fleets: WHOA what happened?! I'm updating already? This is too weird... O.o
Not that I'm complaining :D
Chapter 11: Study
"Hey Vaati, are you busy today?"
"Yeah."
"Oh. Well, Bentari and some guys are going to the pond and I thought I might go. Can't work wait? Come with us."
"Delta, I can't. I have to do this or I'll never get anywhere in my apprenticeship."
"All right. Good luck with that."
"Yeah, have fun."
XXXXXXX
One Saturday afternoon, footsteps hurried their way down the staircase of the flowerpot home at the edge of the village. They maneuvered around the various furniture found in the rooms until they stopped in front of the door to Ezlo's room. Vaati knocked loudly, slightly out of breath with excitement.
"Master Ezlo! Master Ezlo! I finished!"
Vaati waited for a few minutes outside the door, waiting for an answer. Finally, when he was sure he wasn't going to get one, he barged open the door and found his master asleep on a couch with a half-read book propped over his face. He could hear snores through its pages.
"Master Ezlo wake up!" he called. One of Ezlo's hands waved in the air.
"No…no…I'd like that to go I tell you…"
Vaati rolled his eyes. He considered his master for a bit as the sage turned over and the book rolled off of his face. Hmph. The apprentice tried again.
"Wake up you old geezer! You snore like a hog."
The book fell onto the floor with a loud thud and Ezlo woke up with a start. The sage scrambled up and looked around the room wildly. "Who's there?!" His eyes landed on Vaati who appeared as shocked as he did. "Goddesses, boy, knock before you come in next time!" He straightened himself out, wondering why his apprentice appeared somewhat shaken.
"But I did knock, Master Ezlo. You didn't answer so I thought I should just wake you up." Whew, good thing he didn't hear what I said.
Ezlo picked up the book he had dropped from the floor and shook his head. "Well you must have something important to say if you decided waking me up was worth your time, m'boy."
Vaati was all smiles as he held out the book he had been given a while ago and beamed proudly, "I finished the book Master Ezlo."
"Why that's great! That was awfully quick, boy, I hope you didn't just read it but understood the material as well?" Ezlo asked with a hint of surprise.
"Yeah, can you test me?"
"Ok then, let's get started right away. Are you ready? What is the first most important thing to consider before attempting a spell?"
For the next hour, Ezlo drilled Vaati and the young apprentice smartly answered each question given to him. Although he stumbled a few times, the mistakes were minor and Ezlo was mostly impressed by the amount of knowledge Vaati had managed to gather from the book he had been given. It was apparent that the boy had been determined to pass this part of the apprenticeship and it made Ezlo's heart flutter with joy when he saw the potential his apprentice had. Vaati had studied the material so well that he could occasionally pick out entire paragraphs out of the book when he answered Ezlo's questions. By the time they were done, Ezlo was proud for the boy.
"My word, boy, I'm impressed," he smiled.
Vaati was grinning from ear to ear. Wringing his small hands together in anticipation, he asked the question he had been dying to ask. "Master Ezlo, can you teach me how to do magic?"
The old sage started. Of course he should have expected his apprentice to ask him that question but it still made him hesitate. He looked at Vaati – small and a little sickly, he was the type of boy who was as fragile as a dried leaf. Magic was a dangerous practice in inexperienced hands, and he felt that although Vaati had mastered his studies fantastically so far, it was too early for him to begin any real magic. There were countless horror stories regarding sages who taught apprentices magic too early, and the thing Ezlo feared most was to lose his dear prodigy.
Ezlo had underestimated how quickly Vaati would master the first book, and he had counted on a few more months of reading on Vaati's part before the apprentice was finished. Ezlo shook his head. No, it was still too early…
"Mmm, it's still too early for you m'boy. Here, take these books as well and we'll do the same thing we did with the first one. Considering how quickly you were able to read the first one, these should give you no problems."
Vaati's face fell in disappointment, and a flicker of frustration blossomed on his face when he saw that his prizes for completing his assignment were twenty new books to read. They were all thinner than his last book, but still…twenty books were a ridiculous amount. It had taken him roughly a month to finish his first book and with sacrifices of free time no less – this was going to take him years. "Master Ezlo…I don't think I can finish this…"
Ezlo scratched his beard. "Well I certainly don't expect you to finish this in a week or even a month for that matter." He put a hand on his apprentice's shoulder encouragingly. "Remember that this is an apprenticeship, boy. These things are supposed to take years of study. Just think that I'm giving you everything you have to learn in advance instead of one at a time. I know you can do it, boy, you're my apprentice after all."
Vaati was not happy. He felt he had been deceived. "What's wrong with teaching me now? I mean, I proved I know all the important concepts of sorcery and I even know some of the basic theories behind the simple spells. Can't I just try one of those?"
"What?! No, you're too young, and the consequences that come with failing a spell can sometimes be dangerous. Read the books I've given you. When you finish, I might show you how to do a healing spell." Ezlo explained hurriedly.
"But Master Ezlo, you gave me twenty volumes…"
Ezlo decided he wanted to end the conversation. "That's just how serious magic is. Go read now, I'm busy."
In fact, Ezlo wasn't busy at all and he felt slightly guilty as he watched his talented apprentice wordlessly leave the room with some of the books, all his previous energy drained out of him. The boy was so young and it had caught Ezlo off guard by the speed at which he had been able to master the material. It wasn't normal, and he couldn't help but think that though Vaati was talented it was too early for him to be learning magic.
You need a certain maturity to master magic, and that only comes with experience and age. He convinced himself. When Vaati finishes his readings…when Vaati is a little older…then I'll teach him. He's not ready yet.
Yes, the readings had mostly been an excuse to buy time. Nonsense, they are also important knowledge that will help him be more prepared when the time comes to learn magic…
Ezlo paced around his room for a bit and then sat back down on the couch with his head in his hands. He wasn't very good at showing affection so far, he admitted, but he treasured Vaati more than anything. Vaati probably didn't understand just how much he meant to him, and he was reluctant to place him in any sort of danger.
And how dangerous magic was in the hands of the inexperienced. He shuddered when he remembered the funeral he attended for one of his fellow sage's apprentice who had died when he had attempted to perform his first elemental spell. Ezlo had no idea why the sage had allowed his apprentice to attempt an elemental spell so early – those were one of the more advanced spells that existed. He did not want to attend Vaati's funeral either – he could never be too cautious, could he?
Even so, Vaati had appeared so crestfallen…
Ezlo sighed. Perhaps he'll talk to the boy about this again sometime. He opened his own book he had been reading before he had fallen asleep earlier, and flipped to the chapter on wish stones and soul mirrors. But first, however, he was going to work a little bit on his own project.
XXXXXXXX
The first snowfall. Winter.
"Vaati, let's have a snow fight! I'll go round up everyone else."
"I can't. I'm busy."
"…Hey, we don't hang out anymore."
"I know, but I just don't have time."
"They say you can find time for anything if you try."
"Delta you make me sound like I'm not trying! I AM. You have no idea what it's like!"
"…"
"…"
"Um, sorry."
"…See you later Delta."
"Bye."
XXXXXXXXX
Ezlo craned his neck around the side of the staircase and frowned when he saw candlelight sneaking its way out of the cracks beneath the door to Vaati's room. He barely saw him because Ezlo was usually in his room working on his project while Vaati stayed in his to complete his readings. Vaati rarely went out to play anymore, and he worried he had pushed his apprentice too far. Ezlo hadn't expected Vaati to read almost nonstop without giving himself any time to play with friends like kids his age should be doing. The boy's determination scared him a little.
Ezlo knocked softly on the door and pushed it open slowly. Tired ruby eyes greeted him from behind the covers of a book. "It's getting late, boy. You should rest."
Yawning, Vaati closed the book a little reluctantly. "I have to get through all of this though," he waved his hand at the pile of books by his bed.
"I want you to understand that I never intended for you to lose your childhood over this apprenticeship. To complete what I have given you in a single year is impossible. These things take time." Ezlo brought a chair up next to Vaati. He watched the boy staring blankly at the wall. He sighed. "I know you want to learn how to do magic, boy, but have patience. This is a little ridiculous."
Vaati's lips were drawn tightly into thin lines.
"I'm giving you another assignment because you seem to have problems with time management."
The thin lines dropped into an 'O' of sheer numbing incomprehension. Vaati began to stammer.
"This weekend I forbid you to go anywhere near your books," Ezlo began with a smile, and he noticed his apprentice begin to relax and let out a chuckle of relief. "Go out there and play with your friends. Do you think you can do that, boy?"
"Yes Master Ezlo!" Vaati squeaked. For a second, it looked as though the apprentice was going to jump up and hug him out of happiness but Vaati quickly caught himself and gave a reserved grin instead. Ah, well, I suppose he still needs time to trust adults, Ezlo thought sadly. The sage ruffled the boy's lavender hair and laughed when Vaati wrinkled his nose in annoyance.
Ezlo stood up and snuffed out the light while he made for the door. "I expect you to excel in the next assignment," he said gruffly. "It should teach you to find a nice balance between work and play."
"Thank you Master Ezlo."
The sage walked out and clicked the door closed. He took a deep breath. Hopefully that solves that problem. Vaati's work habits had become borderline unhealthy. Ezlo laughed silently to himself, thinking of how he had to force his boy to go play instead of work. How absurd!
He still couldn't believe Vaati's determination to learn magic had caused the boy to pursue the venture with complete disregard for himself and others. Forcing him to play over the weekend was only a temporary fix, and Ezlo had a feeling that his apprentice would go back to his old ways if opportunity presented itself. He shook his head. So determined.
On his way to his own bed to rest for the night, the sage detoured to one of the packages that had arrived earlier that day. He tapped it thoughtfully with his cane before he went away. Tomorrow he was going to surprise Vaati with a small present. It might be the thing to let Vaati know for now that he was serious about teaching him the secrets of the magical arts, and that he meant something like a son to him.
Well, it'll take time…but the old sage could hope…
fleets: Ezlo isn't ALL that bad. They both just suffer bouts of poor communication at times. Of course, almost all messy relationships I've seen have something to do with bad communication. (noes! forshadowing!) D:
Reily96: Ooooh yes yes yes the CAP. Once he gets it he'll be short no longer (false)! But he is easily defeated with homework...
Victoria-BlackHeart: And now even more homework. His new homework isn't too bad though :)
Bishieluver01: There will be one huge thing that will tip him over the edge - you'll definitely know what it is when you see it
marium: Hmm, you'll see later that whether it's worth it or not depends on the point of view...
DarkLinkvsRaineSagefan101: Oh yay that's great to hear! REALLY?! One month?! Goodness, that's way too long.
H-bomber: Yup, it was a huge book but Vaati was able to read it in about a month determined little fellow.