The Kite Engineers of Azin
The following is from the journal of Master Engineer Cavendon Riven of the city of Dawn.
"My Lord, I beg you to forgive us. The obelisk weighs almost 5800 stones (around 80,000 lbs.) and we only have 50 laborers. I fear we have failed you. Even with the A-Frame we will not be able to erect the obelisk upright." The human foreman apologized to the haeflin noble.
The haeflin smiled and wondered why he was given the title of a nobleman when all he wanted was to build great structures that would defend the people of the alliance from the dark. Like this structure which is the first in a series of enchanted marble obelisks. The obelisk has a hollowed out bottoms that will be filled with empowering gems and magical materials; he was told that the gems and magical materials allow the obelisks to absorb energy from the mystical realms and recharge the charms and spells the mages will place on the obelisk. Magick matters very little to me he continued to think; however if the charms will stop the dark I am all for it. Even now the mages are continuing to craft the last of the items that will go into the bottom of the obelisk and upon it. They even told me that the obelisk itself is now enchanted. It does not feel or look or even weigh any different from the time my team sculpted it from the stone of the Kallon quarry a year ago. It took the mages over a year to enchant it. I hope I am blind to this enchantment for the only alternative is that the mages have lied to us. Almost losing himself in thought the haeflin began to focus his eyes on the human foreman and smiled. He took another moment to articulate his words.
"Threat not good foreman the wizards and sorcerers of the Kingdom of Azin have crafted and added their magick to structure. It is now time that we use our own magick to raise it to its rightful height, the magick of knowledge." The haeflin noticed the bewildered look on the face for the foreman and decided to take the direct path with the human. "Foreman; have two of your laborers and go to my supply wagon. There you will find sturdy ropes and a green sack. Bring them here." The foreman bowed and did as the Haeflin commanded.
In a few moments the laborers brought forward the sack and the ropes. The haeflin instructed the laborers on where to fashion the ropes to the end of the Obelisk and run the ends through the A-frame. The foreman attempted to plead that there was not enough man power to raise the obelisk the haeflin just put up his hand and stated. "Man power or Haeflin power will not erect the Obelisk. The power of the wind and the knowledge on how to use the wind will.”
The foreman now confused stood there with his mouth opened as the haeflin opened the green sack and began to pull out a blue and solver colored fabric. The fabric was of nothing the foreman had ever seen before. It was soft to the touch and held the dye very well. Answering the foreman’s puzzled look. “It is a fabric called cotton from Terralen and yes we will use this to raise the obelisk.” The foreman’s confusion turned to curiosity. The haeflin instructed the laborers how to attach the cloth what he called a kite to the ends of the rope opposite to the ones tied to the obelisk. The haeflin then mimicked the action required to send the kite into the air. He then conceded that his legs were too small to get up enough speed to raise the kite enough to take flight. The foreman and three of his laborers stood in for the haeflin and with a little coaching from the haeflin they managed to get the kite to capture enough air to send it aloft.
The site of the kite flying to the laborers was like seeing a saint appear before them. The haeflin noted their looks of amazement and pure awe at the site of a simple cloth covered wooden framed kite. As the kite gained height the haeflin waited and then the sounds of stone being dragged across wooden logs began to echo in everyone’s ears. The laborers amazement increased and they could not believe their ears or eyes as the obelisk slowly moved into its final position. The obelisk took just under an hour to journey to its final position. During that time the haeflin instructed the laborers how to guide the stone obelisk with the kite.
The team of laborers were overjoyed that the task was complete. The haeflin noble had two of the laborers go to one of the wagons and fetch a few kegs of ale to show his appreciation for their work and trust. As the two began to walk to the wagon they dropped to their knees as did the rest of the Laboring force that was assembled. The Haeflin turned to see what the cause of this and to his surprised he saw the banner of Duke Tully flapping in the air and being flanked by two columns of mounted warriors.
The haeflin engineer smiled as the Duke Tully approached for he knew he had just won over the Dukes skepticism with regards to the use of kites in building projects.
Historical Note:
The Azin Kite Engineers came to be from the haeflins discovering ancient texts on glyphs from the Gallison Estralla Empire that depicted the builders, and engineers of the Gallison Estralla Empire using kites to move and emplace large objects some weighing over 22000 tons. The haeflins discovered the glyphs in the Azin summer of TK 1038 in the heart of Terla.
