Fifteenth-century Samarkand

[hyarrowen]

Two questions, one major, one  utterly trivial

Comments

[arantzain]

I don't think I'm qualified to answer this in the kind of specific cultural detail that would benefit you most, but I can offer some historical and writerly inclinations

[arantzain]

I should add --I remember you said he was an administrator, but I'm thinking more of entry level skills; as a non-entity he'll have to start in a position that won't require the especial trust of an employer, unless he can present credentials or a recommendation that will carry some weight with someone.

Also, what's his moral compass? There's always work for the none-too-particular in a city, and almost certainly entry-level openings in one or another crooked business.

[hyarrowen]

Should have said he's travelling with a friend who's been to Samarkand once before and who, now you mention it, has the kind of specialized skills that would certainly be in demand in a cultural capital. So he could get work soon after his friend, which might even get one or both of them entry to the palace and a sighting of the giraffe! (I keep bumping into unexpected giraffes while researching this story. They are obviously determined to get a mention, and Samarkand seemed as good a place as any, since the travellers had to go there anyway.)

And thanks for the plot structure suggestions as well. I've got a couple of other sticking points where they will come in very handy. I'm new to this game and was getting bogged down a bit. Most grateful.

[corvideye]

The setting alone makes me want to read this, but the phrase "bumping into unexpected giraffes" really does!

[corivax]

I'm afraid I don't know anything about fifteenth-century Samarkand (I think you're going to be the person in this community who knows most about it), but I've been to twenty-first century Ulaan Baatar, and it looked like people looking for short term work hung out at a specific spot in the air market, and herders looking for someone to help chase down sheep for shearing or something would know to go to that spot. I think this only applies to short-term unskilled labor, not for soldiers or administrators. It might be a start, until he can find something more permanent, if he's broke enough to need employment right away.

Sorry I don't have any real help for you. :)

[hyarrowen]

No, that really is a help. It looks as though the market is definitely the place for him and his friend to go, especially as Samarkand was the trading hub of Asia. Plenty of opportunities there, both for finding a job and working their way up.

Many thanks!

[corivax]

When and where can I read this story? It sounds awesome.

[hyarrowen]

It'll be over at Historic Slash,
http://community.livejournal.com/historic_slash/
maybe at the end of next month? I'm an abysmally slow writer.

Thanks for the encouragement! *sharpens pencil, considers plot holes, gibbers a bit*