214 Projects and Goals (1/2)
When Corco entered the clock maker's workplace on Chukru Island, the cluttered room already housed a guest.
”What are you doing here?” the king asked the familiar figure who stood together with Egidius in front of one of many work tables. Even from behind and with his awkward stance, Corco had no trouble identifying his giant cousin Atau. In response to Corco's call, the two turned around.
”Ah, yes. Greeting, King Corco,” Egidius said. ”Since I needed an expert on navigation and ship building, I decided to find one by myself. Captain Atau here was kind enough to provide some of his insight, so I brought him over to help me work out the details of my current projects.”
”Hey, Laqhis, we've been waiting for you. For a good while, actually,” Atau added. Even ruder than normal, he scratched the inside of his leg, but Corco was willing to overlook it. He had new inventions to worry about.
”So you're the expert?” he asked his cousin as he approached the two.
”Who would be more fitting than the greatest navigator in all four seas to revolutionize sailing for all times?” The captain showed off his cocky grin before he grabbed the small test piece Egidius had worked on up until Corco's arrival. Held in his hand was a complex construction of several wooden rods. The rods radiated out from a common center with a partial circle at the bottom to connect them, and a small telescope on the front.
”You got the sextant done!” Corco beamed as he took the object from Atau. Upon closer inspection, some of the surfaces still looked a bit rough and needed some sanding and varnish, but the basic shape was unmistakable. ”You made it from wood though?” he asked after his assessment and offered Egidius a critical look.
”Of course this is only a preliminary version of the tool, to prove that the principle works in practice. Wood would not be a good choice of material for a precision instrument, even less so on the high seas where it would be under attack from moisture and salt. The final product would be made of some type of metal, I assume. Though more tests are required for a final version,” Egidius answered as he looked over to the table, where the plans for the instrument's future had been strewn about.
”We have done some tests and it appears the readings are sufficiently precise to be useful. However, I cannot claim that the sextant is done,” he added.
”The thing looks pretty complete to me, apart from the material and the finish. What's left to do? Whatever it is, I'm willing to help out. By which I mean, I'm willing to lend you money or more work space. I really don't have time to actually help you with the designs.”
”The instrument itself is fine, but its use is limited so long as we do not have the knowledge to use it properly. The biggest barrier is that we need better, more precise astronomical maps than what we have right now. Even though the tool is already quite useful on its own, it would be much better with the additional knowledge.”
”We should be talking to the priests then,” Corco said. ”I'll ask the Pachayawna in Arguna for support, I'm sure Lord Nasica would love to play intermediary for us again.”
”King Corco, not to be rude, but... I am unsure priests would be able to add much to our work,” a rude Egidius said, but Atau only laughed in response.
”You got no idea, Arcavian. They're Pacha priests, not Arcavus clergy. The great Pacha encompasses all the lands of the earth, as well as the water below and the stars above. And the stars are the place where all the Divines sit to watch over the mortals. Most Pacha priests have spent all their lives watching the stars and trying to understand their movements, to read the intentions of the Divines. I don't think anyone in the world knows more about the celestial constellations than the priests do.”
Again, Corco ignored Atau's scratching and added his own take.
”Even most of our old stories are coded messages about planetary and celestial movements, in some way or another. If a story from Yakuallpa mentions some specific animals, there's a good chance they stand in for some astrological sign. Like 'the wolf swallowing the raven' means the moon is moving into the wolf constellation. It's quite a neat way to do oral tradition, actually.”
”In that case, I will be glad to welcome their support,” Egidius said, though he still sounded unconvinced. Corco knew that the clock maker was a radical naturalist and didn't think highly of any religion, even of the useful parts. Instead, he would only value what he could see with his own eyes, so very different from the more metaphysical views of the priests. However, both sides would have to learn to work together. After all, they all had great things to contribute to his kingdom.
”Right, I'll be sending out a runner today, and I hope that I can get some support from the priests soon. Once their astronomers show up, I'll also need to teach them some calculus and show them our new lenses. Oh, that reminds me: I need you to make a second version of the sextant for horizontal use. That's a small adjustment, right?”
”It is, but what do you plan to do with it, Sire? With a horizontal sextant, one could only judge the distance between objects on the ground, its use in navigation would be limited.”
”Aah, just gonna clean up our horrendous maps. I think it's about time we removed the dragons and serpents.”
”Mysteries beyond mysteries. I guess we'll learn what that means when the time is ripe, huh?” Atau said, while his hand once again went between his legs.
”And what the fuck happened to you? Ever since I came here, you've been scratching yourself like a dog in heat.”
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”Ah, sorry about that.” Although he tried to play it off, Atau's hand still halted halfway to his crotch for a second and wavered there, unsure whether or not to continue. Only after some visible effort did he finally move it away again, a forced smile on his face. ”Ever since the banquet I've had this persistent itch, y'know?”
With a non-plussed look, Corco stared down his cousin who looked more and more uncomfortable in the process, like a kid who had been caught red-handed.
”...I told you to be careful about that girl, didn't I?” Corco finally said in a flat tone.
”Hey, I know what I'm doing,” his cousin protested. ”There's no way Airi would have given me anything. That was her first time, so it couldn't have been her.”
”So if it wasn't that girl, it was another one?” Corco wasn't one to be bullshitted easily. He spotted the holes in Atau's argument right away.
”Well...” Atau answered with a disappearing voice and a guilty look out the window. ”It's kinda hard to say which one it was.”
”How many did you fucking fuck with you fuckwit?” More astounded than angered, Corco stared at Atau as the atmosphere got increasingly uncomfortable. In the end, Egidius saved the room with a change in topic.
”King Corco, so long as I get the help of a good blacksmith, I should be able to finish the work on the sextant soon. However, Captain Atau also helped me with a second project, the new rudder. To finish work on it, we may need your help again, Sire.”
”Second project?”
Now that he was no longer focused on Atau's loose lifestyle, Corco really took in the mess of a room around him for the first time. Although the workshop couldn't be considered dirty – or even messy – the room was crammed full of all kinds of strange objects. All along the walls, the clock maker had pinned up papers with various kinds of drawings and writings, ideas he had scribbled down in moments of inspiration. Several tables were covered with all kinds of mechanical parts, some looked like useless toys, others like transmissions, some may be half-finished or failed projects. For most, Corco had no idea what they would even be once they were finished.
In one corner, away from the light, Egidius had also piled his paintings. As a naturalist, his subjects ranged from people, to animals, landscapes, and tools. Yet no matter how different they were, all of them were real objects, and all of them were drawn so well that Corco could have mistaken them for photographs. Only the picture on top, a half-finished drawing of a young Yaku woman, gave away the fact that they were indeed painted with oil colors.
”You don't think you're stretching yourself a bit thin?” Rather than be impressed, Corco was concerned about the clock maker's health as he continued to look at all the junk in the room. How could one man focus on so many things and not lose himself or burn out?