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Post by starshine on Apr 8, 2010 23:22:50 GMT -5
A'rik had spent the morning preparing the school room for the coming lessons. He had enlisted the help of a young male candidate to change out the glows and sweep out the dust from the room. Written on the board in his neat script was the Mating Song. Rise in glory, Bronze and gold. Dive entwined, Enhance the Hold.
Count three months and more And five heated weeks, A day of glory and In a month who seeks?
A strand of silver In the sky... With heat, all quickens And all times fly. He had finished off his last round of cleaning and taken his usual seat beside the board. It was getting to be about that time. The candidates should be arriving presently.
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adhoc
Newbie
Non sequitur
Posts: 41
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Post by adhoc on Apr 9, 2010 6:36:15 GMT -5
Lucan entered alone, having finished his chores efficiently and not bothered to linger with the others. After having witnessed the clutching, he had found himself feeling a kind of deep purposefulness regarding his lacking education. He was determined to make up for his previous shiftlessness. It made him smile to see the Candidate master again. During their meeting he'd decided he liked the man's simple seriousness. Maybe it reminded him of someone.
He nodded a greeting and took a seat without speaking. He read the poem off the board, and remembered it from a lesson in his younger days. That comforted him: he was not really new to this, after all. It was a matter of shifting focus and remembering, not starting afresh. And he was more than up to the task.
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Post by hrsegrl on Apr 9, 2010 8:51:25 GMT -5
The events leading up to today had at first shocked Caselo but his usually bright and convivial nature shone through again. He was smiling and going about his day as per usual. This was his last chance and knowing how swiftly this could all end he was determined to Impress this time. Long Turns of waiting and hoping would come to a close after this Hatching and he needed to believe that he would at long last be a dragonrider.
The Candidate Master had called for a lesson today which Caselo had taken time to make sure he could attend. He had seen and heard it all before which made it hard to pay attention but he did not want his lack of attendance to keep him from Standing. Shaking the hay out of his blonde hair he walked at a quick pace from the stables to the Candidate Barracks.
Upon entering the tall blonde aknowledged the Candidate Master and then took a seat near the other boy. They may have seen eachother in passing but Caselo was certain the boy had never come to lessons. He knew most of the Candidates so this one was a new recruit so to speak. Caselo smiled reassuringly at the younger boy and then looked up at the board. Only a few weeks.. well it seemed longer. The weeks the clutch laid on the Sands always seemed much longer and he was always impatient for the arrival of the new dragons. He knew it was a small clutch but Nisurath was never expected to clutch a lot of eggs because of her health and size. No one would dare speak that aloud though.
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Post by starshine on Apr 12, 2010 17:35:55 GMT -5
A'rik greeted the two candidates as they entered with a nod of his head. It was appearing to be a small class. As the last of the students filtered into the room he rose from his seat, taking a stand beside the desk. "Well, morning to you all. As you know Nisurath has clutched and we are happy to say that the eggs appear to be healthy." He grinned, a clutch hardening on the sands had him excited for the hatching.
He strolled down the side of the room along the rows of students. "In the coming weeks we will be learning all about impression and the hatching. That means we will spend time on the sands, studying the positions of the eggs." He paused and looked at the faces of his pupils. They had potential, that was for sure. He could be almost certain that most of them would survive the coming Hatching, and become well rounded dragonriders.
"The teaching song on the board focuses on the mating, clutching, and hatching. We have roughly 5 sevendays before those little dragons to be join the world." He was stalling, waiting to see if more students would appear.
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adhoc
Newbie
Non sequitur
Posts: 41
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Post by adhoc on Apr 14, 2010 12:24:32 GMT -5
The boy who sat next to Lucan smelt distinctly of stable, which stopped him from taking his smile as condescending. It was sort of comforting, actually. Lucan himself was likely gamey-- he'd spent the morning hauling things between the storerooms and the kitchen, and hadn't stopped to change before coming here for lessons. Thinking of this reminded him that his legs ached. He'd been pushing himself hard to fit in his usual tasks.
He smiled back at the honest-faced horse boy, and nodded greeting. He made a mental note to get to know him.
When A'rik began to speak, his naturally serious face became almost stormy with concentration. He was determined to shine here; to soak up every iota of information that was given. Five sevendays was no time at all. Mention of the eggs brought vivid memories back into his mind. Having watched the clutching, he doubted it would even be possible for him to forget where they lay. Unless Nisurath had moved them again after he'd left the sands. Would she? Well, he'd just have to see. Thinking of the eggs made his chest pound with the same purpose he'd felt then.
He hardly noticed the emptiness of the room.
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Post by hrsegrl on Apr 15, 2010 8:53:28 GMT -5
The Candidate Master seemed pleased to see all who entered though Caselo felt the class was decidedly smaller than the last. Perhaps it was because some of the more noticeable Candidates had impressed last clutch. Those who were determined to shine, like Ev'os and Iaslia and his foster sister, Havalie. There were plenty of people gone that had not impressed too. Maybe they felt they did not belong here anymore and had chosen another path for themselves. As Caselo should have done. He admonished himself.
The boy beside him did seem pleasant enough and while Caselo did not notice the smell of him he had to wonder if the boy had ever been in Candidate lessons before. Maybe the ones he had skipped last turn? He doubted it though. This one seemed anxious to get the lesson going whereas Caselo knew this was going to be old news for him.
That the clutch was on the sands, he was happy about. That he had to continue Candidate Lessons, he was not too thrilled over. He'd been a Candidate since he was a young teen and now he was twenty and it was his very last chance to impress. He supposed the best part of Candidacy was meeting the other people who dreamed about riding dragons and stood a chance to do so. The ballad on the board was well known to him. He had lived it many times and seen the Hatchlings emerge eager and clumsy searching for that person to claim as their own.
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E
Weyrfolk
Posts: 228
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Post by E on Apr 15, 2010 10:38:00 GMT -5
Somadin came into the classroom at a full run, barely catching himself and nearly jerking his arm off as he caught the doorframe to help him slow down. Breathing hard, he put one hand on his stomach and adjusted his tucked in shirt as the red of his face deepened as he realized just how late he was. Even the holdless fighting girl, Deltontai, had entered the room a few moments before he had burst in. Shards and Shells…
“I’m… Sorry…” he apologized to A’rik between breaths. Oh he had never even been late before and now this? He winced, as if almost in pain as he quickly took a seat in front of Caselo and beside Deltontai. Putting his hand on his stomach again, he looked up at the Candidate master, hoping deeply he had not missed anything too important.
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Deltontai had entered the door a few moments before the small candidate named Somadin. Unsure what this class would be like comp aired to her private lessons to help her learn the basics of numbers and letters, she took the first available seat she came to. She recognized Caselo from the Weyrhall, he was a familiar face she seen around often and that reassured her as she gave her attention to the Candidate Master in the front of the room.
She noticed various symbols written on the board behind the man, and soon her attention on him was lost on the board. Picking out what she knew, she found herself attempting to puzzle out what it said. Most of the letters she recognized now, and she even knew what sound some of them made. Her lips moved silently as he squinted in thought.
((I know its lacking, sorry. My next one will be better. =X))
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Rowen
Weyrfolk
Sometimes Cuteness Is Irresistable.
Posts: 155
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Post by Rowen on Apr 15, 2010 21:37:54 GMT -5
Vasrilin walked in, apparently in no hurry to go anywhere. He nodded at the candidate master as he took a seat quietly. It looked like the class was starting, so he wasn't very late. It might urk the candidate master, but Vasrilin had been preoccupied and distracted several times on his way to the class. Not to mention, he never liked to be early unless he was making an impression on a person, which he wasn't currently. He sat down quietly noting the words on the board, he gave them a quick glance recognizing them then looked at the rest of the class. His lips twitched when he noted Deltontai was trying to read the words on the board. He leaned back in his chair and took a relaxed stance as he looked up at the candidate master with a expectant look. He wasn't going to speak unless he had to, though he had an urge to tell Deltontai exactly what she was trying to read, but resisted since the candidate master might say them aloud instead.
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Itona ran in tripping as she reached the door. She caught the door frame with one hand as she gasped for breath. She looked up at the candidate master and felt her cheeks heat, she was late. Biting down on her lip she moved into the room, noting her sister. She gave Dela a small smile trying to reassure her that she was fine. She'd just been so caught up in studying she'd lost track of time, she woke early, but it hadn't helped her get to the class on time. Itona winced as she sat down deciding to put a man between her and Deltontai, she didn't want to have to explain where she'd been, or that she'd been distracted from studying by instruments. It was becoming an interest, to hear the sounds they could make. She put her hands in her lap and noticed the others in the class, she looked up at the candidate master and whispered softly, but loud enough for him to hear, 'sorry'.
((I'm sorry, Lifes been.... hard ^_^))
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Post by starshine on Apr 16, 2010 20:27:02 GMT -5
A'rik made note of the students just entering. He didn't take kindly to tardiness. He had met Vasrilin and Deltontai earlier, but had not had the pleasure with Itona. He greeted them with a pleasant smile. Nodding when the girl had made a quiet apology.
He moved through the rows, his eyes falling on Del who was struggling to sound out the phrases. "Caselo, could you please recite the teaching song on the board?" He continued his rounds between the chairs and desks. He was determined to make these classes as painless for the two holdless as possible. They would learn their alphabet in time, no need to make this hard on them.
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Post by hrsegrl on Apr 17, 2010 7:06:38 GMT -5
Caselo too had noted all the tardy students and they all seemed to be people he recognized. First there was the small boy, Somadin, followed by Delontai and Vasrilin. Last was Itona but she seemed to be having a clumsy sort of day. After they had all entered his name was called and he looked up at the Candidate Master.
He could recite the whole thing without looking as could most Weyrbrats, or so he thought. "Rise high in glory, Bronze and Gold. Dive entwined, enhance the Hold." He took a longer pause before continuing, his voice was clear and as usual fairly loud. "Count three months and more and five heated weeks, A day of glory and in a month who seeks?" This was obviously in referecnce to clutching and hatching though he was not about to tell everyone else that.
His strong voice carried over to the next verse as clearly as before. Although he was a louder sort he was not speaking quickly and thus was not making any mistakes in this recital. "A strand of silver in the sky... With heat, all quickens and all times fly." The word fly seemed to reverberate through the classroom but Caselo was focusing on the meaning of the last verse. It meant in the heat that thread came more qucikly and everyone had to fly? He would puzzle that later. The purpose of this lesson was more likely to convey the timing of the mating flight, clutching and hatching.
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adhoc
Newbie
Non sequitur
Posts: 41
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Post by adhoc on Apr 17, 2010 9:29:23 GMT -5
It was no real surprise to Lucan that a number of the other students were late. He marked them each in turn as they entered. Two of them he recognized as being new to the Weyr (he was not so far outside the gossip train of the lower caverns as to have missed that news). He surveyed the Holdless women dispassionately. The one sitting in front of him looked stiff and unsettled, and though the other appeared similar, she also seemed younger and less haggard. Theirs was an interesting tale, surely, but he doubted he'd be in a position to learn it anytime soon.
The other two latecomers were noticeable in that they were so vastly different. The little blonde boy, Somadin, he recognized readily as another comforting addition to the room. He was a good kid, and a familiar face. The other was a different story. Everything from his gait to his facial expressions shouted "don't take me seriously." But Lucan was trying to be better about reserving judgment, so he decided to wait and see with that one.
Caselo's methodical reading of the poem made Lucan more aware of its contents. It was easy to discount teaching rhymes as so much fluff, but they existed for a reason. He read the board again. The lines seemed simple enough at first glance: it was the Mating Song, after all. So of course the first bit was about mating, then the second about clutching, hatching, and impression. But the third didn't seem to fit. If dragons were fit to fight thread a month after hatching, then yes, it would make sense. But Weyrlings did not even attempt to fly until long after that, and then they needed to undergo substantial training before they were allowed to actually fight. He'd wait until A'rik spoke again before asking what that was all about, but he did want to know.
And that last pair of lines... Were they just dramatic flourish? A reference to the heat of the sands sustaining the eggs? A reminder to Candidates to be patient? He somehow doubted there was actually an answer to that question. More likely one of those openly interpretable things. And rightly so: why not pack as much meaning as possible into one lesson?
As long as he was picking at meanings, why did the first stanza refer to enhancing the Hold? Obviously dragons did enhance the hold-- or once had, at any rate-- by protecting it. But mating flights themselves served more directly to enhance the Weyr. Perhaps it was meant as a reminder to the Weyr residents that their duty was to protect those outside their walls. He held back a grimace at that. It wasn't often he had a chance to think about the Weyr as such a unit, but even he knew they couldn't fulfill that duty at their current strength. How, well, frustrating. He wondered how the older riders dealt with that discomfort.
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Rowen
Weyrfolk
Sometimes Cuteness Is Irresistable.
Posts: 155
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Post by Rowen on Apr 18, 2010 22:17:34 GMT -5
Itona's brows drew together as she listened to Caselo read the words around following his words while she read them on the board trying to commit the words to her memory. She was starting to learn words, but some of the bigger words had her confused until she heard them. She reread the poem again even after Caselo had finished making sure she would at least recognize most of the words. Chewing on her lip with concentration she didn't realize she was bouncing her foot in an agitated manner under the table.
She opened her mouth but clamped it shut, she didn't dare say something that would make her look foolish. The first few lines referred to a mating? She guessed they did. The last line didn't seem to have anything to do with a mating though, so what did it mean? And why was it put in that set of lines instead of in a different one? Couldn't people just make things simple on everyone?
The next set of lines.. She guessed that they were referring to a clutching. From what she'd heard the sands got hot when there were eggs on the sands. A day of glory? Was that the day when the eggs were laid? Itona guessed it was, and in a month they hatched then? That made sense at least.
The last grouping of lines made no sense to Itona what so ever she chewed harder on her lip, her hand fisting as she stared at the words, she knew what they were, and what the meaning of the words were, she just simply didn't understand what they truly meant in the sense that the teaching song must mean. It didn't sound at all like a hatching, and it didn't mention anything about it that she could see. She found herself raising her hand to get the candidate masters attention to let him know she had something to say.
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Vasrilin watched Deltontai's sister, Itona become increasingly more agitated as she stared at the teaching song. He watched with cool eyes she was fascinating but she didn't see as interesting as Deltontai was to him. He watched with interest as her hand lifted into the air. The teaching song was simple, and though some of words and phrases were dodgy Vasrilin understood that it referred to mating, clutching and hatching.
His eyes shifted to the others in the room before moving to the candidate master to see if he would let Itona speak. It was likely, they were here to learn after all even though Vasrilin felt confident in his knowledge, he could actually live without a dragon he was simply here because he felt he had a right. His father had experienced a chance and succeed, now it was his turn. He'd show his father and his fathers family that he was worth something as much as they were.
Though he had to admit he admired the luck of his family. However he was in no rush, if he didn't impress this clutching he knew what he would be doing, he wasn't relying on this hatching to give him a position in the weyr, he knew others were, some didn't have much choice, and others simply were hopeful with stars in the eyes thinking it a fast way to popularity. He smiled slightly what a shock it would be for some of them, it was unlikely they would all impress.
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E
Weyrfolk
Posts: 228
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Post by E on Apr 19, 2010 10:27:34 GMT -5
Deltontai had turned when Caselo started reading the poem, watching him for a few minutes before looking back to the board. Well she was glad somebody could make sense of the sharding symbols. Folding her arms, she leaned back against her chair and allowed herself to slump a little as she glared at the board. Since they were going to read what was on the board, well that made life a lot simpler. She wouldn’t need to puzzle it out for herself, she just had to listen.
Hearing what was said and the comments around it, she frowned. Well just about none of that made sense. Her lack of understanding in numbers left her with little understanding of time when put past today, tomorrow and yesterday. Out of the corner of her eye she seen her sister raise her hand beside her and found some of her anger and frustration ease. At least her sister would get something out of these lessons, she was sure. Her sister was always faster at picking things up. It made Deltontai feel proud in a way.
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Somadin, like many of the other boys in the room, had heard the poem before. He knew it was about clutching and the Weyr and he soon found himself distracted with not only the people around the room but with his shirt as well. The way he tugged at it then retucked it, you would think the shirt was made of the itchest material known to the Weyr. Eventually he settled back down again, though, and returned his attention to the class to find Itona with her hand in the air.
A small smile crept on his face. He liked Itona. She was nice and willing to listen to him. She didn’t treat him differently just because he was small and she had even thought he would be a great runner when they first meet. He had never really understood her thinking behind that since his legs were so short, but it had made him feel good all the same.
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Post by starshine on Apr 19, 2010 21:57:08 GMT -5
"Thank you Caselo, as illustrated in the song, things move quickly after a flight." A'rik stopped his rounds among the desks close to the front row and turned to face his students. He was excited to see them engaged in what was being brought up in the lesson.
Itona, a girl he barely knew though known to be the sister of Deltontai no doubt because of their family resemblance, had raised her hand. He acknowledge her polite gesture to comment or ask a question. "Yes Itona?" His voice was encouraging. He looked down to her face and leaned on the desk before him.
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Rowen
Weyrfolk
Sometimes Cuteness Is Irresistable.
Posts: 155
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Post by Rowen on Apr 23, 2010 21:42:14 GMT -5
She leaned back in her seat. Itona still didn't feel comfortable being given attention to, and the fact that others would be listening to her words and judging her gave her pause. It's not like they didn't already judge her, she had been holdless after all, it wasn't something any of the others would easily forget, at least she didn't think so. She knew she'd never be able to forget. At the candidate masters stare, she blinked and then looked toward the words written out for all to see again.
"Well the last..." She paused looking for the proper word or words, she wasn't sure how to say it. The sentences were clearly separated into three categories. "Group of sentences." She settled with gesturing at them as she spoke. "They don't seem to be talking about the topic at all." She found her eyebrows drawing together in concentration. "Actually a few of the lines don't make sense with the topic it's directed at." She looked back at the candidate master. "Like the last few words 'all times fly'. There's more than one time? What's that have to do with being a dragon rider?"
She wasn't sure she was making her questions and points clear, but even if the words at the end of each line had to rhyme with each other every other line couldn't they at least have made the correction from 'all times' to 'all time' it was one letter after all. "The first group of sentences talks about a flight, I get it, though they should have found another word to rhyme with gold instead of using hold. The second group of lines a clutching right? Even mentions the hatching at the end. However, the last group of lines makes NO sense what so ever. I simply don't get what that has to do with the other sentences."
Blowing out a breath she tried to quiet herself she had a feeling she was starting to ramble, so she folded her hands in her lap and quietly waited to see what would be said of her rather long winded out burst. Perhaps she was just reading the words to deeply, or was it that everyone was reading the words to simply. She didn't know...
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