[center][h1][b]Ma'otah[/b][/h1][/center]

The first man-made metal object wasn't a knife, or sword, or any kind of blade or weapon. It was a vessel, something between a large cup and a small bowl, just large enough to boil a single portion of soup, tea or herbal medicine.

It was made by taking the biggest chunk of copper Ma'otah's expedition had brought back and hammering it flat with the flat side of a large stone attached to a stick. The hammers they usually used weren't as crude, but they were also wooden, and much too soft to ever put a dent in the hard, cold metal.

Each strike rendered the metal a bit thinner and a bit harder. When it was nothing more than a thin, round, pockmarked sheet, it was carefully folded and stretched until a small bowl took form. That bowl saw much use: it did not burn like wooden ones, crack like clay ones, and boiled water much faster than soapstone ones. It was well-liked by cooks who used it to simmer small portions of easily digestible soup for the old, the ill and the pregnant. Firetenders used it to transport embers and small portions of fires, and medicine-men used to it dole out their remedies.

The leftover copper was fashioned into small knapping and carving tools, and protective amulets. It was while making these and experimenting that a craftswoman discovered that when the metal grew too hard under cold strikes and threatened to crack, that burying it under the village's biggest fire for a few hours, until it became hot and red, would soften it again, permitting further shaping.

Ma'otah was soon asked to plunge back into the Earth's depths to look for more of the material; she was the only one who had ever led a successful expedition so far.

She did so, over and over. Each time, she buried an offering, calling upon Khthon, asking for protection and permission. Each time, she brought different people with her, teaching them how to spot where the ceilings were at risk of collapsing, where toxic gases could emerge or where the ground could crumble and swallow your leg and not let go, for even when the Earth was not actively trying to kill them, it still remained a location hostile to most life (especially to those of the careless).

Each time, they emerged with new treasures. More copper, of course, but also a bit of silver, too soft for tools but much more easily shaped for ornaments. One time, they came back holding a handful of small shining jewels, so hard they could not be scratched with even their hardest tools. Another, with strange colorful rock, that when crushed and mixed with water, made brighter paint than anything else found beforehand. Most recently, the came back with a bag of black, crumbly, staining stones, even darker than their skin, their use still undetermined.

That very same night, Ma'otah received a dream. No, not a dream, a memory. She saw the center of the world, and she saw the Man-God piling up rocks. She saw how he built a cavity, with a hole at the top. She saw how he filled it with the same black stones they had found. She saw how they [i]ignited[/i], hotter than ever possible, melting even stone, even metal, the Earth itself shuddering under the strain.

She woke up in a cold sweat, shuddering. She barely took a second to breathe and calm down before rushing outside her home and to where the village kept their construction material for houses. She picked up as many adobe brick she could carry, and began building a small cavity, leaving a hole at the top, just like she had seen the Man-God do. She fetched the bag of coal, and poured it into the furnace's open maw, put a small stone bowl filled with a few silver nugget on top of the pile, and then threw a few burning ember in.

The fire burned slow at first, then faster and faster, until the heat made sweat drip down her face. It burned for hours, and she watched it without pause, unheeding of her fellow tribesmen's concern for her. When the fire finally extinguished, and the bowl stopped smoking from the heat, she picked it up through a few layers of cloth, and yelled in joy as she saw how the silver had melted and taken the shape of the bowl's bottom.

She rushed to the edge of town, where small mounds marked where the many necklaces, bangles and sculptures dedicated to the One That Lay Beneath were buried. She dug a small hole, forgoing any kind of tool, and put the bowl of silver inside. [b]"Great Khthon, I am thankful for the wisdom you have given me. Here is the first of the fruits of that wisdom. It is not much, but soon, great works will emerge from it. That I am sure."[/b]

And she was right. Their tribe had already been more artistically inclined than others, decorating their abodes and bowls and tools with carving and paint, but now, with access to new materials, new paints, new tools, new techniques... their craft expanded beyond anything seen before. Carvings became larger and more elaborate, unfired clay pots and bricks could now be fired and even glazed in their new furnace, materials for stone spear heads were chosen as much for their beauty than for their workability, jewelry incorporated metal amulets, and gems were sometimes woven or fitted in. Beauty became not just an indulgence, but a necessity.

After all, the beauty of their craft is what gained them their God's favor. Ma'otah, the first to have returned and the only one to have spoken directly to Him, officially became their first priestess, although her role did not change much. Amulets first worn to ward off evil through unknown means now served as emergency offerings to Khthon, should the wearer ever need protection from danger. The occasional wanderer or peaceful nomad tribe that came around would trade supplies for their craft, leaving them more time to hone their skills now that immediate survival was assured. Some of these wanderers even admitted that they had made a detour in their journey specifically to visit them.

Life was changing quickly in their formerly sleepy village.

[hider=Summary]
Ma'otah's village experiment with cold-working copper, creating a small bowl in the process. A craftswoman discovers how to warm-work it, by heating but not melting it. Ma'otah is sent to find more materials underground, as she's the only one to ever be successful. She does so, sending offerings to Khthon each time. Throughout the months, she finds more copper, some silver, different oxides that can be used as pigments, and coal.
The same night she finds coal, Khthon sends her a vision of how Sarhush built a furnace when they created magma. Inspired by it, she builds her own small furnace, and using coal as a fuel source, manages to melt a small amount of silver. Having discovered the basics of how to smelt metal, she rushes to bury the silver and thank Khthon, promising that her tribe's craftsmanship will improve with his help.
She is correct, and the tribe's artwork becomes more elaborate using the new tools and materials at their disposal. Beauty as important as usefulness, Ma'otah becomes Khthon's first priestess, and passing travelers and tribes are willing to trade supplies for their craft, which leaves them even more time for crafting. Some even go out of their way to visit and trade. The village gets more and more busy as trade, crafting and foot traffic increases.

[u]Conviction spending[/u]
- Khthon sends a vision to Ma'otah (Lucid, 0 conviction)
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