[Flashback/Training] Oh so young

[Darian]

(32nd of Summer, 496 AV)
It was a bright and warm day outside, the sun shining through the trees, splotches of light playing over the book in his lap. He seemed very vulnerable, sitting under that tree all alone, but not too far behind him, in the shadows of the doorway, was his attending father, watching over him lovingly, and wary of any trouble. Sunberth wasn’t exactly the safest city, but it was safe enough, and life was much easier here, than it would be out in the wilds. For Darian, it was the greatest place in the world, and indeed the small field he read, played, and explored inside very much was his whole world.

His family lived fair sized shack, just on the outskirts of the inner city. From the view on their porch, you could see the sprawling countryside and the scattering of farmhouses all about. Even though it looked like they were so exposed, they felt safe, because they weren’t quite on the very fringes of the city, and they weren’t in the deepest part of the city either, where murders and other crime where a daily occurrence. They were just in the middle, and while they still enjoyed both dangers, they liked to think that they had less to fear from either of them, unlike others.

Darian read his book intently, the faded letters on its cover claiming it to be Learning New Languages, most likely a book acquisitioned by his mother, the more successful in the selling of her carvings than her husband. Whereas he would like he would like the boy to focus more on his art, and him being able to defend himself, she knew that her son needed a healthy balance between intellectual pursuits, and practicing his art, and swordplay. So it was a good guess to think that his mother had been the one to put the book in front of him. Lucky for him, he found that he rather enjoyed learning new words in this language his parents referred to as common. He often liked anything that stimulated his brain, especially carving, and he found the activity rather soothing.

A gentle smile crept across his face as his confusion went away. The word gallant had been giving him quite some trouble for the last few minutes, but at last he thought he understood it as he sounded it out slowly, his mouth forming every syllable. He licked his parched lips and decided to end it at that. Feeling that he deserved a break, he got up and started for the house, his father having disappeared deep into the house only moments before. It had been a rather hot and humid day, and sweat beaded on his brow, and dripped down his nose. He was also desperately thirsty, and feeling more lazy than usual decided to ask one of his parents to get him some water. “Ma… Ma…” he cried out in the quiet house, his child voice easily carrying throughout the building.

“Yes child, what is it?” she asked from somewhere in the back of the house. “I’m thirsty ma, and the bucket is too heavy for me to lift up” Darian cried back, walking toward where his mom’s voice resonated.

“You can get it yourself, the readings just made you lazy is all” was the mother’s quick reply to the boy’s request. He clenched his tiny fists, and stomping off, Darian made it clear that he was not happy, but also not angry enough to throw a full blown tantrum. Darian was mad to be sure for not getting what he wanted, but he knew making a bigger deal of it would get him nowhere but probably a lack of dinner, and an early bed time. Still he fumed as only a child could, and he stomped out of the murky gloom inside the shack, to the bright sunlight outside.

The sharp sunlight temporarily blinded him, and he had to shield his eyes for a few minutes before they could properly adjust to the drastic change in light. Finally though when he wasn’t completely blinded, he looked around and then made a beeline for the well, noting the wooden bucket beside it and the rope already attached. He had to stoop down to pick up the bucket with both hands, and then with a clumsy sort of grace dropped the wooden pail down into the well, and it clanged a couple of times against the stone siding in the well before it eventually splashed down into the cool waters at the bottom of it.

Waiting a time for it to suitably fill up with water, he placed his hands on the crank and leaned against it, just a little bit bored. When he got tired of waiting, he decided to push on the crank, turning and pulling it, and then pushing it again, slowly turning the wheel with a little more effort needed as time went by. As the bucket cleared the water, it became harder for him, and the weight of the bucket very much taxed his strength. His muscles strained with the effort, as he worked hard to pull up the water, sweat pouring from his head, and soaking his small cotton shirt and breeches. Already worn out, he pressed on, hoping that the water was not too much further, as even with the work of getting it, he was growing thirstier by the second, thankfully giving him a second wave of strength.

After what seemed like hours, but was in reality just a few minutes, the pail finally reached the lip of the well, and from there he strained on the rope, and tied it to the wench to make sure the pail would stay in place when he went for the water. With the knot secure, he collapsed with exhaustion against the side of the well, breathless, and lacking even enough energy to raise himself up to reach the water. His thirst was now so very intense, and he felt like he was going to die from it. Unusually, he heard a clinking above him and suddenly there was a cup of water at his lips, the cold liquid trickling down his dry throat, and easing the burning inside of it. He looked up with a smile to try and see whom his rescuer was to see Sophia’s beaming face.

[Darian]

No one’s smile could have been wider than his when he saw who it was and he immediately scooted over so that she could sit down beside him. Dipping a cup into the bucket to get some water for her, she plopped down by Darian, and shoved a tied bundle of parchment in Darian's lap.

"What’s this?" he asked setting his cup to the side and then hastily unraveling the twine knot. "It’s a painting. For you!" Sophia said cheerily as she watched him open it. When it was unraveled he smiled. It was a painting depicting a crowd of people in the market, and made with very bright, vivid colors too. "Sophia, this is great!" he said smiling tucking the parchment away under his arm, and taking a deep gulp from the water sitting at his side. It was cold and refreshing. "Thanks for the water, I was dying of thirst out here" he added with a exaggerated sigh. Sophia smiled back and then looked to the doorway.

From within the house his mom called out, "Kid's it’s time for your lessons." Sofia and Darian looked at each other at the same time and smiled. "Race you" they said simultaneously, getting up and running into the house as fast as their little legs could carry them. Sophia climbed up to her seat at the long wooden table first, and turned to stick her tongue out at Darian. He returned the jeer, while climbing up into the seat beside her, before looking forward towards his mom who sat on the opposite side of the table from them.

On the table before him was a plain, square block of wood, along with a iron chisel and hardwood mallet. He looked over and saw Sophia had little jars of different colored paints, a brush, and a stack of parchment in front of her. A tapping on the table in front of him drew his attention away from her. His mom was propping up a picture of a man with his dog. It was a very detailed image, likely made by either her or his father, and was well beyond the skills of either him or Sophia to fully replicate. Still it was good practice trying, and it was among one of his favorite types of lessons.

Wrapping a hand around the end of the chisel, he set its leading edge on the center of the light tan wood. He then picked up the mallet, but did not use it yet as he took time to study the drawing. The outward edge of the man seemed to be a little to the side of the center of the picture, so he dragged the edge of the chisel to compensate, the edge scraping a thin line in the wood. He could hear his mother audibly tisk at the mistake. He hoped that he wouldn't be able to see the line once his carving was finished.

With a light tap from the mallet, the leading edge of the chisel fracturing the smooth surface of the wood. He then chipped away at that part until a large part of it fell off, and Darian picked it away satisfied that a large portion on the opposite side of where the man would be was now a deep hole that could be more easily shaped into the form of a man. Setting the tip of his chisel on a particularly jagged edge of wood in the center, he hammered down a little bit harder than he needed to, splitting the block of wood in half. He sighed and brushed the wood aside, as his vigilant mother placed another block of wood in front of him. "Not so hard this time" she cooed at him, sitting down once more in the seat across from him.

It took three bells, and another two blocks of wood till he finally got his striking right, and the newest block of wood he was working on was finally taking the shape of the man and his dog, but was still very rough. The head was still a shapeless diamond, the body and limbs still very blocky. Darian hadn't even begun working on the side with the dog, that part still just flat wood, still unmarred by the edge of his chisel. He smile and looked over to see how Sophia was doing.

[Darian]

Her painting look pretty good so far, and he smirked to see the several sheets of discarded paper all around her workstation. Good to see that he wasn't the only one having trouble he thought with a smile before turning his attention to the block of worked wood in front of him. With a deep breath he set his chisel on the diamond shaped head of the man, and while putting his hand on the butt of it his carefully applied pressure to carve out a little niche that would be its eyes. Doing the same for the one on the opposite, he grinned at the crudely carved eyes he had just fashioned for his figure. They weren’t perfect, but they would do he thought as he set his chisel to the wood once more.

After another bell had passed, he had gotten as far as to fully flesh out the man's frame, and carve the vague shape of the dog, leaving only the detail process to complete. With all the patience a ten year old could muster, he worked the chisel carefully, gradually forming the man’s lips, and a few other minor details about his person. The lips where still a little bit lop sided, and the shirt could use a bit more detail, but it was better work than he had thus far achieved, and seeing this made him glow with happiness. Excitedly, but with a slightly steady hand he worked on the dog, and after only a little bit finished it as best he could without risking breaking it in two pieces.

Taking a step back he observed his finished work, with a sigh of accomplishment. The man was passable, and could be easily distinguished as such and the dog underneath his palm was also, although its snout was a little bit crooked. Its eyes where a bit too sharp and of course lacked pupils, he was still far too unskilled to try that, or any expressions, so the mouths of both of them where expressionless slashes. Still, it wasn't totally awful and it most definitely showed improvement from his last carving. With a childish grin he slid it over to his mom, who examined it carefully before smiling warmly back at him, and placing the carving on the top shelf, that previously stood empty.

"Good job the both of you, now go get washed up, and ready for dinner she said in her usual sing song voice while hanging up the picture Sophia made right next to his carving. With a smile and a challenge to Sophia to race her, he ran of deeper into the house to get cleaned up for dinner.

[Darian]

Darian sat in his bed with a kitchen knife in his hand, whittling away at the piece of wood in his hand. He had snagged it from the kitchen after dinner when Sophia left, so it give him something to do. Gently he pressed the edge of the blade against the other side of the shaped would shave off grooves into it, a relief of a shield forming on the wood. Once he had gotten the overall outline of the shield done, he blew lightly on the wood, a plume of shavings jetting up into the air. He'd managed to form a nearly perfect circle in the tan block of wood, and with a few more careful shavings he made the line nearly consistent only barely varying in width on some parts. The flickering light in the room made it hard to make the circle just right, but the lone candle was his only source of light so he would just have to make due.

It was well into night now, the sun passing behind the horizon many bells ago. Chewing on his bottom lip he looked down at his circle and began shaping up the inside of it. He held the knife with its blade pointed outwards, holding the side that was not sharp, and pinching the slender thing of metal between the thumb and forefinger, using the point to shape the wood. Very carefully, Darian shaved the wood, making a curing line that formed the back of a lion, and halting when he came to the more complicated claws, paying special attention to them. After he had finished with the hind legs it was easy to form the sloping line that would make the belly, and chest, making gradual points that gave detail to his chest area, and then sloping it horizontal to form the front paws. The hardest part would be the head, and for that he took up an agonizing slow pace of slowly shaping the grooves to form its pronounced snout, sloping forehead, and distinguishing mane, before finally rejoining the line he originally started at the start of his work.

Now that he had the basic frame of the lion all he had left to do was incorporate a few details, carving out the eyes, and shaving a small triangle in the wood that would stand for the nose. He smiled and laid down the knife, and blew the leftover shavings on the wood to examine his piece. The legs weren’t the best he'd ever done, and the body was a bit disproportioned, but the circle around the lion figure was something he could be proud of as it was nearly perfect, and with a little bit more practice he was sure he could manage it.

With a pleased sigh he laid the knife and block of wood on the floor beside his bed, and after dusting the wood shavings off of his sheets, he quickly settled down into the thatched sheets, pulling them up around him to keep him warm. Tomorrow he was due for some sword training, and he found himself looking forward to that, and maybe perhaps some more carving lessons. Yes, that would be nice he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

[Darian]

Darian greeted the new day with a knife that was smaller than the one he had in his room the other night. The sun had only risen a few bells ago, but already the back of his house was painted with light, and he stretched out his arms to absorb the rays of warm light. He'd chosen to come out here this morning to carve a stone or two before his chores and training began. There outside he enjoyed the briefest moments of silence, before he began scouring the ground for any suitable stones.

Many of them where spread across the ground, but they all were either too ugly, or shapeless. He walked carefully in a circle examining every inch of the ground, when his eye caught a glimmer of sunlight glinting off of what looked like a white rock, half buried in the earth. Stooping low to the ground, he scrabbled at the surface around the stone, and watched as the dirt slowly revealed edges he could grab. Raking his fingernails once more through the dirt, he grabbed its leading edge, and pulled it from the dirt, revealing it to be a roughly circular rock, with a slightly curvy surface with a slight thickness.

He carried the stone that was a little bit larger than his hand, and sat against a spindly tree, laying the knife on the ground beside him to wait till he had properly examined the bone white stone. What if this is a bone? he mused turning the object end over end in his hand before resting it on his knee. Gingerly he picked up the long, thin kitchen knife, and assumed the awkward grip of it, holding it more like one would hold a quill than a knife. Darian placed the tip of it against the smooth surface of bone like rock, and very carefully ran the blade across the surface in a circular motion.

Gradually the intensity of cut increased as he applied more pressure and as shavings of bone flecked of the circle became more defined, as well as more in depth. When he was satisfied that the circle was completely done, he blew across the surface of the bone, the shavings spreading off its smooth surface to float to the ground below. He ran his finger across the gouges in the bone, and felt the rough surface of his carving, making sure its depth was to his satisfaction. The edges on the sides were still a little bit too sharp, but that was nothing a rough rock couldn't fix he noted as he looked at it closely.

Snatching up a smooth stone off of the ground he ran the stone gently against the edge of the bone, but when that didn't work, he held the stone up between his knees, and holding the bone with both hands ran the bare white stone against the rough rock. Gradually the sharp edges of the bone softened up until the entire piece matched the circle he had carved on the inside. With a grin, he picked up and threw the large stone to the side, and cradled the bone in his hand, setting his imagination to work on what he should draw inside the round shield he had made. It was going to be hard carving inside of this circle, but it was no different than the wood blocks he was used to carving besides the texture.

The idea of a wolf sprang to mind, and with newfound inspiration he began etching very slowly and carefully the outline of the head, and chest of the wolf that would dominate the majority of this circle. After many careful cuts, and scrapes, he finally had the rough outline of the wolf, a smile once more founding his face. He always smiled when he saw his carving gradually coming to completion. With a brisk puff of air he cleared the bone shavings off of his work, and set it on the ground. He'd done as much as he could do for it without chancing messing it up, the little details that usually be found in such a piece escaped him for now because he had not the skills to manage such details. Seeing one more thing needing to be finished, he quickly ran inside and after a brief search through his mother's tools, came back with a drill, most likely outdated, but still was much easier to use than the old bow drill.

Setting the drill against the un marred section of bone at the top of the pendant he had shaped, he slowly turned the handle back and forth and watched as the tip sanded away flecks of the white material, spreading it outwards and only after a little while it came out the other side of the roughly thin bone. Gingerly he pulled the tip of the drill from the hole, and set it aside on the ground before blowing through the newly made opening, and examining the piece once more. It was finished and all he had left to do was thread a piece of twine through it to finish of his necklace. His parents would be so proud of him for making his first necklace he thought, but then after looking up at the sky, decided the twine would have to wait. He didn't realize how many hours it had taken him to make that pendant, but the sun was high in the sky and it was midday already, and his parents probably wondered where he was at. Stuffing it into his pocket, and grabbing up the drill he ran inside to get himself some lunch.
oocThe rock he drilled into was actually a piece of skull that once belonged to a dog, this is my attempt at inadvertent malediction practice for the young Darian

[Darian]

He held the wooden sword in both of his hand, his opponent standing across from him. The young girl with strawberry blond hair, and held two wooden dirks in her petite hands was ready for the challenge. Although both of the youths where still very young, their little muscles had already begun toning from constant practice with weapons, and regular daily exercise. With a unified shout of agreement from both of the combatants, they rushed forward, their wooden blades clashing violently in the middle. Darian, with his one long blade, launched his first attack, a vicious downward slash that parried the girls blades downwards and out of the way, before cutting it back upwards for a slice at her shoulder. The young girl heaved herself to the side, the edge of the wooden blade barely missing its chance to clip her shoulder, and instead swinging into empty air, and causing Darian to overbalance. Stumbling for a little bit, bracing the tip of his sword against the ground was all that he could do from falling flat on his face on the dusty ground. He had barely regained his balance when he looked over to see the blond haired girl rushing for his exposed back, her blades leading. In a move of desperation, he threw himself to the ground, barely dunking over the quick swings, and in a equally desperate act threw out his arm before slamming his elbow into the side of the girls knee, causing her to tumble on the ground beside him. With a deft push of the ground, he rolled to his feet, and spun back around holding the long sword defensively out in front of him.

" That was a dirty trick Darian, you'll pay for that one " the young girl pouted, as she was getting up. Darian felt a momentary feeling of guilt sweep over him, because after all this girl was Sophia, a dear, dear friend of his, and if he had hurt her, he could never forgive himself. He lowered the tip of his sword, and took a few cautious steps towards her to see if she was alright. Still looking like she was cleaning herself up, and pouting she surprised him by suddenly launching a furious assault against him, and raising his long sword horizontally was all that he could do to defend from the rapid blows. Slowly Sophia began to back him up, and stole the offensive forcing him to parry her every strike with no chance of a counter attack. His hands began to grow numb under the sheer force of her attacks, and he briefly glanced around to see of anyway to turn the tide, or at least escape the young girl's fury. His salvation came in the form of a discarded block of wood just a few paces behind him.

As she slowly backed him up they slowly came onto even stance, and as he stepped back once more, he planted his foot on the block of wood firmly and pushed off with his right foot. " Whoa!" he cried out, pretending to trip over the small obstacle, while spinning around backwards. Briefly Sophia dropped her guard, and her fierce gaze softened, and it was enough of a moment for Darian to seize back the advantage as he completed his spin, his long sword leading with his left hand, to slam into the hilt of her right dirk, taking it from her hand. Pain shot up Sophia's hand from the force departure of her weapon, but she was still adept with the other dirk in her off hand, and even with the surprise Darian gave her, she was quickly able to recover and match him strike for strike.

Darian had hoped to win the spar with that single strike, but spars where never that easy when Sophia was his opponent. Still he had gained another advantage over her, forcing her to match him weapon for weapon, and better yet his had a longer reach. Raising the long sword high, he feinted a downward slash, but mid swing he instead dove it under her parry, and then with a deft swipe of the wooden sword, swung it upward in an attempt to hit her midsection. Quickly she sucked in her gut, and narrowly avoided the sweeping strike, and quicker than Darian could have imagined she was upon him, coming in close and swiping for his vulnerable face. With every ounce of agility he had he threw his head, and shoulders back nearly escaping the wooden blade that manage to scrap a shallow cut across his cheek.

He winced at the stinging pain that now radiated off of his tender cheek but ignored it, using Sophia's own look of surprise and guilt as a means to reclaim the advantage once more. With a lunge, he was upon her this time, and with a heavy over-hand swipe of his sword, he slashed downwards at her, his sword slamming into hers as they locked hilts. Now it was all an effort of strength and wills, as the two pushed against each other their swords locked in a stalemate. While he appeared a little bit bigger than her, muscular wise they were evenly matched, and he enjoyed only a slight advantage height wise. A fresh trickle of blood ran down his cheek, and he winced at the reminder of the blow. His cheek felt hot, and he would probably get reprimanded by his mother for playing too roughly, all the more reason to make this spar count, and hopefully emerge the victor.

Using his height to the best of his advantage he leaned downwards into her, holding both hands on the wooden sword, intent on trapping her's against her chest. She held her lone dirk in a similar fashion desperately pressing up against her slightly taller opponent. Cleverly she thought of an avenue of escape from the deadlock, and slowly started to let Darian push the locked hilts towards her, while she set her feet for a deft spin. With a sudden surge of strength Sophia pushed Darian’s sword a fraction of an inch off of hers and spun away, taking a few steps out before diving into a roll, to retrieve her lost dirk. Seeing her retreat, Darian eagerly chased after her, holding his long sword high as he chased after her, and followed her quick roll. Knowing that she would turn around any second, he opted for a different tactic than simply attacking her back. Holding the wooden sword tightly in his right hand, he slashed it at the back of her knee, a strike that would have hamstrung her had the blade been metal, and quickly positioned it again to nick her hip and send her spinning to the ground.

Smiling seeing victory at hand, he rushed in on the prone Sophia with his long sword low, and when he was a few feet away from her held it high. With a surprising burst of motion, the recently incapacitated girl, rose up from the dirt, and slashed at the side of his knee, colliding with it solidly and sending him to the ground on a heap. With a groan of pain as he rolled over onto his back, he opened his eyes to see the fair Sophia standing over him with both of her dirks poised over his neck. "I win" she cried in her cheery voice as she lifted the tips of the dirks from his throat and tossed them aside. Gingerly she offered her hand, which he clasped tightly, and she pulled him up beside her. " You did well today Darian, I look forward to our next spar" she added happily. With a blush of embarrassment and warm smile he patted her shoulder, and tossed his weapon on top of hers. Looking to her once more, he locked eyes with her and smiled. " Yes, well not good enough to beat you yet, but I’m getting there " he replied with a wry smile. "Yeah, I'm sure you'll be able to, maybe even before the end of the year" she added sarcastically, but all in good natured fun. " Our fight was real fun; meet you again tomorrow at the same time? I've got to go help my ma with the house work, but tell your parents I said hi " she said rapidly as she ran off. Always in a hurry to go someplace Darian mused silently with a laugh.

Pushing his hand into his weighted pocket, he felt a roughly circular shaped object in his pocket, and remembered it was the necklace he carved earlier that he meant to show Sophia. Oh well he could always show her tomorrow he thought and made a mental note in his mind to do that very thing the next day. Slowly he drew it out of his pocket to make sure it had survived the wild sparring, and was happy to find that it was intact. He turned it over a couple of times in his hand to examine its overall beauty, finding the lack of features in the white stone to be a small wonder. It had been easy to clean with a little bit of a spit wash that made it as clean as it ever would be, and it gleamed brightly in the noon day sun. A brief sting in his cheek was all the warning it cut gave him before a drop of blood dripped from his chin and splattered against the circular piece of bone he held in his hand. The figure he had carved within the circle, now gleamed bright red with this newest addition of color to it, and stood in stark contrast of the overall figure. Darian stared at the change in his carving for a little while seemingly mesmerized by the unusual beauty of it, the thin twine string hanging a few inches below his wrist. With a smile he examined it for a moment longer, before another sting on his face reminded him that he had a cut that needed care from his mother. Almost without a thought, he put the necklace on.
-The End

[Archelon]

Thread Award “Ole Archy'' once had a Pa too... I thunk I actually grew bigger then him though, check out 'dis picture I gotz of 'em." And the Results!!!!: Darian : SkillName 1-5 How/why? Weapon:Longsword 3 Carving 2 Malediction: 1 Very infinitisimal inadvertant use at such an age Reading 1 Bodybuilding 1 water bucket shuffle :3 Lores: Childhood friend:Sophia A Father's Memory: small shards of happiness. A Mother's Memory: small shards of happiness. Equipment: Maledicted item:Round Bone pendant Effects: As this was made from a dog that seemed to love chasing the stray cats and birds.When darian holds onto this pendant he becomes disliked by any cat he's petting. However, he receives a very slight bonus to his sense of smell but only things at very close distance under his nose. Nothing more than a 2% increase from the norm. Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? : Excellent thread Darian as per usual First time I factored a maledicted item. Hope this works :3 Any questions/comments/concerns feel free to send me a nice pm.