Completed [Undeniable Interests] Writing 101

[Shane Wallsly]

Timestamp: Dayy 55 of Fall 513 AV (18th Bell) Shane didn't enjoy handing over the three Gold Mizas to his employer. After all that was practically his entire salary for the day. A whole day of work gone in a blink of an eye. It wasn't even for something he needed. It was just to improve at his job! Then again Shane could see it wasn't all for naught. Avira was a fair man and when Shane was good enough at writing he would surely give him some form of reward for helping him copy out books. Avira took him further into the back of the shop than Shane had ever been. He could hardly keep up with the old man who traversed the labyrinth of shelves like the Minotaur himself. Eventually they found a ratty old writing desk. Avira had set out a bundle of parchment (exactly five sheets) with a quill laid out on one side of it and a vial of ink on the other side of the paper. There was also a book opened up on the desk. “I expect you outta here by twentieth bell. The book is a beginner's guide to writing. I expect you to learn from it and copy it out as much as you can. Leave your work on my desk when you leave. The book stays here unless you've got a spare thirty-five gold mizas to keep me company in it's absence.” Avira turned then and began to walk away back into the Labyrinth. “Ummm, Sir?” Shane asked noticing quite a pressing problem it seemed Avira had missed. “Yes, Wallsly?” Avira said turning back to face him. “There's no chair.” “Oh, so there isn't.” Avira replied as if he had just noticed. “I don't know where that chair has gotten itself to. It truly is a mystery. It was here all those other days you could have started your writing practices and, who knows, might be there next time you do but it seems to have disappeared today. I'll have a talk with the Knights. Until then you'll just have to kneel.” He added before turning and walking off. It occurred to Shane then that the lack of chair was not an accident... Receipt : Room/Desk Rent* = 5 SM Quill* = 5 SM 5x Parchment* = 1 GM Black Ink (1ox Vial) = 1 GM Total = 3 GM * - These items are temporary i.e. Shane will only have them for the duration of this thread

[Shane Wallsly]

Sitting on his knees was not ideal. Especially for his first ever lesson on writing. It was, however, the only chance he was ever going to get and, if he got good enough at writing and copying books, he could probably find other employment as a scribe or copier should this employment not work out. So, sitting uncomfortably, he shifted forward and picked up the quill. It was about a foot long and pure white. It had no feathers on it. Shane had always expected there to be feathers. It seemed silly now he thought about it. Surely the feathers would get in the way of one's hand. It was then when he picked it up that he realised he really had no idea how he was meant to be holding it when he was writing. He flicked through the book and, soon enough, he saw a neat diagram showing the hand as it held the quill even going so far as to labelling the fingers. Of course Shane didn't know all of the finger names so he had to check them all in the passage that followed. There was the thumb, obviously, that was placed on the side of the pen. There was the index finger, the next finger along from the thumb, which pressed don lightly on the top. There was the middle finger, surprisingly the finger in the middle, that held te other end from the thumb making the quill come lightly to rest on his hand at the back. The other two fingers, the ring and the baby fingers respectively, didn't do much else but strengthen the middle finger. He smiled instantly pleased with himself for mastering such a technique so quickly. He just hoped it would be right when got started. He looked up how to start in the book skipping the chapters on quill maintenance. Ah, here it is! “Dip the nib in the ink three quarters of the way” he mumbled to himself. “What is a nib?” he asked himself. He spent the next ten minutes searching for what they called the 'nib'. “Oooooh! The sharp bit! Well that makes sense.” Shane did as he was bid dipping the sharp bit, or should he say the nib, into the vial of ink. The white disappeared into the black liquid and, when it returned, it was white no longer. Shane was pleased. He was not so pleased a moment later when he dripped ink on to his parchment. “Shyke!” The boy cried and, in panic, put the quill back in the ink so that he could lift the ruined parchment up to stop it from ruining the parchment behind it. Luckily he managed to stop any of the other four sheets from being ruined. However the quill was now just a mess. Shane would have to tell Dominac... And probably have to buy a quill from him. He hated that man.

[Shane Wallsly]

Shane crept along the last row of shelves stealthily peeking out at Avira. Whenever he used Auristics on the old geezer he made sure that the man wasn't aware he was looking at him. He didn't know if Avira was an Aurist or if he had any knowledge about the detection of them so he prefered to keep it quiet. Shane gave Dominic the eye trying to sense his aura. There was a big fuzzy cloud of sarcasm or whatever feeling it was that inspired Mister Avira's sarcasm. It hung around him almost permanently. Shane was beginning to wonder if something extremely horrible hadn’t happened to Avira in his younger years. Satisfied, or rather not surprised by the reading, Shane revealled himself. Dominac looked up at the boy as he squeezed out of a row of shelves. “Done already?” The man asked facetiously. “No, Sir, you see...” Shane was hesitant but he knew he must admit his mistakes. “I spilled ink and then, in a panic, dropped my quill into the ink well.” Dominac sighed. “I see.” The cloud of sarcasm almost shrunk for a moment as he said the next sentence “Mistakes happen, Wallsly.” before returning with “New quill will cost you a silver Miza and the price will double for each quill you break. Not the one you wear down naturally mind you but I cannot abide breakages.” “B—bu-but, Sir, that's extortion!” Shane exclaimed exasperatedly. “No, Wallsly, that's supply and demand.” Receipt : Quill = 1 SM Total = 1 SM

[Shane Wallsly]

Shane grumbled moodily as he returned to the old writing desk and knelt down in front of it with his new quill. Well it wasn't exactly new. 'Twas only his forced extortionate purchasing and consequent ownership of said quill that was, in any way, new. He laid the new-ish pen down on the table and picked up the old, destroyed quill. He hated to throw anything away. After all he was quite used to having to fight for every item he'd ever owned and to part with somethig was to part with not only the experiences he had acquired in getting it but whatever he had inevitably sacrificed for it and, in the old days, that had almost always been a few meals or more. The worst memory of parting with something was a few years back when he had been forced to sell his mother's old necklace. A beautiful silver pendant that his mother had always worn around her neck. He had no idea where she had ever acquired it but could remember firmly her pressing it into his hands wordlessly in her final moments of breath. The Knights had no tolerance for what they saw as useless grovelling for food and would always shoo him off, or worse, whenever they caught him begging. One year had been extremely bad and Shane was slowly whittling away. The patrols had been doubled and Shane had brainwashed himself into taking every other moment in meditation convinced by the book that Hypnotism was his only way out. The lack of begging consequent from each of these factors had resulted in little more than a meal a week or in some cases even less. One day he had stripped away his last shred of dignity and sold his mother's necklace at the Bazaar. In his desperation he let the merchant away with paying almost nothing of it's true value. Of course to a street beggar who had never seen much money before the price had looked extremely good at the time. Enough that he didn't have to beg all winter which was just about long enough to recover. A day finally ame however when he realised what he had done. When he realised what he had sold in his stupidity. Oh by the Gods above it had been worse than dying and never. Never would he forgive himself for his most depraved moment of weakness. Ever since then he'd had a strange attachment to anything that he believed to be his. It was also that memory that had given him the final push to pursue a higher standing. His devotion to the book and it's teachings became absolute. Well as absolute as any young man can be.

[Shane Wallsly]

After reading ever more about the operation, storage and maintenance of a quill Shane finally decided to try writing again. He would attempt the alphabet. It was a marginal success in that he didn't ruin anything but less so in what he had once clearly formed in his mind as an 'a' had translated onto paper in a shape much more like a giant tilted '8'. He tried 'b' next and this time it looked rather like a small '6'. Shane bunched up his face and went for the letter 'c'. This he managed rather well however in order to get the curve right he had made it three times the size of his 'b' which was roughly one and a half times the size of his big 'a'. He decided that perhaps it would be a better idea to start all in Capitals. They were, in fact, bigger than normal letters anyway. Thus he tried out a capital 'A' and was delighted to have captured it in his first attempt. Well it was rather large and a bit squinty. What about 'B'? Well it could have had a straighter backbone but it too made Shane smile. The curvy bits of the lower case were obviously for more intermediate writers. Shane completed his first Capital Letter Alphabet and looked up with a sigh. The room was unusually dark except for the candle sitting beside him. It was also rather quiet and cold. He decided to go and check on Dominac taking his candle with him. He felt rather uneasy but he wasn't sure if that was just his exhaustion a full day of work and a surprisingly taxing first lesson of writing were wearing on him. He was surprised to find Dominac completely absent from his desk. There was however a letter and a key sitting on his desk. It read thus: “Wallsly, I write this on the ninteenth bell. I have went home. I have left you the key to lock up the shop. Know that I am showing great trust in you by doing this and if I have even an inkling of suspicion that anything is missing you will find yourself on the end of the Knight's noose. PS Post the key back under the door after you've locked it. I have a spare with me. D. Avira” Shane had no idea what the time was but he suddenly felt uneasy all alone in the Labyrinthian shop. He scuttled back to his work grabbed up his pen and ink and scuttled back to the desk. He put down the papers with his work on it and grabbed the key. He didn't even think about the massive trust Avira had placed in him today as he locked the door and posted the key under it. The only thing he thought of as he hurried home was how biting the wind was in the dark...

[Radiant]

Shane :

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+2 XP
Socialization	+1 XP
Reading	+2 XP
Writing	+2 XP
Auristics	+1 XP

Lores

Lore Earned

Not All Quills Have Feathers On Them

Writing: How To Hold A Quill

Writing: Alphabets And Numbers

Dominac Avira: Walking Bastion Of Sarcasm

Loots

Notes :

Nice solo, Shane! You nicely describe his feelings and struggles.

Shane, I'm not sure if Minotaurs (along with Dragons, Elves, and Centaurs) exist in Mizahar universe so I would suggest to avoid mentioning them in the future, maybe you can substitute the term with... let's say, a Bull Kelvic.

Also, some writing about him turning off his auristics after he used them would be appreciated. That way, readers can know (OOC-ly) when does Shane's aurist vision turn on/off. Since he's a novice, you should mention him getting headaches after he turned it off.

Don't forget to deduct your purchases from your ledger if you haven't done so.

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.