Receiver of the Candle Light (Candlestick Maker Shadow Mission/Solo)

MUSE

That day was the first day in what seemed like forever that Gawain was traveling on his own, seeking knowledge from someone he only knew from the few details he was given. Candlestick making sounded the most peaceful and interesting to Gawain out of the five professions; plus, to the boy who noticed the little things in life, candlestick making sounded like a technique that needed to be passed down before it went extinct. Yet, that was just the boy caring too much for a thing that he never quite understood. Gawain, having experienced quite a bit of his life alone without anyone to take care of him, wanted to insure that nothing like that ever happened to anyone. By learning a profession such as this, the boy could at least pass the technique onto others that had nothing else; it was one way of aiding those he designated as the target of his goal.

As Gawain roamed the streets of Bellmuse, he tried his best to evade crowds of people, not wanting to get in the way of anyone. Once in a while though, for any homeless person or anyone that, in general, required guidance Gawain would stop by, writing them a small response to the best of his abilities to answer them; however, not all responses he got were of kindness and compassion. Some people were too impatient, pushing him aside as this strange boy had come up to them, wasting their time for a paper response. Nevertheless, Gawain continued to do so as he came closer and closer to his designation, knowing that each person he truly helped was able to pursue with their own desires and wants with more ease. With his casual attire donned: a white coat undone to reveal his deep blue shirt that, paired with his white slacks and white shoes, made him seem like a pure and innocent boy, Gawain stepped up to the candlestick shop, clearly knocking on the door as he waited for a reply. Hopefully the maker heard it, or else he'd have to continue on for a while.

Unfortunately, the candlestick maker didn't, most likely due to his hearing impairment, so Gawain tried once more, knocking harder and longer that time. "Hello! Please, let yourself in, I'm busy right now!" an old, but clearly wise, voice exclaimed from within the shop. With the second time being a success, Gawain politely let himself in with a calm expression on his face which bore a small smile at that; the boy turned the knob on the door, pushed the door forward, and walked right in to what he found was the candlestick shop.

In the main room of the shop, there was the obvious counter with its small register, although the place seemed like a house for the maker, and then, all around Gawain lied the multiple shelved candlesticks of different varieties, varieties that Gawain couldn't describe: there were rectangular candles, cylindrical ones, candles that existed inside of a bulb, flower thing, and many more that, once again, the mute boy couldn't describe. Yet, as Gawain closed the door behind him and stepped further into the shop he heard the light breathing of a man from another room; inside the shop's main room there were three separate rooms, four if one wanted to include the outside: one that lead upstairs to something, one that had a door closed, possibly leading to a closet or something, and another room where the old man, North Waxamillion, sat at a large desk, containing two red candlesticks that were lit and placed at the furthest corners away from the man; each was placed on a small dish, appropriate to its candle's size. It was clear from the motions of the main, plus the several materials on his desk, that Waxamillion was working on making a candle; with that notice, Gawain made his way towards the man with silent footsteps.

Eventually, as Gawain stood beside the man, looking over his shoulder, Gawain tried to understand the basics of what he was doing; there were a lot of materials on his desk and quite a few things that the boy didn't understand what Waxamillion was doing. Unfortunately, even as Gawain utilized his notepad to take notes, he didn't understand how to make a candle at the end of the presentation; however, what he did understand was that he was to not stand next to North Waxamillion again, without introducing himself first.

"Oh my-" Waxamillion exclaimed as he finished with his current product, only to see young male standing over his left shoulder, his deaf side. Gawain immediately backed off from the man, not wanting to cause any trouble as bowed in a sorrowful manner, trying to imply that he was asking for forgiveness. "Stand up boy," Waxamillion stated as he stood up from his chair, walking over to the bowing boy as the man straightened his back, "There's no need for that kind of nonsense. Just, don't sneak up on me like that again; I'm deaf on this side, you know?" Waxamillion tapped his left ear with a kind, wise look on his face as he walked back towards his seat with the mute boy in tow.

Gawain was bewildered at the previous moment; normally in cases like that he was going to receive some kind of terrible berating, but this man, he was so much kinder. Standing by his right side then, Gawain gently began writing in his notepad, wanting to apologize and introduce himself, only to catch the eye of Waxamillion as the boy began writing.


Passing the notepad over to Waxamillion, Gawain waited for a response, not knowing how the man was going to take it, but, based off of Gawain's first impressions, Waxamillion was probably going to be kind about his response, hopefully.

What came to Waxamillion first was a laugh, only for a hand to land on Gawain's shoulder as the two met eyes; Waxamillion had a kind look on his face, allowing Gawain to get lost in it for a bit as there was something about the man before him that interested Gawain above everyone else. However, the boy's thoughts were soon interrupted as Waxamillion spoke up, letting go of his apprentice for the day. "At least this will work out for the both of us, Gawain. You can take notes on your notepad and I don't have to ask you to speak up." His voice had a wise tone to it, but also caring; Gawain was easing up to his teacher for the day just with the caring words the man gave. In a way, the situation put Gawain at ease, a sort of situation that he once felt before with another human being. That human being was also wise, but she was also kind, caring; she taught Gawain many things from simple cooking to what he considered as a possible profession. The kind of light that she had was the kind of light that Waxamillion glowed with, but there was one more thing with that light: both had one special thing that convinced Gawain he wanted to be there until his lesson was complete. That one special thing, just one, was the fading, flickering, glimmer of light.

With a calm and friendly smile on his face, Gawain nodded his head as he prepared his notepad for the next creation of a candlestick. This time, Waxamillion was going to directly teach him, but before the two could start, Waxamillion stood from his seat, only to motion the empty seat at the register back to his work space. "Here Gawain. Candlestick making is a profession that requires patience; we won't be going anywhere for a while, so it's better if you relax yourself," the wise man stated, seating himself back in his place, "But first, before we can begin with patience, the set-up is just as important as any other step, if not more, because if the beginning fails, then the rest will fail as well. Cause and effect is one way of thinking about it." With that, Waxamillion presented his desk to his current apprentice; however, before they could start, Waxamillion asked a simple question, "What kind of candle would you like to learn how to make?" With that, Gawain blinked at his current master, placing his notepad on his lap as he thought about it, looking around at his environment, wondering what type of candle did he like most. There were rectangular ones, cylindrical ones, ones that looked like existed inside of a bulb, flower thing, and many more, but Gawain couldn't think of one he liked; however, Waxamillion was content to wait, gently smiling at the boy. At least there was an ease in the air as Gawain was allowed to decide; with no rush, no anger, no distrust, Gawain felt free to think, and so he thought.

After a while passed by, Gawain's thoughts and eyes eventually brought him to the one candle that stood out from all the rest. He had noticed it before, but he hadn't given it the time of the day. Staring straight at it, Gawain pointed daintily at the one candle that interested him; it was one of the red wax candles that were lit and standing on small dishes at the corner. Waxamillion's hand reached out for the candle, after noticing the direction the boy's finger pointed towards. "This little thing, my boy? It is a rather simple candlestick called a taper candle, but showing you how to make it should be perfect for a beginner. Beginners should start on the small things, lest ambition arise to the occasion," Waxamillion stated in his ever-wise tone, placing the red taper candle back at its spot before turning towards his desk and examining it for his materials. With the choosing of the candle settled, next came the set-up for the candle, and to Gawain, the materials on his master's desk were scattered, but they each had their own appropriate area; nevertheless, the boy would need explanation, so what better time to ask than the beginning? With some flicks of the wrist, Gawain asked Waxamillion an understandable, to the boy, question.


Taking a look at the notepad, scanning his eyes through it once through before gently pushing it back down to Gawain's lap, Waxamillion spoke up in a calm voice, picking up the different instruments required for taper candle making while he did so, "To put it simple, I'll show you the tools that are generally used in taper candle making. First off, an essential part to taper candles is the wick. It's a type of cotton, fixed to look something similar to a rope. The wick is the part that burns for the candle, the actual wax doesn't. Moving on is the wax pieces. They're small blocks of wax that, when heated up, form a liquidy substance. That's what you would dip the wick in; however, to do this, we require a suitable dipping container. This one here utilizes a metal can, but anything will do, just as long as heat is able to melt the wax in the container. The last piece, that I use, is a pan which is used to hold the container over the fire. With my set-up however, I don't have to move from my desk, because, well, I had an engineer install something akin to a stove in my desk. With that, I'm able to settle most of my candlestick making from here. So, with that, I hope you understand a little bit more that everything is as important as another thing, especially in real world, and not just in this profession." Having gone through the multiple tools, Waxamillion let out a small chuckle, kindly smiling at his apprentice who was taking notes on each item; Gawain began writing notes about these on the front page of his notepad, in one of the corners to not cluster up everything, but at least he boxed the section and labeled it "Taper Candle Tools".

After that, with a simple nod to Waxamillion and a smile back, Gawain was ready to move on. Having understood what the required pieces were for taper candle making, Gawain started to try and put things together in his head, thinking a few steps ahead. That tactic casually applied to combat scenarios where if one fighter knew the options of his opposition, then the fight could easily be in that fighter's favor; however, half-way through putting things together, Gawain wondered if it that same tactic that applied to combat applied to there and then. It was a smart way of looking at things, but was it the best way? Waxamillion was already willing to teach, so shouldn't Gawain have just paid close attention to the wise man? It was a thought the boy stayed on for about a minute before finally altering his full attention to what Waxamillion was doing and saying.

MUSE

And so, with Gawain's mind set on giving Waxamillion his full attention, the boy's mind listened closely to the man's insightful words, the boy's eyes paid close attention to every tool the man used, to every motion the man made, the boy's hand, grasping its black pen with a light, but firm grip, repeated step-by-step as the process of a simple, but brilliant candle was illustrated before the boy's very eyes. To many people, candlestick making would sound like a job that only people with tons of time on their hands would do, and those kinds of people would be considered outcasts, unsociable people, but, no matter how much debating could go into whether or whether not candlestick making as a profession was important, somebody had to do it, and that somebody was North Waxamillion, and also anybody else that took an interest in the profession. To Gawain, he found the profession to be interesting; he didn't know why, but Gawain just found candlestick making that way. There were already plenty of reasons why from the real life applications that candlestick making had, such as the reasoning that everything relied on everything, but as for a single reason, Gawain didn't know any other purpose for shadowing Waxamillion other than "candlestick making sounds like a peaceful occupation." However, there was still so much more time to figure out that purpose; right then, Gawain's mind remained on the creation of a taper candle.

Following Waxamillion's voice and actions, Gawain wrote down the proper steps to creating a taper candle; however, the boy's mind focused on Waxamillion more than his own writing. "First off Gawain, once you have all your materials, you should think about how long you want your candle to be. I generally have the same length for the wick as the height of container, so... Once you have the measurement, cut off the appropriate amount of cotton with a few additional centimeters for the dipping process. With the wick done, what you want to do now is to get your wax ready. Once all the wax blocks are placed inside the dipping container, placing the container on the pan, you then want to boil the wax until it turns into a liquidy substance. The process will take a while, but it's best if you wait by its side; you still want to manage the wax's elasticity." Waxamillion's voice showed tones of dedication, wisdom, and proved that he was well-versed in his profession, as expected of such a wise man.

Catching up to where they stopped off at, Gawain continued to write, only to be watched by a patient, smiling Waxamillion. The man had some kind of aura that was just inviting and convinced most that were around him to stay calm, and that's all Gawain could do: stay calm and patient. Nevertheless, Gawain could start to tell that he did enjoy candlestick making; he couldn't wait to see the Waxamillion's end product.

Once Gawain finished his own part in writing, he looked up at the ever-wise and ever-patient Waxamillion, staring calmly and friendly at the mute boy. With a calm smile on the boy's face, he took a look at the wax being heated before them; second by second, Gawain could see the bits and pieces of the wax melt into one another, starting to form a liquidy base. The process was strange, and intriguing, but Gawain turned to Waxamillion when his voice rose, wondering what the man had to say.

"Gawain, I'm quite interested by you. You're one of the few students I've met that's taken their shadowing, under me, quite seriously. Why is that, my boy?" Waxamillion questioned in a calm and curious way, keeping his then friendly eyes on his apprentice for that time being. Gawain nodded, passing off a calm and friendly smile to his current master. Gawain couldn't just say no to him; they were already getting to know one another, and Gawain could only feel their relationship between one another as master and apprentice, as associates, as friends, start to grow as they spent time with one another. Waxamillion was kind, considerate, caring; characteristics that other people didn't show to Gawain, but that man did, and he deserved respect.


Showing his notepad, having a fully written response with his soul poured into it, Gawain smiled to his master, acquaintance, friend. Whatever Maxamillion's reply was to Gawain's own thoughts, Gawain would take it with a considerate heart and mind.

Waxamillion's eyes took the parchment before him, having just watched Gawain write his full in-depth response, and Gawain could tell that Waxamillion was pondering about Gawain's each thought. While the wise man did so, Gawain waited for Waxamillion just as the man had done for the boy only moments ago. During that time of silence between the two, Gawain had plenty of time to think, and what he thought about was Waxamillion and his own purpose for working such a profession. It provided some time-wasting material to think about as Gawain continued to watch at Waxamillion in silence, seeing the consideration there and there along with some small breaks for thought, only for him to continue until the end of the note at which, with a simple return of the pad, a conversation arose once more between the two friends.

"Gawain, your thoughts about my profession are entirely justified in their own sense. Yes, it is somewhat true that my profession as a candlestick maker is quite forgettable with today's technology, but it's somewhat false to state that you like this life because of its depth. All jobs possess the same depth and complexity to it if you pay close enough attention; it's just that you chose this one because of the real reason why you came here Gawain." With such dedicated, calm, and knowledgeable words, Waxamillion was able to define and expand on Gawain's purpose when he didn't even know what his true purpose was. With a tilt of the head, Gawain was intrigued by Waxamillion's words, wanting to hear more, and, with their adaptability to one another, Waxamillion continued. "Your purpose wasn't here to learn about how candlestick making can apply to your own life, no. Out of every person, you chose me, because, you found something in this job that interested you. And what caused that decision is not of your mind, no, but of your heart." Waxamillion's finger drew itself to Gawain's chest, placing his finger on the very center as his face put on a comforting smile. Listening to the man's words, each and every one, Gawain soon came to realize that his words did ring true; he came not because he thought candlestick making was peaceful, but because right then and there, Gawain saw himself in that wise man's shoes.

With a kind smile on his face, one that exuberated compassion, Gawain nodded at Waxamillion, writing a small note for the man in return as Waxamillion's hand fell calmly back to his side as he waited once more in caring patience.


With a quick show of Gawain's response, Waxamillion nodded and gave a pat on the shoulder to the boy, only to notice that the wax had finally melted into its liquidy form. With a nod to his apprentice and friend, Waxamillion began on the final step to making a taper candle, while Gawain watched and wrote, only for him to wonder at the same time what Waxamillion's own purpose was yet again.

MUSE

With the wax finally prepared, all that was left was to take the wick that was left over, having already been cut to an appropriate length, and submerge it into the wax-filled container, only to surface the wick and submerge, repeating the process over and over. Waxamillion hadn't said much during this process, however, simply doing the movements as necessary as Gawain watched closely; however, the same case with Waxamillion applied with the boy: Gawain only watched, simply knowing how to take on the task without any additional note needed. There was some kind of connection the two created with their time together, and with that connection, there was some kind of transfer of knowledge that Gawain gained. Candlestick making, the profession of Waxamillion, and a life he could've lived was there before him, and so, Gawain would never forget a life lost, even if it never existed.

As the minutes passed by, Waxamillion's patient hand, dipping and removing, dipping and removing, finally brought about a product that looked similar to each of the candles at the corners. With a soft blow on each end, the remainder of the wick cut, thus forming a round cylindrical design for the candle, Waxamillion set the well-made candle down on its new home, the dish that he would soon give to Gawain. Receiving it in his hands, having had to place his notepad down onto Waxamillion's table first, Gawain examined the many parts of it, reveling in its red hue and simplistic design. What came next though surprised Gawain more than the beautiful appearance. Waxamillion's hand gently and slowly flew over the candle's top, and just like that, it was lit. Dumbfounded with a surprised expression, Gawain stared at the wise man, not knowing what just occurred before his eyes, but, calming the boy was a gentle shoulder by the man, following by his always considerate, compassionate, sympathetic, and wise voice.

"This is a story for another time Gawain. I'll tell you this much though; I too had dreams and aspirations as yours, but one day, I chose to instead follow down a separate road from my colleagues. My purpose for working as a candlestick maker is because of that decision, and still, no matter what, I don't regret my decision." With a pat on the back, a exchange of smiles, Waxamillion set Gawain off on the road back to Syne with all of his belongings.

The two left on better spirits than they met that day; they met someone they could talk with, communicate with, and understand. Leaving that shop, he wanted to come back to it one day, not only for the sake of discovering who Waxamillion really was, but also to just be with a friend. There was indeed a light in that man's heart that Gawain experienced before, and he wanted to find out what it was. Inside that man was not just a fading light, but also the burnt wax of memories long gone. Step by step, Gawain told himself that one day he'd be back, and he'd make a candle himself, all for that man. The taper candle burned in Gawain's hands for days on end afterwards, almost never seeming to die.