Scribe

Steady hands, sharp eyes, and excellent memory are a must for those seeking to dedicate their lives to putting stylus to paper. Impeccable work ethic and willingness to adhere to strict guidelines are also necessary, as reproducing works must be done with precision using tried and true techniques long established over eons.

Initiates start out with the most common and menial of tasks such as pulping and preparing parchment, brewing and distilling inks and refining pigments, and book-binding and as of late typesetting. Apprentices take these tasks and dial them up to 11 until they dream in formulae and formatting. Journeymen begin reproducing their first works, often getting their knuckles rapped in the process, while the Masters who have learned and perfected all the old and new techniques get to do the knuckle-rapping.

Even though scribes are mostly recreating older existing works, there is a steady demand of copies for wealthy households in the city proper, manuals for students at the Traedeskaton, Mazzan, and Peirolyth, and even collections of philosophical works for the more academically-minded Lonesteaders who like chewing the fat between tasks. The more established Masters see the largest commissions for their impeccable work while Journeymen see the most frequent for large-scale production.

The seal of approval by a Master ensures their name and craft are recognized in the city despite advancements made in machine-based printing, but scribes' chests swell with pride knowing they actively ensure knowledge is preserved for generations to come. Copies of iconic works such as Deres' journals, classic tales, and greatest of all the Geodolpha: Chronicle of Gods fetch the highest price if produced by a Master.

Dating all the way back to the completion of the complex itself, scribes ensure enough copies exist of any given work for visitors to peruse-and if they so desire and can afford-take a copy home. Strides were made in recent centuries with typeset-based printing presses, but the frequency of errors from mechanical failure to missing letters caused many to prefer the hand-made versions more.

Scribes generally spend most of their waking hours busily at work and have very little social life out in the Pavilion. What time they aren't spending resting their tired bones or massaging their many aches they spend hunched over lecterns, kettles, or tubs.

Even fewer Thangiens pursue this line of work than institutions like the Traedeskaton, with some fearing it may become a dying art. It is hoped in that event younger students will aspire to fill the gaps or further advancements will be made in printing to ease the burden of so much production.

The fledgling staff knew the intended purpose of the great archive as it neared completion, but the precise mechanics of how yet eluded them. Many assumed they'd wait for Deres to return from his expedition and supervise things, but the arrival of the mysterious freelander Raaezen the Wanderer changed everything when he moseyed into the complex and dropped off his cargo and took his leave just as quickly. Roth knows where he headed off to in the vastness of Kundain, but the carefully-crafted trove of writings he left behind kicked things into high gear, forcing the staff to rethink everything from chemical composition of ink to which grasses and wood pulps could yield the strongest, longest-lasting parchments. Deres is often considered the first Master scribe, but Raaezen deserves the most credit for laying the foundation of the art which would be built upon for centuries to come.  

The City-Strife

Scribes spend so much time in noisy workshops or quiet studies they were ill-prepared when civil war quite literally knocking at the door. In their case, sadly, the pen was NOT mightier than the sword and they were forced to wait on Yanwis and his cohorts hand and foot in an effort to placate him and protect the contents of the Archive. Scribes coordinated with llaudaind troupes in secret to create inferior copies of precious tomes and smuggle them out of the complex, saving many priceless works including Raaezen's Gift in its entirety.   When Yanwis discovered the deception, he ravaged many innocents, llaudaind and scribes included. After the Bloody Bricks, scribes and archivists had much work ahead of them tidying up the shelves, cleaning foulness, and salvaging copies. Even though originals were blessedly preserved, many copies were destroyed forcing scribes to labor for years to bring stock back to acceptable levels.  

Notable Figures

 

Raaezen the Wanderer

A rather unassuming freelander of uncanny scholarly insight. Famously bequeathed the staff with an astonishingly huge bundle of documents ranging from maps of Thanged's regions, medical remedies, and even freelander recipes with such precision and care to make even Deres himself blush with envy.  

Deres the Father of Metal

Legendary uber-savant of antiquity who pioneered many technologies and methods affecting all fields of expertise. Sometimes considered the first archivist, scribe, and playwright. A jack of all trades and master of everything, he built upon the foundation laid by Raaezen, going so far as to name the Archive itself after him.  

Muiriab the Builder

Architect of Thananagreia, the Citadel-Chapel. He sought absolute perfection when it came to his magnum opus to honor the Queens, and famously went through many inkwells and rolls of vellum before he produced a design worthy of Roth bringing into being including the colossal stained glass windows and interior murals.  

Sening, Architect of Suffering

Undoubtedly the most infamous student of the Archive, before the mad physician wrote his blasphemous journals, he had to learn how. He unfortunately authored many medical journals which-after his disappearance-had to be pulled from circulation and rewritten entirely by physicians of greater moral fiber.  

Orn Orn Grast, Khanphe

Current Master Playwright in the modern age. Before he became the famed spinner of tall tales and master orator he cut his teeth slaving away at the lectern, brewing ink and getting his knuckles rapped along with all the other apprentices. Deeming the life of a scribe too dull for his creative mind, he chose the path of writing the works that scribes would be filling books with for generations to come.

Scribes carry almost at all times a satchel laden with rolls of parchment, stylus, inkwells, and palettes. In the workshops at Raaezen itself they have access to the large cauldrons used to distill ink, the soaking tubs for fiber paper, the scraping racks for vellum, and the desks and lamps for writing. Initiates and Apprentices generally handle the printing presses since Journeymen and Masters simply cannot be bothered. Cutting blades, thread, adhesives, and treated leather for binding are also readily available.

Styluses are generally made of metal or wood, or gherfen feathers fitted with metal nibs. Thicker hide for binding is provided by the Lonesteads as well as the softer, finer skins for creating rare vellum. Dererium does not lend itself well to a profession centered on pen and paper, but it is used for inkwells, nibs, and in some cases staples for binding. Paper for large-scale production is rendered in the great soaking vats and either cold or hot-pressed. Ink, the literal life-blood of scribes, must be brewed by the cauldron-full on an almost daily basis as it takes time to reach perfect consistency for lightfastness and cool properly.

Lecterns are crafted from precious hardwoods sourced from the oft-maligned Eastern Jungle and made to last a lifetime, with many still in service after centuries. However the slightest creak and jostle of a table could spell doom for a production, and if furnishings cannot be fully repaired, they are sadly retired and sold off to furniture dealers at the Pavilion or as curiosities to large Houses who'd like to own a piece of literal history. Rooms are divided by task and interspersed throughout the ground-level of Raaezen with some of the noisier facilities and equipment storage located in the basement level of the Archive.  

Scribes don't spend their time exclusively at Raaezen slaving away at desks, copying sheets or binding books. On occasion Apprentices are enlisted for note-taking by staff at the Traedeskaton or Peirolyth with a handful of lucky picks getting stenographer gigs at the Riders Citadel. However boring it may be listening to the Council of Houses drone on during meetings, simply attending prestigious events can be a rare treat. Oddly enough, Journeymen and Masters are enlisted to notarize final testaments or sit in on family disputes since they are viewed as impartial, carefully documenting all demands and concessions.

Given the plethora of equipment necessary for copying and binding, it's not altogether uncommon for careless Initiates and Apprentices to pass out from the many fumes of brewing ink or rendering paper pulp. In fact quite a few have been caught getting inebriated and get their knuckles rapped quite severely. If they persist they get expelled rather shamefully. A scribe's hands and eyes are their most prized resource, and anti-inflammatory salves produced by the Traedeskaton are kept readily available for any flaring aches. Lanterns are preferred to write by since the light of the Twin Suns can be hazardous to the eyes with prolonged exposure. Old age is perhaps the greatest hazard of all, claiming even the great Deres as once a Master reaches a certain age, their deft hands, keen eyes, and on rare occasion their sharp memory start to fail them.