[h2][center][color=Brown]Raethel Norvegicus[/color][/center][/h2]

As his pups were running around doing... pup things and generally amusing themselves while trying their best to stay out of the kind of trouble that would look really bad for their loving father if they were caught doing it, Raethel sat on a wooden seat, looking over some clay tablets in order to try and get the best understanding of the problem being offered to him. While at the moment he wasn't acting as the First Speaker and thus politically he was just an ordinary citizen, what he was being asked to look at wasn't a political problem; It was a navigational one. 

The Rattus had taken to sailing upon open waters...rather well all things considered in that no properly made water craft had been lost to the salty depths. While some Rattus had died on the trips between Greenland and the Homeland in the past, this was normally due to factors such as age, illness or injury and was thus seem as within acceptable standards, if stressful for those on board said craft with them. However, a concern that had been lingering among the minds of all those who sailed since the original trip had been how easy it was to get lost out on the open water.

Currently most water craft preferred to take a little longer and sail within sight of the stretch of land between Greenland and the Homeland in order to keep a firm understanding of just where they were at any given time. Those that took to sailing open water had much fewer options as far as ordination was concerned; Generally they used the sky orbs in order to make sure they were sailing in the general right direction and avoided being turned around or the wrong way, but that wasn't the most refined of methods. Sure, it would ensure that you would find the coastline of the land you were looking for, but both had a rather far reaching coastline. This wasn't such an issue if you were planning to land on the Homeland since there were Rattus settlements and outposts all along the coast, but in Greenland the process of developing Rattus settlements was a lot more slow going.

There were some suggestions on different ideas of course and Raethel was reviewing them... but none of them really seemed to have that glint of promise. Taking a moment to push one of the more... [i]optimistic[/i] of suggestions away, he reached up to rub the bridge of his nose and on reflex start cleaning his whiskers and he considered the issue. There was a small part of him that raised the question of how the gods would solve it, but his experience with Aethel had [i]enlightened[/i] him to the fact that the idea of getting lost while traveling would simply be viewed as an experience for their co-creator, who didn't give a damn about things like supplies or survival.

However... thinking of Aethel gave Raethel an idea. 

[hr]

In the end, Raethel had needed a little help with the more physical side of things and his second born daughter Nitidus had thankfully be up to the task of helping him with the prototype, but the idea was honestly rather simple in execution. They had created a pyramid out of three sticks and used a bit of rope to dangle from the top where they sticks met. Hanging from the rope was a stone ball that he had thrown together rather quickly. The ball and rope was defying the natural order all by itself by noticeably floating in the air, pointing a certain direction. No matter where they moved the pyramid too or what direction they turned it in, the ball would move in order to continue pointing in the same direction at the same thing. 

While the mana workings were a little complex, the idea was rather simple really. The ball had been attuned towards the most powerful mana fixture on the planet... the Tree to the south from which mana came from, went to and was renewed at. It also was, according to Aethel, at one of the 'ends' of the world, with another opposite it far up north. It wasn't a grand enchantment, the ball would simply be pulled towards the Tree of Harmony firmly enough to be noticeable, but not so much as to cause it to fly off and defeat the whole point Raethel had been going towards. 

A stone enchanted in this manner, if suspended, would always point towards Aethel's Tree of Harmony... and thus would always point south. Unlike the vague nature of 'East' and 'West' that the sky orbs provided, this method would allow an exact measurement of where South was... which when you don't have any landmarks in sight to use, could be a highly useful tool to have in order to figure out where you are and where you need to be going. 

Of course this was merely the prototype; There would no doubt be refinements and experiments in order to develop a version of it that would be useful and strong enough to endure conditions on the open water... or even traveling over land now that Raethel thought about it, through that version would have to be smaller due to carrying concerns... but as Raethel looked over the prototype he couldn't help but reach out a paw and squeeze Nitidus' paw with love and pride of this very moment


[hider=Summary]
Raethel is asked by some Rattus to help with the issue of navigation on open water; The current method of using the sun and moon to have a vague idea of east and west has worked alright so far, but everyone involved kind of feels like a better method is needed. Briefly reflecting that asking what the gods would do is pointless because most mortal problems wouldn't even occur to them in the first place, Raethel is instead inspired by some information that Aethel shared with the Rattus people.

Raethel develops a method of enchanting stone so that it will naturally be drawn towards the Tree of Harmony, which makes up the Southern most point of Galbar and thus allows Rathel to develop a compass that will always point South. This enchantment is really easy to do once you know how and thus it will quickly spread, through the first compass prototype will almost certainly be refined with time and experience. 
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[hider=Spirit]
Start: 7

+1 for being apart of a post for longer then a line.
+1 for being main character.

-8 New technology (Compass)


Divine Quest: Claim the Land of Deserts and Hidden Rivers for the Rattus (In progress)
Divine Quest: Discover a new land across the sea (Plus discover the ability to sail on the ocean) (In progress)
Divine Quest: Create safe passage through the Great Dragon Range so Rattus can explore the other side.
 
End: 1
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