Technology & Engineering in Sargeroth

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### Chapter 1: Defining Qualities

Sundering the timbers of a forest of untold width and depth, those who wrought the foundry of youth which has sprung forth from the loins of this our fair mountain did come. Row on row and shield bearer by shield bearer they came on and yet until this mighty foot of the heavens, our ancestors had not yet stopped.

Indeed, it is good they did stop and thus began the first engineering which can be accurately recalled by our *Sargroiti* lineage. The elders of each tribe were the ones to brave the mountain, not engineers; or perhaps as our ancestors would call them, "*Majuste*", but the relatively unskilled leaders of each family (accompanied of course by 2 or 3 servants). This logically would point to the likelihood that though the word "*Majuste*" seemed to be contemporary to the founding of Sargeroth, our founding tribes found themselves devoid of any such individuals. This ties in to the predominating belief that our ancestors were in fact running from something and were in potentially in danger of dying out. Plenty of texts refer to the Shield Bearers "*ætnyte*" who were seemingly professional soldiers, as well as words for farmers, nobles, and even a cow milker but no reference to the Magister we seek.

Although contemporary texts use the word frequently, it is used within the context of one who does a job for another which requires a certain expertise. Some might call them even craftspeople but how one wrote about these individuals was with deference. Almost as if these people were from the gods themselves, they praise their work. They tout their new designs of anything from elaborate clothing to tools and food.

This little golden age of proliferation in text during Sargeroth's nascency is solely responsible for our modern understanding of the ial arts as it is today.

#### Scale, Number, Complexity equals Price

A bounty of receipts and proofs of payment detail the four pillars of Sargeroth's technological advancement. They bear the weight of eras, having vast sociological and military consequences to this day. We shall begin with Scale.

The Scale of a project denotes its inherent burden it impresses upon the . A project of small scale will always be a relatively lower burden which in turn means a lower price. The scale, being the most concrete aspect of any one project (besides the Schmeckles of course) is the most important when determining the price of a given job. Next we shall dive into number.

Understanding a project's number is simple: it is the number of objects being built or crafted. It is easy to confuse number for scale when considering just one building consists of thousands of parts. These parts are split into their respective numbers, but scale is what is necessary to add them up correctly. After all, coming to a Magister with an order of 1,000 iron nails is quite unlike a request for a house which requires 1,000 iron nails. Perhaps the most interesting of the pillars, complexity offers a wholy subjective aspect to the equation.

One can see quite quickly from contemporary texts that complexity was coveted much more than scale in the early days. Greater Sargeroth had a large population digging holes into the vertical cliff. Rather than chop 5 trees down, increasing the scale, they would chop just 1 and line their little caves , normally dug out themselves, with lavished furnishing. The small scale allowed even simple farmers to have relatively elaborate abodes compared to their modern counterparts. Nowadays, the vast majority are either too poor to afford more than a hovel consisting of both small scale and complexity or fabulously wealthy who have grand scale, number, and complexity. This of course brings us to what the fabulously wealthy are best known for.

The Price is left to be discussed last as it is the fulfillment of the first 3 pillars. When one brings each of these 3 elements together its creates some new, something more. It creates Worth. Price is more than shmeckles of course. It is grandeur, its circumstance, it is what "I" have and "you" do not or more horrifyingly, the opposite. Price is what the project means not just to the Magister and the Customer, but to others in the community. The Price of an object carries over. It says with the object untouched unless something happens to tarnish that price, much to the chagrin of the owner. The coveting which follows this pillar is closely linked to entire basis of Sargeroth's economy and forms of trade.

These early days were all the more important for shedding light on the bartering system worked with items of certain price being traded for others of comparable price. Those on the winning end of any (even slightly) uneven trade was most likely coercing the other or leveraging in the same way business takes place today. Most fascinating, perhaps, is the fact that the Magister is only found to be on the losing end of a barter was to a House Leader. In fact, only 2 accounts are recorded and both are responses to messages on behalf of Korhan Kessel. It is clear that Magisters were not on the level of royalty, but quite above that of the common field worker or even soldier.

#### Example I : Request Letter

##### Below is the text from a posted message requesting a crafted item circa E1 213

*Requesting One Pickaxe*

*Must be sturdy enough for very hard rocks*

*name, Eltir, on pommel.*

*willing to give 3 legs of meat and 7 dried fish.*

Above is a good example of the format usually used for messages which would be posted in local meeting areas. In early cliffside things would be posted in a bar. For the first Blumen community, they were hosted on a boat. The Kessels had their "Common Space". All areas where the public met to do trade daily. These notes would also have information on where or how to find them to fulfill the task. It was always implicitly understood that the asking price could be haggled. Unfortunately we do not know how these conversations went but we do know that these transactions happened more and more every day in early Sargeroth, giving rise to a population which valued the ability to Do over the value of shiny metals or jewels. It was not until the late 1st era that such things started having an effect. This was an era of materials of varying craftsmanship, with most adults attempting at one time or another to create sellable goods. Only the finest goods prevailed over the decades as those who could not compete either with volume or quality demands slowly melted into obscurity. The population struggled to fit itself into the categories we see so easily impressed nowadays, with an average adult fluctuating between several vocations throughout their life, some never finding a singular scheme which could feed them continually. This period was necessary to work out those who could not compete with the craftsmanship of others. those who did prevail though made some famous names we know to this day: Thess, Autumn, Isur, and Roke. All of these businesses find their beginning in the early to middle first era and were some of the first proven winners in the game of Magisterial arts.

The power of an individual to make something from nothing seemed to be equally dispersed among the population of Sargeroth early on in our history. A great unifying force of intelligence which has led to positions of power for some and utter ruin for others. However, the spirit of creativity, yearning for more, and pushing the boundaries of what is possible, the 4 pillars we speak of, gave rise to an outpouring of what you see all around you; Mercantilism alive and well.

## Chapter 2: The rise of the Magister

As the population rose, so too did the demand for well-crafted tools and decorations. As trade increased, those who had similar crafts found themselves with 2 choices: either compete or join together into a singular business. Those who joined together into these small enclaves are where we see our first formal mention of the term "magister". These "Magisters" commanded enormous respect from customers but most importantly, they began to formally teach and train others in their crafts. These apprentices would spend their lives under their Magister, working towards the same designation which could only be achieved by one's teacher bestowing to them a hand-crafted item; either a ring, necklace, or for smiths, it was common to bestow a hammer. This item could then be prominently displayed at the new Magister's shop; a testament to their hard work and skill.

The importance of this period of mercantile expansion cannot be overstated as it formed the foundation of research and development of new technology throughout the city. Their ability to create new technologies appealed most significantly to the Noble houses whose gluttonous desire for more fueled the creation of all manner of magic, weapons, and tools. By the mid 1st era, the vast majority of Sargerithians were filling their homes with items they purchased rather than created themselves. The rapid increase of competition then led to lower prices which the common Sargerithian could afford either with schmeckles or bartering. This in turn empowered more Sargerithians to take pride in their belongings. This cultural shift turned our society into one of material and before the end of the 1st era, frequent trade of materials existed everywhere between Old Sargeroth to Sedonia.

### Nobles take control of Production

The Noble houses of Sargeroth had long been patrons of skilled crafts and arts but beginning in the mid to late 1st era, as the nobility increased in strength and prestige, so did their influence over the Magisters of Sargeroth, giving rise to the most sophisticated technology of their day. Anyone would be remiss to not mention Magister Harek, who created the first bow and arrow weapon system. It was also during this (mid to late ) first era period that an abundance of iron ignited an increase in armour and weapons production; the houses always wanting to arm themselves against one another with tools which would seal a quick victory over anyone who might antagonize them. The Blumens were first and foremost in this respect, even moreso than their richer opponents, the Kessels. The Blumen family is in fact the largest benefactor of the era in terms of weapon and amour creation. By the mid second era, they had taken most of the items originally sold to them and improved upon the design, now with "in-house" Magisters who swore allegience to their Lord or Lady and could suffer the punishment of death for selling their secrets or in some cases even just performing jobs for anyone outside of their house. These magisters soon became a fearsome lot, fanatical in respect to their liege and utterly hateful to those outside their own allegience. These magisters became the first Lieutenants of House Guards, masters of works in Kessel (and even married into the family in some cases), and other positions of power within the Nobility, though not of noble blood themselves. This led in some special cases for certain magisters to become nobility such as with the Mason House, once more or less slaves to Kessel, their incredible works of craftsmanship and art allowed for the grandiose Kessel Quarter seen today. However, it was not all done in solidarity with the noble houses and certainly not all happy endings for skilled workers during this time.

The creation of a new craft or item was many times very dangerous for a Magister. Those who were seen as too smart, were targeted by others jealous of their success. crafts were copied, improved upon,

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