Goal
Once again, 10,000 words. This time, I'm taking a look at a bit of a romantic comedy slice of life story. Our Stonemason Ternah is settling down in his craft, no longer an Apprentice and as such is keeping eye towards his future and dreams of having a family.
Overview
Ternah, a quiet, introspective craftsman stonemason heads home with his Master, discussing the upcoming
Sage Festival. As a newly marked Craftsman, Ternah will be considered an eligible bachelor, a facet of life that both excites and terrifies the young man with dreams of having a family.
The changing of the seasons
In contrast to A Desert Vision and it's themes of plant growth, the constant references to fall imply a growing change within Hyrule itself. This theme plays out in Ternah's romantic interest towards Nerah, and her own temperament towards his approaches.
Thematically, this story bridges a gap between
Hands Along the River and
A Plea to Power while narratively opening up the world of background characters lives.
Relations
Ternah
A quite, studious young man. He is full of hope and dreams of a fulfilling life spent with Nerah, the young daughter of the local blacksmith and the woman of his dreams. Ternah is strong but gentle in demeanor and quite conservative in his disposition towards others,
Nerah
Strong willed and as strong as (if not more so) Ternah, Nerah does not see her self beholden to any man. Her connection and obedience to her father comes from being his only child as well as one of the best apprentices he ever trained. She doesn't dislike Ternah, but sees his worldview as old-fashioned and terrible for her own dreams. But the arrival of more suitors from distant villages may affect her opinion.
Stone Masons
Ternah's Master and his wife, who have taught and cared for Ternah for the last three years. Since Ternah is still working on the same project as his teacher, he now rents his room from them, using funds from smaller side projects. Both care deeply for him as if he was their youngest son, though his Master would never insinuate as much.
Nerah's Father
A gruffly friendly man of immense size. Deeply protective of Nerah, but recognizes her wants for personal freedom. This is a struggle as he is getting on in age and does not believe others would be as accepting of Nerah as the local blacksmith, especially if another man was to come into town to do the job. Wants her to have security against the outside world.
Rolare
A visitor from Necluda who is instantly smitten with Nerah at the Autumnal Festival. Vies for her attention throughout the season and gets into a few tests of wits with Ternah over the course. In the end, his lifestyle offers Nerah too much support outside of her own wants and growths, giving her no room to live.
Baltan
A journeyman blacksmith that also vies for Nerah's hand, but only in order to have control of her families shop and name in the region. Sees their location as being near enough to Hyrule Castle Town to provide good name recognition and work without constantly being subjected to difficult orders. Sees both Ternah and Rolare as peaks that must be driven from town and away from Nerah.
Comments