Tellin Kuyold

I've been doing this for thirty years now. The best part of the process is getting to know the recipient. We can't design something for someone if we don't know them. Goals, dreams, hopes, favorite type of pear, we need it all. The better we understand who they are and who they want to be, the better we can design something that suits them now and in the future. The worst part is when parents don't get out of their child's way. When the parent answers questions for their kid, that's when you know. In five, ten years, you'll see that kid back again. They won't be a kid anymore, and they'll be ready to choose their own future. How fortunate we are to have a hand in making it happen!
— Tellin answers an apprentice's question

Timely Intervention

Tellin Kuyold is a master artisan and potter, renown for his skill designing and creating custom water clocks. His work is always in high demand, and owning one of his clocks is a sign of prosperity and status. However, Tellin isn't only known for his work. He was also the first person to have a second felhalanni as an adult.

Second Thoughts

Twenty years ago, felhalanni in Su-mehr Qiamp used to be the same as everywhere else - a coming-of-age celebration for teenagers. Teens announced their chosen name and profession and showed off a new custom water clock to represent their decisions. A second felhalanni was as unheard of as changing careers was. It took a confluence of events for Tellin to break this tradition:

First: Tellin knew he could no longer live happily as a woman. He could quietly change his name and form of address as others had, but he dreaded having to explain it to all his clients individually.
Second: His sister told him the seers were overwhelmed. Too many dawn spirits - the disembodied specters of the severely distressed - were from people feeling trapped in a life they didn't want.
Lastly: Some weeks later, Tellin stared at his own water clock adorned with a name he wanted to escape and realized he could make a new one for himself. This finally reminded him of felhalanni.

The answer then seemed obvious. Felhalanni celebrated entering a new phase of life. To claim childhood and adulthood were life's only phases suddenly felt remarkably silly. If the choices made as a teenager no longer suited, of course people should be able to choose a new path. To enter a new phase.

Second Chances

Tellin booked the riverbank stage and invited everyone he knew - friends, family, and every client he'd ever had. The immediate response was a lot of confusion. Though the party was a success, many thought Tellin selfish or attention-seeking for hosting it. The seers disagreed. Tellin's sister saw how adult felhalanni could be a solution to prevent one of the main causes of dawn spirits. Other seers agreed, and with support from the respected order, many began seeing Tellin's party in a new light. Over time, more began celebrating adult felhalanni. At first, they were all for the sort of transitions Tellin went through, with new names and different forms of address. It took several more years and updates to old laws before changes in profession were allowed. Today, the Advocacy for Better Living helps people coordinate adult felhalanni when needed.

Information

Age

53 years

Profession

Potter

Reputation

Master artisan of custom water clocks
First to have a second felhalanni

Description

Light brown skin and dark brown hair that grows in wiry curls. He keeps his hair just long enough to tie back, out of his face. His hands are dried and calloused from working with clay, but joint paint is forcing him to take better care of himself.

Children

Trivia

Tellin still has his old water clock with his prior name. He remains proud of who he was, even if he could no longer be that person. He met his wife when she commissioned a clock from him, but it wasn't until a chance second encounter a year later that they became friends. Several of his clocks now reside in the House of Still Water, in memory of those lost to the floods.

Timeless Master

Now in his 50s, Tellin spends most of his time teaching his craft to apprentices. He's happily married to a blacksmith who was once a ship hand. Had she been forced to remain a ship hand, it's likely the two would never have met. Most native Qiampians above the age of 30 know Tellin as the progenitor of a change they now all benefit from, but as more time passes, more young Qiampians have never known a world where they can't change their mind or try a different path. Many of them don't realize this is thanks to the old potter down the road.

He was adorably nervous. Him! The man who'd scandalized the entire city! He didn't want me to feel pressured, as his client, but I wasn't his client anymore. He'd waited all that time, hoping we'd meet again.
— Tellin's wife on their reunion

Tellin takes little credit for the societal change. All he did was host a party, after all. Surely someone would have eventually, if it wasn't him. Yet it's no coincidence that someone who's dedicated his life to putting someone's identity into clay was also the person who recognized that who we are should never be carved into stone.

Connections

Smith Rychell Belot

Rychell was originally Tellin's client who'd come to him for a water clock for her own second felhalanni. He was immediately taken with her, from the sunspots on her shoulders to the tangles in her hair. However, it would be unprofessional at best and coercive at worst to flirt with a client.

He kept his feelings to himself until they met again by chance at the river market. When his voice failed him, she asked him out instead.

Seer Ysmay Laves

Tellin's big sister has always watched out for him, but as the role of a seer has taken a toll on her, Tellin's stepped up to take care of her for a change.

Artisan Derrin Mille

Tellin's longest-standing apprentice is becoming a master in his own right, but he insists on remaining an apprentice. Perhaps to take over Tellin's work one day.

- Felhalanni - Celebrating Time's Passage - The former once-in-a-lifetime tradition has taken on a new meaning in Su-mehr Qiamp, thanks to Tellin's trendsetting.

- Seer - Tellin's sister is among those tasked with handling the city's hauntings. Her work became easier thanks to her brother.

- Advocacy for Better Living - Tellin regularly donates to the Advocacy. He says it's those who can afford his clocks who are subsidizing those who can't.

Entry for Worldbuilding Summer Camp 2025

Answering: "A visionary that changed the course of history"

Visit Those2Nerds's Competition Page Check all other answers to this prompt Competition Homepage

Tellin Kuyold

Timely Intervention

Second Thoughts

Second Chances

Information

Trivia

Timeless Master

Connections

Read More

Entry for Worldbuilding Summer Camp 2025

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