A Student (Solo)

[Jameson Kindle]

Timestamp: 1st of Winter, 511 AV, Morning
Location: Market Place

It wasn’t until Jameson woke up that morning that he felt the urge to do some exploring. Something within him roused and propelled him up and out of his bed. His legs moved him forward, across his room. He got dressed, and by the eighth bell, he was in the kitchens filling his belly up. From the kitchens, he made his way out into the city. A group of Inartans nearby were engaged in a conversation, comparing items bought in the market place. A market day! That would be interesting. He had yet to experience one since his stay in Wind Reach had commenced. Might as well take a look around and see what he could find.

As he walked, he was careful to keep to himself so as not to cause trouble or distraction amongst the bustle of people making their ways into the Courtyard of the Sky. A fleeting memory floated back to him, one of his first days in Wind Reach. A lovely redheaded woman had taken him by the hand and escorted him happily to the Valintar’s office. He vaguely remembered the gleam in her green eyes and the kindness that welled up in her soft cheeks. A smile brushed the corners of his lips as he weaved between passersby. At the entrance to the rings of stalls stood a tall, imposing man. He was Derdain, and he served as the security for the market. The short conversation that conspired revealed that Jameson was simply looking around for something that might spark his fancy.

The smell of leather caught under his nose, and he followed its general direction into the vicinity of a leathers stall. He shoved his hands down into his pockets and glimpsed at the items as he went. Fabrics of all patterns and colors filled the next stall. There was a ceramics, foods, bows, arrows, herbs… As he walked along, he paused in places to inspect and view the plethora of interesting things. It wasn’t until he crossed a carpenter’s booth that he stopped for a prolonged period of time.

”Can I help you with something? Came the voice behind the stall. When Jameson looked up he spotted a blonde man with a thick black apron on. His shirt was littered with wood shavings as his face was with hair.

Jameson nodded politely before clearing his throat. He pointed to a wooden figurine of an eagle with its spread high above its head. It was stained a deep red. ”How much is that, there?”

The man, Granyl, chucked and replied, ”The eagle is two pinions, or I can teach you how to make one for the price of your first creation. From there, I guarantee you will have all the skills you need to make them yourself. All you’ll need to buy is the tools, should you decide to take up the craft.”

Jameson bit the inside of his cheek as he inspected the little items and figurines before him, and the bigger items in the back, such as the chests, desks, and more. How interesting it would be to make the little creations all on his own. A hobby, of sorts. It would be something to keep him busy between his shifts in the stables. It would be useful in the long run, too, he was sure. He smiled, gesturing to the eagle again, and asked ”You’re saying you can teach me to do that?

”It will take some practice, but I guarantee your eventual success. It’s fun, but you have to practice to keep your skills as sharp as your tools. It can be handy for many things, not just for fun.”

Jameson asked again, ”May I touch the figure? to which Granyl nodded. Jameson carefully lifted the little eagle from its place on the booth. Drawing from his core, he reached out with his conscious and closed his eyes. He shoved the noises and distractions nearby to the back of his mind and shut them away for the time being. His mind went calm as he invoked his gift. The Lykata mark on his hand shimmered as flashes of Granyl’s hands working diligently with metal tools against a simple wooden block flooded his mind’s eye. A vision of shavings falling to the ground faded black as he opened his eyes again, feeling Granyl’s sensation of satisfaction at completing the little task that resulted in the eagle rested on his palms. He set the figurine back on its display, nodding slowly.

”I’m going to take you up on that.” He offered his hand to the man behind the booth. The carver accepted it with a firm grip and smile, his calloused hands rough and dry. ”I’m Jameson.”

”Granyl Weavr. Please, come around the booth to the back. I’ll set up the station.” Granyl released Jameson’s handshake to turn and begin preparing the workplace for his new student.

[Jameson Kindle]

Jameson scratched his head, slightly anxious about taking on this craft. As he walked around the booth, he began to doubt his ability. Carving would take a lot of patience, which he certainly had, but his poor eyesight might play a particularly difficult obstacle. Granyl pulled a stool over for Jameson to sit opposite him at small round table. He turned his back for a moment to gather his tools. They were wrapped in stretches of canvas cloth bound with a thin strip of brown leather. He laid them out nice and neat on the table, a set for Jameson and a set for himself. Jameson bent over the table to inspect the items, baffled at their complexity. Each and every one was a different size and shape, all crafted to accomplish different things. Granyl sat across the table and handed him a small, rectangular block of unpolished, unstained wood. Jameson held it in his hands, rubbing his fingers across its splintery surface. Granyl set his own block aside on the table.

”First things first.” He pointed to a flat metal tool on the table. ”Have you ever seen one of these? It’s called a chisel, and it’s the most important tool you will learn today.” He lifted it, and gestured at Jameson’s roll. ”You have one, too. Take a look. Accustom yourself to its weight and shape. This end is flat, and very sharp. It’s used to cut straight lines. If your medium is not easily cleaved, you can you a mallet for extra force, and I’m sure you know what a mallet is. I’ve given you one of those as well.” He lifted the mallet and positioned the chisel at the corner of the block. ”You would simply tap it, minding your strength to maintain a clean cut, like this.” He tapped the handle to demonstrate how the force of the mallet behind the chisel would propel it forward to cleave the medium. He set the tools aside and lifted a couple tools with wooden handles. Each had a different customized head. ”These are your gougers. They’re used to remove pieces of the wood or ivory, but not so much stone. You’ll notice the different shapes and contours of the tips. Each makes a different gouge, and you choose them according to the shape you wish to gouge out.” Granyl paused for a moment, allowing the information to set in Jameson’s mind.

Jameson lifted the gougers, feeling their smooth, polished handles and the cold metal heads. They were like little strange knives. Some had v-shaped heads, others were slightly curved. The widths varied widely, and Jameson wondered briefly how he would ever remember which one was for which cut. He nodded at Granyl, though, having faith in his new mentor.

”These are files.” Granyl continued. ”They’re flat pieces of metal, made exactly for what it sounds like – filing. If you’ll feel your block of wood, you’ll notice it’s rough. Files create texture and smooth out rough places or the like often left behind by the chisel. Now, I might add, the chisel can split the wood if you aren’t careful. That’s what I meant by gauging your strength appropriately when utilizing the mallet and chisel. The files can create a similar obstacle, surface cracks and splinters. You hold it like this, and rub it along the edge you wish to file. This rough side of the flat creates friction, and you’ll notice shavings and wood powder fall from your medium as you work. It’s like many little tiny gougers, working together to produce a similar effect, and yet a totally different one all the same.” He set the files aside and lifted a couple of the long, thin metal tools. Each was double-sided, a different head on each end. ”These are picks. They’re used to carve little indents or scratches that the gougers are too big for. They’re used for detailing and cutting away those places that aren’t as easily reached with any of the other tools. This is by no means all of the tools in a carver’s arsenal. Saws are also sometimes necessary when making bigger pieces, like furniture. But we’ll start with these today.”

Jameson had listened diligently, lifting each tool as Granyl explained it to inspect it and acquaint himself with it. He ran his fingers multiple times along the varied edges and tips. Thus far, he was pleased. Granyl was very thorough in his explanations, and Jameson was without further questions…for now.

”You ready to start?” Granyl asked, lifting his block and chisel.

Jameson lifted his chisel and block as well, and said, ”As ready as I’ll ever be. We’ll see how this goes, I guess.” He chuckled and shifted on his stool to sit a little closer to the table so that he could see what Granyl was doing. He was thankful that the table served only to hold their tools. If it had been any larger he would not have been able to even make Granyl’s hands out.

Granyl situated his chisel at the bottom corner of the block. ”Alright, so we’ll be making an eagle today. You’re going to place the blade of your chisel at the base of your block, and take each corner off the bottom end. Don’t take off too much, and feel free to use the mallet if you need to. This is going to be the eagle’s feet.” Granyl set to work, cleaving the corners off of his block and letting them fall to the floor.

Jameson watched as Granyl worked, and tried his hardest to mimic his motions. He tapped the butt of the chisel delicately, each hit intended to cleave a corner and not mutilate the piece. He ran his fingers along the surface, and watched Granyl’s motions. He tried his very hardest to repeat each step. He was sure that the talented man was taking his time so that the student could follow along easily.

”Take a little more off the front two corners and less of the back, Jameson. That will make the difference between the front of the eagle and the back.” He reached for the eagle figurine and pointed to its talons. Granyl set back to work trimming the larger chunks off of the block, trimming it into a more curved version of the piece that had once set before him. He lifted the product and pointed to its edges. ”Try to visualize the piece as it will be when it is finished. Here, the wings, and back here, the tail. The beak…The chest. Do you see it?”

Jameson’s block looked like a much more lopsided version of Granyl’s, but hopefully in the end it would serve its purpose. Granyl put his chisel at the top of the block and motioned to Jameson with a v-shape. ”Cleave the space here, in a v-shape. It will serve as the wings later. Don’t go too far down though. You will have to leave enough room to smooth out the dip at the base of the V, which will be the eagle’s back.” Granyl made his incision and chiseled the piece out. Jameson repeated the process, but his soon-to-be wings were less that gloriously carved. Granyl nodded, though, and said, ”That will be fine. You’ll see. You can smooth it all out later. In fact, go ahead and chisel that right wing a little thinner.” He handed Jameson a smaller chisel.

Jameson took the chisel and set the mallet aside for fear of splitting the wood. The blade bit down into the wood. He held his breath to steady his hands as he worked the chisel down into the wood, and removed the sliver. ”How’s this?

Granyl nodded, a smile twisting the corners of his mouth. ”You’re doing just fine.”

[Jameson Kindle]

Granyl took a much smaller chisel from his canvas roll and held it up. ”Look for this one in your roll. We’re going to use it to trim the block down until it begins to assume the figure of the eagle. We’ll start from the bottom and move up. Don’t take off too big of a piece, or you’ll run out of room and wind up with stunted wings.” He began to work at the talons of the eagle-to-be, trimming his block to assume the desired shape.

Jameson took the small chisel and watched Granyl for guidance before beginning. He opted to leave the mallet in its place on the table. The chunks to be removed would require more precision and control. Granyl took his time, interjecting words of wisdom and encouragement to Jameson as the two worked. The ascended to the torso of the bird, shaping it into an angle that would give it the appearance of reaching its neck out to screech. The tail became a wide, flat plank angled down towards the feet. The wings, on the other hand, would prove to be something slightly more difficult to obtain.

”You’re doing well, Jameson. You’ve left plenty of room for the wings. This is perhaps one of the harder parts to work on. You’re going to cut v-shapes into the wings to serve as individual feathers.” He motioned with the figurine, and placed it back in the center of the table. "Once we finish this part, we’ll begin the detailing.”

Jameson watched as Granyl cut some pieces out of the wings, and already, he could see the animal beginning to take its shape. He looked back down at his own art, and bit the inside of his cheek, his brow furrowed. It was lopsided and unrefined in more than a couple of areas, but he dismissed his inner thought of failure. For a first time at carving, he wasn’t doing half bad. But due credit went to the carving master sitting opposite him.

He, too, began to work on the wings, taking v-shaped chunks from the block. Each one fell to the ground with a little clop, just as the many before them. He thought, then, of Aidara. Perhaps if he could afford to purchase his own set of tools – even if just the beginners set – he would make Aidara one of these little figurines. He smiled. She might like that.

With the blocky creature now with a basic shape, Granyl set his chisel aside and waited for Jameson. He pointed to the wings and said, ”Give yourself a little more room in between feathers. Just enough to fit a file in there.” Jameson went back and widened the spaces with the little chisel until he got a nod of approval from Granyl. He lifted a small file from his pack and showed it to Jameson. ”This is your next tool. You’re going to file notches here, and here, to make the individual toes of the eagle. Just round it, like this, as you go, so that you don’t create triangles in the place of rounded toes. Then, you’re going to round these places out to create the legs. Same with the torso, round it out like a belly. And then the tail. When you’ve moved on from there, we’ll round out the feathers of the wings. You’ll be done before you know it. And then we will work on detailing with the picks.”

Jameson’s head swam. He looked at the completed eagle figure as an example, and swallowed. For a moment, he put his block and tools down, examining his hands. They were red, and tiny splinters littered his palms and fingertips. ”Does this always happen? He held his palms out for Granyl to see.

Granyl chuckled and nodded, ”Unfortunately so, when you first start. Eventually you’ll build up callouses and the skin will be too tough for splinters to break the skin. Sometimes they still happen, of course, but, it’s a given. Would you like to take a break for a moment and remove them?”

Jameson nodded, ”Ha, yes, that would be nice, as long as I’m not holding you up at all.”

”Not at all, friend.”

Jameson worked at his hands, squeezing the meat of his palms and fingers to coerce the burdensome splinters from their places.

[Jameson Kindle]

With the splinters dislodged from his skin, Jameson leaned back on his stool and sighed. He looked from his block of wood to Granyl’s, searching for a hint that maybe his would turn out as nice as the carpenter’s. Picking up the assortment of files, he held them out to Granyl.

”Which one should I use first?” He asked, but Granyl shook his head and gestured to the completed eagle carving.

”Which do you think? Look at the talons and feet.” He nodded when Jameson selected the smallest of the files. ”Precisely.” The two set to work on filing the talons out to sharp points, and rounding out the toes. They moved from the bottom up, working to give the creature life-like semblance. The chest and stomach were rounded into a proud posture, and the beak was given a sharp, intimidating curve. Sounds of metal grating across wood as the two worked birthed wooden shavings that dusted their clothes and workspace.

The wings took shape as the feathers were rounded out, and the two moved on to utilizing the assorted picks. Granyl instructed Jameson to work with the wings and face to give them dimension. He showed him the technique of digging and scratching to create different patterns and textures. Within the bell, the two eagles looked like the finished one, complete with feather patterns, eyes, nostrils, and the like.

Jameson held up his finished product and presented it to Granyl with a smile on his face. ”This has been a blessing. I’m truly pleased to have learned your trade. I hope that by working in the stables and earning my pay, I will be able to purchase some tools to start carving on my own.” He stood, and offered the carpenter his hand to shake.

Granyl, too, stood, and smiled. ”I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, Jameson. It’s been my pleasure. I do hope to see you again.” The man placed Jameson’s eagle next to the other two, a lopsided and slightly rough version of the twins beside it.

[Phoenix]

Character Name

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Carving	5
Listening	4
Observation	5
Logic	3
Rhetoric	3

Lores

• Keeping Quiet to Avoid Trouble
• Enthralled by Carving
• Accepting Granyl Weavr’s tutelage
• Carving (incomplete)
• Learning the tools of the carving trade
• His very first lopsided eagle
• Making Trinkets for a girl
• Beginners Pain- Splinters
• Beauty in a thing made by hand

The Order of the Phoenix

I loved this. Jameson makes me smile because he's just so darn cute. I also appreciate that you noted his failures while still giving him some amount of success. It's a hard line to toe when you're teaching your Character a new skill. Do you have them fail over and over? Do they get frustrated? Are they good at picking up these new things? It's all very integral to who they are, and I think you nailed it with Jameson. Good job! I want to read more