A Hand-Woven Universe 10 10. Starting Work

"But it didn't have anything to do with her! And if she had fallen there, she would have doomed everyone! Not just that group!"

"But if she refused to help some for the sake of the all she would be no better than…"

This had been going on for and would be continuing for a while. The libraries of Tapestry have been expanding since the beginning of time. Eons have passed with various artist types popping up to contribute to this ever-growing chest of information. As such every librarian who has ever come to exist has found themselves enslaved by the wonderful world of fiction. A necessary outlet for an isolated community.

Noone, being in the care of the librarian at an early part of his life for an extended time, had been indoctrinated by Liter.

As such, they had found a common ground in analyzing the books they would find. The elders at first were against giving someone as young as Noone complete access to the annals of history, however once the bottle was opened, what else could be done?

Thus, the ravings of madmen continued unabated.

Noone had been given a book by Liter half a month ago for their bi-weekly discussion times. A heroic tale of a young 200-year-old woman who saves a city from being crushed by a collapsing cave system.

Being stuck in Tapestry since the dawn of time, well, it did not do much for the scope of imaginations for the people who lived there. If you asked any person in Tapestry what they thought the outside world looked like for example, even the most well-read creative individuals would have trouble coming up with an answer.

Sigh.

They both collapsed into chairs. They had been debating for well over half a day, and Noone had won. Although neither was sure what entirely they were debating over, it was clear Noone had won.

A moment went by and they managed to catch their breaths. Noone smiled up at Liter who scowled back. "Beating me at a debate? How shameless can he be? I practically raised him, and this is how he treats me!?" Liter continued to rave in his mind.

"So Noone, have you decided what you are going to do now?"

Noone sat up, he stretched his arms up and scratched his head.

After the siege of tapestry a few days prior, he had gotten a lot of well-meaning offers from every section of the workforce. Thus, it put him in a pickle. He was not sure what to choose. Presumably, he would have his whole life to move around and try different things. But… how long was his life?

For the people of Tapestry, living to around 500 years was expected. However, they were all born with powers of the universe laws inscribed within their body. Noone wasn't sure... if he would have that long.

He put those thoughts to the back of his mind, shaking his head to clear himself of his worries.

"I think I am going to work with the mines the way my father did. It is the most physically strenuous place in Tapestry and… I don't have much to work with, but my body is strong." He chuckled wryly.

Liter looked deeply at Noone but chose not to say anything.

"No matter what you decide to do, you will be good at it."

"Mm" Noone nodded.

"But you are right, even in the records of Tapestry I was hard-pressed to find anyone who had been born with physical strength like yours. And you're not even an adult yet..." Liter examined Noone like he would read a primordial book, letting his thoughts trail off.

Half a year ago Liter had dragged Noone to a section of the caves where they would not be disturbed and forced Noone to go through more than 100 physical activities to get a measure of an atuneless' strength. In the end though, he was shocked.

Perhaps just as shocked were the masons, who – after the Siege – had found a very Noone shaped crater in the middle of the road from when Adria had made her entrance.

"Well let me know when you start, you know, for records and all that." He gestured to the library around him and let out an exacerbated sigh. "By the way have you seen Elder Azelle lately? He mentioned he would be coming to find you soon."
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Noone shook his head.

Liter walked with Noone to the door of the library. As he opened the door the librarian let out a light throaty cough, Noone looked at him in shock.

Everyone in tapestry had resilient and sturdy bodies. Coughing was something that for the most part just didn't happen.

Liter looked embarrassed, "Ah, sorry about that. I think there's a cough going around. It is about time for that after all." Noone nodded.

Indeed, about every hundred years a bug would develop that was strong enough to break through their bodies' initial defenses. But it would only take a few weeks for everyone to become immune and the cycle to repeat a hundred years later.

Noone laughed it off, he was too young to have experienced it for himself, but he has heard it talked about as nothing more than a mild inconvenience by the elders.

…

In a far corner of Tapestry, the sounds of metal striking rock and rusty iron wheels grinding against the ground pervaded the air.

The mines were a huge maze of woven tunnels which extended out from one side of the city.

It was the single largest operation in Tapestry, being the source for every piece of valuable and useful metal and mineral that existed. No one really understood how these minerals occurred, however there were many theories. Mainly revolving around the grace of The Ancestor.

Each mine shaft had a foreman, and smaller mines extended from each mineshaft, dug out individually by a dedicated miner with nothing but a pick and a minecart.

When all the ore is dug out, minecarts are filled and are hauled out by hand to the forgers and the smelters. Overall it was a slow operation. However, the speed was made up for by the sheer numbers of miners.

After countless years of digging out mining tunnels it is not hard to imagine just how large and expansive these halls are. You could probably spend your whole life in the mines and never see the end of them. And indeed, some people do just that.

A few people have proposed having the workers map out the mines. However, such proposals were quickly silenced by groups of angry miners. No one wanted such an impossible task.

Noone stepped up into the hub for all the mineshafts. It was an incredibly large spherical room of which all the mines connected back to. In the middle there was a raised pedestal.

He walked onto it and cleared his throat. When the miners who were within the room saw this, their eyes went wide, and they immediately covered their ears.

"TAHMEL, I AM HERE TO WORK" The sound boomed out of the main chamber and echoed down into the mineshafts. Within the room, tables shook, and everyone looked pale. Too loud!

Noone hopped down and looked at the miners giving them an apologetic wave, inside he felt a bit sorry, but there was really no other way to find the man.

The pedestal had been there since the dawn of Tapestry, before talking vocally had been phased out completely. No one knew what kind of magic had been used, but any sound made on the pedestal was immediately broadcasted down the tunnels. It wouldn't continue on forever, but definitely for long enough to contact the foremans in the main mineshafts.

Eventually Tommy came running out of one of the mines. "Noone! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Noone smiled, it seemed like Tommy had been expecting him, his speaking had significantly improved since the last time they talked.

"So, you came to me after all." Tommy looked proud. "Come on then!"

…

Soon after Noone was given a choice of picks, pikes, and Sledges.

"You know what we do here, so I won't bother explaining it to you. You can take whatever tools you want from the stack. Most people go their own way. As long as the mines you make are large enough to move a cart through it is pretty much free reign. You make more depending on how much you bring in. Not much socializing to be done but I'm sure you'll be fine." Tommy gave a wry smile at his own tasteless joke, giving Noone a pat on the shoulder and walking off.

Noone picked three tools that seemed sturdy enough and made his way down the mineshaft.

He walked for a while but did not see any open wall space that hadn't already been dug out into someone's mineshaft. Finally though, towards the end of the main shaft he had found a spot that had yet to be marked.

Noone grabbed his pick and gave it a good swing, immediately biting through heaps of stone. Sparks shot up and the Ting of a pick rang out into the hall.

It was like this that Noone spent the next year.

Chapter end