob of molten glass was placed on the end of the blowpipe, and then inflated into one of the bronze carved molds."
"Bronze molds work best when you want clear scrivening in your glassware," Aulus told him. "And we're starting with the molds because the shape and the texture of the bubble of glass will be determined by the design on the interior of the mold rather than the skill of the glassworker."
"Or lack thereof," Sivan supplied with a self-deprecating grin. Aulus nodded with a smile himself.
"Or lack thereof," he agreed. "Now, you've blown it enough that it should be fitted into the mold properly. We'll set it over here to cool and we'll work on another piece."
They repeated the process several times until all Jacun's single-piece molds were full. Taking a break for lunch, Aulus also took a brief break to check on things. Sivan was quite surprised that he had so much of the man's attention for so long, but apparently, he was willing to put in quite a bit of effort for Jacun's apprentice.
When they returned to the little workshop, nothing was quite cool enough to be removed from the mold, so Aulus decided to show him a bit of a more free technique. Once he had a mass of molten glass on the end of a blowpipe, he carried it over to the marver, a slab of marble, to roll it. This formed a cool skin on the exterior of the molten glass blob, and shaped it. He blew air into the pipe, creating a bubble. Next, Sivan gathered more glass over that bubble to create a larger piece. Once the piece had been blown to its approximate final size, the bottom was finalized. Then, the molten glass was attached to an iron rod called a punty for shaping and transferring the hollow piece from the blowpipe to provide an opening and to finalize the top.
Once, he had to take the piece he was working on and put it in the glory hole to get the temperature back up so that he could continue working on it under Aulus' exacting eye.
Finally, he put it in the lehr to anneal the glass, allowing it to cool slowly to keep it from cracking or shattering due to thermal stress.
In the meantime, they went in chronological order pulling the new glassware from their molds. Thanks to Aulus' direction, no doubt, not a single piece was unusable. Some weren't pretty, but the man gave him lots of feedback on why some things turned out differently, which Sivan tried to commit to memory. They sanded down or otherwise formed the lips of the glassware so there were no sharp edges, no scuffs, really. There was a set of glassware primed for alchemical work.
"The last one won't be ready for some time yet," he judged. "Tomorrow morning, I'll personally finish it for you. You will have to etch it with your scrivening yourself, of course, but now you have an idea what's possible, I hope."
"I don't know how to thank you, Master Tsekhov—"
"Aulus."
"Aulus."
"It was a pleasure to teach you," he said. "I'll have these pieces packed properly and sent either to Jacun's shop or your home..."
"Jacun's shop, I think," Sivan decided. After the break-in, the last thing he wanted was more delicate valuables in his home.
They made small talk as Aulus walked him through the building and to the door. Once again, Sivan thanked him sincerely and was sincerely welcomed. With one last awkward smile, Sivan left, wanting nothing more than a bath and his bed, though he knew he ought to eat something first and drink quite a bit of water.
