Secret Missions Closed

The stick that had been serving as Ethen's makeshift handle erupted in a fantastic array of splinters and dashed hopes. His eyes widened at the complete and utter failure of his creation, he knew it was rudimentary at best but it seemed somehow impressive in its destruction. The fact remained, however, that he would need to return to the drawing board. He was sure that Atlas had learned some spell by now that would take the task with ease but there was something of a rush that came with building his own little tools. He long had an affinity for whittling and carving things with his small pocket knife but he thought he would try stepping up his woodworking.

The makeshift axe he had cobbled together was more or less a relatively sharp rock tied to the end of a stick. A stick that apparently would explode with even the smallest of strikes against its first bit of wood. There were likely apes that hade more tool making ability than Ethen but he was determined. This was only his eighth attempt at putting together a little hand ax for wood chopping. Perhaps it was a pursuit destined to fail but Ethen's stuborness would have him there all night if that was what it took to even cut a sliver of the wood. He was admittedly growing tired of the long day under the sun piecing things together.

Wiping a meandering bead of sweat from his brow, Ethen took a seat at the base of a nearby tree and leaned his head back resting it against the rough bark. He felt he deserved a short break and the tree seemed particularly comfortable as he was surrounded by the evidence of his failed axes. Slowly Ethen began softly humming a tune from his childhood. His eyes remained closed as he began softly singing along from memory. "At the rising of the moon...at the rising of the moon. For the pikes must be together..." Softly Ethen continued to carry the somber tune. He always had enjoyed singing as one of the few things he was good at but rarely found opportunities to actually take a moment to just relax and sing. But under the shade of the tree and surrounded by failure, he felt strangely at ease.