Barek's exploits: The training of a mage
Mar 22, 2010 10:41:44 GMT -6
Post by Aaron Winsett on Mar 22, 2010 10:41:44 GMT -6
Aaron Winsett, a young, green haired, dusty-headed mage climbed wearily up the steps to his room for the night. He was fourteen years old, and had been training with his Grandfather, Barek Adams, for about two years now. Since starting, he'd had training in geology, tracking, and how to survive away from a town's resources. He'd worked on strengthening his mind as well as his body. Mathematics, history, the design of structures, and of course, the arcane arts of the magic of nature. Aaron could scarcely believe that he'd covered so much, and yet, the old man had such a way of explaining it that everything seemed to come off as entertaining, as though he was telling a story around a campfire. Sometimes he had been.
Earlier that day, they and various other students and staff of the place had finished the preparation for one of the old sage's many projects: an arboretum. It was to be a place where many shrubs and trees would grow. Specifically, plants that had, or were believed to have healing properties. Barek insisted that a strong body was one thing a mage should have, and so they were out digging the trenches for the irrigation system by their own physical effort, instead of hiring others or finding a way to do it with magic. During a break, one of the students asked why they weren't using magic to do the work, and Barek decided that perhaps a demonstration would be a good thing for his "work crew".
He stood up and approached one of the lines that they had yet to begin digging. Aaron was amazed as he witnessed his Grandfather simply thrust his hand out, and cause an intense burn, carving away the dirt to be dug out.
"You all want to find a better way to do the work. A faster, and easier way. It is a common goal of many people, and sometimes it works... but I want to show you something." By the time he finished speaking he had carved out the whole row, a good sixty to seventy feet. He turned back to them then. "Sometimes it is better to take the proper amount of time and devote enough effort to your task that it becomes valuable. Sometimes, if you hurry, you can find that the object you've been struggling for has merely become more difficult to attain."
The students watched the dirt behind their instructor collapse back into the newly dug trench. It was nearly as full as it had been before, and now the footing around the trench would be more difficult, due to the collapse. He looked back for a moment before laughing and returning his gaze to his students. "Haha...Certainly, I could've done that in a way that it would have remained stable, and prevented the collapse, but it would not have saved much time or energy. Some things are just better done without involving the use of magic."
They had all gotten back to work and that was one of the reasons that Aaron felt dusty, tired, and sore. He went in and cleaned himself up before heading off to bed. When he got to his room he found a stack of papers tied and resting on his bed. There was a note on them.
Aaron,
I finished looking through the Illian section of Master Barek's records of his travels. I'll keep sending them after I finish each section. He's really traveled alot of places.
James was one of the other mage apprentices, more advanced than Aaron, but still on friendly terms. Aaron pushed his hair back out of his face and opened the package for a brief perusal. He could spare a few minutes just to see what this was all about...
Earlier that day, they and various other students and staff of the place had finished the preparation for one of the old sage's many projects: an arboretum. It was to be a place where many shrubs and trees would grow. Specifically, plants that had, or were believed to have healing properties. Barek insisted that a strong body was one thing a mage should have, and so they were out digging the trenches for the irrigation system by their own physical effort, instead of hiring others or finding a way to do it with magic. During a break, one of the students asked why they weren't using magic to do the work, and Barek decided that perhaps a demonstration would be a good thing for his "work crew".
He stood up and approached one of the lines that they had yet to begin digging. Aaron was amazed as he witnessed his Grandfather simply thrust his hand out, and cause an intense burn, carving away the dirt to be dug out.
"You all want to find a better way to do the work. A faster, and easier way. It is a common goal of many people, and sometimes it works... but I want to show you something." By the time he finished speaking he had carved out the whole row, a good sixty to seventy feet. He turned back to them then. "Sometimes it is better to take the proper amount of time and devote enough effort to your task that it becomes valuable. Sometimes, if you hurry, you can find that the object you've been struggling for has merely become more difficult to attain."
The students watched the dirt behind their instructor collapse back into the newly dug trench. It was nearly as full as it had been before, and now the footing around the trench would be more difficult, due to the collapse. He looked back for a moment before laughing and returning his gaze to his students. "Haha...Certainly, I could've done that in a way that it would have remained stable, and prevented the collapse, but it would not have saved much time or energy. Some things are just better done without involving the use of magic."
They had all gotten back to work and that was one of the reasons that Aaron felt dusty, tired, and sore. He went in and cleaned himself up before heading off to bed. When he got to his room he found a stack of papers tied and resting on his bed. There was a note on them.
Aaron,
I finished looking through the Illian section of Master Barek's records of his travels. I'll keep sending them after I finish each section. He's really traveled alot of places.
Enjoy browsing them,
James
James
James was one of the other mage apprentices, more advanced than Aaron, but still on friendly terms. Aaron pushed his hair back out of his face and opened the package for a brief perusal. He could spare a few minutes just to see what this was all about...