VIDEO | un: hythlodaeus

[nomoresharks]

[The feed opens to a rather disheveled looking Hythlodaeus, his hair slightly undone from it braid and the sleeves of his robes pulled up and bound somewhere behind his elbows. Behind him sits the failed remains of his attempts to create a bow for himself, lopsided and uneven, some splintered and cracked, some scarcely begun before being given up on in a sudden burst of frustration.

He tries to keep a bright, cheerful, pleasant expression, but his efforts look plastic at best, not helped by the irritation that occasionally slips into his voice]

I don't suppose anyone has any advice when it comes to making a bow by hand?

I've attempted to do so in the manner I'm used to but--

[He raises a hand, and light gathers before it, starting to pull together to form the shape of the bow Hythlodaeus so dearly desires only to suddenly dissipate at the last second, tiny motes of magic dispersing and dissipating into the air.

And he has to take a moment to catch his breath, a bead of sweat rolling from his temple down to his chin.]

As you can see, that's going splendidly.

[The last thing he needed: to become even more useless than he already was]

Comments

voice. @kaveh

[fussiest]

[ with a thoughtful hum: ]

In all honesty, what you can do with your powers is more than what a lot of us can say - but you're used to doing far more, right? What sort of tree did you pull or cut that wood from? Is it one of the ones in the park, or a plank of wood from one of the stores?

voice

[nomoresharks]

Indeed. And while it's never come easy to me, exactly, I've never had this much trouble with it before.

As for the wood, I've been searching through stores mostly. Given my current woes, I'd rather not dwell on what it would take to fell a tree, much less turn it into something usable.

[fussiest]

Ah, I think I understand. [ that sense of frustration, in any case. kaveh thinks about his own inert dendro vision, and then engages the architect part of him as he considers the problem at hand: ] I can't say that I'm an expert bowyer, nor is my practical experience noteworthy, but I reckon the starting point is the type of wood. The stores here have composite woods and hardwoods, the latter of which is better for bow-making. For example, if you've picked up an oak composite, that wouldn't last well throughout the process, but hardwood like oak, ash or yew should be reasonable.

[ hm. ] Is that your weapon of choice? A bow? You'll also need to fletch arrows. What sort of bow are you used to?

after way too long of me looking it up, comparing, and still not being wholly sure....

[nomoresharks]

Interesting... And here I thought the composite was meant to make up for the weaknesses of its components. Now I know not to assume.

A recurve. While a longbow may be more accurate on the whole, I have ever preferred to stay out of conflict whenever possible, and so something a little lighter and easier to use seemed best.

friend u do the gods work... 🙏

[fussiest]

[ in turn, kaveh's voice curves into a smile. ]

Hah! That's sensible of you. You sound like a friend I know. I think I have a solution for you, then. I'll send you Tighnari's way - at least the two of you can talk shop about bows.

But in terms of actually making one, would you mind a pair of extra hands? I haven't made anything in ages, and I've a hankering to put my hands to work again.

voice; un: theredgaze

[immortalpoet]

Still having trouble, huh.

[thank u captain obvious]

voice

[nomoresharks]

Indeed. I'm beginning to realize just how little credit I've given to those who prefer to create by hand.

[immortalpoet]

It's not easy, for sure. And looks like this place isn't exactly going to give you an easy way to do things in general.

...Why a bow?

[nomoresharks]

While I'll not win any contests of strength anytime soon, and my aptitude for magicks was poor even before my arrival here, my vision has ever been exceptional. With both staff and blade out of the equation, it only makes sense to reach for the bow when one is forced into conflict he would otherwise have been happy to avoid.

...Or so has ever been my thinking on the subject.

[immortalpoet]

So you're more of a sharpshooter than anything.

[give hyth a sniper rifle]

Maybe you'll have to elect for getting a slingshot.

[nutbuckets]

it's just a curved chunk of wood and a string right? how hard can it be?

[Now she's definitely curious whether there's a book in the library about this.]

audio

[nomoresharks]

Surprisingly so, it turns out. And filled with a great many more splinters than I dared hope to imagine.

[Otherwise he'd be responding with text in kind.

text;

[nutbuckets]

looks like it

[A long pause while she decides what she's going to do about it.]

ooh I wonder if a sports store has a bow! you want me to check?

[nomoresharks]

[He doesn't bother to hide how eager he is]

Would you please? I have had my fill of woodworking a lifetime. Several lifetimes, I think.

[nutbuckets]

alright! gimme a sec.

[There's a decided pause here, maybe 15 minutes.]

nothin
you'd think they'd stock up on weapons if they were gonna pull in a buncha fighters

audio; un: camille

[cinaedus]

[ The voice that comes on the other end is light and, if one were to pay attention, a little amused. Still, he'll be helpful, insofar as he actually can. ]

I seem to recall the use of some basic device to bend the wood and spot inconsistencies in the curve to ensure the stress is evenly distributed: a length of wood with a notch in the top for the bow to sit on, and other notches along the length to stretch the string. Unfortunately, I remember nothing else from what little I observed. I hope that might be of some use.

audio

[nomoresharks]

A device to bend the wood... That sounds about right. Doing so by hand has done me no favors.

[Nor the wood, considering how many he's managed to splinter by moving too fast or who haven't moved at all due to his hesitance after.]

I have, at least, remembered both the notch for the arrow and the places to attach the string, so mayhap there's at least some hope for me should I persist.

[cinaedus]

You will have time enough to practice, here, I am sorry to say, but I imagine you'll get the hang of it.

...If you might oblige my curiosity, I've never seen a skill such as you displayed just now. [ He knows of Theban and Cruac sorcery, but to his knowledge, neither are so... flashy. ]

[nomoresharks]

You would not be the first to say so. Creation magicks seem to be a rarity amongst all the peoples who have gathered here.

Although, ah, 'tis not meant to be quite so "flashy" as that. My ability to manipulate aether is worse than usual here, and as such I couldn't even manage to make it hold a form before it dispersed.

[cinaedus]

[ There are some meanings there that take effort to parse; 'creation magicks' sounds not terribly different in convention from schools of sorcery back home, but 'aether' is unfamiliar. ]

It seems most with any supernatural ability experience a sort of dampening of their power here, so you are not alone in that. But, is it possible there is no 'aether' here? Or less of it?

video / un: DocHolliday

[ihavecharacter]

Now that is a curious thought. I do have some skill in wood work, but I have not attempted to create a bow.

[nomoresharks]

You've already a leg up on me, then.

Though now you've got me curious. What is it that you prefer to work on?

[ihavecharacter]

Well, I have not done much here, but I did help fix up a few things at the Homestead and I have been known to work on furniture pieces here and there when the mood strikes.

I could show you if you like? The woodworking. We can start small. Wood carvings, perhaps. Would help with details.

[nomoresharks]

Carving... Yes, that in particular sounds nice. Not that I'm opposed to using anything simple, mind.

[But there's something about being able to put together a few trinkets to give to friends once he's sure they're passable enough for him to do so that sounds wonderful.

Even if he can't take them with him when he leaves, there's nothing that says he can't take any newfound skills back home with him, is there?]

Yes, I think I'd like that very much indeed.

[ihavecharacter]

It would be easier with proper tools, but we will work with what we have. [He is fairly certain that he can figure it out anyway. There's nothing that's going to stop him from trying. He would prefer his guns to tools, but this place seems complicated.]

Do you have some knives handy?