Inhabitants of Dragonhope Weyr
Weyr Weaver Alila, Weyr Tanner/Leathercrafter Xaxan
Weyr Weaver Alila
Alila is a pale-skinned dark haired woman, young though is apparently
a Master in her craft of Weaving! If you have been to the weyrleader's
weyr, you have seen her work! It is more photographic than you have ever
seen, even in some of the sketchings of master painters!
She looks up from her work, this time she is working on a small embroidery piece, apparently a fire lizard dancing over a flower. She puts the piece of cloth aside and rises to greet you.
She is not nearly as tall as her youngest sister Opal, but she is still taller than you! What an amazing family!
"Hello visitor, it's nice to see that someone is interested in the weaver craft around here." She says, saracstically. "Really, I wish someone would come in that can help me with some of these requests!" She waves her hand and you then notice the great piles of half-finished work around the large room.
A loom is being used by an apprentice, while another is being strung by two others. She apparently oversees the whole of the weaver's operations here in the weyr, keeping the tailors busy by sending the ripped clothes or new-outfit requests to them.
"We take the requests because we know what supplies will be needed," she explains. "Then it's easier to just send them with a bolt of cloth to the tailors."
"You did many of these pieces yourself," you comment. "When did you become a Master Weaver?"
"Well," she says, smiling sweetly. "I am only twenty-eight turns old now, but I started my work when I was only eleven. I was fostered like my other siblings, but here in the weyr instead of somewhere else. I always had access to my parents, and I love them. They encouraged me when I started my embroidery, and I became a Journeywoman at the age of sixteen turns. My master recommended I walk the tables when I got better at it than she was..." She laughs. "I was twenty-two turns when I got my Master's knots."
"That's ... that must be the youngest Mastery I've ever heard of!" You exclaim, and others in the room begin to laugh. They must have heard that one before!
"Well, if you will excuse me, I must keep up with my duties." She bows to you and extends her hands, and then turns to help her Apprentices begin their work on the loom.
You head down to the Tanner's Weyr, or to the Weyr's Nexus and look for another Crafter to speak to.
Tanner Xaxan
Alila leads you down a ways to a rather... smelly weyr. Pungent smells
of the curing hides assault your nose, and you wonder how anyone could
possibly enjoy being in here for any length of time!
Alila even waves her hand below her nose, but indicates a middle-aged man who approaches from behind a bench.
"This is a potential candidate," Alila says, "don't run them out like my sister would."
She leaves, somewhat abruptly. Apparently she doesn't like the smell much either. The man announces himself as Xaxan.
"You're a master leathercrafter?" You ask, and he nods.
"Yes, most of my apprentices are young dragon riders, though. Many of them won't go any farther than learning how to make their own riding straps, but for them, that's more than enough." He folds his arms over his huge chest, and those meaty arms look as if they're made of the same hard leather that he tans.
"Anything you need to know?" He asks, and you think for a moment.
"So if I Impress, you'll be my instructor for making the straps and riding gear. Are weyrlings expected to make their own jackets and helmets too?"
"Oh, no, we craft those..." He shows you a shelf with shaped bulbs on it, where leather is being molded onto head-sized mock-ups. Fur is laid onto the inside, when the leather is stretched into the right form, and then another layer on top of it, the inside of the helmets which you have seen riders wearing is actually a layer of fur surrounded by stiff leather on both sides. Xaxan shows you the gloves which are similarly pressed but they are made of more supple material for ease of movement. Then the jackets and riding pants, both heavy and warm. "Every rider has a different style, so every new rider we see here in the Weyr gets a totally different set of gear."
You nod and thank him for the education, and pass back into the Nexus to find the other crafters.