Today I arrived back home after strenuous weeks of creating memory stones. As I expected, the youngster they gave me to teach turned out to be a real pain in the butt. There’s nothing worse than trying to teach someone who believes himself infallible and already prepared for all eventualities. The guy actually thought that knowing something in theory was the same as doing it. Well, it is a far cry from theoretically knowing how to create a memory stone, to actually creating one. There are a great many subtleties that one only learns with experience.
Unfortunately Eetan had only rudimentary experience in creating stones and none at all with the higher levels. That’s why they had given him into my care, to teach him to create the ultra complicated level 5 stones. Unfortunately, though, he didn’t take well to constructive criticism, thinking himself pretty much perfect. More than once I had the strong urge to shake the guy until he saw reason or just plain kill him with the nearest heavy object. I held myself back time and again, trying to tell myself that the superiors must have seen something in this obnoxious twerp that was special enough to qualify him for the strenuous job they gave him.
This went on until last Wednesday when it all went south. All morning I had explained time and again that the techniques he had learned from his rulebooks were all nice and well but not applicable to the kind of stone we were working on. Eetan as always didn’t believe me. Oh, he would do as I said but complained all the time. I was fast reaching my limits of restraint.
Shortly before lunch time I reached a spot where I had to step out of the workroom or kill the insolent pup. I opted for the first option and went outside to get some air. In hindsight I know it had been stupid to leave him alone even if it was only for the few minutes I was gone.
When I came back into the room I immediately felt the wrongness in the air. While the door fell closed behind me I took in the situation presented to me. Eetan was crouching on the floor, his whole body stiff with tension. He didn’t react to my entrance, eyes fixed on the memory stone he held cradled in his trembling fingers. The stone was seconds away from exploding and Eetan was clearly unable to stabilize it.
I did the only thing I could do. I ripped the stone out of his hands and threw it into a corner while shoving Eetan to the floor and erecting a protective bubble around us. The explosion energy whipped through the room and over my shield with such excruciating force, that it ripped wholes into my shield. Pure magical power forced itself right into me, filling me up, trying to rip me apart. I blacked out for a moment and when I came to again it was over. Eetan lay still beneath me, trembling all over and staring in terror into my eyes. That’s when I realized they must have turned completely silver. As if on cue Ishta urges rampaged through me body, screaming of magic and power and hunger. Hunger for more. To take anything, everything. A lovely source conveniently trapped beneath me.
With a pained scream I jumped away from Eetan and backed into a corner. “Get out, you fool,” I spat at Eetan who was still lying where I’d left him.
At my scream he flinched, then drew himself up and hastened out of the room. I sat down right where I was and started meditating, fighting against the Ishta urges with all I had.
Hours later I had re-established a semblance of control over myself, though I still felt stretched thin. My body was trembling from exhaustion and my head felt as if it was filled with cotton wool. Everything was a blur and my hearing didn’t seem to work right.
I stumbled out of the work room and straight to my quarters. Everyone was intelligent enough to keep out of my way. I slumped into bed and slept till Thursday afternoon.
It was a knock on my door that woke me. Still half asleep, I got myself into an upright position and croaked, “Come in.”
In came Eetan carrying a tray loaded with food. My stomach rumbled at the sight, a sure sign that I was getting better. With a quiet “good morning” he placed the food on a table and turned back to me. Gone was the overconfident rooky I had seen so much of, replaced by a youngster who couldn’t meet my gaze and shuffled his feet. “The boss said that you’d be hungry by now. So, I thought I’d bring you something to eat.” A huge breath. “And I wanted to apologize. I shouldn’t have tried to create that stone without supervision.” Finally he raised his head and I could see the pain and sincerity in his eyes. “I was a fool. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have died.”
I sighed. “I forgive you. When I was your age I did a few foolish things too. The silver flecks in my eyes can attest to that.”
Eetan gave me a wobbly smile. “Thanks. I promise from now on I will listen better.”
And to my not little astonishment, he did. Nothing like a near death experience to open one’s eyes, I guess. The last few days went a lot better and I actually grew to like the boy.
Anyway, now that I am back home, real life hit me right in the gut. I found out what the agency had given as an explanation for my being gone and tomorrow I will have to go and talk to Chromvik. He is bound to be a bit miffed because I stood him up and then just left without so much as a bye-bye.
Unfortunately Eetan had only rudimentary experience in creating stones and none at all with the higher levels. That’s why they had given him into my care, to teach him to create the ultra complicated level 5 stones. Unfortunately, though, he didn’t take well to constructive criticism, thinking himself pretty much perfect. More than once I had the strong urge to shake the guy until he saw reason or just plain kill him with the nearest heavy object. I held myself back time and again, trying to tell myself that the superiors must have seen something in this obnoxious twerp that was special enough to qualify him for the strenuous job they gave him.
This went on until last Wednesday when it all went south. All morning I had explained time and again that the techniques he had learned from his rulebooks were all nice and well but not applicable to the kind of stone we were working on. Eetan as always didn’t believe me. Oh, he would do as I said but complained all the time. I was fast reaching my limits of restraint.
Shortly before lunch time I reached a spot where I had to step out of the workroom or kill the insolent pup. I opted for the first option and went outside to get some air. In hindsight I know it had been stupid to leave him alone even if it was only for the few minutes I was gone.
When I came back into the room I immediately felt the wrongness in the air. While the door fell closed behind me I took in the situation presented to me. Eetan was crouching on the floor, his whole body stiff with tension. He didn’t react to my entrance, eyes fixed on the memory stone he held cradled in his trembling fingers. The stone was seconds away from exploding and Eetan was clearly unable to stabilize it.
I did the only thing I could do. I ripped the stone out of his hands and threw it into a corner while shoving Eetan to the floor and erecting a protective bubble around us. The explosion energy whipped through the room and over my shield with such excruciating force, that it ripped wholes into my shield. Pure magical power forced itself right into me, filling me up, trying to rip me apart. I blacked out for a moment and when I came to again it was over. Eetan lay still beneath me, trembling all over and staring in terror into my eyes. That’s when I realized they must have turned completely silver. As if on cue Ishta urges rampaged through me body, screaming of magic and power and hunger. Hunger for more. To take anything, everything. A lovely source conveniently trapped beneath me.
With a pained scream I jumped away from Eetan and backed into a corner. “Get out, you fool,” I spat at Eetan who was still lying where I’d left him.
At my scream he flinched, then drew himself up and hastened out of the room. I sat down right where I was and started meditating, fighting against the Ishta urges with all I had.
Hours later I had re-established a semblance of control over myself, though I still felt stretched thin. My body was trembling from exhaustion and my head felt as if it was filled with cotton wool. Everything was a blur and my hearing didn’t seem to work right.
I stumbled out of the work room and straight to my quarters. Everyone was intelligent enough to keep out of my way. I slumped into bed and slept till Thursday afternoon.
It was a knock on my door that woke me. Still half asleep, I got myself into an upright position and croaked, “Come in.”
In came Eetan carrying a tray loaded with food. My stomach rumbled at the sight, a sure sign that I was getting better. With a quiet “good morning” he placed the food on a table and turned back to me. Gone was the overconfident rooky I had seen so much of, replaced by a youngster who couldn’t meet my gaze and shuffled his feet. “The boss said that you’d be hungry by now. So, I thought I’d bring you something to eat.” A huge breath. “And I wanted to apologize. I shouldn’t have tried to create that stone without supervision.” Finally he raised his head and I could see the pain and sincerity in his eyes. “I was a fool. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have died.”
I sighed. “I forgive you. When I was your age I did a few foolish things too. The silver flecks in my eyes can attest to that.”
Eetan gave me a wobbly smile. “Thanks. I promise from now on I will listen better.”
And to my not little astonishment, he did. Nothing like a near death experience to open one’s eyes, I guess. The last few days went a lot better and I actually grew to like the boy.
Anyway, now that I am back home, real life hit me right in the gut. I found out what the agency had given as an explanation for my being gone and tomorrow I will have to go and talk to Chromvik. He is bound to be a bit miffed because I stood him up and then just left without so much as a bye-bye.
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