Riveildian tales

A Stitch in Time

 Some mistakes are made to be learnt from; for the scars they leave will serve as a reminder of what danger we truly are to ourselves.

The setting sun painted the sky in a vibrant hue of pink and orange. While all the other children were well on their way home, three friends stayed behind in the school ground sitting by their favourite cherry tree. They sat in a circle around an apparatus Oliver had made. It was a small cylindrical object that stood upright through the aid of branches mounted into the ground. At it's top was a small round white sac tied up so its contents could only be observed by the roughness of the sac surface itself. And at its bottom hung a thick thread ran from the ground all the way up into the tube.

"Why exactly are we doing this again?" Thomas stated as he placed red fire gems around the base of the contraption. Oliver fastened a rope around the top of the tube holing the sac firmly in place on it.

"If this works, we would be able to launch bombs as far as the eye can see." Oliver said excitedly. "Imagine how useful that would be."

"Olly I'm pretty sure there are mages that can cast fire spells that would go even further." Amice said pointedly with a scoff. Oliver tugged against his last knot, tightening it one last time.

"Well maybe I just want to see something blow up, eh Amice?" The three friends chuckled at Oliver's confession. He then looked to Thomas and gave a short nod, gesturing for him to proceed. "Besides,..." Oliver added, "What better way to celebrate the beginning of our last week in the Riveildian institute."

Thomas took a deep breath in and faced his palm at the circle of fire gems. "Ignis." he chanted. Shortly after, the thread at the base of the tube burst into a small flame. The flame spread in controlled manner, leaving only a burnt up thread in it's path as it made its way up the inside of the tube.

With a Crack and a pop sound, the base of the tube soon began emitting smoke and then fire. The flames shot out streaks, each hotter and brighter than the last. The flames soon turned to a blaze firing out of the tube against the ground below it.

Oliver watched, his eyes beaming with excitement as he awaited his apparatus to launch into the air. However, moments before it could take off, one of the sticks mounted to keep the tube upright suddenly cracked and snapped, leaning the tube towards the direction of Amice.

"Watch out!" Oliver yelled as he dove towards his friend and pushed her out of the way. They both fell to the ground just in time as Oliver's little invention zoomed over their heads at an alarming speed.

"Oh, no." Thomas breathed as he watched the little contraption swirl in a haphazard motion in the air. It zipped up, down, left and right, leaving a trail of smoke and sparks in its path.

"Can't we stop it!" Amice yelled, frantic. Oliver held his head and ducked down as the contraption flew past them,

"It's a flying bomb, there's nothing we can do!" With a curved path, the contraption swirled into the air and then downwards through the windows of their classroom;

Boom!!!

Sparks flew out of the window as the whole classroom was lighted up. The three friends ran towards the class hoping the damaged they had caused would be somewhat manageable. As soon as Oliver stepped into the class he realized that he had made a costly mistake. While most of the class remained relatively undamaged, one thing had become damaged beyond repair. The one friend they always counted on to help them when they needed it. Oliver slowly walked towards what remained of Click-clacks, it laid on the floor, its glass face shattered. Oliver sank to his knees, he couldn't begin to comprehend the emotions that spun his head around. He hadn't just damaged valuable tool, he had destroyed his own friend.