The Stag in the Meadow

Robin Goldenrod stood, contemplating the sculpture that he had laboriously chisled over the last ten days. He took pride in knowing that this was better than it had to be for the judges. Gaining the ensign's rank in one of the services of Electric Pass was something that he had assumed was going to happen since he could remember; only if disaster struck could he possibly fail, but he wanted more, both as an artist and as a rising star among the youth of Electric Pass.

If he was going to do anything, he wanted to do it well, and this, Robin knew, was going to be a masterwork, worthy of display in the town square. The subject that he was working on was that of a stag in a meadow. He had nearly completed the stag. The animal was looking up, as if startled by something. Robin had observed deer before, as any young Glider would have while stalking prey. The difference between Robin and the others was that he looked at the muscles, tendons, hide, and hooves with the eye of a craftsman and artist as well as that of a hunter. The craftsman in him was able to remember all those details and chisel them with precision on a block of rock, the artist in him was able to imagine them in such a way that the stag would almost seem alive. Robin had already completed the head and rump; all he had left to do was some touch- up on the back and ribs, and to carve out some springs of grass and rocks in the meadow. He was about about three days ahead of schedule, and contemplated the pinkish sculpture with pride, knowing that he had done well, and that he had created something beautiful.

Robin allowed himself to hope of something more than an ensign's position in this town. He had been told before that his record was excellent, and that it was not just the elders of Electric Pass that said so. A Burgess came all the way down from Lightning Pass to observe him. Nobody from Electric Pass had ever been nominated for admittence to the Academy at Celestial City, but the possibility existed. However, he had to be nearly perfect in all of his tests - of hunting, leadership, art, and character, in order to do so.

Robin drank a bit of water, and then went to the back of the deer when he saw the crack. His first reaction was a vain hope that it was some effect of the light. He looked more closely, and it was real. The enthusiasm that he had felt had drained away, replaced by a feeling of disappointment. It had been so beautiful, and now it was marred. Perhaps it was still good enough, though. However, he could not leave it in this state. The ribs of the stag were obviously unfinished, and he would have to refine it in order to get this to work.

Robin worked the statue, now feeling his work to be more a task than the joy that he had been feeling. He was chiseling the fifth rib when the second crack appeared, and joined to the first, and cleaved the stag in two. The statue was ruined.

Robin stepped back, and exhaled. He was trying to remember the exercises of detachment, so that he could maintain the calm demeanor expected of a future Glider leader. His dreams of the Academy were gone - he would have to have to accept that, he told himself. He needed to come up with something adequate to perhaps salvage an ensign's position, somehow. He had only three days. "I will need to go to get some more stone at once," he thought.

1. Robin goes to Electric Mountain to look for material, when he unexpectedly finds another Glider.

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