Mahsiti the Weaver¶
Domains: Creation, Knowledge, Trickery
Mahsiti the Weaver was a fresco painter and mathematician of the hakaan who discovered, or invented, a way of drawing very precise geometric shapes following patterns that repeat at any scale. Believing it could be a new way to devise spells, she took to weaving tapestries using lines of thread to better understand the numerical relationships within the patterns.
It took time to master weaving, but she took to it quickly and produced a series of essays, each a tapestry, proving correct her suspicions. The Tapestries of Mahsiti are a series of thirteen legendary artifacts of varying sizes, one as small as a napkin, one over two hundred feet long. Each has a powerful spell written into it, available for use by anyone who can read the patterns.
One of Mahsiti's weavings, titled The Shepherd and the Sheep, was used by her whole clan when war came to them. The hakaan had no doubt they could defend their home but were equally certain there would be enormous loss of life. Mahsiti suggested they use the tapestry, but the people of her clan did not understand. Use it how? It was simply a picture of a tree in a field with many sheep gathered around it.
But this image, as Mahsiti showed, was formed out of thousands of repeating geometric patterns. The tapestry had been a gift from Mahsiti to her chieftain who hung it in their great receiving hall. Mahsiti cast the spell within the tapestry—and walked into the tapestry. The people were amazed and followed.
When the enemy army arrived, they found the clan's villages empty, and did not notice the tapestry with hundreds of hakaan depicted within. Once the enemy left, Mahsiti finished the spell, and her people emerged, safe.
Mahsiti teaches that art and science, creativity and knowledge, are the same thing. Those who follow her teachings believe that the act of creating, of bringing a new idea or work of art into being, is the act of participating in the same process the gods used to create the world.