Wood that I tried (Ilhor)

by **Viq** on August 26th, 2012, 10:33 am

As Viq entered Rholor's shop, his sneaky -almost like a thief's- disposition was calmed by the familiar welcoming voice that acknowledged him from within. Shortly afterwards, he was sitting next to his cousin, carving a helical design on a wooden block.

Viq's knowledge of carving, or indeed any handicraft, extended to mere glimpses of artisans working their wheels and knives around the Aurora Showcase. With that partial information in mind, he tried to hollow out the grooves of the helix as evenly as possible, with mixed results.

The two friends would frequently stop their work and dock one piece inside the other, making sure to eliminate any irreconcilable differences between the two components that had to fit together as watertight as possible.

by **Ilhor Skyglow** on August 27th, 2012, 5:21 pm

Ilhor was very excited at this new project and worked quickly carving the pipe. Every now and then, he looked over at Viq, who has trying to create a complex, spiral-like, thing. He didn't seem to be making a good job, working the wood with uncertainty and starting over a couple of times. Nevertheless, Ilhor didn't want to interfere because he didn't really understand the whole of the plan, and didn't want to seem a fool by making inappropriate comments.

After several tries, Ilhor and Viq managed to combine the two pieces, the final piece seeming very... plain for the expectations that Ilhor had for this evening. With a half-bitter look, he turned to Viq and asked

"Ok, now what?"

by **Viq** on August 28th, 2012, 1:38 pm

Though the two boys worked zealously, the end result could only be described as "good enough", considering this was the first time for them both. Ilhor looked somewhat disappointed, his earlier sheen now replaced by what was almost certainly a forced inquiry on some course of action, as if it was a predetermined fact of life; as if Viq, personally, was responsible for deciding the future.

Viq paused there for a while, entering a brief meditation capable of healing the wound of disappointing a little kid. "Now all it needs is to get dunked.", he replied while throwing a quick look around for sources of water; or was it to mask his thoughts from the young boy's absent scrutiny?

In the end, he made a decision for them both: they were to evaluate their handiwork by the port. Without forethought, he added a simple "Follow me.", and went on ahead, becoming now the new leader of this tiniest of gangs.

by **Ilhor Skyglow** on August 28th, 2012, 5:26 pm

Ilhor followed Viq reluctantly. He couldn't understand how this weird thing they have put together would do anything, and he was getting tired by all the effort and the running around. On top of that, Viq seemed to disregard him, only hinting at what their next step would be and never explaining anything in detail.

In any case, he followed him to the port, and soon they were there. The port was very buzy with the summer traffic, the air around it vibrating with the shouts of hundreds of sailors and fishermen. In all this chaos, noone seemed to pay them any attention, and they moved quietly and without any distractions to a remote part of the shore.

Ilhor sat down atop a low, smooth rock and waited for Viq to do whatever is that he wanted to do.

by **Viq** on August 28th, 2012, 8:11 pm

After seeing Ilhor's enthusiasm turn into an uncharacteristic chagrin, Viq found himself at a loss. Was it something he had said? Nothing came to mind. Maybe something he had done? Ah, he knew he should have passed the task of carving the helix to Ilhor; after all he was the carver between them. But he just couldn't find the courage to ask him to swap, after watching with his own eyes the sincere diligence with which the boy had started chipping away on the cylinder while waiting for Viq to arrive in the Showcase.

"You can't change the past.", he thought, in an effort to hearten himself. He wouldn't be found guilting over this. Though he did not shy away from blame or responsibility, he knew from that age that the past is but a teacher of lessons; lessons that the scholars haven't had the time to put in paper yet.

With these thoughts lingering in his mind, his gaze wandered from the horizon to the contraption in his hands to swift glimpses of the disgruntled boy. "Wanna try it? You just put this bit here in the water, then I don't know. That's as far as I've read. Maybe try pulling the handle?", he said with a kind smile in his face, while presenting the pump to his cousin, hoping this way to provide a consolation of sorts to his true and valued friend.

by **Ilhor Skyglow** on August 28th, 2012, 9:06 pm

Ilhor looked at the pump in Viq's hand, and for a moment he was ready to push it away, a sudden rage blazing up inside him. But he was so startled by the force of his own emotions, that instead of doing anything, he froze in place. "What am I doing? This is just for fun", he thought. Yet in his mind's eye he was breaking this contraption into countless pieces, his head throbing painfully in a constant thought "this is not good enough". Truth be told, Viq hasn't done anything wrong today, it was just one of his friend's earliest signs of his developing perfectionism, a trait generously handed down by his father's overly demanding teaching methods.

For a few seconds, a great battle ragged inside Ilhor, between letting his rage explode, or calming down and being nice for his dear friend.

He slowly moved his eyes to look at Viq, and a kind smile formed in his face. "Thanks. Let's see what we've made!", he said, and dipped their pump into the water. He let the pipe fill with some water and then gently pulled on the handle. He wasn't sure what to expect, but nothing seemed to happened anyway. He decided to put a little more power and pulled again. For a brief moment, he thought the pump was working, some water escaping the top part of the pipe, before the handle broke and dettached from the pump.

Ilhor turned to Viq and said in a broken voice "I'm really sorry for that, I think I pulled harder than I should". He let the handle drop from his hand and seemed about to start crying.

by **Viq** on August 29th, 2012, 12:43 am

"Why are you giving me this? Do you think I can be bought with your fake affection?", was the thought of a thought that crossed Viq's mind when he tried to gauge Ilhor's first reaction to his offering. If only he knew; he'd have laid his mind to rest, at least partially.

But Ilhor didn't expose much; maybe he himself didn't know what it was that plagued his own psyche. "Would that I tried this alone.", thought Viq, wishing for a different outcome to his recent endeavors: one where his friend wasn't so upset. But soon he realized once more that there was no point in crying over spilled milk.

Not a moment too soon, as it turned out. The pump had just broken; the cracking sound echoing an audible proof of poor workmanship. He barely left his cousin any time to apologize. He immediately moved to allay his remorse by gently grabbing his shoulder and mouthing some fitting aphorism from his books; one that he probably got wrong.

In the end, he couldn't let what would in the future be a bittersweet memory bring him down forever. He stood back, taking it all in: the tormented 11-year-old kid -indistinguishable to him from a scorned woodcarver-, the busy dock, the creaking of the floating bark, the chilly summer breeze, the pump that wasn't, the overly ambitious plans that were for naught, and let out a short chuckle, as if he had just concluded that he was part of a humorous anecdote…

by **Valkyrie** on September 5th, 2012, 7:21 pm

Viq :

Ilhor Skyglow :

You Will Be Collected if Worthy

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