Craftspeople’s Pride: 14th Orihime
In the world of Rathe, there is a legend, a warning- that those who place their pride on the line and put their heart into their work imbue a spirit into that which their hands have made. It is a dangerous magic, often inadvertently cast, and the least given to the control of their casters.
In the continent of Nu-Le, there is a ring of mountains that are said to touch the sky. The people call it Heaven’s Crown. The valley within is said to be a sacred place, for here is where the guilds of weavers, dye-makers, tanners and tailors reside. They are known as the Celestial Courtiers, and here is also the only place where anyone worships a deity in this continent.
Here is where the Orihime, the master weaver, and the loom said to be blessed by the gods, Celestial Weaver, can be found. The Orihime, a weaver of such skill that even with a regular loom, she can make clothing finer than even the Emperor’s weavers could. With the sacred loom, her legend lives in her work- her creations have souls of their own.
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Her name was once Shiromori Michiko. Once, she was an apprentice who fell in love with thread. She wove in joy, she wove in sorrow, but never did she weave in anger. Eager to learn, and more still to practice, the threads sang to her, and in the end, they chose each other. The many years under Sansen Yuri, the 13th Orihime, slipped by faster than water through her fingers. Michiko is 18 now, and her master, at 79, is on her way out.
Michiko remembers her master's words.
"Come here, my student. I do not have long before I too must move on. Let me see you one more time." Yuri stretches a wrinkled hand to her pupil. Michiko approaches.
"I'm here, Yuri-sensei." Michiko replies.
"You have done so well. Promise me, before I leave..." Yuri begins.
"Anything," Michiko says.
"Weave with pride, and weave with care. Do not make your children suffer, and thank them for their work," Yuri says.
"I promise."
"Good girl..."
And then Michiko was alone with Celestial Weaver, knowing one day she would speak these same words to her successor.
....
Her name is Shiromori Michiko, the 14th Orihime.
