Woven Egg - The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia

Woven Egg

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper 

© 2017 Christopher Burdett

2565.6

 Since her arrival in the Bazaar, nearly two thousand years ago, Shaper has been making and selling living tools. Stories of how Shaper makes these tools are as varied as her creations. It is widely accepted that some fairly powerful magicks and unorthodox mathematics are in use. Even so, there remains a missing piece to the puzzle that is Shaper's work. A missing piece that no one has been able to recreate, which is how Shaper continues her monopoly on living tools. Through my research, this missing piece is a device or construct referred to only as the Egg. 

While I have not been able to find any visual representations of the Egg, I have been able to uncover several descriptions. Of the dozen or so reports I have discovered, these three stand out. Nine hundred fifty-six years ago, Sysrus Ghet described the Egg as being, "Between five and six cubits in height. The sickly skin is fleshy and wet yet firm to the touch. The pale form is covered in holes from which Shaper's creations spring forth." Five hundred ninety-three years ago, Rhhutenfur K'lif Prex described the Egg as being, "A massive forty-six cubits in height, its black surface rippling with unseen power. All around its folded and creased form are large viewing ports where one can watch magick become life." One hundred two years ago Henturjox the Acclaimed described the Egg as being, "A grotesque blasphemy standing roughly twenty cubits tall. The form of the Egg is always changing - dripping, oozing, bubbling up, and caving in on itself. It is a nightmare made real. At the base can be found a massive belching maw that spits forth the vilest creations. These creations are little more than squirming feted sacks that give the appearance of life. The smell alone could knock a lesser being dead."*

Reconciling these three descriptions into one object is hard. It leaves me to speculate that either the Egg has changed over these many years or that there is, in fact, more than one Egg. The latter being most plausible simply due to the high volume of tools produced by Shaper. Since it is impossible to gain access to Shaper's tower, it is impossible to verify any of this myself. Much like the Gray Wanderer, the Egg remains one of the great mysteries of the Bazaar.

*It should be noted for transparency in my research that Sysrus Ghet, Rhhutenfur K'lif Prex, and Henturjox the Acclaimed were all thieves. Their descriptions are a result of them breaking into Shaper's tower. While some may discredit their accounts, just because they are thieves does not make them liars. It should be added that Sysrus and Rhhutenfur were listed as being murdered shortly after documenting what they had seen in the tower. Henturjox the Acclaimed was said to have lost her mind and committed suicide after recording what she had seen in the tower.

Agatha Luculent Habile, Acolyte of the Impure Husk

(Research Notes)

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