Yav Gre: The Making of Tap Cards
Tap cards are common tools in Keyrityi clerical sets. The laborious task of calligraphy as each line is drawn via pen is shortened with the simple applied pressure of wood upon paper. Critics lament the lack of art in modern writing, but the tap cards themselves are elements of culture, finely crafted through hours' worth of creativity and design.
Lumber is scarce on Keyrit, so artisans optimize the thin sheets they purchase. Because quadrilateral tap cards' sides are unique in length, mere tessellations cannot suffice. Professional designers have theorized efficient methods to fit an optimal amount. Among the loveliest is the tuergo design, in which tap cards share a single corner and fan outwards as a flower's petals. Another repeatedly conjoins the tap cards' ends together, alternating orientation and oscillating upwards then downwards, mimicking maritime waves.
The designs are, perhaps poetically, hand drawn. The crafter acquires a blade and presses into the wood along the markings. Eventually, it punctures. The blade draws backwards, repeating the indent until the summation is parts. The resultant prism's shallow cross section would produce narrow rectangles instead of preferred lines. The edges are thusly rounded into dull curves, or sharpened into thin points. Either way, one point touches paper: the intended effect.
Of course, this method was invented and honed back when Keyrit was a handful of settlements scattered across the mountains. Nowadays, this regional empire spans multiple continents. Lumber is daily imported from Unterritory, and excess is encouraged. Tap cards are mass produced in Welkwu, bypassing the final need for artistry. The desire to save small shavings pales when Telkessan harvests trees in massive plantations. Perhaps, if the healing chains of commerce are severed, Keyrityi locals will return to tradition. Until then, a few wizened artists whittle away, carving their own little chips as a hobby that transcends time.
Lumber is scarce on Keyrit, so artisans optimize the thin sheets they purchase. Because quadrilateral tap cards' sides are unique in length, mere tessellations cannot suffice. Professional designers have theorized efficient methods to fit an optimal amount. Among the loveliest is the tuergo design, in which tap cards share a single corner and fan outwards as a flower's petals. Another repeatedly conjoins the tap cards' ends together, alternating orientation and oscillating upwards then downwards, mimicking maritime waves.
The designs are, perhaps poetically, hand drawn. The crafter acquires a blade and presses into the wood along the markings. Eventually, it punctures. The blade draws backwards, repeating the indent until the summation is parts. The resultant prism's shallow cross section would produce narrow rectangles instead of preferred lines. The edges are thusly rounded into dull curves, or sharpened into thin points. Either way, one point touches paper: the intended effect.
Of course, this method was invented and honed back when Keyrit was a handful of settlements scattered across the mountains. Nowadays, this regional empire spans multiple continents. Lumber is daily imported from Unterritory, and excess is encouraged. Tap cards are mass produced in Welkwu, bypassing the final need for artistry. The desire to save small shavings pales when Telkessan harvests trees in massive plantations. Perhaps, if the healing chains of commerce are severed, Keyrityi locals will return to tradition. Until then, a few wizened artists whittle away, carving their own little chips as a hobby that transcends time.
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