<strong>Location:</strong>Professor Durgan's Workshop<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Clio<br/><br/>Durgan grunted in agreement about the “one mistake” for the bandsaw.  “It’s completely intuitive to you because it’s in your blood.  Some students just have no interest at all in creation beyond what they think will be scoring easy grades.  They’ll spend the better part of an hour every day making themselves beautiful for as long as they can, but fail to consider how a true work of art can outlast its maker.”<br/><br/>He responded about Conroy with, “Steel can be expensive, but it’s durable and will last for the decades of the life of the patient.  I’m old enough to remember a similar crafter in another city who tried to use porcelain, her favorite material, only to have people either have all sorts of accidents or life in careful fear for their lives with such a fragile appendage.  Always know the strengths and weaknesses of each material you work with, and if you don’t, I know the right books to get from the library.”<br/><br/>As she took the Bubo figure apart, Durgan got up on a stool to watch her work, giving a nod of satisfaction as she took it apart and put it back together again without issue.  “It worked just fine until the Clash of the Titans remake, when they showed the old Bubo and it was rejected.  Remakes!”  He spat upon the floor.  “Tell the story correctly or not at all.  You’ll only get newcomers to feel disdain for the old myths and stories.”<br/><br/>Shaking his head, he took a moment to compose himself before continuing, “I’m not beloved by Hephaestus, but I know the runes well, and did my best there.”  He gestured that it hadn’t been enough.  “A cyclops might be able - you know how well they got along with the Great Maker - but a dwarf’s prayers and sacrifices didn’t get a response.”  This didn’t bother him; things got weird and difficult to predict when mixing myths.  Besides, the Theoi were fickle about answering.<br/><br/>“You’ve already demonstrated that you pass the class, so if you need or want to use this workshop for your projects, you’re welcome for as long as you’re a part of this university.”  He gave a solemn nod.  “What you’ll want to learn about are sacrifices, the magical part of the equation.”<br/><br/>Professor Durgan straightened into his proper teaching role.  “A common misconception is that all sacrifices have to be grand and elaborate affairs.  Certainly they can be; Odin sacrificed an eye to gain the knowledge of the runes.  Human sacrifice<em>works</em>, but there are plenty of reasons not to do it, which is<em>why</em>it works.”<br/><br/>Hands on the table, he looked up to her.  “What a crafter has to offer is blood, sweat, and tears.  We make gifts for our loved ones, and we make them the best we can, wanting them to be as eternal as our love.  It’s much the same for the gods, with respect instead of love.  A statue created to appease Aphrodite should be as beautiful as possible, and even though it’ll usually be destroyed as part of the sacrifice, she should be able to tell that it<em>would</em>have lasted for eons if properly maintained.”<br/><br/>A soft smile crossed his face.  “Don’t attempt to make something so astonishing that even Hephaestus wouldn’t be able to match it; that would be much more apt to offend one of the Theoi.  Show instead just how good you are, just how appreciative and receptive you are to the art of craftsmanship.”<br/><br/>He gestured around the workshop to welcome her to use it.  “I’d say extra credit if you want to try, but you already passed.”  He smiled all the more.  “From one crafter to another, though, if you only made the attempt just to impress me, I’d be disappointed.”<br/><br/>If Clio wanted to try to make something of her absolute best ability that would be worth sacrificing, she certainly had plenty to work with here, both in terms of materials and tools.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>OOC:</strong>One idea that occurred to me is that you the player may want Clio to get to keep the replica Bubo.  That’s a decision you’ll get to make, but if so, you as the player would decide, and it’d either come out of your seven Visitation Birthright dots or paid for with XP.  Let me know in your Discord channel when you read this.