The Gathering of Oak Solo

PV: Solo Story
Hex: Zyk | Mr. Burke
Date: August 22nd, 2020
Location: Wicklow Mountains National Park

Dawn

Once again, she was working. It wasn't long before he'd have to head back to Hogwarts and begin his school year again and his mother couldn't get a weekend off of work to be able to spend a little more time with him. This was something he couldn't hold against her though, she meant the world to him and had raised Zykeal all on her own; Zyk adored his mother. Regardless though, he did miss her, it almost felt as if he had never come back from school to be on holiday with her. Their rent had gone up in the slums of Ballymun, the wages had gone down, the economy was taking a dive because of some muggle issue that had come up which she decided not to discuss with Zykeal about; he still heard whispers though. It did worry him to a certain degree, but, he knew if he focused on his craft that one day he'd be able to help support their family and make things easier for her down the road.

After his trip to Dublin's center to meet the 5 witches and wizards who'd signed up for his meetup event, he had bugged his mother to go hiking with him in the Wicklow Mountains National Park, he wanted to collect loose wood so that he could practice his woodcarving when he got back to school in September. Unfortunately, since her diner shift had been canceled because of the muggle issue, she had picked up another job and was taking on a lot of hours to fill the gaps where her wages had previously covered their home expenses. Thankfully though, the small community and tight-knit family that Ballymun was, looked out for each other in all ways possible. Since his mother had grown up with everyone in the suburb of Dublin, she had a friend of hers, a delivery driver, giving Zykeal a ride along his route which drove past the entrance of the National Park in the early mornings. The driver headed south along his route and would circle back around in the evening on his way back to Dublin's' center.

It was just before dawn when the driver, a friend of the family and resident of their community, would drop Zykeal at the gate of the National Park, it wasn't open just yet, but, Zykeal knew that he could just hop the fence when the truck had let. Hoping out of the box truck's passenger side, the man exited the driver's side and went to the back of the truck to open the door to its hold. For a moment, the boy made sure that his aspen wood wand was neatly tucked still into the sleeve of the flannel shirt that he was wearing at the moment. The sleeves of his shirt were down still, it was cold in the mornings after all and he made sure that no part of his wand showed as he closed the door of the truck and met the driver in the back. With a handheld out, the backpack was put in front of Zyk and the boy turned around to shoulder the pack as the man held it out for him. Turning back around then, he gave his tidings to the driver and thanked him.

"Oy' Zyk," the man said as Zykeal started to walk away, "Ya' be safe out here till morn'?" he questioned, the tense sound of uncertainty within the voice of the boy's elder.

"Will be fine Mr. Burke," Zyk responded, turning his head and smiling, putting a reassuring face upon his features to try and set the man at ease.

With his words, the man gave a tip of his cap to the boy and turned to enter his vehicle once again. Around he went in a u-turn and he headed back off in the opposite direction towards the main road. One thing that the boy enjoyed about the man was that he wasn't much of a talker, but, when he did, he did so with purpose and sincerity. Zykeal could only hope to be as wise as that one day. Zykeal had a pack that was lent to him from one of the locals who had gone backpacking when they were younger. A 60-liter pack that was nearly dropped down to his knees from the size of the thing. At the moment, it was just filled with a few of the days' snacks and a packed lunch. A few bottles of water were set in the outer pockets of the pack and he was thankful that for his hike out to the location that he had scouted on Googly Maps that his pack wouldn't be as heavy as it would be on the way back to where he would be picked up later this evening by the same delivery driver that had dropped him off.

It wasn't long till the sun would be rising and the park would be officially opened to hikers for the day, instead of pushing forward and disregarding the boundary that was set between him and his desired location, he decided to shift his pack off his back and set it down to re-adjust the sizing of his straps to be a more comfortable fit. Time passed quickly as he worked to make sure that everything was in order for the day ahead, before he knew it, the tip of the sun started to peek over the horizon and filter in through the trees. At that point, the ranger had come and lazily unlocked the chain that held the gate in place. With a creek that spread throughout the quiet morning forest, the gate was pulled open and the forest ranger turned without even noticing that Zyk was off to the side and settling his gear together. This was good for Zyk, as his age might have caused a question with the ranger and he'd have to somehow explain his lone presence.

Pulling his pack back upon his shoulders, he peeked down the trail and watched as the man got into a truck and turned off, back to the outpost away from where Zyk would be heading. This forest was something that the boy knew, very well, as he and his friends had come here often on school trips. Pushing forward then, he let his hands grasp the straps of his pack and he tucked his elbows into his sides as he walked down the side trail that leads to the upper lake that was only a mile out from the entrance of the main road outside of Glendalough. Not wanting to miss the sunrise that breached the hillsides with vivid colors, he accelerated his pace to a brisk walk and pushed forward, eyes upon the ground, watching his step in the dim lighting that the path held. It'd take him just around 20 minutes for him to reach the top of the hillside which overlooked the lake in front of him.

The pack would be pulled off his shoulders and settled down next to a log that lay strewn across the ground upon that hilltop. Fetching a plastic container that held his breakfast, he smiled as he saw that his mom had made him a few boxties to fill his stomach this morning. A twinge of sadness peeked up at the absence of his mother next to him on this beautiful morning, but, it didn't linger when he took the potato-based baked mash and shoved it into his mouth. Golden irises lingered out upon the sun's bright hues casting a vast array of colors to which he couldn't even put names to, the surreal beauty of the nature that lay before him quickly set his mind at ease and made him appreciate the adventures that his life would take him on. This sort of setting took the thought of his school, what he was, away from him for a short while as he realized that everyone in this world could enjoy the same thing that he was at the moment, wizard or muggle. The world was magical enough for all of them.

After his breakfast, he cast his gaze upon the area that surrounded the upper lake, noting that one side was prime for the trees of the forest and the other, the Liffey Head Bog. Zykeal would take his time to gather his things once more and harness his pack once again upon his shoulders, thinking out a plan to where he could easily start to gather the materials he would need for what he wanted to accomplish in the school year to come and to keep his distance from the area where the bog lay. It'd take him just a few minutes more, gazing upon the beautiful scape in front of him to make his decision and head down the trail to his left, onwards towards the gathering of the large Oak trees.

"Off we go then"

This is a Solo story consisting of 3 parts. Dawn | Noon | Dusk