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 Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 11:16 am
Viveka waved to Yhsele and the other men as they wandered off, and quickly rose to his feet when he was certain they were gone. Tinerr? Tinerr... Natsu told him about Tinerr! It was... Southeast of Mez... Right? He felt a lump forming in his throat as he thought about how he would have to make the journey alone, and wandered back to his house.
Natsu had gone off somewhere, as had Rastian, and everyone else was out hunting or busy. No one could give advice to him, nor help him, he was in this by himself. He sighed, grabbed his tool kit and paint set, along with a satchel, and set out for Tinerr.
(Adventure continues below)
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 11:25 am
Of course, being the nervous boy that he was, Viveka forgot that travelling at night was incredibly difficult. He had wanted so bad to get to Tinerr and start working that he had jumped the gun and left before there was enough light to see! He stumbled around upon rocks and foliage, and even fell into a puddle or two, before he located a settlement in the distance. Eagerly, he hurried inside.
However, instead of reaching Tinerr as he hoped, he had wandered into Liem. An kindly elder allowed him to spend an hour's rest in her home and gave him a lantern to use for the rest of the journey, so he could at least be able to read some signs. After his rest time was up, he was back on his feet for the rest of the walk to Tinerr.
He reached Tinerr just as the sun was rising, which made him feel more confident about what he was doing, and made his way to the center of the village. Yshele hadn't given him any specific instructions on where to go after he reached Tinerr, so he figured sitting in the town's center would be his best bet at being seen. Now, all he had to do was wait.
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 2:02 pm
The sun was beginning to rise over Tinerr and the bodies that laid within the small buildings began to rustle and make noise. The day was just starting.
Viveka's choice in the center of town was well placed; the larger building across the circle of space just happened to be a 'town hall' of sorts; no doubt where his group of elders would meet at some point.
And as if on cue, the people from the village began to exit their homes and go about their daily tasks. The elderly men that Viveka had met in Mez, those without names at least, passed Viveka by on their way to the town hall. Some noticed his looks and eyed him quickly before proceeding, others seemed to just not notice him at all.
Finally, Jehb and Yhsele appeared from behind some buildings to Viveka's left and seemed to be talking to each other on their way to the hall. Yhsele was the first to notice Viveka, getting Jehb's attention and pointing out the young man from across the circle. Jehb seemed to grimace at the face he saw and huffed while Yhsele seemed to convince him to go with Yhsele to meet up with him.
"Ah good, you made it." He cleared his throat and motioned to Viveka's right, where there was a large covered cart sitting nearby. "There's the clay. We want this life sized... and hollow. We'll need to get it nice and hot to get it to fuse so it's gotta be a pretty even consistency. Now, as for pay and deadlines." Jehb seemed to perk up with this. They hadn't actually discussed how much Viveka was going to be paid as a group, so Yhsele bringing it up now was something of a shock. "We'll give you 100 coins for your trouble, and a week to do it. Sound fair?" Yhsele finished but Jehb didn't seem to like the idea. 100 was quite a large amount for someone without any credentials and no status. Yhsele must be going senile. "What he meant to say was: yer getting 60 coins." Jehb poked at Yhsele as a warning. "And that's if we like it."
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Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 8:49 pm
Viveka was pleased to see Yhsele as he and Jehb appeared, and rose to greet him warmly, despite a "sixth sense" telling him to steer clear of Jehb. He couldn't expect everyone to like him or appreciate his work, he couldn't expect grown men to think anything highly of him...
He could only expect that fate would do whatever it wanted with him.
"It's good to see you! Did you have a safe travel back?" He asked, smiling towards the pair. Amber eyes followed Yshele's hands as he motioned over to the cart and widened. My, the was a lot of clay... Hollow, life-sized, in a week? Oh... How was this... He gazed up from his staring just as Jehb corrected Yshele. "Yes sir, of course!" He replied. "Where will my work station be, if I may ask?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 6:47 am
Both pair of eyes watched Viveka steadily and rather slowly, as if they didn't understand the question. Finally Jehb spoke up with his rough and aged voice. "Work station? What da ya mean work station? Yer workin right here." Jehb motioned for the center of the plaza.
It was as if it was obvious to the two older men and the question was the silly naivety of a child. Even Yhsele smiled at the question, as if he must have been joking. "Well, we'll let you get to it then. Don't work too hard." Jehb grumbled out a remark that sounded something like "He better be workin hard." before the two of them turned and with a wave from Yhsele, they disappeared into the town hall, joining the other members of Tinerr's council.
Viveka was left alone, with the clay, the space he was to work in, and the occassional flow of people that would cut through the square to get where they needed to be.
[Viveka must start the sculpture. Solo his sculpture process; it may be as long or as short as necessary.]
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 4:33 pm
His work station was... HERE?! They... They... Had to be...
No, no, they weren't kidding, of course they weren't, why would they bother? A rough, staggered sigh plummeted from Viveka's lips as he was left virtually alone to begin his work, before the boy simply turned on his heels and set to examining the clay.
It was a good size, wonderful quality, and surprisingly lightweight. Good, he wasn't that reliable at lifting heavy things anyway. He scratched his chin, gazed towards the sun, and nodded to himself. He could complete this in a week, no problem.
Day one was spent measuring and placing the correct size with the specific part of the statue he needed to craft. All the while, he pondered just how he would make something so large, hollow in the middle. By the end of the day he had all the clay in the right slot, but no ideas on how to execute what he was supposed to do.
Day two he had risen with an idea from a dream he had the night before. He would make the statue in halves and press the edges together so that the middle was hallow but the statue appeared closed. Genius! Eagerly, he dug into the clay and set to work upon the first half of the Mammu.
Day three came and went with shocking speed, but not because of procrastination. Viveka had been so busy fussing over the details of the now roughly complete half of his statue that he hadn't bothered wondering about the time. Sleeping was difficult that night due to the heightened activity in his mind. He needed to rest in order to do good work, but his brain wasn't too inclined on cooperating with that demand.
Day four, needless to say, started when most would still consider it to be day three. Every last detail had been finished on one half of the statue, which had been place aside in favor of working on the half yet to be started. By late afternoon, Viveka's handy work had built up more than half of the second half, before the overtired Ice boy began to see stars before his eyes. He slid off the ladder and, luckily, onto his blankets and pillow. Upon contact with the soft fabric, he was dead to the world.
Day five started later than he would have liked, but not so late that he wanted to start panicking. He scaled the ladder once more and finished the remainder of what was lacking upon the second half of the sculpture. Finally, with clay covering much of his own body, he had the chance to step back and analyze both halves. Miraculously, they were symmetrical, give or take a few stray marks or two. Easily fixable with a little water and a brush, no reason to fuss. The sun was setting just as he decided to push them both together, making sure that both sides had absolutely no contact in the center. With a smile, he patched the sides together with wet clay and smoothed the lines together. He would rest easy knowing that the hardest part was over.
Day six was spent making finishing touches, but not before a flurry of panic woke him from his otherwise peaceful sleep. Didn't his mother say something about poking a small hole in the bottom of a hollow statue so it wouldn't crack or explode or something when it was heated?! How was he going to do that now?! He paced, took a deep breath, and opted to make a small hole in the middle of the top of the statue instead. Hopefully it would accomplish the same thing, he really didn't want to screw this up!
At the end of the sixth day, Viveka was gazing proudly up at his completed work of art. While it wasn't painted, he had forgotten to ask if they wanted it painted or not to begin with, it was still a thing of beauty. Now all he had to do was guard his creation and wait for Jehb and Yhsele to inspect it in the morning. And so, with a yawn, Viveka lay down in front of his sculpture and slept. He hoped that these men would like it and that he had done a good job.
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Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 6:05 am
On the morning of the seventh day, the sun rose up from the mountains surrounding Sauti and the people of Tinerr began to shuffle and move about. The councilmen came out from their homes and resumed their places in the town hall, while Yhsele and Jehb were nowhere to be seen.
After waiting more than an hour, Yhsele and Jehb appeared from behind and row of buildings, seeming to be in heated conversation with each other. They approached the town circle and both stopped in their tracks as they saw the sculpture in the center of the space.
It was hard to decide what it was that they were feeling, but when they approached Viveka it didn't take them long to voice their opinions. Jehb opened his mouth first, his brows furrowed. "What d'ya call that mess?" Jehb grumbled out.
It was not up to their specifications.
Yhsele, while nicer, seemed to feel the same way. "I suppose you did your best… though we are a little disappointed." He sighed and looked back at the large sculpture behind them. It was sloppy for what they were asking. But what did they expect from a prentice, right? Yhsele scratched his head and heaved a heavy sigh. "It will have to work though. We already scheduled for the firing crew. We won't be able to get people to drop their work again." He said this out as if to no one in particular, and Jehb grumbled in agreement.
As they began to debate between themselves the pros and cons of what was happening now, seeming to have forgotten that Viveka was even there, a woman came out from one of the side streets, seeming to have come in from out of town. She looked around, spotted the sculpture along with the three of them convening around it and approached the group.
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Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 12:07 pm
Viveka bowed his head towards them and kept quiet. Right, it was a mess, it wasn't up to par with what they wanted. Slowly, he nodded as they spoke, but appeared to be a world away.
His mother would be so disappointed with him if she were here right now.
Why did he think he could accomplish a task like this?
He should just pack up and go home, this was pointless from the beginning.
He raised his head to speak, of more specifically, say his farewells, but the woman caught his eye. Who was she? Was she another elder come to inspect his work? Oh, no! She would be displeased and he would feel even worse! He had to do something, he had to say something!
"Please, miss, this is..." He whispered, his expression dismal. "A shameful work... I don't mean to be rude, but... There are plenty of other fine arts you could observe than this..."
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Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 2:48 pm
The older men continued to speak to each other in rushed speech, ignoring the going ons around them, until the young woman finally came upon them and cleared her throat. "Yhsele! Jehb! Long time no see. Giving this kid a hard time I see." She winked at Viveka, acknowledging what he had said without specifically responding to it.
The elderly men looked to the woman in shock before their crinkled old faces took on a smile. Even Jehb seemed to get a little more playful. "Ah, Vescillea. How good of you to deem us worthy of your visit." Yhsele responded, clapping a hand lightly on her shoulder. The tension seemed to have vanished in the air, replaced with the smooth rhythm of Vescillea's presence. "We were just discussing the latest piece to join our humble village." Yhsele piped in. "Piece a what, we dun know yet." Jehb added in.
Vescille turned to the sculpture and scratched her chin, analyzing the piece in front of her and then turning to Viveka and analyzing the boy. "Well, given your size and age, I would say you didn't do half bad. You old men have to learn to be more polite." Vescillea laughed out.
"Now what do you think of it? Honestly." She asked of Viveka seriously, a hint of playfulness still in her eyes.
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Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:56 pm
Viveka watched the trio speak, his eyes still somewhat distant from the conversation at hand. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in what was going on, it was just that his own emotions were inhibiting his ability to focus properly.
He was sure that they would not recommend his work.
He was sure that this would be his final work in this region.
He was sure that the woman just said his work wasn't half-bad.
Wait, what?!
"Oh, uh, what do I think about it?" He squeaked, seemingly stunned that he had been asked for his own opinion. He gazed up towards his statue, gave it a once over, and smiled sheepishly. "I think it isn't the best I can do, but in that same sense, I'm still learning. I haven't really worked with this medium before, stone is my forte, so I'm pleased that I actually managed to manipulate it to form a Mammu." He paused, chuckling nervously. "I suppose, now that I look at it again, it isn't as horrible as I thought it was a few minutes ago..."
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2013 4:08 am
Jehb croaked out a smart response to Vescillea's interruption. " 'S not our fault the boy told us he was so great his sculptures made his old man cry. Yer tend to expect a little more when yer hear that."
Vescillea listened to both the boy and the old men before speaking again. "Well it looks to me like a little bit of family sentiment in that one, though I can't argue with you there. What's your name kid?" Vescillea asked before looking to the old men. "And how much did you agree to pay him?" She squinted her eyes, like the old men might try to weasel out of their end of the deal, whether they were happy or not with it, what they were trying to pay him was probably too little anyways.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2013 12:42 pm
Viveka shrunk back as Jehb spoke about what he had said a few days earlier. He fought against the pull to go back to being overly critical of himself and took a breath.
"My mother was a sculptor who passed away six years ago," He explained. "When my father saw the sculpture I made in her honor, he did cry..."
He took another breath and smiled towards Vescillea.
"I'm Viveka, ma'm." He replied. "And I believe Jehb said 60 coins, which is enough for me, unless they'd rather lower. If they would, I understand."
For him, it wasn't about the money, it was about proving to himself that he could sculpt and that he wasn't running blindly into uncharted territory. If there was no payment, he'd go home knowing that he tried his best and that, next time, he would push himself to do better.
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Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:41 am
The two old men stopped in their antics when Viveka spoke up about the price agreed upon; Vescillea also giving him a sideways look, her amusement a little peaked. Vescillea had asked the elders what they had agreed upon, she had not addressed Viveka. Though it was a comment made without thought, it didn't help shed any sort of flattering light on Viveka.
The three shrugged off the faux pas, chalking it up to naive youth, and Vescillea spoke up again, nodding to Viveka. "Alright then, let's have it." She smiled to Yhsele and winked at Jehb teasingly, knowing that he was more sour about the payment than Yhsele would be.
Jehb grumbled and stalked off to join the other members of the council inside of the town hall and let Yhsele take care of the rest. Yhsele and Vescillea shared a short burst of laughter while Yhsele reached for his coin purse and retrieved the agreed upon amount and handing it to Viveka.
Vescillea winked to Viveka before patting Yhsele on the back. "Well now, that wasn't so hard. And the sculpture doesn't look all that bad. Who knows, maybe in a couple of years it will need touch ups?" She hinted, knowing that she was throwing Viveka in with a steady client and someone she could keep an eye on. "There's a lot of room for improvement, but I'm sure he can do it." Vescillea wrapped an arm around Yhsele. "Now, let's go see about that council meeting." The pair of odd wind tribesmen turned and walked off to the town hall, talking and joking amongst themselves as they went.
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