Carpenter

Carpenters are skilled craftspeople who design, shape, and assemble wooden structures, furnishings, and instruments across the Continuum Universes. Their work spans from practical construction to refined artistry, depending on regional traditions and available materials.

Overview

A carpenter’s craft is defined by precision and structural understanding. Whether erecting timber frameworks, repairing dwellings, or producing fine cabinetry, carpenters combine manual skill with technical knowledge of wood behavior — grain direction, tension, moisture content, and resilience.

In Midheim, carpentry remains a respected and well-regulated trade under the Guild of the Last Grain. Apprentices undergo multi-year training in joinery, measurement, and finishing before earning journeyman certification. Guild records emphasize safety, resource conservation, and adaptability to new materials.

Materials and Methods

Traditional carpentry employs common and renewable woods native to the region — oak, pine, and ash are preferred for their strength and availability. Valorîin culture discourages the harvesting of rare or endangered trees except for ceremonial use, reflecting an ethic of sustainable resource management rather than mysticism.

Modern carpenters increasingly integrate Synthwoods, engineered composites developed from plant cellulose and synthetic resins. Synthwoods mimic natural grain while offering improved resistance to rot, compression, and temperature variation. In advanced cities of Midheim and the wider Continuum, Synthwood structures have become standard in public architecture, shipbuilding, and modular housing.

Typical tools include:

• Chisels and planes – for shaping and smoothing surfaces.
• Joiner’s hammers and pegs – for structural assembly without nails.
• Arc-saws – powered tools for precision cutting, though banned in protected forest zones.
• Resin-bond presses – used in Synthwood fabrication.

The Guild of the Last Grain

The Guild of the Last Grain is Midheim’s primary carpenters’ guild, maintaining both craftsmanship standards and forest-use quotas. Membership is required for commercial woodwork within city limits.

The Guild motto, *“Every plank remembers the forest,”* is taken less as theology than as professional philosophy — a reminder that every resource carries environmental cost. Guild charters enforce mandatory replanting for every licensed harvest, and fines for waste or unregistered felling.

The Guild also manages workshops, material storage, and training programs, often cooperating with urban engineers and architects on public projects such as bridges, airship docks, and civic halls.

Role in Society

Carpenters are essential in construction, maintenance, and manufacturing throughout the Continuum. Their work supports not only architecture but also transportation — airframes, ship hulls, and even components of early mechanical automata rely on precision joinery.

Many rural carpenters specialize in agricultural infrastructure: granaries, mills, and irrigation sluices. Urban carpenters, by contrast, often work in modular Synthwood and composite frameworks, merging traditional design with industrial precision.

In Valorîin settlements, carpenters are known for combining functional durability with restrained aesthetics — polished surfaces, symmetrical joints, and subtle geometric inlays rather than ornamentation.

Trivia

• Jovanah spent his early mortal life as a carpenter; some guilds cite his craftsmanship as an example of diligence rather than divinity.
• Valorîin carpenters avoid using “rare” woods such as Lûmol Tree or Vâlen Tree, reserving them for sanctioned ceremonial or archival works.
• Synthwood originally entered Guild use through trade with Galaxa engineers, though some traditionalists argue it lacks the “temper” of real timber.