9th of Summer, 509 AV
The same streets Lisana wandered so much passed by her unnoticed, as she was deep in thought. Her mother had told her she needed to start planning ahead. "You're going to be an adult soon,” she'd prodded, "You need a future, a career.” Lisana figured her mother had no idea what “soon” meant. There would be years before she was old enough for any form of adulthood. The twelve-year-old would often walk amongst the paths, looking in the storefronts and window shopping, jangling the kinas in her pocket and wishing she could afford the pretty jewelry and dresses she saw. There were moments when she'd stop, admiring a necklace or hat, before someone would grunt at her to keep moving. But not today. Today, she was lost in thought, thinking about her future. "You need some direction. Do you want to live on the streets?” her mother had demanded the night before.
Liz knew she wanted to do something involving magic... Maybe auristics? No. Morphing? Possibly.
Moments later, by some strange coincidence, a man passed by her. At first he seemed like any other person. He had a few grey hairs on his head, with creases at the corners of his eyes. His nose was a bit crooked, and there was a scratch running down his cheekbone. But that wasn’t it. What was accompanying him was quite… different, to say the least. A wooden figure, no more than six inches tall, walked aside him. The figure was most definitely not alive. It had a face painted on, but other than that, it was made completely out of wood. Lisana, driven solely by curiosity, had to go and inquire about it.
Crossing the path, Lisana tapped the man on the shoulder, having to stand on her tip-toes to do so. “E- excuse me?” she squeaked, quite unsure of herself.
The man turned around, his face so stern and grumpy-looking, she almost ran away. “Um…” the girl hesitated. “I was just wondering how you…” She paused again, before gesturing to the wooden figure, “That.”
The man’s face transformed from the cold facade to a bright, cheerful grin almost immediately. “Oh, you mean him?” the man motioned to the humanoid wooden creature. “have you never heard of animation?”
The child shook her head. She’d heard the word before, but had no idea what it was, or that it had anything to do with magic.
The man smirked. “Well, it’s not quite that well-known. It’s—,” He paused, “hard to explain. How ‘bout I show you?”
Lisana, having nothing better to do, followed him. As she walked, a thought continued to dance through her mind. What if this is the “future” my mother keeps nagging me to plan ahead for? She’d be fine with making dolls come to life for a living. In fact, she’d probably love it. As she walked alongside the man, and his little… thing, a variety of questions unearthed themselves. But one continued to reappear in her train of though. “What else can you do with animation?”
The man grinned, giving Liz a mysterious glance. “You’ll see. Be patient. I don’t think I caught your name, though.”
That’s because i didn’t say it, Lisana almost snapped, before realizing how rude it would be. “I’m Lisana,” she said, “What’s your name?” As she talked, Lisana kept looking at the figure, with its smooth movements. How the man managed to make something so finely-crafted was beyond her. “My name’s Eniden, nice to meet you,” the man replied, but the girl’s thoughts were elsewhere.
Liz yelped as the doll’s tiny hands, if you could call them that, began to hit her fist in protest. She’d picked the doll up, gently, just in case she’d hurt it. Eniden chuckled. “I don’t think he likes that.” The girl quickly set the figure back down on the ground, muttering a quick apology as she looked down on the ground in embarrassment.
The man laughed again. “It’s fine, just be careful with him. Took me ages to animate.” The figure had proceeded to mope behind them, its arms crossed in protest. Lisana couldn’t help but smile. “Does he have a name?”
Eniden shook his head. “No, unless you have one in mind,” he replied. Liz glanced at the figure for a moment before speaking. “He looks like a Frederick.”
The same streets Lisana wandered so much passed by her unnoticed, as she was deep in thought. Her mother had told her she needed to start planning ahead. "You're going to be an adult soon,” she'd prodded, "You need a future, a career.” Lisana figured her mother had no idea what “soon” meant. There would be years before she was old enough for any form of adulthood. The twelve-year-old would often walk amongst the paths, looking in the storefronts and window shopping, jangling the kinas in her pocket and wishing she could afford the pretty jewelry and dresses she saw. There were moments when she'd stop, admiring a necklace or hat, before someone would grunt at her to keep moving. But not today. Today, she was lost in thought, thinking about her future. "You need some direction. Do you want to live on the streets?” her mother had demanded the night before.
Liz knew she wanted to do something involving magic... Maybe auristics? No. Morphing? Possibly.
Moments later, by some strange coincidence, a man passed by her. At first he seemed like any other person. He had a few grey hairs on his head, with creases at the corners of his eyes. His nose was a bit crooked, and there was a scratch running down his cheekbone. But that wasn’t it. What was accompanying him was quite… different, to say the least. A wooden figure, no more than six inches tall, walked aside him. The figure was most definitely not alive. It had a face painted on, but other than that, it was made completely out of wood. Lisana, driven solely by curiosity, had to go and inquire about it.
Crossing the path, Lisana tapped the man on the shoulder, having to stand on her tip-toes to do so. “E- excuse me?” she squeaked, quite unsure of herself.
The man turned around, his face so stern and grumpy-looking, she almost ran away. “Um…” the girl hesitated. “I was just wondering how you…” She paused again, before gesturing to the wooden figure, “That.”
The man’s face transformed from the cold facade to a bright, cheerful grin almost immediately. “Oh, you mean him?” the man motioned to the humanoid wooden creature. “have you never heard of animation?”
The child shook her head. She’d heard the word before, but had no idea what it was, or that it had anything to do with magic.
The man smirked. “Well, it’s not quite that well-known. It’s—,” He paused, “hard to explain. How ‘bout I show you?”
Lisana, having nothing better to do, followed him. As she walked, a thought continued to dance through her mind. What if this is the “future” my mother keeps nagging me to plan ahead for? She’d be fine with making dolls come to life for a living. In fact, she’d probably love it. As she walked alongside the man, and his little… thing, a variety of questions unearthed themselves. But one continued to reappear in her train of though. “What else can you do with animation?”
The man grinned, giving Liz a mysterious glance. “You’ll see. Be patient. I don’t think I caught your name, though.”
That’s because i didn’t say it, Lisana almost snapped, before realizing how rude it would be. “I’m Lisana,” she said, “What’s your name?” As she talked, Lisana kept looking at the figure, with its smooth movements. How the man managed to make something so finely-crafted was beyond her. “My name’s Eniden, nice to meet you,” the man replied, but the girl’s thoughts were elsewhere.
Liz yelped as the doll’s tiny hands, if you could call them that, began to hit her fist in protest. She’d picked the doll up, gently, just in case she’d hurt it. Eniden chuckled. “I don’t think he likes that.” The girl quickly set the figure back down on the ground, muttering a quick apology as she looked down on the ground in embarrassment.
The man laughed again. “It’s fine, just be careful with him. Took me ages to animate.” The figure had proceeded to mope behind them, its arms crossed in protest. Lisana couldn’t help but smile. “Does he have a name?”
Eniden shook his head. “No, unless you have one in mind,” he replied. Liz glanced at the figure for a moment before speaking. “He looks like a Frederick.”