shokigara

heresy made manifest, just to keep your drink cold

A craftsman specializing in the creation of mah'jaato, the incredible tools and devices created through the use of magic. Though relatively common, and despite the incredibly high value placed on their works, their craft itself is deemed so depraved and taboo, even dirty, that shokigara are often classed below dung carters and purple makers.

Career

Qualifications

The most fundamental determining factor for becoming shokigara is religion. Only Vid'Oshi can be considered for training in the field. Their belief system is the only one in Yatan'aa that allows the use of magic in any form. Almost all Vid'Oshi are submitted for apprenticeship with shokigara masters, but only about half are admitted. The exact reasons for the choice are known only to the masters themselves, but it is assumed that while intelligence and creativity are major elements, there is some element of magical potential that also plays a factor in the craftsman's' potential.

Career Progression

The usual levels professional craftsmanship found in other fields apply to the shokigara as well. A young Vid'Oshi man is apprenticed to a master once he has learned to read and write and has taken up the three icons. After many years of training, the apprentice rises through the ranks to help the master create their own mah'jaato, and perhaps, if they are talented enough, become masters themselves.

Payment & Reimbursement

Vid'Oshi are usually only permitted to live freely and participate in commerce in cities and larger towns such as Akhaal, Segaar Khin and of course Chaodyatan Sho. In these cities, especially those across ya'Haaldi and Naya Xinsho, Vid'Oshi families are taken on by "patron" houses. Under this structure, those families are required only to provide their works to their patron, but they also get some moderate protection in return.

Other Benefits

The actual shan earned from the sale of mah'jaato is quite minimal. Considering how prized the incredible devices are by the noble classes, any other craftsman of such status would be living in relatively luxury, instead of slums and ghettos. Unfortunately, so precarious is the status of the shokigara, and so deplorable are the Vid'Oshi seen, that for them to be allowed to openly practice their faith and work their craft at all, let alone live under the vague protection of a patron, is seen as their primary form of compensation.

Perception

Social Status

The profession is by it's very nature, heretical under Giaan’lun, and therefore considered illegal in all the five nations of Yatan'aa. However, the Vid'Oshi are not generally recognized as citizens of Yatan'aa, and the worship of their heretical religion has no limitations on the use of magic. Also, mah'jaato have become treasured items and status symbols amongst the noble classes. Therefore it has been deemed a legal grey area for the Vid'Oshi to take up the profession of shokigara.

History

The craft and the profession seem to date back as Vid'Oshi itself and be indelibly linked to it. Historical accounts of early mah'jaato depict them as unrefined, clumsy, and incredibly failure prone. It took centuries of development for the sleek, beautifully crafted, and remarkably effective works of the shokigara to reach the high standard expected in modern times.
Oddly, while most professions have vernacular or short hand termonolgy specific to their craft, the shokigara essentially have their own language. Most of the terminology and vernacular involved in the crafting of mah'jaato is essentially a holdover of Olde Anglesh with occasionaly lashaan words intermingled. For this reason, it is almost never used in front of jhuu'giaan unless a shokigara needs to for some practical reason. This dedicated use of language is part of why the craft of mah'jaato is allowed at all. Since no Dal Karchuan could understand what was being said or done as a part of the crafting process, even if they should somehow sneak into a shokigara workshop or overhear craftsmen discussing the subject, they would be protected from even risking any 'second hand heresy' involved in learning about the magic used. This is seen as a crucial protection for wider Dal Karchuan society.

Operations

Materials

The majority shokigara work in metal, usually iron or bronze or a combination of both. Most mah'jaato can theoretically be made from any number of materials, but the material will effect the long term practicality of a device, and as most are seen as status symbols by the noble classes, finer materials make for a more impressive and beautiful object. As an example, a "spring stone", a device for producing water out of thin air, must be turned on and set in a bucket or other container to start producing water, meaning that the palm sized mah'jaato is eventually submerged. If made from wood, the "spring stone" may rot over time, if made from ceramic it might shatter easily, if made from iron it would rust quickly, and if made from steel it would be too expensive. Therefore, they are made from iron, then entirely plated in gold to protect it. This might make the device look less exclusive, but since it is a primarily practical thing, that practicality is allowed to take precedence.
In general, most mah'jaato are too valuable to be made from easily breakable or low-status materials, hence their construction from metals of middling value.

"That the ud'Saava Dhaashen allows such depraved and evil heresy to go on at all, let alone in this holy city, is a wonder to me."

- Harrai Bashir, Assistant to the Duzir of Chaodyatan Sho (792AS)

Alternative Names

wicked sellers

Type

Technology

Demand

high