Scrollmaker
A Matis occupation
The history of scrollmaking is intrinsically connected with the history of writing. And there is no consensus over who invented writing. Some historians say the Zorai first developed writing and spread the practice to the other races. Others say that writing is old enough to pre-date the contact between homin races, which means each race developed writing separately. Yet others say the Karavan taught homins writing.
Whatever the case, each race developed it's own distinct script, reflecting what they considered important. The Fyros script firstly needed to be practical, to convey the harsh truth as directly as possible. The Tryker script came to exemplify freedom and fun, causing there to be huge variations within it, which often made other races consider it chaotic.The Zorai script became a philosophical script pur sang. It's said a Zorai exit sign does not simply say "exit", but contains an implicit essay questioning the nature of what it means to be inside, what it means to be outside, and what it means to exit something.
And the Matis script, ofcourse, needed foremost to be beautiful and elegant. Over time, the aesthetic Matis script became so time-consuming and difficult to write, that the Matis developed a simplified version of their alphabet for use in daily life, while the real script was preserved only for artistic works and important writs. Most day-to-day writing was done on cheap parchment. Real scrolls were expensive and only used for writing that needed to be preserved longer or was otherwise of particular importance.
It should also be noted that in those early days, writing was steeped in superstition. It was believed letters and words held magical powers, and some were used as wards to fend of evil magic. Ofcourse, there really is much unknown magic on Atys, so to this day it's unknown how much of these beliefs were false and how much actually worked.
Each race kept it's own scrollmakers and it's own ways of making scrolls, until the Zorai invented amber cubes. From that time on, for any large amount of information needing to be kept for a long time, amber cubes proved far more efficient than scrolls. Writing only remained for quick messages, which was done on parchment, and as artistic writing which was done on walls, banners, or objects. Scrolls weren't needed for either.
The only homin race that continued making scrolls were the Matis. Partly for the decorum it provided to Royal messages. But mostly because the Matis elite, being a society of crafters, had developed a belief that writing in the elegant Matis script on the most fine scrolls with the most rare ink provided a ward against bad luck and failures.
Since only the finest scrolls and rarest ink would do, this practice was an expensive one reserved only for the master crafters. Thus there were only a few Matis who mastered the art, and they were all lost in the Great Swarming. The occupation remained lost until a mysterious Matis popped up, claiming to be the last scrollmaker, having learned the art from his grandfather. His claim would be heavily questioned, were it not that his skills speaks for itself.
After working with the Larvesters to secure a source of materials that are sufficiently rare and precious, he set up business to train more scrollmakers. He claims his goal is not wealth, but to revive his ancient art. Although he has been officially recognised by the Royal Court as the Master Scrollmaker, he has turned down their offers to take up an official function at the Court, choosing instead to teach his occupation in the marketplace to anyone willing to learn.
A Matis occupation
The history of scrollmaking is intrinsically connected with the history of writing. And there is no consensus over who invented writing. Some historians say the Zorai first developed writing and spread the practice to the other races. Others say that writing is old enough to pre-date the contact between homin races, which means each race developed writing separately. Yet others say the Karavan taught homins writing.
Whatever the case, each race developed it's own distinct script, reflecting what they considered important. The Fyros script firstly needed to be practical, to convey the harsh truth as directly as possible. The Tryker script came to exemplify freedom and fun, causing there to be huge variations within it, which often made other races consider it chaotic.The Zorai script became a philosophical script pur sang. It's said a Zorai exit sign does not simply say "exit", but contains an implicit essay questioning the nature of what it means to be inside, what it means to be outside, and what it means to exit something.
And the Matis script, ofcourse, needed foremost to be beautiful and elegant. Over time, the aesthetic Matis script became so time-consuming and difficult to write, that the Matis developed a simplified version of their alphabet for use in daily life, while the real script was preserved only for artistic works and important writs. Most day-to-day writing was done on cheap parchment. Real scrolls were expensive and only used for writing that needed to be preserved longer or was otherwise of particular importance.
It should also be noted that in those early days, writing was steeped in superstition. It was believed letters and words held magical powers, and some were used as wards to fend of evil magic. Ofcourse, there really is much unknown magic on Atys, so to this day it's unknown how much of these beliefs were false and how much actually worked.
Each race kept it's own scrollmakers and it's own ways of making scrolls, until the Zorai invented amber cubes. From that time on, for any large amount of information needing to be kept for a long time, amber cubes proved far more efficient than scrolls. Writing only remained for quick messages, which was done on parchment, and as artistic writing which was done on walls, banners, or objects. Scrolls weren't needed for either.
The only homin race that continued making scrolls were the Matis. Partly for the decorum it provided to Royal messages. But mostly because the Matis elite, being a society of crafters, had developed a belief that writing in the elegant Matis script on the most fine scrolls with the most rare ink provided a ward against bad luck and failures.
Since only the finest scrolls and rarest ink would do, this practice was an expensive one reserved only for the master crafters. Thus there were only a few Matis who mastered the art, and they were all lost in the Great Swarming. The occupation remained lost until a mysterious Matis popped up, claiming to be the last scrollmaker, having learned the art from his grandfather. His claim would be heavily questioned, were it not that his skills speaks for itself.
After working with the Larvesters to secure a source of materials that are sufficiently rare and precious, he set up business to train more scrollmakers. He claims his goal is not wealth, but to revive his ancient art. Although he has been officially recognised by the Royal Court as the Master Scrollmaker, he has turned down their offers to take up an official function at the Court, choosing instead to teach his occupation in the marketplace to anyone willing to learn.