Early, Hour 9 of Dianara, Brightening 12 of Ionnes,
Summero of Era I of the Celestine Mandate
Era X Post Fractum in the Age of Darnkening, the Mageocracy of Julos the Mad
Paradigm: The Truce of Demios and the Merfolk
Vyoma:
Vyoma came back to the shop and now he was much more confident than before.
Customers or not?
Vyoma smiled to himself.
Yes. Customer. Few would arrive in few days.
Vyoma looked around the shop and said,
"I am ready for the lessons on tattooing. I am ready as I can ever be."
Quick Ki'Terra:
Ben the Ratta wore a slightly less conservative dress, yes a dress straight from the Turien's, on this brightening. She had remembered that the elf named Vyoma would return for his lessons. He was alone and Ben thought that he had failed his trials. Empty-handed he returned, without a new customer tagging along. Oh well. Either way, Ben was going to take him in as the Dagger Gaude's newest apprentice after Karniest Moil.
Ben wore a nice dress to impress the elf only because she was so lonely and hopeless that she would never reject another humanoid species' hand in marriage.
"Alright then, come here and take a seat."
Ben retrieved a set of materials for Vyoma.
"This set will cost you 70 crowns. Additional vials of tattooing ink will cost you 10 crowns each. Now you have enough for practice. We shall start with some terms. Have you any questions before we begin?"
Ben pushed the set of materials, inking needles, bamboo stick handle, vials of ink, Telath antiseptics, some cloth, and some diagrams. He could look them over before the lessons began.
"One thing, we shall meet for the next two cycles, one candlemark each brightening. You will need to practice on your own for one month to three, depending on your talent and gift to perfect Basic Tattooing skills. While you learn, you will work for me as a clerk and you will receive 50 crowns a cycle. Sounds great, eh?"
Ben blinked her beady eyes like a coquette and smiled an icky smile, revealing teeth that only Nartar Jarws would be proud of...
Vyoma:
Much of Ben's antics and gestures were not noticed and less of them were ignored. Vyoma was dumb in such issues. He, but was very dedicated and hung on to all the words that came out of her mouth.
Vyoma was as much of a apprentice he could be, for Ben was his master. Any skill, any knowledge, no matter when or where it came from were accepted by him.
Vyoma groped for his bag of crowns. He counted off 80 crowns without any attention, for he was looking at all the instruments that were laid in front of him. Vyoma wondered how the needle would feel when it would be piercing the skin. He wondered how he would feel when he would be piercing the skin of the customers.
How would A' Laena Ssin and Kédrelyn feel when they would be under the needle? Would they come at all as they had told?
Vyoma was busy looking at the intricate designs and the instruments of the art, and he nearly forgot that Ben was waiting for an answer. He placed the 80 crowns next to the instruments and looked up to her,
"I accept your offer. You are now my master." He then realized that she must be wondering of the customers who were supposed to come. "And yes, I did find two who were interested in the tattoos. I have shown them this Parlor and they should come in few days."
Vyoma was ready. He looked up at her, reluctantly peeling of his sight from where they were.
Quick Ki'Tera:
Ben nodded and counted the crowns quickly. She trusted the man would not be dishonest and cheat his "Master" of a few crowns here and there. With the kit in hand, Vyoma was now ready to start. The lessons would take a cycle to two to learn all the basics. But in order to graduate the the course, it would take Vyoma some time and practice. A month or two would suffice.
These lessons would be boring, Ben knew, so to make it more interesting, whenever Vyoma would snooze off or daza away, she'd give his arse a sound slap. It would not be harassment, that would be the way she taught him.
"You have a needle. Tattooing is a skill that requires one to have some deftness in handling the needle, a good eye, and a sense of aesthethics. I suggest you practice some drawing on your free time. One punctures the skin with a needle and makes numerous holes. Thicker needles are used to cover a larger amount of area, smaller ones usually used for detail and color, but for now I will only be teaching you one color, and that is black."
A vial of black ink was set next to Vyoma's hand.
"Tattooing is painful for the victim or rather the customer. There will be bloodshed and the wound must be cleansed with some antiseptic and warmed wet clothe to soothe the pain and cleanse the blood.
"Before we tattoo hairy patches of skin, it might be wise to shave off the hair first. Wipe the surface of the skin, heat the needle, ink the tip. The flame from a candle will suffice for heating. When we puncture the skin, do so to the middle layer only. No deeper, no shallower. And make sure the needle point is not too hot, else the victim feels unnecessary and additional pain. Understand? Might sound like cake, but I assure you it is not that easy. As you progress, you will use different sized needles... the workload is not facile. Now, take a look at these scrolls. Have any questions, please address them before we continue."
Vyoma:
Vyoma listened to Ben intently, letting each word dissolve and get absorbed by the mind. It was a tiring task. Though, Ben explained with proper emphasis and impregnated interest, and also Vyoma had great interest in gaining any knowledge, he did feel sleepy at times.
Yes, it was a tiring task. And whenever he was trailing with a doze, he would feel the sting of the slap on his hind quarters. He never felt harassed.
The master can do whatever the master wanted for the student to gain knowledge.
Vyoma took the scroll offered to him and gazed through it. He momentarily looked up with a questioning and troubled look on his eyes,
"How do I practice with the needle? I do not need to practice them on any guinea animals, do I?"
That compulsion would be a real pity.
Any knowledge, any skill, was welcome, but that would be a real pity.
A intelligent one who would be a tattoo-artist's customer, would be there, under the needle, under ones own will. Any animal, subjected to the same condition would suffer pain and suffering, both physicall, and mental. May be less physicall, and more mental. Vyoma did not want to cause suffering to any animal. He did want to be a druid and a spell-caster, one day. He just hoped, Ben would not ask him to do such a thing.
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