I, Fiona Truetale, am proud to present the first-ever human edition of the Scarlet Scroll. The first Elven scroll written entirely in the Human common tongue, and boy have I been practicing my Human!
First Ever HUMAN Edition
More and more humans want to move into the great city Bloodworth, maybe you too want to live among the elves? But where to start? I’m sure you have many questions and with this scroll we aim to answer them. And to be honest, I’m just as curious to learn more about you humans as well.
Let me introduce my co-writer for this scroll, a human! Lily Forest, all the way from the inland town Slatehill, but why don’t you take it away, Lily.
Thanks, Fiona. When I first moved to Bloodworth five years ago, I could never have imagined I would write for a prestigious scroll such as this. What an honor! Moving here was the journey of a lifetime. Everything was new, it was scary and exciting in equal measure, and I had only wished a scroll like this would have existed back then.
I really hope this scroll can become a meeting place between our people, a place where we can learn and understand each other.
As you can see, this scroll is printed in both ink and blood, so that you can easily tell myself and Fiona apart and get both a human and elven perspective.
Happy reading to all humans in and around Bloodworth!
Editors Notes
The Blood & Ink Press really doesn’t reproduce the human skin and hair colors very well. We will have to look into if there is a way to introduce a third pigment to improve this. It would be great if we could get this working for the next scroll, as Elize’s spider-silks for the fashion special are in the same range of color.
-Fiona
Icarus Crane Builds Another Spire
At only 12N years (179 in human), the young Trade Prince has taken Bloodworth by storm and is starting construction on a fourth tower said to rival even Trade Princess Arwel Bloodworth’s, the city’s namesake.
“We might build it a bit higher just to keep the old federations on their toes,” Icarus said in an interview with Fiona Truetale. “In a dozen years, we have done what took them a grossury.”
The district has undergone almost constant construction since Icarus Crane bought it from the former Talon Federation. In which time, it has turn from the slum of Bloodworth to, what many call, its most desirable district.
The new spire is set to considerably expand the Tower Ward, the highest district suspended over the city between the spires, as well as almost double available space in the Mid Ward.
“We are always looking for skilled elves to join our circles, and with this much new living and working area, we will be able to expand faster than ever before,” said Icarus.
Not everyone is as cheerful, though, “We barely get any light from the sea as is,” said an elf, wanting to remain nameless, living in the deep part of the Low Ward, “not even the Wrathflame will shine in here now.”
Learn to Count Like an Elf
Are you confused by elven numbers containing letters or maybe the price of this very scroll was two more drops than you expected? Worry not, we will explain!
Elves count using dozens rather than tens as we do. The human number 12 is written as 10 in elven (meaning 1 dozen and 0 units), or the price of this scroll is 15 drops in elven (1 dozen and 5 units = 17 in human). As a result, the elves also have two more numbers, after their 9(9) comes C(10) and N(11) before you get to 10(12).
They count years in Dozade (elven 10 or human 12 years), Grossury (100 or 12×12=144 years) and Triquennium (1000 or 12×12×12=1728 years).
The Curious Human
You ask, we answer! Send in your questions and we will answer without blushing… too much.
Heny asks: Hi. I live on a shadow-grain farm two leagues outside of Bloodworth, but my dream is to move into the big city. What kind of work can a human like me find there?
Hi, Heny. Finding work is not always easy, but there usually is work for humans in the lower wards. You can do manual labor in the docks of all three major federations loading ships, processing the sea creatures to extract oil, or walking in the wheels that pull the lifts. If you have any experience in carpentry, blacksmithing, leather/textile-work, or other trained skills, you might be able to find a low position in these professions. There can also be work in the unruled districts, but we do not recommend law-abiding humans to live there.
A new, up-and-coming trend among circles in the Mid Ward is to hire human servants to help in the household. These circles can’t afford elven servants as the richer circles have, but with more humans in the city, it’s becoming more acceptable for them to work in the household, too.
Edrin asks: Hello! I’ve got a question. I heard an elf couple talking about finding a “seer,” what is that about?
Hi, Edrin, this had me confused for a long time, too. It turns out, elves don’t just come as male or female, but also have another sex, too, called a seer. Physically, they look just like females, so you can’t really tell them apart. Maybe Fiona can add something here I don’t really know much more… For that matter, Fiona are you a seer or a female?
We elves found it just as strange when we heard you don’t have seers, like how does your children get their soul? In any case, Lily, you have just made a bit of a blunder, exactly the kind of thing we want to highlight in this scroll. Asking if someone is a seer is considered quite rude. A lot of seers keep it secret, as they don’t want the attention it brings. They are said to be able to sense each other when close because of their connection to the realms beyond, but there is an unwritten rule among them to never reveal anyone else as a seer.
Only about a sixth of elves are seers, while males and females make up a third and half respectively, making the seers very sought after. This answers the common question of why there are seemingly twice as many elf females (including the seers) as males.
Hanna asks: Hi, Lily and Fiona. How come I have never seen a pregnant elf? Do you hide inside the entire time or what?
Hi, Hanna. Long answer short, elves lay eggs. We don’t grow the children in our belly as you humans do. The eggs are then, in most cases, cared for by a circle specializing in raising the young. The male and female parents usually die when giving their souls to the eggs.