The Collector of Wind

Made for the contest at #GameArt [link]

The Collector of Wind

-- “In this bottle here, lad, is not a mass of air. It is what moves that air – the memory, the character of the wind, its spirit! The longer you keep it open, the more air comes in contact with it – the stronger it will get. That’s right, place it on a ship and you’re there!”

(This is an NPC character for an adventure game.
The main character of the game struggles to get home, but he can only do so by ship, and the only wind that can propel it this far is kept safe in the Collector's vaults. The player will need to negotiate, resulting in a quest to bring him another rare wind as payment for this one.)

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THE STORY

The so-called “windmaze” effect was first discovered by fishermen off the Crooked Coast, where marine breezes, caught in a maze of jagged cliffs, narrow gorges and dead ends could go on blowing for months, echoing and reflecting, unable to find the exit. For the next few centuries this phenomenon was used only by local captains, who, with a bit of enchantment, used to trap the right wind in a spare set of folded sails and release it during the calm, thus acquiring a reliable means of propulsion.
Eventually, the knowledge had spread and was put to many a good use. Some collected the Healing Wind of Athlarra – a few breaths of which are known to have cured even the most hopeless – and sold it, bottled, to those who could not themselves climb Mount Shanlaer – the only place where it ever sweeps the ground. Others made a fortune on the Dragonfly Breeze, a wind with a fragrance so unearthly that it is said to be remembered for life, up to the point of being addicted: people who had no second chance to experience it often got increasingly depressed, ending up on the verge of suicide.
Finally, there were rumors of the few traders offering the Toxic Draught of År, but as it was swiftly banned by the Guild, the rumors died away.
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THE CHARACTER

The Larrkyaθad (pl. high silorian: larr-"wind" + kyaθ-"take a bit of everything" = “wind collectors”) emerged some decades ago, when the common interest in the wind market had somewhat faded.
Unlike the merchants, who are only interested in winds presenting commercial value, a true collector is outright fascinated with everything from a slightest breeze to a mightiest gale.
Wind collectors are usually wealthy and educated people (both traits being essential for a hobby like this) with a noble background (retired head of the academies, statesmen, former royal advisors and such), extremely well versed in their subject, as well as in geography, languages and seafaring.
Being, by and large, rather eccentric, they are not stopped by the necessity of obtaining the samples personally, since most of their future exhibits, despite the rarity and remote place of origin, have little practical use, and no businessman would go through the trouble of trading them. That’s why the collectors are almost always on the move: most of them own a ship and use it both as a means of travel and a place of residence, with their collection kept therein, though some prefer to reside ashore.

Apart from that, they are also known for their excessive, flowing garments, often comprised of several layers of cloth, ribbons and lace. This outfit, doubling as a perfect windmaze, is therefore used in the process of harvesting, when a collector stands on a high ground, spreads his arms and faces the wind, which pierces the outer coat and begins circulating between the layers of thin fabric deliberately arranged within. This is the perfect moment to filter it out into a glass or clay vial of local origin (no one knows why this particular detail is vital, but it explains the dazzling variety of jars and bottles in every collection) and put a cork.
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31.03.2011