Solo Scribble, Scribble, Scribble... (Graded)

[Kaizer Dragos]

Summer, 11, 515

With his day's work now finished, Kaizer decided to take some time to continue the effort to improve his writing skills. On this day however, instead of sitting at home at a desk, he chose to take a more interesting approach to things. With a piece of parchment, quill, and ink vial in hand, he was seated in the Zintia. Using an old abandon crate for a seat, and a piece of wood to press on, he watched the city of Lhavit from the sidelines as it went about another day of living. There were all manner of people coming and going, merchants haggling with customers over prices, and even a few small groups of people just standing around talking.

For Kaizer this was perfect, it provided him with a whole plethora of subjects to consider and quite a bit of material to write about. While thinking about this a rather attractive young woman in long brown hair walked by, dressed in plain clothing. She was quite shapely and the man was distracted from his mission. “Hello,” he mumbled. After watching her for a moment Kaizer shook his head to clear some rather interesting thoughts and went back to considering what to write about. The problem at the moment was settling on one thing.

With a bit of mental restraint Kaizer focused his mind and listened to a merchant who was haggling with a customer over the price of a bracelet nearby. The young woman was trying to get a lower price by saying she could find similar elsewhere in the city. The merchant on the other hand tried to maintain his prices by explaining the virtues of buying from him, and what a deal she would get out of it. In short order the two settled on a price, the woman handed the merchant some money, and he was nice enough to slide the bracelet around her wrist with a smile and a thanks.

Kaizer smirked lightly thinking that some things never changed, no matter what city you went to there were always merchants and customers trying to squeeze the last kina out of a deal. The woman walked away, looking down at her new purchase with a smile. Watching her leave Kaizer leaned back to think for a moment. He'd seen the woman before, she was a shopkeeper herself though exactly where the man couldn't remember. There was no doubt a small sense of pride on her part, buying something nice after earning the money through hard work.

If theres one thing Ive learned from a hard days work, its that it can be a reward in itself. Having accomplished, built, or taught something, its a feeling that few other things in life can match. Knowing that youve done something productive with your day it makes a person feel good about themselves. On the other hand there can be material rewards as well. These most often come in the form of buying something with a days wages. I know myself that food never tastes quite as good or clothing looking as nice as when its bought with your own money.
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[Kaizer Dragos]

While reviewing what he had written, Kaizer was taken aback slightly by someone yelling the word thief. The sound of that single word breaking through the Zintia brought many people to a halt in their tracks. Some looking around as if concerned that they were being accused, while others seemed more curious. In short order a young man of non-descript features and plain clothes came running down the street as fast as both legs would carry him. In one hand there was a money purse jingling and he appeared very panicked. This was quite a sight to Kaizer as such open crimes were rare in Lhavit, a city known for its peaceful nature.

He was a little surprised when a Shinya guard appeared from a side street like a bolt of greased lightning. At nearly seven foot tall that man was more heavily built than Kaizer and moving at a speed most wouldn't think someone his size possible of. The thief, a young man of average height and weight, was almost crumpled like a piece of paper as the guard power tackled and nearly smeared him along the road. That brought a visible wince from Kaizer as well as a few bystanders letting out pained hisses. One person even yelled out 'Get'm Garn!' When Garn stood up, hauling the thief up by his shirt collar with one arm, the criminal was out cold.

Garn was soon joined by another who turned out to be the victim of the crime. Interested by all of this Kaizer listened as they man explained the course of events. Apparently the thief had tried 'accidentally' bumping into the man to steal his money purse, only to find it attached to his belt by a leather strap. When both realized what was going on the thief panicked, ripped the purse loose, and took off running. They guard nodded as he listened and the man agreed to give an official testimony later on when needed. In the meantime Garn returned the man's money pouch and hauled the thief away.

The whole event was over in short order, and the people started going back about their business. With a shake of his head Kaizer felt no pity for the thief. Lhavit wasn't a place where people starved, even if they came on hard times. Unless it was some sort of extreme emergency, Kaizer could only imagine it was plain, old fashioned greed. Although he wasn't sure what kind of sentence would be handed down, it would be fitting of the crime. Thinking about that for a moment the only tangles with the law Kaizer ever had were a few minor civil fines that amounted to slaps on the wrist, all of which were in his distant past.

On matters of money it would appear there are some in the world not content with the pride others feel from a hard days work. Instead they try to take the easy path in life profiting from the hard work of others. The one thing I cant abide is a thief. No one has the right to take what rightfully belongs to someone else. Be it money clothing or in some cases even freedom. If a person has earned someting somthing something through hard work and the sweat of their brow then they should have it. Not to mention it seems anyone committing open crimes in Lhavit risk coming down with a severe case of Garn.
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[Kaizer Dragos]

Seated on his crate in the Zintia, Kaizer spent some time just watching the people coming and going. The study of the various sentient species within the world was also something of a fascination for the man. All the different people with their customs, traditions, and social obligations. The only real obligations that Kaizer had were to his job and family. There were of course those to the city, abiding by the laws, and supporting the government, however those were obligations that every citizens of Lhavit carried. Job and family were those personal to Kaizer himself.

As a teacher it was his job to make sure that those under his care received an education so they they would be better prepared for the life ahead of them. It was something that Kaizer took great pride in, knowing that he was helping others to learn and grow, instilling them with skills that would be needed all throughout life. In this regard Kaizer never slacked off, not that he was the type to lay around in the first place, but being a teacher was a job he took with the utmost seriousness. Teaching plans were carefully laid out, work graded, and everything else that was required of him.

The obligation of family was a different matter and one that concerned him a great deal. His family had spent more than twenty-five generations living in Zeltiva before moving to Lhavit. They had never been rich or famous, but the Dragos name was one that had honor to it, and with that honor came certain responsibilities. With the passing of Heinrik it meant that Kaizer was the last Dragos, and if he died without an heir the family name and bloodline would die with him. That wasn't something he was about to let happen, not after everything his family had worked to accomplish. The problem so far was that he hadn't found someone to fall in love with, which was a rather glaring and obvious factor in the whole equation of getting married and starting a family.

One of the drawbacks to sitting here watching the world go by is that I see all these happy couples in the world and realize that I don't have a family to call my own. Although I dont consider forty to be old its definitely older than when most people start families. It's also a painful reminder of the fact that I don't have all the time in the world. The clock is ticking as some would say and I don't want to be like my father having his first and only child at fifty five. I sit here watching people walking through the Zintia and so many of them have families of their own that it makes me a little envious.

I see mothers with their children fathers giving their little ones shoulder rides. Even the happy couple just holding hands. This isnt to say that I haven't had my share of fun with the opposite sex because I have likely more than your average man. The problem is Ive simply never felt a true connection to anyone. No one has ever stirred my passion the way I seem to see it in others. As strange as it is to write and even stranger to think about after forty years Ive never fallen in love.
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[Kaizer Dragos]

The personal inflections of what Kaizer had just written weren't all that soothing to think about, in fact they were made him get up and start walking around. It was enough to not only distract the man, but also derail his train of thought. In the mood to write when all of this began, Kaizer was having a great deal of trouble focusing on that now. The problem at the moment was that the foul mindset was making it hard for him to focus on any sort of writing. With a grunt Kaizer took a seat on a nearby bench, not at all happy about the current turn of events.

For some time he sat there continuing to think about the situation, then something dawned. Perhaps he should write about the mood itself. Kaizer was always interested in learning new things, so why not something about himself. His emotions were dark and brooding at the moment, but not out of control which allowed a degree of clinical detachment. For years this had been something of a bane for Kaizer, the rampant nature of his emotions and the way they seemed to act almost arbitrarily.

For a man with a mind driven by logic, they could be quite bothersome at times. Yet Kaizer knew that emotion was a natural part of being human, or sentient for that matter. Even animals had emotions, this he knew from having owned Truffles for a little over a year now. When Kaizer's job required working late and he finally came home the ferret was quite happy to see him. It was obvious his pet had been lonely without its master around, evidence that even animals had emotions to some degree. Regardless of how Kaizer felt these emotions were something that he had to deal with on a daily basis.

They were also something that defied logic in almost all its forms. Emotions could be seemingly random, mild, passionate, nonsensical, and quite volatile given the right circumstances. They could also drive a person to do things spontaneously, or drive them for their whole lives. Be they acts of violence, cruelty, compassion, or mercy, almost everything in life was driven by emotion. Trying to control them could also be problematic, even if a person managed to keep them under lock and key, emotions had a way of exploding at the most unexpected moment if ignored for too long.

I do believe emotions are the single most puzzling thing in life for me. They can lift someone to the greatest heights in life or push them to the darkest despair. The last part I can attest to from personal experience. After my father died there was a lot of despair involved but I didnt let it keep me down. I know thats not what Heinrik would have wanted. Emotions can be quite tumultuous and a source of great pain, but they can also bring with them great joy and happiness. I honestly cant imagine my life without them.
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[Kaizer Dragos]

Having spent time thinking and trying to understand emotion, Kaizer decided to review the exact opposite, logic. This was a sound and reasonable way of thinking as some might say. Logic was a purely analytical point of view that was devoid of emotion, and it followed a set step-by-step process to come to a conclusion based on all of the available facts. In many ways logic and emotions were polar opposites. Kaizer also knew that strong emotion made logical thought quite difficult. At times it took a great deal of self-control to keep emotions in check. Especially when he was forced to deal with arrogant, self-righteous people, who looked down at others.

There was more than one form of logic, but it wasn't a subject that Kaizer had ever studied at length so he didn't know much about it. It was however, something that he was very much interested in learning more about. As Kiazer sat there thinking about it, he finally started to realize part of why it was so appealing. Logic was used to study the world in a very formal fashion to try to analyze and understand things and well as how they worked, and why they worked that way. A mental note was made by Kaizer to begin studying science formally because it offered a wealth of information.

Something else that he appreciated was that science, when properly applied, was devoid of emotion and personal inflection. Most written material that was available had some degree of personal thoughts or opinions contained within, something Kaizer rarely cared for. Unless reading a book, such as a biography, he was more interested in the information, not what someone's personal feelings about that information might be. Once again Kaizer lapsed into deep thought about the subjects of both logic and science. While an avid seeking of knowledge he'd never approached the matter from a very scientific rational. For Kaizer it was mostly read a book, dive in, and figure things out from there.

One of the reasons he was beginning to question this approach, was because of the realization that a logical points of view would offer more solid facts to work with. If one were to analyze something in such a manner instead of just reading a book and diving in, it would likely yield a lot more information about the subject matter. For Kaizer there were a lot of times that acquiring knowledge was an end unto itself, though he knew that could also be a dangerous mindset to become too involved with,.

Rational thought is something that I have relied on all throughout my life, even as a child, though I was considerably more emotional back then. It's rare that I approach anything serious from an emotional standpoint, instead I try to look at things with a rational mindset, so that I can find the best and quickest solution. Emotions can be the foundation of disastrous decisions while proper reasoning is much less prone to such things. I would be foolish to fully embrace one and ignore the other, because both are a vital part of life. The main point of contention is finding an acceptable balance between the two.

Resource Usage :

½ sheet of parchment (9 remaining)
¼ vial of ink (1 ½ remaining)

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[Neologism]

Skills:

Observation +3
Philosophy +5
Writing +5
Logic +5
Deduction +1
Intelligence +4
Rhetoric +1
Organization +2
Storytelling +5

Lores:

Distracted by a pretty woman
Hard work can be it's own reward
Lhavit: Open crimes are rare
Morals: Theivery is bad
Obligations: Job and Family
Desiring for a family
Emotion is a natural part of sentient life
Emotions defy logic
Writing: Organizing your plots
Logic: The analytical point of vies
Logic: Opposite to emotion
Logic and emotion must balance each other out

Notes: Great thread! I quite liked hte logic vs. emotion arguement you put in. I would also like to point out that the resource depletion note you have at the bottom of your threads isn't necessary. If you buy a few items that you use frequently, they get grouped into your seasonal expense in the following seasons. The more you buy, the higher your seasonal expense is. PM me if you have any questions or concerns.