Arc 722, 30 Ashan
Chapel Series
#1 - Step By Step
#2 - Here We Go Again....
The cadouri from Saoire’s School arrived the night before, and in honor of them, Haven held one of their special bonfire nights. It was a special bond the settlers had with those that had come to help build the barn and farm a few seasons prior. A bond that would only strengthen in the following thirty trials as, once again, the group embarked on a new building adventure.
That morning, everyone was in a good mood. The settlers had treated the building team to a special breakfast feast, then sent them off with promises of a warm midtrial meal when the time came. Early Ashan weather was still a bit nippy for most, but the work would warm everyone up.
Making their way out to the site, Professor Herman McGerman walked with Elisabeth, chatting about wedding-related matters mostly. At least until they cleared the trees, that was, and turned to the south where the chapel site sat ready for them.
The cadouri professor was quick to point out his pleasure at the state of the site. “Excellent, all of you! It will make our job much easier now that all the rocks and grass are gone. Did you fill in the holes as well? Good, good. We will need to double-check those to ensure they can’t cave in under the construction when it rains. That would not be a good thing, but easy enough to check and remedy now.”
Arriving, everyone dropped their loads of bags, equipment, and tools. Glancing around, Elisabeth did a quick headcount to ensure all the people assigned to the project were present. Herman had brought the same crew as before, including Miles and Melinda. On the Haven side, Elisabeth and one of the guards, Balder. Silk and Ronan were assigned to settlement duty, although she planned to rotate the guards back and forth between the building assignment and their regular duties. Bran, Gilbert, Edwin, and Bryn rounded out the build team.
Looking at her list, Elisabeth noted that while fewer settlers were helping this time around, owing to the farm needing all its people to help get the first crop of the season in, Herman had augmented their numbers with a few more people from Saoire’s. He assured her there was no problem as the young woman was paying for building the chapel, including labor costs. In fact, the Haven settlers helping with labor gave them an advantage.
Pulling string out of his bag, Herman tossed it at Bran, smiling at the man. The pair had gotten on exceptionally well during the cadouri’s first visit to Haven, and it seemed they would be picking up right where they left off. “Bran, Miles, and Melinda will assist, and they have the sketch. Can you take the Haven settlers to measure out the chapel outline with the string, just like you did with the barn? I’ll have my other people go do inventory on the delivered supplies to make sure everything’s here.”
Nodding, Bran pulled Elisabeth and the rest of the settlers over to outline the chapel building. Miles, holding the blueprint of the chapel-to-be, directed the measurements, while Melinda, arms full of wooden stakes, followed along and provided the anchors when needed. When finished, the young mage stood back and took a good look, admitting that the structure was much bigger than envisioned in her mind, but that was always the case, it seemed - she was not good at seeing things in her head.
Once Herman was assured that all the supplies had arrived and were in good order, it was time for fine-tuning with leveling of the building site. They knew the importance of ensuring the area was completely flat, having gone through the process once before. The smaller surface area of the chapel allowed them to all descend on the site and concentrate their efforts. It was gratifying to Elisabeth to see the teams working so well together, but again, this type of collaboration wasn't new to anyone present.
Herman got out a few funny-looking little tools and passed them out. In the center of the wood was a glass piece that contained fluid and a bubble. As he explained it, when the curious bubble was dead center of the glass, the land was level. "The importance of having the foundation on level, solid land cannot be stressed enough!" he said, instructing people in the use of the tools and arranging teams to work from the outside of the area, towards the center. The cadouri had done the fine leveling for the farm, but this time, the settlers had the tools, working along the ground meticulously with cadouri oversight.
As the trial wore on, the build team accomplished several things. Leveling took most of the time, but as that happened, other people were tasked with moving wood stacks closer to the site, in anticipation of beginning the foundation and framework. Herman, Miles, and Melinda double-checked the string outline, ensuring the dimensions and measurements matched up to the blueprint, which they mostly did, with only a few minor adjustments needed before the professor approved work to continue.
When the group began cleaning up at the end of the trial, Elisabeth walked the perimeter of the building-to-be, thinking about how satisfying it watch an idea come to life. The chapel hadn't been her idea, but once Vri made his offer, Balthazar and she had taken the idea and ran with it.
Herman, noticing her, walked over to her side, matching her stride. "That's a very contemplative look on your face, dear girl. May I inquire as to the subject? You don't have to say if you don't want."
By that time, others had drifted over near the pair. There was a time Elisabeth would have disliked sharing her thoughts with a large group, and while some things remained private, she knew that the more she shared subjects of a spiritual nature, perhaps more settlers would begin to feel comfortable doing so as well. The young woman was just beginning her spiritual journey, but many of those within Haven were as well, and they would travel that path together.
"I was just thinking about Vri, actually. I used to think that the only Domain of his that I related to was Love, but that's no longer true. It might be the strongest Domain, certainly, but something I've learned along the way is that everyone, I think, can relate to most all Immortal Domains. Remembrance is a strong theme in the work we are doing now, and even Death and Sadness have played their parts recently. I think it's simply about perspective, and as long as we are considering how those themes impact our lives, that's the important part."
Herman, ever the insightful little cadouri, had thoughts on the matter. "Saoire has often said that insight and perspective are gifts and ones that aren't to be ignored. If you think about it, you are honoring her by understanding such, since Gifts is one of her Domains. Everything is connected. It's always about how the person relates to a Domain and making a meaningful connection. A lot of people don't even try. Relationships mean work - something Saoire has always made clear to us."
Done for the trial and looking forward to a warm meal, the group packed up their tools and headed back to the settlements, eager to enjoy a bit of relaxation before returning in the morning.
Arc 722, 34 Ashan
The trials progressed quickly, with much work to keep everyone occupied. The chapel's foundation was almost complete, and for the first time, the settlers had a physical representation of how the building fit against the surrounding landscape. Elisabeth was thrilled at the choice of site, being able to finally visualize that she and Balthazar had made a wise decision to place it where they had.
Herman pointed out the large pile of various-sized rocks to the side of the site. "What are you planning to do with those?" Turning to see what the cadouri was referring to, Elisabeth replied quickly. "Those are the rocks we pulled out of the ground. I have this idea of using natural materials as much as possible, so I wanted to save them and perhaps use them in the garden I'm planning for outside the chapel. A place to think and reflect. I don't want to take anything away from Faldrass, so I thought repurposing the stone would be a good way to honor the land." The professor grabbed his blueprints and nodded, appearing deep in thought.
"I think we might be able to help a bit with that since your settlers are providing labor to us. We can help with the placement of the rocks, at least. If you can get people to wash off the rocks and sort them into size piles? Then we can tackle that when we finish the chapel, provided there is time." Smiling, Elisabeth agreed, noting it on her own list. Several people in the settlement weren't on the build team, and convincing them to spend a break or two with the rocks wouldn't be hard, she thought.
Miles asked Elisabeth if she wanted to help with the long wood steps that would lead up into the chapel, and she quickly agreed to assist. The young cadouri showed her the process of building shallow box outlines in three differing heights. "The thing with steps is, there are a lot of different ways to do them," he explained. "Because these are shallow steps and not like a large staircase, it's easiest to do it this way. Sturdier too. Other ways include fashioning braces and sawing forms for the steps. This way, we aren't doing any of that. Just nailing boards together for the brace and then adding others flat across the top for the step. Three different heights for the three steps."
The pair worked the afternoon away on the steps while the rest of the group measured, sawed, and laid the final floor pieces for the chapel. It wouldn't be long before they would start the framing of the building. The weather was mainly cooperating, and they seemed right on schedule.
Herman dismissed everyone for the trial, and while the group all moved toward the settlement proper, Elisabeth stayed behind, lowering herself to sit on the newly-built front steps of Haven's chapel-to-be. Wedding plans were progressing, and Balthazar, hopefully, would return soon to help finish the construction. It was coming together – all of it.
Balthazar's presence was missed during the times away, especially when they had something so meaningful to do. Still, she always understood work responsibilities and the man's desire to see things through. The work ethic that ran through his veins was like hers. All Elisabeth had to do was look across the expanse of land to see Munny Farm and remember all the work that had gone into making it a reality. Yes, she could understand.
Sighing, she rose from the steps to collect her things. Tomorrow was a brand new trial, and as always, there was more work to be done.
