Letters, we got your letters

[Jonathan.Link]

@amul

Late Spring, 1225
To: Praxiteles Jerbitonis of Laurus Argenti, Rhine Tribunal
From: Viscaria Lynchis Verditii of Mons Electi, Normandy Tribunal

Let me begin with an amusing anecodote for you. I write all my letters using the stylus and wax, since even here amidst the finest parchment manufacturer in mundane world, we have little scrap material. I use the same shorthand codes when composing these letters as I do for my lab notes, and today as began your letter with your name, shortened to Praxis.

An delicious pun, do you not think? For praxis means to theorize without practicing, and this is exactly the thing you avoid doing, which makes you such a dear friend, while also being exactly what our entire friendship is about. We write, we compose, we theorize, for over two years now we have corresponded and waxed eloquent about this mutual passion.

Often I have said that I am deeply indebted to you, for the delight you have taken in instructing me, novice that I am, in the delicate manipulation of our Art. Now at last I have determined a manner by which to repay you.

To satisfy debts owed to one of my brethren here at Mons Electi, I have been commissioned to enchant a steed worthy of her half-giant-blooded stature. I wish to commission you to sculpt a winged beast from a stone of your choosing, which I shall then invest with such powers of life and movement as to make mortal men tremble at her approach.

I suspect that such a prize will take at least 10 cubic paces of stone to sculpt properly. My only specifications are: it must satisfy the Socratic Ideals[1], she must be able to ride it, and it must have wings. Beyond that, you are free to indulge in your imagination.Which brings us back to your previous letter! As you know, our own stone quarries have been providing us with ample amounts of stone for me to test your theories about natural suitability for hermetic manipulation.....

(therein a long discussion about abstract ideals of Finesse begins)

As always, I look forward to our next missive,
Viscaria Lynchis

[1] meaning, it has to look like it could walk and move and fly, etc. Has to look like it could be a real thing.

Delivered the beginning of summer 1225

To: Viscaria Lynchis Verditii of Mons Electi, Normandy Tribunal
From: Praxiteles Jerbitonis of Laurus Argenti, Rhein Tribunal

Dearest Viscaria,
It is good of you to write. I accept the commission. We can discuss the details of said commission when I arrive. This letter should precede me by a few days. After I complete my work, I will be off to visit an amicus, and then my pater in Paris on my return trip.

I've already undertaken the selection of a suitable slab. If she is giant blooded and significantly larger than the average man, I'm thinking 10 cubic paces [note 10 cubic paces is 270 cubic feet, see the rough dimensions I marked out below] is woefully inadequate. If we assume that a standard horse length is 8 feet, which, in my experience with horses is a very reasonable determination, we can easily see that 10 cubic paces, while it seems sufficient is actually rather small when you take into consideration the wingspan of a winged beast. War horses are anywhere from 14 to 16 hands high, and for an aesthetically pleasing look, the wing span at full extension must be at least twice the length of the horse. Taking all that into account, I think I have an unfinished block of just over 11 feet long, nearly 6 feet tall, and a hairs breadth over 20 feet wide, which should be suitable for this project. I have another larger block, as well, if we should desire to go a bit taller. I'll take a corner chip from each block, and we can handle the transport of the block once I have a casting token and have prepared a workshop.

((He writes a bit on finesse, but it seems distracted, and this is indicative of the times where he seems focused on a new project, such as the one Viscaria just commissioned.))

Praxiteles