Little Kite, Big Dreams
Everything must be perfect.
The Story Continues
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Just as you are about to head out of the village to the place where the dogs live, someone calls out to you. "Ahriin!" You know that voice. You also immediately feel a bit uncomfortable. "A-Aran, hello." You barely manage to get out. "Feeding the dogs? You can't be doing that, not with your flight coming. Let me take care of it. You should go make sure everything is ready." he says as he takes the basket from your hands. "S-sure. I appreciate it." "We're all looking forward to it. Seeing you fly, I mean." You get a bit annoyed with him. Well, maybe not with him. You're annoyed with yourself for failing the last time. "See you at the ceremony Ahriin." You nod at him, not meeting his gaze, and he walks away. Your current location is about as far from your kite as you could be while still being in the village, which makes you even more annoyed because you know what you will be thinking about on your walk. When you were younger and Rana started talking about her feelings for boys - mostly Ewer - you didn't really understand. You still don't but back then you wanted to be part of the conversation too so you imitated her, talking about Aran. You don't know what these feelings she was talking about are. You know love, you have that for Rana and for your relatives and for your dog Gii, but from the way she talks it definitely isn't the same. You're pulled from your thoughts - and your eyes from the ground - as some of the residents speak up to you and wish you the best for the ceremony and assure you that they will be there. You thank them for their good wishes and start walking again. As soon as you are alone again the thoughts come back to your mind. Once when you were engaging in this talk of boys with Rana, you were saying some super embarassing stuff about Aran, you don't remember what you said, just that feeling when you saw him standing there. You don't know how much he heard but you still worry that you may have given him the wrong idea and simply cannot bring yourself to explain it to him. That was many years ago and - even though you still feel awkward around him - you can't say it. You get to the place where your new kite is tied down. The one you tried to use last year was irreparably damaged when you failed your first flight. It isn't an easy thing to build. Cassan - the windspeaker teaching you - only provides you with general knowledge and advice for constructing your windspeaker's kite. He says that it is something you must do for yourself, that the design you come up with must be your own. He even forbade you from closely examining his kite until after you become a windspeaker. You remove the stakes from the ground and fold the thin sheet - treated with the oil of a plant from far away to make it shed water - and pack them away nicely. You will need them later when you start your journey. This time the kite's materials are the same as the last but the construction is radically different. Now your kite is a large diamond made of four panels. It also has a smaller layer above the main to help catch the wind a little more, though you don't know how it will affect the handling. The fabric panels all appear to be intact and the wood in fine shape. You don't know if you could handle it being broken. The fabrics are the lightest and most durable you have seen and were gifts from the villagers. The wood was an incredible amount of work to fashion into poles - not to mention how far you had to travel to get it. Lifting it up carefully so as to not let it be blown away, you brush some dirt off of the various poles sticking out of the bottom. Some are used as handholds or footholds and some to support your body while airborne, while others are used to hold the small amount of gear you can carry. If everything goes well, this kite will soon be carrying you toward Yaliru's Throat, and hopefully beyond it to the Wildlands. You can't decide whether you should leave while most everyone is sleeping or if you should let them give you a send off. "Knew I would find you here." That voice, Cassan. "Teacher, did you just get here?" "Do not worry, I would never miss your ceremony. I must be here afterall." "I wasn't worried. You have never been late or let me down. Except when you wouldn't show me your kite." "And if I let you see it now?" he says and your hope soars. "Can I?" "What would you do? There is no time to build a new kite." his words bringing your hopes crashing back to the ground. "You're teasing me again." "Sorry but you play into it so well. Apologies again. You seemed to be deep in thought when I arrived." You nod. "Thinking about how to leave Iyorii behind?" "How did you know?" you say louder than you intended to. "Most people who become windspeakers want to build their own prestige or bring respect to their entire people. Some wish to serve their people and all the peoples of the Orth. Others wish to run from something. As many of us were orphans we run away from that. Why do you want to be a windspeaker?" "It is the path the village chose for me." "Truly?" You nod again. "Don't lie to me!" You look up. You've never heard Cassan yell before, not when you made mistakes in training and not even when you failed your first flight last year and you wished for nothing more than him to be angry with you. "If that is the only reason you were doing this I would never have trained you! I do not care if you lie to me but it is painful to see you lie to yourself." You struggle to find the words to respond to him. Cassan seems to be waiting for you, completely calm now. Time seems to drag on, stretched to its very limits by the silence. "I... I don't know how I fit in here. The dogs outgrew me, then my friends outgrew me, and now I feel like I don't have anyone to help me figure out what I should do." you say only looking at Cassan after the words run out. "Ahriin." Cassan walks over, sits down beside you, and hugs you from the side. "Some people are born with their life set out before them and wish for nothing more than to escape its trappings. Others find their calling very early and do everything they can to make it happen. People like you - people like me - we are trapped too. Not by a single shackle but by a thousands tiny ones pulling us in different directions. Who am I? What do I want?" You look up to him but his gaze is fixed over the Orthlands. Your teacher - the most composed person you know - just admitted he is as lost as you. "Look at me." he says as he pulls his hat up just a little. "My hair is turning grey and I still haven't decided what I should do." He turns to look at you. "The truth is that no matter what you choose to do, you will be content. People have an amazing ability to keep going no matter what." "Not that you should settle for content." he says laughing. "So how are you going to leave the village behind?" Time passes but it isn't strained like it was before. "I don't know yet. I will follow the wind when the time comes." you say, smiling slightly to which he nods stoically. "Speaking of the time coming, Ahriin, you should run to the ceremony site. I will make sure your kite gets there, in one piece." he says the last few words in a way to let you know he is teasing you about last year's crash.
What do you do?
The time is almost here. Go prepare for your windspeaker initiation.
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