A pinch of salt
The friar scratched his nose thoughtfully. "I think we're done" he said, loud enough to be heard over the sound of the rhythmic tapping. "Unless... you sure you don't want to revist the issue of where? We could make a definite suggestion, either the Woldstone or the Maiden Stone. You could just pick one...""Could." agreed Renna, even as she shook her head. She paused for a moment, turning the shoe on the last, and then resumed her work, the little hammmer moving swiftly up and down as it struck the stole. "Sharn't though. Don't give the help your axe and then cut the ruddy tree down for'em."The last part was said in the kind of voice people used to intone some great wisdom, though it was no proverb that Alan Friar had ever heard.Renna caught his confused look and decided to put out the fire in the barn. She put her hammer down and crossed her arms in front of her chest before starting to explain."Jack Hammersmith and the others from Upland will argue for the Woldstone. Our lot will insist t'ast to be the Maiden. If we 'ave ta settle it 'tween us, we'll be feeting for months over it. And then whichever side wins, the other side'll have the hump for years after. Better ta get someone else ta pick. If the round needs cutting, hand the wire to the monger."She paused for a moment before continuing. "No, if these folks at the Anvil can't figure this out, then they're no kind of smiths are they? They'll find a compromise - likely enough one that pleases nabody but everybody can settle fa. Best they do it soon, mind - lost time is never found."That one the friar had heard before! He nodded sagely in agreement acknowledging the Wisdom of what she'd said. He enjoyed Renna's company, even if some of her proverbs were a little odd. It was like meeting a distant cousin from the other end of the Mourn.Overview
Centuries ago, a deal the smiths of the Marches had made with the Forgemistress turned sour. The eternal had agreed to help the Marchers construct a runeforge in Mitwold, in return for the services of the smiths until the work was complete. A troll-curse meant the forge could not be finished leaving the smiths trapped in the Woldstone, a powerful regio at the heart of Mitwold.
Thanks to the painstaking work of Gemma Brightsmith and countless others, the smiths were finally freed in Summer 386YE. The smiths have somehow survived the hundreds of years spent labouring in an Autumn regio but they were not in a good way. Physically they're fine, fit and health and apparently not a day older than the moment they left. But they were confused, with only the vaguest memories of their time in the Marches. All that they could remember was their craft.
They were taken in by the monks at Oakwood. They needed some convalescence, and people to talk to them to help restore their connection to the Marches. A mandate enacted by Aliss Thorn encouraged Marcher artisans to travel to the monastery to help the Marchers recover and rediscover the lost art of the smiths.
Now it seems that that Loyalty has paid off. The smiths have been eager to share their skills with their fellow Marchers, and it seems they have one more thing to share.
An Old Legacy
- The smiths have asked the Marchers to raise a Smiths Workshop at the Woldstone or the Maiden Stone The title holder would gain an income of 1 throne each season If the title holder was a smith then they would gain a pauper's key in Spring and the ability to create a Marcher only plenipotentiary in Autumn
The smiths who have been released from the Autumn realm have no intention of coming to Anvil. They are bewildered by the many changes that have taken place since their day and are content to remain in the Marches. They are eager to share their art with other Marchers however and have cheerfully offered what training and instruction they can to any who seemed interested. It remains to be seen how many people will take up the role that is now available.
Wisdom knows all knowledge is incomplete. We send Aliss Thorn with 15 liao to encourage artisans to travel to Oakwood to help the smiths recover and rediscover the lost art. The Virtuous apply what they have learned.Aliss Thorn, Marcher Assembly, Summer 386YE, Vote: 244-0 (Greater Majority)While many had assumed that they were artisans, or skilled crafters, the smiths are clear that in their mind the lost art of the Marchers, the practice of smithing, is the idea of forging bargains and making enduring deals. They are practical people, who emphasize finding the simplest way to use of magic to achieve something. Their experience as negotiators and willingness to compromise once made them a vital part of Marcher society.
Though they have zero interest in Anvil politics, the smiths are keen to see their art restored to its proper role at the heart of Marcher society. The monks of Oakwood are convinced that would help their recovery and have been giving what advice and help they can. One of the friars associated with the monastery has spoken with the civil service and has asked them to present a proposal that they believe would benefit the returned smiths and the nation.
The crux of the proposal is to build the Stone Smith's Workshop, either at the Woldstone at Ashbrook in Upwold or The Maiden Stone on the Maiden Downs in Mitwold. The Workshop would act as a repository of lore for the smiths and a place for them to congregate and discuss matters. The proposed workshop is expensive and needs ilium to complete the construction, in part to create some of the unusual tools and equipment the smiths propose to create. Once built it would serve as a place for new smiths to be trained, as well as a place for them gather and discuss their business.
The workshop would produce a respectable income for whatever citizen was appointed to the title, with funds drawn from the payments made by local Marchers grateful for the services the Workshop would provide. However, if the title-holder was publicly committed to the role of smith in the Marchers (OOC Note: Had the smith archetype when they were appointed), then the smiths of Upwold and Mitwold have pledged to provide them with a pauper's key each Spring. This would help the title holder move freely between Anvil and the Hall of Worlds, making it easier for them to negotiate with heralds and eternals and to discuss matters with magicians in the Hall.
In addition, one of the smiths, a mature woman called Renna Whitesmith has offered to share one of the smiths oldest secrets with any smith who holds the title. Renna claims that before there was an Empire, the Marcher smiths made a deal with a Autumn herald called the Gull. Once a year - each Autumn in fact - the Gull would come and collect a specially prepared piece of vellum from the smiths and take it to a single named eternal. According to Renna, the reputation of the smiths as practical negotiators, was good enough that most eternals would agree to a carefully worded invitation to meet and discuss a proposal. The law of hospitality was good enough to keep negotiators safe, although it was still wise to take care with some of the more physically violent eternals.
The arrangements that Renna describes sound quite similar to plenitpotentiary. The archmages are usually viewed by the eternals as having dominion over their realm in the Empire. If such means once existed in other nations they were probably codified and centralised when the Conclave was formed. But this agreement that the smiths have with Gull predates the formation of the Empire. And while the arrangements are old - incredibly old - the bargain still holds. Renna laughs at the suggestion that time might have eroded the foundations of the deal - if that were true she might have returned home countless years ago...
The power can only be used at Autumn - but if the Stone Smiths' Workshop is built before the start of the Autumn summit, the title could be elected, and the title holder could make use of the power at that event - if they were a smith.
There is one small complication. Some of the smiths who were released were once from Upwold, the others from Mitwold. There is an enduring rivalry between the two groups, and neither of them can agree where the Workshop should be built. There is little to choose from between either location - both the Woldstone and the Maidenstone echo with magic and would make ideal sites for the Workshop. Whichever site is chosen won't change the outcome, it will simply rankle with whichever group of smiths loses out.
Of course it would be possible to build a Workshop at both locations, but that would be quite expensive in terms of both materials and commissions. Also, given there is only one pauper's key available and the herald Gull will only answer to one title holder, it's probably better to pick one location or the other. One potential way to choose might be to pick the territory that has the most new smiths interested in coming to Anvil.
Further Reading
- Smith - the new archetype page for the renewed tradition of the smiths Pauper's Key Plenipotentiary - the power of the archmages similar to that "Gull" apparently offers.