I am, by no measure, a learned man, and by no means a scholar. I am a skilled craftsman, a Master Craftsman if you will. Skilled in metals and to a lesser extent, wood and leather. I am not without some level of artistic skill, else how could I embellish items with such decoration as the customer requires? And I do not lack book learning. I learned to read and write at an early age, and learned mathematics too, at least, such as I needed for keeping the accounts and calculating dimensions and quantities that would enable me to fabricate items to order. More so, Savaric encouraged me to read, so that I would know the theory behind the work I did – the whys and wherefores of the treatment of metal, for example. He introduced me to a friend of his, a scholar by the name of Evan, who showed me the library in the Great Hall, and how to look for things there.
And so, I have some learning. In the matters relevant to my work, and to ancillary matters, such as heraldry. Oft-times a client would require that their weapons or armour be embellished with their arms, and so I learned such things, from books. And I know to go the Great Hall when there is something I need to research. Such as the arms of our Crown. Not the arms of Iero, but his personal arms. We had had some brief discussion on the matter, so I had some idea of the tinctures and the divisions of the field, and such charges as he thought were appropriate. But, he was not sure of the details, so I took myself to the Great Hall to investigate.
Therein, with the assistance of Evan and some other scholars, I was able to determine that there were two arms likely to be appropriate to his family. And they were similar enough that they obviously had the same roots. They were:
The first – purpure, a chevron argent, in chief, two roses gules, in base, a lion passant or
The second – per chevron, purpure and argent, in chief, two roses gules, in base, a lion passant or
I made sketches from the blazons and such illustrations as were found in the records. There was nothing we could find that would indicate which of the two arms were most likely his, so I took note of both, intending to present both to his majesty and let him decide which he preferred. I took these notes, and a couple of more general volumes that the Librarian was kind enough to let me borrow and returned home.
It was a nice afternoon, so I took myself to the gardens close to my dwelling, thinking to sit outside and peruse my borrowings in the fresh air and tranquil surroundings of the gardens. As it turned out, I was not the only person with this idea, for I found myself in the company of an elven lady. I would have said young lady, but after my conversation with Anariel yester eve, I realised I had no way of judging the age of an elf. She could have been several hundred years old, but in human terms, she looked as if she were in my age bracket or younger. She was not, so far as I could recall, anybody I had met before.
I made polite greeting, as is my wont. She greeted me likewise, apologising for daydreaming. She gave me a curtsey and asked I was there seeking solace, offering to leave if I needed solitude. I said that no apology was needed, after all, I had disturbed her, and I was sure there was plenty of room I the garden for us both. I gave her my name and told her I was the friendly neighbourhood blacksmith.
That appeared to confuse her. She introduced herself as Cirice, the friendly neighbourhood… and did not complete that sentence. She was somewhat preoccupied by the books I had under my arm, and seemed to be somewhat surprised that I could read, as if being a blacksmith meant I was otherwise unlearned.
I tried not to take offence. Her manner suggested she did not company much with artisans and the like. A sheltered life, perhaps. I assured her that I was indeed able to read and write, and told her how Savaric, my mentor, had insisted I learn, else how would I run a business? How would I write to clients? How would I maintain the business accounts? How would I research further information to better achieve a client’s requirements? I showed her the books and told her I was researching some heraldry for the Crown.
I will give her her due, she apologised for her hasty judgement. She was pleased that there were learned citizens here, for she had been told it was a place full of ignorance and that it was dangerous to even wander the markets. She had deliberately evaded her bodyguard so that she might see for herself. She also apologised for disturbing my studies.
Bodyguard, I thought. Was she somebody of rank to warrant a bodyguard? I assured her that here in the mid-docks and such like, it was safe enough. Maybe down in the Traps or the Maw, there might be vagabonds and the like, but rarely up here. I asked her where she hailed from, since she knew not the city, and asked forgiveness if I had addressed her inappropriately, if she held rank enough to need a bodyguard. As to apologies, none were needed. The sound of a cultured lady’s voice was much preferable to the ringing of a hammer on the anvil.
She smiled and played with her hair a bit, as if preening. She was pleased that I was somebody conscious of my rank. Her husband, she said, was a duke. She didn’t want to bore me with details, and nor did she want me to go tittle-tattling to her father about evading her guard. Perhaps some day we might learn more of each other.
Well, it is true that I know my place. I have never pretended otherwise, and I always give people the courtesy due their rank, and respect that goes with it if earned. I told her that it was true that I was no noble, but I did not consider myself any the less for that. I said I treat people as I find them and have always maintained it is better to treat a serving girl like a duchess. Manners cost nothing, but are worth a great deal. I gave her my word that I would divulge nothing of our meeting or her little adventure. We parted company then, on amiable terms and a loose wish that we might converse again. It was still a nice evening, so I continued with my plans, to peruse my books in the peace of the gardens.
Anvil and Strings 