Solo The Invention of the Ship...

[Aventis]

10th of Autumn, 514 AV

The night wasn't necessarily dark enough to be considered dark. It was the kind of dark that embraced you, that made you whole, that gave you comfort. It was the kind of night that sung of unsung heroes, the kind that made a man question, made a man think, whether or not he enjoyed it. The stars, oh, were the stars bright. They had only just shown their beautiful, glimmering selves. It was beautiful. The shadows danced and flickered without light, their very selves filled with artificial joy, without being. The lights upon the torches, the lights upon the stars, paled the sun and the moon by comparison. The blackness Aventis found himself in was inky, but not inky as to intimidate, inky as a piece of art is, just on the cusp of becoming a masterpiece. The night expressed something, this night did. It expressed the long-felt fear of the dark, the loneliness of the shadows at night. It expressed also the joy of having been seldom seen, having seldom been heard, but having much to tell as a result. Like an old friend, the night, this night, embraced Aventis. And Aventis, lonesome upon the city wall, embraced it back.

It dawned upon him, all at once, that there is no quick and time is as he perceived it to be, which is why this night is beautiful and so strange, so long, so extravagant.It was all because Aventis allowed it to be. It was a matter of perspective, as most to all things are. Tonight was the kind of night to make a man think. The usually busy streets of Syliras were replaced by quiet, loving bliss which kissed his ears with each passing second. The usually loud, heavy speaking, the usually inaudible thoughts that gathered in Aventis' conscience like the snowflakes in a blizzard (too many to count, too many to focus upon) were clear and simple. A beautiful night consists of not physical beauty, for the night cannot be physical, it is too reclusive, nor can it be beautiful aesthetically, for the night, and the day for that matter, simply are. They are a swirling mass of possibility. The night is beautiful by chance and even then, the night is only beautiful if you let it be so. This is what had put Aventis into a good mood. The night, ever so reclusive, had decided to flirt with him.

Aventis stood. And he began walking.

Aventis

[Aventis]

Breath tastes sour on an occasion. One, Aventis theorized, cannot assume every breath of his life to taste of his benevolent expectations without tasting bitter dry air. But you cannot live without this breath, and you cannot be rid of any breath after it. It happens. It cannot be avoided. One of these slow monstrosities had crept its rigid passage down Avents' throat, but much like the beauty of that that has no beauty, he accepted it. And breathed again, hoping not for a similar occurrence, but breathed once again, hoping for no outcome whatsoever. Not in the sense that Aventis wished not to breath, rather that Aventis knew there would be others, and the majority of which would be benevolent, and with knowing this, he smiled. Fully. To himself, of course.

The nature of all things is to be unclear.

Know without understanding is to assume, and to assume is to look the fool. It can never be said that the scholar truly misunderstood his subject of expertise fully, rather he misinterpreted a feature of it. Along with being able to understand, however, there is the ability to misunderstand. This is the sour breath, the bitter one. The one that refuses to be ignored, that refuses to not be felt. It is there, everpresent a possibility. It is failure, a misunderstanding, a mistake. But with it stem two vague options on which to grow yourself, to grow and better or grow and hinder said growth with grotesque dishevelment. The first option is to take it in stride, which is either a neutral response or a response that gives yourself leeway to learn or love the mistake you made. The second option is the path most unknowingly but yet most commonly taken; the option to take the mistake and fear it, letting it sting and depress you rather than allowing yourself to alleviate the issue from your immediate thoughts. Beyond comprehension is expertise. Beyond that is mastery. There is always mistake within these levels of knowing.

It is unavoidable, and yet, depending on the mindset, resolvable according to either yourself or the people around you, and a large part of it is how the issue is handled... Aventis concluded, dragging his hand against the asperous bricks of a wall, turning a corner.

Aventis

[Aventis]

The general consensus of life is not general, it varies. It varies greatly. This occurred to Aventis as he trekked along the streets of Syliras, following the darkness he could not seem to find anymore. Life, it seems, is a personalized thing. he thought, which is true. The opinion of life is not a shared one, but a generalized one. This is a common thought, but usually, no one delves too deep into the matter at hand. The thought that is so complex as to appoint personification to a number of opinions must be worth a moment of pondering. To elaborate, the thought includes a number of core principles that define it. Number one is that the opinion is powerful enough to any given person as to be drafted as part of their person. Number two is the assumption that every being sentient enough to understand mortality have thought upon it and elaborated enough to form an opinion. And number three, that each opinion varies in some way, which is important.

People have a popular thesis that all people are different, from Akalak to Akvatari. We are all different. But how is this possible? There's a spot in the coincidence through common occurrence where the strange meets the expected. To think, there are far more days when one will retire in the evening to think "That was weird" than "Nothing happened, At all." so, then, is it strange to not have something strange happen? Yes... That makes sense... thought Aventis. So, then, would it be likely that this thought, this opinion individual to every sentient being, isn't individual? Is there someone in Zeltiva or Ravok that have thought the same thoughts as I have?

This question rang eerily in Aventis' conscience as he slowly became aware of his weariness, and decided to walk back to the Welcome Home, a short walk from where he was now.

Aventis

[Aventis]

As he walked, Aventis thought about the lonesome. Why they were what they were. As a lot of things, reasons differed, but they all had one thing in common: People. Every person knows people. But the people that the lonesome were subjected to either did not care for them or about them as to leave them in this state. Why? Did they do something wrong? Jealousy? Regardless, those in that instance have been cast out. Perhaps because they have been perceived as less than human? If so, what do other humans perceive as human? Is it a quality, a state of mind? Do other things have the potential to become human, in a sense? If one man were to create another, would he be able to be called human? If a human lost his ability to laugh, to cry, to care, would he still be a human? Would he be a shell of what he was?

The topic was blurred and unclear, almost unfit as a topic for Aventis to think about. But he did so anyway, for the sake of curiosity.

A man is as follows: Alive. That is all. Right? Or... A Nuit, or a Ghost... What then? Are they alive? In spirit, perhaps... Is that what constitutes being human? Yes... That must be it. But then... To take away someone's quality of being human, you'd have to take their spirit, all they are, away. Or, at least, a shard of it to render him less man than what he was. When people say that there are fates worse than death... This must be what they are speaking of. To live but to not live fully.

Aventis

[Aventis]

As Aventis neared the Welcome Home, a final thought was put into his head. The creation begets the next. Any one circumstance can lead way to a number of different circumstances, all ruled by chance and only that. Tonight, the night, so beautiful, could have been cloudy and dull, which would entice Aventis to go home the moment it got dark. But it didn't. Tonight, he could've met a beautiful maiden and fallen in love. Wishful thinking, but that didn't happen. There could have also been people on these streets, but there were not, which led Aventis to find his own way through the familiar streets.

Aventis was almost to the Welcome Home, now.

Hurriedly, he finished his thought. While we do not know for sure of possible outcomes, we know for sure of only what has happened, not of what could be or will be and sometimes not even of what was. The invention of the ship led to many things. It led to trade, prosperity, Svefra having some form of purpose. But it also gave way to naval battles, a new way to die. The invention of the ship is the invention of the shipwreck. That is the danger of an advancement, and that is the hamartia. Whether or not an invention is worth its own creation is completely at the whim of the inventor. It can be dangerous, and that is what holds progress back. The fear of one in a million outweighs the prosperity of 999,999. That is what must be avoided.

Aventis then reflected, with this thought, upon his own life. He had long wondered if he could be of some use, but then shied away from any prosperous opportunities for fear of something happening, of going wrong. That was it. Tomorrow he does something.

Something important.

And with that, he entered the Welcome Home, and retired for the night.

Aventis

[Sayana]

Your Grades Have Arrived Aventis Skills: Skill EXP Earned Observation +1 Philosophy +5 Lores: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder When the strange is normal, normal becomes strange Being human is to have a spirit Action begets a multitude of potential outcomes, good and bad Comments : It was a lovely read and it really got me thinking (especially trying to convert his abstract thoughts into single line lores). It was a great stepping stone for Aventis becoming a squire and the character development surrounding it. Just a reminder that a decent post is a minimum of 300-400 words. Some of your posts were on the borderline. Rhetoric was not awarded because it involves actually speaking to a person, and with a purpose. Had Aventis been speaking his thoughts to an audience he would have definitely received points in rhetoric. However, I hope the experience in philosophy makes up for it. Just as a reminder, it's nearly the winter season and you'll need to deduct your seasonal expenses for fall (or state that as a squire they are accounted for). Once it is winter grades cannot be awarded without an up to date CS with regards to seasonal expenses. Don't forget to mark your grade request as "graded", but keep the link posted so that the ST can check the grade (this is particularly useful when the ST needs to update shield points or the characters SS page). If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message. Enjoy your grade.