[center][img]http://s25.postimg.org/kosvah54v/cooltext166741318147104.png[/img]
[color=965716][b]The Great Artisan, Divine Mason, Builder of Civilisations
Level 4 God of Crafting (Masonry)[/b]
4 Might & 1 Free Points[/color][/center]

Across the Gilt Savannah, over the plains, skirting the Deepwood forests, around the coast of the Fractal Sea, Teknall and Gerrik journeyed far and wide, visiting many of the Hain villages in that hemisphere of Galbar over the course of many years. Their journeys, teachings, discussions and discoveries could fill whole volumes of books, and in future they might. Below are but some of the highlights of that period.

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[i]Thud...

Thud...

Thud...[/i]

The footfalls of the Brush Beasts echoed through the earth and across the savannah, the tremors reaching well past the horizon. While it may be unsettling at first for creatures unaccustomed to it, the tremors soon felt commonplace and were readily ignored.

Taking respite from the hot sun, Teknall and his apprentice Gerrik followed in the beast's great shadow. A herd of Pearskin Cattle did the same, taking advantage of the shade, rare in such a flat place as this, to keep cool. Hiding in the darkness and behind some long grass lurked a Mangler, who bolted out at a calf who wandered too close, momentarily spooking the herd into fleeing. But as the Mangler dragged off its kill, the Cattle calmed down and continued their leisurely pace. As they walked, the Brush Beast bent down its head to close its jaws around a grand juniper tree- one of Teknall's own inventions- and uprooted it in a single bite. From the leaves fled several pairs of Tender Birbs, the couples making a panicked retreat as their once-safe homes were destroyed in an instant.

[color=965716]"Marvellous, isn't it?"[/color] Teknall commented, sweeping his hand across the life-filled savannah.

Gerrik looked to his master, then to the multitude of plants and animals. "Yeah," he replied, although somewhat indifferently.

To this Teknall made the Hain equivalent of a frown. [color=965716]"You clearly don't think so. Yet they are truly something to behold. The spawn of the Life-Deer display such elegance in design, and complexity within complexity to such an extent that we could probably study them forever and they would still hide many secrets."[/color] He looked out to the thriving ecosystem before him, and said, [color=965716]"Tell me your observations, Gerrik."[/color]

Gerrik stopped walking and observed. This was an oft-repeated ritual, where Stone Chipper would ask him to observe something, taking in every detail, and then he would be expected to present deductions about how that thing worked, how it interacted with its surroundings, how it was made, and any other insight which could be garnered.

Gerrik looked and thought deeply, considering both what he saw before him and his past experience, for about twenty minutes before making a response. "The Brush Beasts are colossal, and along with that comes a colossal appetite. They can eat whole trees, thinning forests. This can help keep the forests from being overgrown, allowing other plants a chance to grow, while also reducing the severity of fires. From their dung also grows other plants. It seems to feed plants and make the soil richer. It looks a lot like soil after a few days, after all.

"These Brush Beasts, with their incredible size, relatively slow pace, and indifference to life around them, also make up a dynamic part of the terrain. Like mountains, yet walking and eating. Creatures like the Pearskin Cattle and ourselves can take advantage of this shade, although smaller, more mobile creatures, such as the birbs, could easily make their home on the backs of these creatures.

"Here I see the herd of Pearskin Cattle. Like the Brush Beasts, they also seem to thin out the grasses they graze on, and feed the soil with their dung, although to a much less extreme degree. Their low intelligence makes for easy prey too, so their flesh tends to feed the Manglers and us Hain quite often.

"Manglers seem to continue this pattern, except instead of plants they eat animals, controlling their populations. Their speed is astounding. It is probably brought about by special, powerful muscles in their legs, although their weakness seems to be that they can only keep it up for very short bursts. It must be extremely tiring. It probably burns like when we sprint, but maybe even more so.

"Tender Birbs are interesting. They are small. They probably also contribute to this... feeding interaction, although from their size they don't seem to be able to have a major impact. However, they are quite curious in their interactions with others of their kind. They only ever seem to take one wife, yet this bond they have is very strong. I've never seen an unhealthy partnered Tender Birb, and I've never seen a healthy un-partnered Birb. It's quite touching, really."

Gerrik finished, and seeing that he had no more to same Teknall said, [color=965716]"Very good, Gerrik. You have learned well. Logic and observation is a powerful tool, greater than any axe or chisel or hammer. If you nurture these skills, all else will follow."[/color]

And so the pair continued their walk across the Savannah, trailing behind the Cattle herd and under the shadow of the Brush Beast.


[hider=Summary]
This starts a series of posts following the journey of Gerrik and Teknall. Instead of making a giant montage post, I'll instead post a series of digestible snippets. Makes it easier to read, and makes me feel more productive.
Time-wise, this is currently a bit behind everything else. When I catch up to Jvan's conversation, then I've caught up.

In this post, Teknall tells Gerrik to observe and deduce information about a scene of Gilt Savannah life. His response realises the concept of a food web, and the equilibrium of consumption and life, present in each creature present.
Consider this my contribution to Slough Week.
[/hider]