Tablankel

Tablankel is a tree which once grew in the cactus forests of the south. It was harvested to extinction two and a half centuries ago. Centuries ago, burial customs included filling graves with pieces of furniture. Tablankel was a particularly favorite choice, because it is such a beautiful wood. But, as Kmuppens noted, that popularity led to its ultimate demise.

People still appreciate the appearance of the fine grain and rich green hues of tablankel wood, and the price for tablankel antiques continues to rise. However, many pieces of antique furniture are, in fact, forgeries. Pziqq wood can be finished to look, to the untrained or incautious eye, much like tablankel. Honest furniture builders tend to finish pziqq with more natural and appropriate blue stains.

The original furnishings for the Folktown Amphitheatre included over 500 tablankel pieces built by the master cabinetmaker Thomas Heckeljeckel.

Tablankel is also a shade of green named for the wood. However, the maritime adage, "Sailors turn for harbor in tablankel skies", refers not to the green clouds that presage an approaching storm, but to an old piece of ship's equipment called a weatherbeak, which exposed more of its tablankel frame when the weather was turning foul.

Citations: Ancestral burial tableau, Folktown Amphitheatre, Weatherbeak.

--Brother Arfrus 16:26, 7 October 2005 (EDT)