Creativity Block

Creativity Block
People danced to the music despite all the festive sounds around the Emerald Amphitheater. It was the middle of the Highharvestide Festival, right before the snow would come down and block all passage into Mythrite. Turkey legs and pumpkin pies were being passed around. Shows and games of all sorts were being enjoyed. Among these festival goers was a finely dressed elf. Solana was here to take a break from all the work she had been doing. She was dissatisfied with where her career progress was. Her long blonde-silver hair bounced as she danced to the song being played. She was keeping an eye on the magic show happening nearby.
“Hey, Solana!” Tobias, one of the first friends Solana made when moving to Mythrite, with forget-me-nots tattooed on his neck and collarbone called as he approached. He carried a bottle of autumn mead.
Solana stopped dancing. “Hello, Tobias! You smell like your drink.” She had met him prior to the festival. They moved to Mythrite at similar times and both of them worked on clothing for jobs, so they had become friends as they had adjusted to the town.
“There are worse smells. You wouldn’t happen to have any pain killers on you?” Tobias asked, sitting at a nearby table.
Solana sat across from him. “No, why?”
“I have not been feeling well.” He took a deep swig of his mead.
“Perhaps it’s your drinking? Are you hung over?” Solana inquired
“No. I’ve always drunk like this. I’m definitely sick” Tobias replied
“I’ve noticed. You can’t seem to go a day without drinking. At some point it’s going to destroy your liver if it hasn’t already. If you're certain I’ll keep my eyes open for some. Do you want to see what I have been working on?” Solana pulled out her sketchbook without waiting for a reply. “Look at this! It looks like such a pretty dress on paper. I hope it is as pretty when I make it. Then I might be able to sell it for a good price.” She excitedly gestured to a drawing of a dress. It was purple with pink flowers made to pop out a bit. She designed the dress to bounce as the wearer walked.
“Your work always comes out good. Though this one looks a little too delicate. Those flowers would rip off too easily. There's a lot of stuff for them to snag on here and rip the dress as they come off. I’ve got a pair of gloves I’m working on.” Tobais sighed.
“I bet they are wonderful. I’m surprised your cloaks don’t sell for more.” Solana encouraged him.
“What’s with this obsession with money? Usually you talk more about the designs.” Tobais slurred as he took another sip. “Easy for you to say, you don’t still live with your parents. I’m old enough to be on my own, and I’m talented enough to be making more than enough to ‘get by’. I’ve been thinking about how often people I care about can’t afford what they need to live.” Solana leaned on the table. “I want to be able to take care of them. In order to do that I need a good selling product. I’ve been trying to learn about how to make stuff sell. My friend Kali always makes really pretty dresses and that works well for her. She’s one of the most established people in the town. Kali liked all of the dresses. She said they could sell really well if I kept working on them.”
“The thing you’re forgetting is that she is established here. Why would they look for your dress when they will stop by her place to get one? I’d go for a more practical approach. Most of the people that live here are working in the mines. They could use a little less of your cloth dresses and more of your leather tunics.” Tobais advised “Kali’s not an expert business woman. She just came from a rich family. Real people have to do what people would want to buy”
Solana was about to express some dissatisfaction at Tobias disrcretiting Kalis work to get her shop where it was. But then Solana narrowed her eyes thinking about what Kali was famous for. Her fine silks that no one could get anywhere else, bought out of Mythrite. Solana slowly agreed with Tobias and leaned back in her seat. “I guess I see your point. There’s not that many people needing dresses here. I have been getting them to sell, but not in any fortune making manor. I guess I’ve just been wanting to make a few dresses like I used to before My parents decided to move here for the opportunity of more customers and dragged me.”
“If we could be successful doing what we wanted then I wouldn’t be living in a shithole. I’m going to look for some pain killers. Too much of me is hurting to be helping you right now.” Tobias stood up and started to walk away.
“I’ll see you later!” Solana called after him. She sat there, thinking about what Tobais said. Flipping to a clean page in her sketchbook, she started to draw and talk to herself. “I need to make something that a majority of people want to buy.” She muttered. “What if I made something sturdier? But how would I do that? I already plan out my seams to make my designs as sturdy as possible.” Glancing over she saw that the magician was doing another magic trick. He was showing how strong a set of chains he had was as he prepared to lock himself up. “Maybe there’s some way I could work some metal into my designs.” The loud clapping of the audience startled her, reminding Solana she was at a festival. She decided to go look for Kali to gush over her new dress designs. Even if she would not make a fortune off them, she still thought making them was fun. Solana spent the rest of the night, worried about Tobais being sick but enjoying Kali’s company.
#
Solana’s feet brushed along a dirt road as she headed to Tobais’s house. She had found some medicine while looking for some thread and had heard Tobias went home due to not feeling well. She decided to help him immediately before she would get distracted and accidentally put it off to tomorrow. Solana slowed her hurried walk as she started to kick up mud. She did not like the people who lived in the settlement, but that was no reason to get dirt on her clothes. The people here believed that the elves that lived in the Reverie were full of themselves and hated all that were not elves. This was not the case, but where the Reverie wound up compared to the rest of the settlements in Mythrite made it seem like they wanted to avoid all other races. In a way it was true, the reverie was a lot nicer than a lot of the other settlements. It did not smell of urine and had a far nicer elven aesthetic to it. This was in part because only elves lived in it. Her favorite part was the decorated moldings around doors and windows. The corinthian columns added a sense of nature to the place. Solana enjoyed the companionship and support she got out of her neighbors, as they liked to help out their fellow elves. But that did not mean she did not like people who could not live there. She used to visit Tobias regularly here, but then people found out she was from the Reverie and showed some hostility towards her. Because of this, Solana planned to make this a quick visit. She was going to drop off the medicine she bought for him, and leave him to tend to himself. Besides, she wanted to spend some time learning about blacksmithing. The prospect of mixing metal with her designs was exciting to her. It would be more sturdy and she knew she could make a pretty design. There was a chance she could make her pretty clothes and fill Tobias’s suggestion of selling what the most people would buy.
She skipped up to Tobais’s door and knocked. Even though it had only been a short while, Solana felt the silence ate at her time as Tobais did not answer. She knocked louder. It was hard enough to shake the door. Solana heard something inside move, followed by snoring. Solana sighed. If he had passed out from being drunk, it was unlikely she would be able to wake him by knocking. She would just have to hope he wasn't in too large a need for medicine. She slowly backed away from the door as she planned where she was going to go to learn about blacksmithing. She was already out, so might as well look for a mentor now. She wanted someone to discuss the possibility of mixing metal into a dress with knowledge on metal. She would need to have some lessons to be able to do it properly.
She had heard of a blacksmithing shop nearby. It was called the Tempered Edge, run by Ruith Norman. She was hesitant to visit it due to having heard the blacksmith was a racist. She strongly preferred her dwarven customers. She particularly hated her human customers. This kind of attitude was common among dwarves. They were often claiming how the town should belong to them. Solana felt the people had more reason to despise them than the elves that lived in the Reverie. Eventually looking at Ruiths work won Solana over. She had to visit and ask. There was no spoken word of her being racist towards elves and Solana knew Ruiths skills were some of the best in Mythrite. Solana headed in the direction she was told this shop existed. Her eyes darted around looking for the sign as she hurried down the street. At last she found it and hurried in. The shop smelled of metal and heard someone working at the desk. Solana spotted Ruith, a human. Solana paused. Why did she hate humans if she was one?
“The fuck do you want?” Ruith growled at Solana. “It’s rude to stare knife ears.”
Solana defaulted to the social skills she had learned at the fancy parties her parents used to take her to. “I’m so sorry! I was simply excited to see you ma’am!” Solana gave a polite bow “I heard of your skill as a blacksmith and I simply had to visit.”
Ruith rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair “arn’t you a princess. Where do you think you are, a ballroom? Stand the hell up already. Tell me what you want to buy. Be on your way.”
Solana with embarrassment stood up “Actually I was hoping for a lesson. You see, I would like to incorporate some degree of blacksmithing into my leather working. I felt that your work was the best so I came here for some guidance.”
Ruith shifted resting her elbows on the desk and glared at Solana “ay, My work is the best. I am a very dedicated craftsperson. I care about what is done with my knowledge. For what reason do you think I would teach some random leatherworker who probably does not give half a fuck about her own craft let alone mine.”
Solana gave an indignant huff “I care a lot about my craft! I just like trying to improve it. Here look at this!” She pulled out some gloves she had been working on earlier. They had flower patterns sewn in. Ruith took them and looked them over with stern eyes.
“This is very nice work. It seems to be well crafted. There are no weak points in the seams and they are the exact same size, a thing a lot of craftspeople seem to struggle with. Very dainty needlework with the flowers. You want to see dainty blacksmithing, Princess?” Ruith handed the gloves back.
“Sure? It’s Solana.” As Solana spoke Ruith pulled out a spool. It was a mythrite thread.
“Nah, you took too long telling me that. You're Princess now. This stuff looks dainty. But it’s meant for fixing broken hammers. Check this out.” Ruith pulled the thread out and swung a knife at it. A loud clang occured as the knife bounced off the thread. Solana’s jaw dropped. “Keep your mouth open that way and a family of flies will move in.”
“Are you willing to teach me how to do that?”
Ruith waved Solana to her forge “For a discount on your goods” Solana watched as Ruith melted and shaped some mythrite. With this, she will be able to make a style truly unique and functional.
“Let me try.” Solana did her best to copy what Ruith did. The thread she made was nowhere near the quality that Ruith made. Solana covered her face in embarrassment. “I hope no one sees this shit.”
“D’aw, my baby blacksmith is learning to speak like one!” Ruith gave Solana a hefty slap on the back “You’ll get it eventually, Prin-cess” Solana felt the blood rush to her cheeks. At least she found a mentor.
#
Solana started lighting the forge. The smell of smoke from the coal filled the room. It had been a few days since she started training with Ruith. It was not going well. Both her leatherworking and tailoring required more dexterity than strength. Blacksmithing was causing her arms to hurt. She could not manage the control she needed over the heavier hammer. Not to mention managing the heat and knowing when to cool the metal. All of this was overwhelming Solana. The other two skills had come so easily to her. So when she could not even make an ingot correctly on the first day, it had come at a huge shock. Solana had thought that it would take her a few days to learn the basics, another few to learn how to make the wire, and then she would be able to make the designs she had been working on. Now a few weeks had passed and she still messed up shaping metal. Her sketchbook had filled with concepts and theories on how to use the wire with her other skills to make dresses. But her motivation was starting to wear thin at her lack of ability to make them. It did not help that Ruith did not share Solana’s appreciation of pretty clothing. According to Ruith, all the designs were stupid and would not sell. “There was no reason for someone to look ready to go to a ball when they were heading to mines” was something Solana heard every time she showed Ruith her sketchbook. Solana had not been able to get reassurance out of Kali or Tobias because of how much time the training and work took.
There was definitely profit to be made working as a blacksmith. Ruith sold a lot more than Solana did. Tobias had been right about selling to the people working the mines instead of the fancy politicians. All day people were coming in and asking for repairs on their pickax or their sword and armor. Goblin attacks had started up as soon as the paths closed due to snow. People wanted stuff that would protect them. A dress was not on anyone's mind. Because of this Solana kept up with her training. She would learn a skill with fewer competitors and more demand. They did not have enough time to do Solana’s lessons in the morning. She would prep the metal for Ruith to do all the hard parts. She had gotten pretty good at this and felt ready for more. When they did get to her lessons, Ruith would constantly critique her form and tell her she made it too dainty. Metal was not made to be pretty, she should not be trying to make it that way. It made the object being created weaker and thus removed it’s functionality.
“The forge ready yet, Princess?” Ruith howled at Solana as she entered.
“Er, Yes!” Solana said after checking the temperature was right.
“At opening time even! Your Improving. Now you just need to learn how to smelt it correctly. Don’t go burning all my supplies like you did when you started.” Ruith barked. Solana gave a polite nod and started heating the metal. After it was a smooth liquid she poured it into a mold for a dagger. The heat blessed her face every time she opened it to control the temperature. Solana continued this pattern for a while. Until it was finally time for her lessons. As always, Solana was exhausted from an entire day's work. Ruith passed Solana a hammer. Solana’s arms dropped a bit as Ruith let go. “You’re not going to be shaping metal very well if you can’t handle the weight of the hammer.” Ruith snorted.
“I can handle the weight! I have not gotten weaker since yesterday.” Solana said as she stood up straighter and lifted the hammer to her chest. Ruith rolled her eyes and handed Solana an ingot to shape into wire. Solana started working. She had finally gotten to the point where it resembled wire, but would not move like it or had the same strength as when Ruith made it. Solana started to zone out as she worked. Her mind felt so blank not being able to work on all the creative projects. All the goblin attacks were stressing her out every time she had to make the walk here and she had not seen any of her friends in a while. Ruith was someone she looked up to and when Ruith wasn’t mocking her poor blacksmithing skills she was enjoyable to be around. But lately that has been rare. Solana started to completely space out and the hammer slipped from her grip. She was pulled back to reality when the hammer landed on her foot with all its weight behind it. Solana fell to the floor. Ruith ran over and checked her foot. “It looks like your weak grip broke your foot. I don’t think you're cut out for this, Princess.”
#
After the hammer fell on her foot, Solana had to go home and rest. Ruith gave Solana some of the mythrite wire to study while she was away. When it still hurt the next day, she sought out some medical attention. They bandaged her foot and told her not to work super hard. Solana spent the time going back to the sketchbook she had abandoned when training under Ruith. The ideas in it still excited her. She came up with a new concept on how to integrate the wire into a thread dress. It would make the metal in the dress sparkle and make it sturdier. Solana knew that if she showed them to Ruith, they would be harshly criticised for not using the metal in a proper manner. Then she realized that she was not trying to make something metal was supposed to be used for. She was designing a dress, so she needed someone with more of a fashion sense to get the kind of advice she wanted. Solana decided to go visit Kali, since she was the most fashionable person in mythrite. Solana carefully limped to Kali’s shop. When Solana entered the shop, the smell of sweet perfume and the colorful dresses drew her attention for a moment. “Oh, Solana! What happened? Why are you walking like that, honey?” Kali quickly ran over and started helping Solana to a chair.
“I was trying to learn how to blacksmith and I dropped a hammer on my foot. It should be better in a few days.” Solana responded as she sat down.
“Why are you learning blacksmithing? Your designs are so pretty. The mix of leather and cloth is incredibly unique and eye catching. If you put in a little more work you could be a successful tailor. There's no room for your creativity in a field like blacksmithing” Kali went back to looking over the papers on her desk.
Solana pulled out her sketchbook to show Kali what she had been working on “I was hoping to mix it with the other two skills. Look, it could be really sparkly and make the dress suitable for wearing in tougher environments.”
Kali pushed the sketchbook away in favor of the papers she was dealing with. “That sounds like an interesting idea. I know you want to gush about it, honey. I’m just a bit busy right now maybe later? I hope your foot gets better soon. Tell me if you need some money to pay the doctor with.”
“Oh okay. I don’t need any money. I guess I’ll see you later.” Solana got up and slowly limped home. She had hoped for some encouragement. Now she just felt brushed off. Kali was working, it had been silly to think she would just make time for her. It was just so weird to Solana that she seemed to not be able to rely on the people around her to make her improve.
#
Solana slumped in a chair behind a desk at her shop. She felt better, but Ruith had left. She no longer had a teacher, discouraging or not. Solana had no idea why Ruith had left. It was one of the most dangerous times to be leaving Mythrite. Without any blacksmithing lessons to attend, Solana opened up her shop. Business was slower than it had been before she left. Not a lot of people knew it was open again. She could not even look at her sketchbook, all of the more recent designs had the mythrite wire in them. After looking around town for another teacher, Solana had learned that Ruith was the only one that knew how to make it. She still had her notes on the process, but she couldn’t make it with a teacher. There was no way she could make it without one.
The door to her shop swung open, disturbing Solana’s depressing thoughts. “Excuse me. I heard you have very eye catching designs. I need something that will bring an audience the next time I speak about the policies I will make if I am elected mayor.” The elven politician Aymer said as he approached Solana.
“Oh, let me think about which of my designs would be best for that. What are your new policies going to be? Solana quickly sat up and pulled out her sketchbook to find a good design to sell.
I had been a school teacher, now I will be using what I know to bring a better education and lifestyle to the youth of Mythrite.” Aymer proudly puffed up his chest and waved an arm along with what he was saying.
“Something astute then.” Solana frantically flipped through her sketchbook, trying to get to when he was not making designs with mythrite wire in them.
“Precisely! With Mythrite finally starting to make roots, it is important to give our youth plenty of support for starting their lives here. The start to that is a good education. Many of the kids here can not get one with how much their parents have to work.” Aymer started droning like the ex-teacher he was. At last, Solana found the edge of where she started to learn how to blacksmith. Instead of her old designs catching her eye though, it was one of the first ones using the mythrite wire. She had not planned out how to mix it with cloth or leather just yet, so she had designed a feather pendant with it. Ruith had hated the design, saying that blacksmiths that made jewelry were the worst kinds of blacksmith. Solana glanced at the mythrite wire she was supposed to be studying while she had been unable to go to her blacksmithing lessons.
“Do you need a full outfit? I have this design here that I think would work well with what you want. With a few adjustments I could make it look like a quill. It will catch the sun and sparkle, which will make it quite eye catching.” Solana showed him the design.
“That looks perfect!”
#
Solana approached the forge. The pendant had done quite well. Everyone loved it and was asking about her mythrite wire designs. There was only so far the one spool could go. Solana had all the notes she needed on how to make it, she just needed to try. Solana enjoyed the lack of discouragement as she worked, She improved quickly. By the middle of the day, Solana could not tell the difference between the wire Ruith would make and the wire Solana was making. The excitement of finally being able to make the wire made her immediately open up her sketchbook and start making the first mythrite dress design she saw. It came out as well as she had hoped. It sparkled in the light and it was significantly sturdier than when she was just using the leather and cloth. In fact it was so sturdy, she could go into the mines wearing it, and nothing tore it.
Solana made the other dresses and clothes she had designed with the wire and put them on display. They were the first thing people looked at when they walked in. Her store became immensely popular, Solana could not keep up with the number of requests she was getting. This new use of mythrite wire seemed to be exactly the fortune making thing that she needed. The strangest part of it to Solana was that it was most of the people she had spoken to beforehand had told her it wasn’t going to work. It was very empowering to her that this was something she had made on her own.