Two is better than one
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 5:16 pm
Frost 60 122
Garr's relationship with his father had always been strained. His father, a successful businessman in the city, had always been disappointed in Garr's lack of skill at… anything. Garr's passion for elementalism was seen as a frivolous pursuit in his father's eyes aside from the profit it could bring. It didn't help that Garr had not yet moved up to the next level of classes, which his father saw as a sign of his lack of dedication to his studies. Garr's father had always been critical of him, but today the comment stung more than usual. Garr tried to brush off the rude comments and focus on his breakfast, but his mind kept drifting back to his failures. He knew he had to prove himself, but the task seemed daunting.
Garr trudged to his first class, Elementalism Theory, with a feeling of apathy. He had attended so many of these classes before and he already knew much of the content. Garr knew that the next level of classes had a checklist of requirements that needed to be fulfilled before they could move on to the next stage of elementalism. The list was long, but the most daunting one was mastering the control of two elements at the same time. Garr had tried it a few times, but it always resulted in failure, and he was far from mastering it.
As the lecture began, Garr tried to focus on the content, but his mind kept drifting back to his homework. He had already completed much of it, but he needed to refine some of his techniques to improve his control of his elements. Garr began working on his homework, absent-mindedly jotting down notes about the lecture while focusing on his elemental control exercises. Garr was creating small balls of fire and water, trying to simply sustain them simultaneously.
The professor's voice droned on, and Garr tried to listen, but he was too engrossed in his homework. The professor's words faded into the background as Garr focused his energy on controlling both elements. Garr could feel the heat from the flame on one fingertip and the chill from the water on his other fingertip. He closed his eyes, and his concentration increased as he envisioned the elements coming together in perfect harmony.
Garr let out a frustrated sigh as he watched the small ball of water on his hand lose shape and drip down his finger. He had been so close to controlling both elements simultaneously, but every time he focused too much on one, the other would slip from his grasp. The fireball he had been working on flickered out as he shifted his focus back to it, leaving him with a numb feeling in his fingertips. He rubbed his hands together, trying to generate some warmth to combat the chill.
As Garr attempted the exercise once more, he found himself getting lost in thought about the previous day's sculpting lesson. He couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment in himself, knowing that he had struggled with some of the more advanced shapes. If he couldn't even manage to control two elements at once, how would he ever hope to master the more complex aspects of elementalism?
Garr closed his eyes, trying to block out the distractions around him. He pictured himself holding two spheres, one of fire and one of water, and imagined them merging into one. Slowly, he opened his eyes and focused on the two elements in his hands. He felt a tingling sensation in his fingertips as the two balls began to collide. Of course, when the balls touched, the fire was put out by the water. That wasn’t the point though. He had actually sustained them both at the same time for a brief moment!
He couldn't help but let out a small cheer, drawing the attention of his classmates and even the professor, who had paused his lecture to glance over at Garr. Feeling embarrassed, Garr quickly quieted down and returned his attention to his homework.
"Garr, could you please pay attention?" the professor asked sternly, his gaze fixed on Garr's notebook.
Garr looked up, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He had been so caught up in his homework that he hadn't realized the professor had been talking for several minutes.
"Y-yes, sorry sir," Garr stammered, feeling a little ashamed.
The professor nodded and resumed his lecture, but Garr could feel the eyes of his classmates on him. As much as it pained Garr to do so, he decided to put his training on pause until the end of the lecture. Feeling embarrassed, Garr quickly quieted down and returned his attention to his notes.
Once class was out, Garr nervously walked up to his professor's office. He had to turn in his essay that was due by the end of the day. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. His professor, a stern-looking man with graying hair, greeted him with a nod. Garr handed over his homework, a stack of papers filled with detailed notes and diagrams, and held his breath as the professor glanced it over.
“Hmm? I’m not grading it now, you can be on your way,” the professor said and Garr nodded to him.
Garr quickly made his way back to his family's estate, eager to continue practicing his elemental control. He wasn’t exactly sure what his final exam would require him to do with two elements so it was imperative that he practiced as much as possible. As he passed by the servants, he gave a polite nod to those he liked, but mostly ignored the rest, feeling their existence entirely lacking of value.
As soon as he reached the courtyard, he found a quiet spot and began his practice. He focused on creating a ball of earth and a ball of water, and began experimenting with ways to make them rotate around each other. It was a difficult task, as he had to control the movement of two different elements simultaneously, but Garr was determined to master it. He was surprised that he was actually able to do such a thing. It turned out that after learning what it felt like to control two elements at once, it was much easier to do a second time.
He spent hours working on the technique, sweat beading on his forehead as he concentrated. Sometimes he would make progress, but other times the two elements would clash and he’d have to start all over. Garr's frustration grew, but he refused to give up. He tried different approaches, adjusting his focus and the amount of energy he put into each element. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Garr achieved his goal. The two balls were rotating around each other in perfect harmony, the earth and water maintaining the exact same shape.
Garr sat cross-legged on the cool stone tiles of the courtyard, his concentration solely on the two spheres of earth and water that hovered in front of him. He wanted to perfect the movements of the two elements together. At first, it was a struggle just to get them to rotate around each other without losing control and having them crash into one another. But as time passed, Garr's focus and determination grew stronger, and he began to experiment with different movements. He had the spheres spin in opposite directions, then switch to rotating in the same direction. He made them move in circles around each other, then had them move in a figure-eight pattern. It was challenging, but he found a strange satisfaction in the progress he was making.
As he basked in his success, Garr suddenly realized how late it had become. He quickly gathered his things and hurried back inside the estate, hoping to avoid any unwanted attention. The last thing he wanted was to have his parents or siblings inquire about his training or pry into his personal life. As he entered his bedroom, Garr collapsed onto his bed, exhausted but content.
Garr lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to clear his mind of elementalism altogether. The noise from elsewhere in the estate provided a steady background noise, but it did nothing to calm the anxiety that had settled in his chest. He had been trying to impress his father for what felt like ages, and the pressure was mounting. He knew his father's comments at breakfast had been a jab at his progress, and it only made him more anxious.
Garr closed his eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to calm his racing thoughts. He hummed a single note, trying to distract himself from the stress. He focused on the sound, trying to make it as pure and steady as possible. The hum seemed to reverberate throughout his entire body, and he felt a sense of peace wash over him. But as soon as he stopped humming, the anxiety returned. Garr rolled over onto his side and pulled the blankets up to his chin, feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. He knew he had to keep trying, keep practicing, but the thought of another day of these low level classes was almost unbearable.
Garr's relationship with his father had always been strained. His father, a successful businessman in the city, had always been disappointed in Garr's lack of skill at… anything. Garr's passion for elementalism was seen as a frivolous pursuit in his father's eyes aside from the profit it could bring. It didn't help that Garr had not yet moved up to the next level of classes, which his father saw as a sign of his lack of dedication to his studies. Garr's father had always been critical of him, but today the comment stung more than usual. Garr tried to brush off the rude comments and focus on his breakfast, but his mind kept drifting back to his failures. He knew he had to prove himself, but the task seemed daunting.
Garr trudged to his first class, Elementalism Theory, with a feeling of apathy. He had attended so many of these classes before and he already knew much of the content. Garr knew that the next level of classes had a checklist of requirements that needed to be fulfilled before they could move on to the next stage of elementalism. The list was long, but the most daunting one was mastering the control of two elements at the same time. Garr had tried it a few times, but it always resulted in failure, and he was far from mastering it.
As the lecture began, Garr tried to focus on the content, but his mind kept drifting back to his homework. He had already completed much of it, but he needed to refine some of his techniques to improve his control of his elements. Garr began working on his homework, absent-mindedly jotting down notes about the lecture while focusing on his elemental control exercises. Garr was creating small balls of fire and water, trying to simply sustain them simultaneously.
The professor's voice droned on, and Garr tried to listen, but he was too engrossed in his homework. The professor's words faded into the background as Garr focused his energy on controlling both elements. Garr could feel the heat from the flame on one fingertip and the chill from the water on his other fingertip. He closed his eyes, and his concentration increased as he envisioned the elements coming together in perfect harmony.
Garr let out a frustrated sigh as he watched the small ball of water on his hand lose shape and drip down his finger. He had been so close to controlling both elements simultaneously, but every time he focused too much on one, the other would slip from his grasp. The fireball he had been working on flickered out as he shifted his focus back to it, leaving him with a numb feeling in his fingertips. He rubbed his hands together, trying to generate some warmth to combat the chill.
As Garr attempted the exercise once more, he found himself getting lost in thought about the previous day's sculpting lesson. He couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment in himself, knowing that he had struggled with some of the more advanced shapes. If he couldn't even manage to control two elements at once, how would he ever hope to master the more complex aspects of elementalism?
Garr closed his eyes, trying to block out the distractions around him. He pictured himself holding two spheres, one of fire and one of water, and imagined them merging into one. Slowly, he opened his eyes and focused on the two elements in his hands. He felt a tingling sensation in his fingertips as the two balls began to collide. Of course, when the balls touched, the fire was put out by the water. That wasn’t the point though. He had actually sustained them both at the same time for a brief moment!
He couldn't help but let out a small cheer, drawing the attention of his classmates and even the professor, who had paused his lecture to glance over at Garr. Feeling embarrassed, Garr quickly quieted down and returned his attention to his homework.
"Garr, could you please pay attention?" the professor asked sternly, his gaze fixed on Garr's notebook.
Garr looked up, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He had been so caught up in his homework that he hadn't realized the professor had been talking for several minutes.
"Y-yes, sorry sir," Garr stammered, feeling a little ashamed.
The professor nodded and resumed his lecture, but Garr could feel the eyes of his classmates on him. As much as it pained Garr to do so, he decided to put his training on pause until the end of the lecture. Feeling embarrassed, Garr quickly quieted down and returned his attention to his notes.
Once class was out, Garr nervously walked up to his professor's office. He had to turn in his essay that was due by the end of the day. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. His professor, a stern-looking man with graying hair, greeted him with a nod. Garr handed over his homework, a stack of papers filled with detailed notes and diagrams, and held his breath as the professor glanced it over.
“Hmm? I’m not grading it now, you can be on your way,” the professor said and Garr nodded to him.
Garr quickly made his way back to his family's estate, eager to continue practicing his elemental control. He wasn’t exactly sure what his final exam would require him to do with two elements so it was imperative that he practiced as much as possible. As he passed by the servants, he gave a polite nod to those he liked, but mostly ignored the rest, feeling their existence entirely lacking of value.
As soon as he reached the courtyard, he found a quiet spot and began his practice. He focused on creating a ball of earth and a ball of water, and began experimenting with ways to make them rotate around each other. It was a difficult task, as he had to control the movement of two different elements simultaneously, but Garr was determined to master it. He was surprised that he was actually able to do such a thing. It turned out that after learning what it felt like to control two elements at once, it was much easier to do a second time.
He spent hours working on the technique, sweat beading on his forehead as he concentrated. Sometimes he would make progress, but other times the two elements would clash and he’d have to start all over. Garr's frustration grew, but he refused to give up. He tried different approaches, adjusting his focus and the amount of energy he put into each element. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Garr achieved his goal. The two balls were rotating around each other in perfect harmony, the earth and water maintaining the exact same shape.
Garr sat cross-legged on the cool stone tiles of the courtyard, his concentration solely on the two spheres of earth and water that hovered in front of him. He wanted to perfect the movements of the two elements together. At first, it was a struggle just to get them to rotate around each other without losing control and having them crash into one another. But as time passed, Garr's focus and determination grew stronger, and he began to experiment with different movements. He had the spheres spin in opposite directions, then switch to rotating in the same direction. He made them move in circles around each other, then had them move in a figure-eight pattern. It was challenging, but he found a strange satisfaction in the progress he was making.
As he basked in his success, Garr suddenly realized how late it had become. He quickly gathered his things and hurried back inside the estate, hoping to avoid any unwanted attention. The last thing he wanted was to have his parents or siblings inquire about his training or pry into his personal life. As he entered his bedroom, Garr collapsed onto his bed, exhausted but content.
Garr lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to clear his mind of elementalism altogether. The noise from elsewhere in the estate provided a steady background noise, but it did nothing to calm the anxiety that had settled in his chest. He had been trying to impress his father for what felt like ages, and the pressure was mounting. He knew his father's comments at breakfast had been a jab at his progress, and it only made him more anxious.
Garr closed his eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to calm his racing thoughts. He hummed a single note, trying to distract himself from the stress. He focused on the sound, trying to make it as pure and steady as possible. The hum seemed to reverberate throughout his entire body, and he felt a sense of peace wash over him. But as soon as he stopped humming, the anxiety returned. Garr rolled over onto his side and pulled the blankets up to his chin, feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. He knew he had to keep trying, keep practicing, but the thought of another day of these low level classes was almost unbearable.
