Weyrharper Lesson (All Candidates)

[Lady Smara]

Arlin shifted his weight to his better leg as he looked from those assembled before him to the scroll in his hands. It was clear the list was not only incomplete, but outdated as well. With a sigh, he rolled up the scroll and promptly tossed it at a wall at random. Letting out a huff, he scanned the many faces before him as if studying a herd of beats ready to be taken to slaughter at the holds. Many of those faces he recognized from the classes he taught at the Weyr to teach them their numbers and letters. Others escaped his grasp as they were from the holds.

“Alright, listen up!” he said, as he always did when teaching one of his classes. It was almost like a greeting, warning the children he taught that what he was going to say would be important so they should listen. While many of the people before him were no longer children, it would not change his teaching style that had suited him for so many years. The younger candidates might not think twice, but he was already prepared to ruffle a few feathers of the older candidates, he always did.

“I’m leading your class today in preparation of the Hatching while your Candidate Master is busy. If you don’t plan on standing for the hatching, leave now so I don’t waste my time. If you know a friend who is not here, tell them to not bother standing for the hatching, they will be wasting their own time as they will be turned away from the sands for assuming that attendance is optional.”

Giving the group a good hard look, he continued once that promise had a chance to sink in. “Attendance. That word holds importance to all of you. Just as you have attended your Candidate Classes, you will soon be Attending the very hatching that could change your life. After that, you will forever be at Attendance to your dragon. Weyrling Classes. Wing Drills. THREAD. They all require your attendance each and every time, because the first time you think it is okay to slide, will be the reason you and your dragon will not come home from a Fall.”

Confident that the short speech had gotten everyone’s undivided attention, he finally let his serious face break into a reassuring smile. “Now, I need all of you to split up according to height. If you are taller than me, and that’s 5 feet and 9 inches, Move to the left side of the room. Everyone shorter than I am move to the right please. And quickly, I’ve little patience.”

That last part was a lie, but Arlin was already pleased at the affect his words had at capturing their attention and in doing so also promised him some form of obedience. If things went smoothly, they would have an easy day.


_{((Please keep in mind, Candidates are not limited to those specifically with the title, if you have a Weyrbrat or Weyrfolk who would like to stand, they would have been invited here today as well even if their official title was not "candidate".))}

[HG]

Laure had arrived on time for this lesson though more so because that was where everyone else was going at the time then for actually knowing what time it was. Growing adjusted to the Weyr was harder than she had anticipated. Still she was glad that there was a place where she did not have to hide her every thought. Thoughts of riding a dragon consumed her as she made her way to lessons. Now that they were assembled, it seemed to her the attitude of those around her stiffened. Here was someone who commanded a room when he needed to. Someone who should be respected because he said that it was so. At first she was a little intimidated but then she felt only a desire to do everything that she should do correctly.

His speech made no difference to her. Being tied to a dragon for life would certainly have its downside but riding a dragon was worth such risks. In her mind the pros outwieghed the cons by more than she could possibly say. Her all too logical mind told her this was meant to scare off the weak minded and the weak hearted. Neither of which was she though she had much to be afraid of. Looking around at all of the Candidates it was easy to see she was one of the smallest. Laure was a whole 5'4" and not getting any taller. At sixteen her growing was over unlike some of the younger, smaller boys.

She moved to the right finding herself amid younger men who had yet to grow to full height and very few young women. Figures she would be one of the smaller ones with her mother not making sure her children were well fed unlike weyr mothers. Here if you didn't want to raise a child you did not need to. There were plenty of people ready to foster children with potential What was the purpose of them being separated and by height? she wondered in curiosity. Nothing came to her mind but then he was a Harper and they tended to think well outside of the box.

[wolflover1458]

Therion was quite annoyed. Not only was she once again being forced to go to some silly lesson, but it wasn't even the Candidate Master who be giving them the lecture this time. She had considered, only briefly, not showing up, but she knew that doing that could prevent her from being allowed to Stand at the hatching. If listening to someone babble on about the importance of taking care of a dragon was the price she had to pay for becoming the next Weyrwoman, than Therion would be glad to do it. It might be annoying now, but in the end it would all be worth it. She would show everyone, especially that annoying Lyndel. The other girls might think they were cut out to be Queen riders, but Therion was way ahead of them all. And yet she still had to listen to someone talk and talk and talk. And not only that, but she actually had to pay attention. Otherwise they would yell at her and still not let her go to the hatching. It simply wasn't fair.

But Therion had her resolve in mind, so she glumly headed to where the lesson was taking place. There were a lot of other Candidates there already, as she hadn't bothered trying to show up directly on time. That was completely impossible, and if it took showing up the exact second someone wanted you somewhere, than maybe the Weyr wasn't for her after all. They would all end up being a tad bit late the hatching anyways. She instantly glanced around, recognizing some of the Candidates, but not all of them. Still, she didn't want to hang around and listen to them all talking to each other, so she stayed slightly apart from the rest of the group. No harm in that.

As soon as everyone was gathered, the lecture began. Therion didn't really know this man who was teaching them, but he didn't look like someone that wanted to messed with. As he continued talking, she was quite glad that she had shown up, even if this wasn't even close to the most exciting thing she had done in her life. As for all this talk about attendance, Therion doubted she would need to worry about that. She was most certainly destined to be a goldrider, and with only two Golds at the Weyr she probably wouldn't end up flying in Threadfall. Besides, what possible reason could there be for her to not want to show up for weyrling lessons? Unlike these Candidates lessons, where they treated everyone like a person that hadn't Impressed, she would be different as a weyrling. They would treat her different, and that would be nice. Those were lessons that she actually looked forward too. She tried her best to try and listen to what he was saying, but this part about height seemed ridiculous.

She was shorter than him by a couple of inches, and so Therion contained a sigh within herself and headed over to stand with some of the other Candidates on the right side. Clearly this was something wrong with this person. Did he think taller people Impressed to different dragons than short people? She couldn't think of a single reason for this being necessary, and it annoyed her to think about it. She wasn't here to stand in a group with her size. What were they really here for?

~~~~~

It wasn't like having lessons was anything new. Ajallvon had grown quite used to it through his Turns. Even as a Weyrbrat there had been lessons to attend. After the hatching, if he Impressed, there would be even more lessons to attend. And up until there hatching, there would most definitely be lessons to attend. And he always made it a point to show up on time for lessons. Early if he could manage it. He also made it a point to try and enjoy the lessons, even if being stuck a room with a lot of people always made him feel woozy, and he almost always ended up breathing through his mouth. It wasn't anything new. He was also quite happy to see that Arlin was there to teach them. Ajallvon had had lessons with him before, and it was nice to do that kind of thing again. Almost like he was a little kid again, running around and being taught even when all he wanted to do was play. He smiled at the memory. He was glad he lived in the Weyr. People outside of it thought of it as the place where dragonriders lived, but it was more than that.

Arlin had become talking, and Ajallvon instantly snapped to attention. The first thing he did was talk to them about being responsible and showing up for all your lessons on time. Well, it was an important part of being a dragon rider, and if you couldn't bother to show up for lessons on things like flying and fight Thread, then maybe you deserved to die between or die in Threadfall, even though the idea filled Ajallvon with dread. He wasn't going to let that happen to him just because he couldn't show up for lessons, and he didn't want it to happen to anyone else either.

Next, Arlin told them to stand up depending on their size. Ajallvon was smaller than him, just as he had always been, so he carefully walked over to a group of other people around his size. This lesson was definitely taking an interesting turn, and he couldn't wait to see what the result was.

[kirensilverfox]

Keylen hurried quickly to the class. He did not want to be late. He quickly took his seat and looked to the front of the room as he folded his hands in front of him. He jumped slightly as he heard the noise of something hit the wall. He looked back up as the Harper started his speech and straightened up to pay close attention. He didn’t want to miss and thing, not even the tiniest detail.

Keylen knew that to be a dragon rider he would be binding his life forever to another. While it would be nice to have someone always be there with him forever the cons where that he would have someone forever together inside his head for all times. He had heard from others he had talked to mostly since coming to the weyr that it is the most happiest moment of their lives. He was excited and nervous at the same time. Would he be worthy or did he have much more to learn?

He heard the Harper come to the end of his lecture and raised his hand carefully when he was done instructing them to got to one side if they where shorter and the other if they where taller. He waited patiently for him to indicate he could speak before asking the question on his Mind. “ Is is ok to go to the taller side if you’re the same size as you, Sir“

[Ise]

Lyndel strolled into the lesson room, brushing her blond hair off her shoulders as she looked around at those there. She spotted Therion and gave the other gold candidate a sweet smile, as if she wasn’t thinking just how pathetic the girl was. She glanced at some of the other candidates that were there as well, paying more attention to what girls were there then the guys. After she had Impressed she could pay more attention to the males and start figuring out which one of the Weyr’s bronze riders she’d want. Until then though, she had no interest in them.

She listened to what was said, looking like she was paying close attention to everything as she instead spent her time figuring out what she was going to do once she finally had Impressed the gold and no longer how to come to these silly candidate lessons. Didn’t these people know she had been through this stuff at Haven multiple times before? Splitting the class up by height though was new. She frowned a little, she was 5’9. Another candidate was asking what those of equal height should do but Lyn decided that she would go to the taller side regardless. She wanted to stand out from the other female candidates, and right now being taller was going to do that. She got up and walked over to the left side of the room, smiling pleasantly at everyone there and saying hello to them.

Being late, or almost late, had not been Zayten’s intention. He had left nice and early to make it to his lesson! But when passing the kitchens he had stopped inside to grab himself a quick snack. And then he had started chatting with some of his friends. That quick five minute stopped turned into something much longer. He finally realized how much time he had wasted and quickly ran off, dodging some of the people who were strolling through the halls and came to a skidding stop in front of the door. The young man paused for a moment, running a hand through his hair to make sure that his run hadn’t messed it up too badly before he walked in, trying very hard to not gasp for breath.

Finding a seat near the back, Zayten sat down and listened to the Harper. He was suddenly glad that he had decided that running was worth it even if it made him look like a runners rear. If not showing up was enough to prevent you from Standing, he didn’t what to know what being late would have gotten him. Getting up and moving around was not what Zayten wanted to do just yet but he did so and went to stand with the taller people.

[parallel]

Parallel

Parallel had to admit that he was intrigued with what the Weyrharper might have to say on the subject of the Hatching and Impression. It was always good to learn from different people, even about the same subject, everyone had their own opinions and experiences. The fact that it was the Weyrharper made it that little bit more important to Par. Harpers were, of course, the history keepers for holds and weyrs alike, and any chance he had to listen to them he took. So when he and the rest of the candidates were called to see him he made sure he was there perfectly on time.

With Kialio on his shoulder he absorbed the man's every word, taking it all in. Without realising it he occasionally nodded along with Arlin as he spoke. When they were asked to separate, Parallel moved over to the left room swiftly and stood watching the others divide up.

Kestrel

Kestrel wasn't very interested in any of the candidate lessons never mind one conducted by the harper. But she attended none the less, only because she had nothing better to do. She definitely wasn't the first person to arrive, but it turned out she wasn't the last either. She kept quiet at the back of the group, not wanting to be noticed at all. Her head hung low as Arlin spoke about attendance. She didn't care. To her, nothing much mattered anymore, her life was just a sad mess and she didn't really think attending to a dragon was going to make it any better.

Walking slowly, as if it was to her death, she moved over to the right side.

Marlaey

Everything about being a candidate excited Marlaey. She loved learning more about the dragons, she loved the comradery with the other candidates and she loved the thoughts of Impressing a dragon of her own. Her whole being was alight with intrigue as Arlin called them in and began to speak. She gave him a broad smile. He'd taught her and the other weyrbrats many a song to keep them occupied and further their knowledge of the world. To Marlaey, he was a great figure in the weyr.

She listened closely to what he said, thinking to herself that maybe looking after a dragon day in and day out would be more difficult than she'd expected... But that didn't matter! It would all be worth it! With his words on Thread, Marlaey's heart fluttered with a breath of fear. She quickly refocused her emotions, reminding herself that the dragons were here for a reason and she had to be strong for them too.

When they were asked to divide up, she skipped lightly over to the right side, among those shorter than the harper himself. She was only just shorter than him, one inch! She was curious to find out why the harper wanted them separated like this at all.

Jared

Yes, Jared was late. He stumbled into the class late and apologising profusely. He'd been busy helping out in the infirmary and had completely lost track of time.

Running to get in amongst the other candidates he shuffled his was to the centre. Here he would be able to hear everything the harper said clearly, but he'd also be able to hide if Arlin decided to ask any questions. Jared didn't do well with any sort of public speaking... He shifted his weight from foot to foot as Arlin talked of Attendance. It just made him feel even guiltier for being late. His cheeks grew a little hot.

Keeping his eyes downcast, Jared walked awkwardly over to the right side to join those wh weren't as tall at the weyrharper. How embarrassing... Why was this being done to them? He just wanted to slink away in shame, he didn't feel like a man at all.

[Lady Smara]

Watching as the group began to divide into two, Arlin picked up a fresh hide and pen. Jotting down the names of those he recognized from his classes, he found himself looking up to a question being asked. The boy was not one that he recognized which told Arlin that he was either from a nearby hold or from Haven Weyr. Taking a moment before answering, the WeyrHarper looked to either side of the room to see which had less people. For the moment, it seemed to be the left.

“Go ahead and go to the left with the taller candidates. It will help things move more smoothly. What’s your name?” he asked the boy and while it was all said quickly, it was also spoken clearly. Pen held up, he waited for the name, jotting it down once it was offered.

Looking at his started list from those he recognized, he nodded again, more to himself as he took half a seat on the edge of the front desk. One leg stabilizing himself as the other rested, he put the hide on his leg and motioned for the taller people to move forward first. “There will be a question you’re required to answer. Upon the correct answer you will be able to move into the Candidates common room. I believe the ladies there will have had time to set up. We are taking measurements today to adjust your white robes for the hatching.”

“Those on the right side will remain here until the left side has been fitted. Then we will switch. The lesson is not over until I have dismissed the class – so don’t go anywhere after the fitting is done, return to the classroom.”

Pen at ready, Arlin waited patiently for a moment to allow the idea to sink in. The questions would vary greatly, but everything should have been thus far covered in either the candidate lessons or within regular harper-taught lessons. He needed to be sure every base had been covered as it should have been before the hatching. If something was missed, it would need to be passed onto the WeyrlingMaster to be readdressed.

Choosing a familiar face first, Arlin offered a smile to one of his former students. “Zayten, We will start this off easily enough. There are currently two queen dragons on Pern. Which queen currently resides in Haven Weyr?”

[kirensilverfox]

Keylen waited patiently as the Harper answered his question. “ Yes Sir, My name is Keylen..” He quickly moved over to the left side to join the taller candidates. He got to the back of the line and looked over as he listened to the Harper giving further instructions. He looked over at the others as he heard they were getting fitted for their white candidate robes. He was beginning to get more nervous specially since he heard there were gonna be questions involved. He hopped he learned his lessons well enough to be able to answer without falter. He didn’t wanna look like a fool in front of the others. He knew that the weyr born and raised candidates had somewhat of a easier time learning the lessons from the classes cause they live it everyday and are used to some things.

He nibbled his bottom lip nervously as the Harper started his questions. He wondered what type of questions he was gonna ask as he listened to the first one being asked of one of the male candidates close by.

[Ise]

Oh robe fitting. Well that was important but that meant this wasn't going to be a very exciting day. Aside from these questions that were being asked. He wondered if maybe there would be prizes or something for answering the questions correctly or if it just gave you the chance to get fitted first.

He looked up as his named was called, blinking a few times before he seemed to understand the question that was asked.
"Huh? Oh! We sent Rhiannoth and her rider Essa to Haven Weyr."
He was glad that he had gotten an easy question, especially since he had to go first. He looked around for a moment before pointing at the door to the common room.
"So uh I get to go through there now right? Or do I have to answer more questions?"

[blue]

Eira had arrived earlier with the rest of the candidates. For someone not minding whether or not she impressed a dragon she still tended to get to these lessons either a little early or right on time like she needed to be. For a brief moment she glanced quietly around when Arlin mentioned that if a friend who wasn't here that they shouldn't bother standing for the hatching. She did notice Zayten and Laure though, and they were the only two she knew well enough to know that it would be a bit sad if they happened to not be here.

As Arlin continued on with his little speech, she mentally laughed at the thought of herself as late for anything. Eira was the sort to simply be early or on time but never late. It was just how she was and always have been. Mainly because she had been training under her father as a healer, you couldn't be late for anything when it came to medicine. As they were all told to move onto either side of the room based on height, Eira moved to the left side of the room seeing as she stood at a whopping five feet and nine inches tall.

Ah, robe fitting. That was understandable and even more so with how they needed to be here this time around. As Zayten was called, she listened to the question. ”Rhiannoth.” Eira thought to herself before the younger boy answered and she smiled a little bit. Good for him, now, she was hoping that her own questions would be just as easy. Granted, the young woman had confidence in herself that she would answer whatever question that was given to her correctly. She hoped so anyways.

{Crummy post, just figured t o squeeze her in there because I had no idea how earlier e-e;.

[freya]

Rinkin went to the left side of the room and waited for more directions to be given to him. He was one of the few on this side of the room and sighed it was because he was just way to tall. The young candidate heard that they would be asked questions and sighed for a moment. While the man who was going to do the questioning looked like he was very stern and didn't want to get the wrong answer. It would be after the questioning that they would be sent to get fitted for the robes.

He hoped that they had long robes because a lot of times clothes didn't fit him. The clothes we're usually made for shorter people and then looked around. Rinkin came to the conclusion that a lot of candidates we're running late and he pitied them for coming into this classroom late. His desire not to anger anyone in charge and just wanted to get through the lesson easily. It would be just his luck that he would get a hard question and waited with his palms sweating.

[Lady Smara]

“Very good Zayten. You may go to the common room, the ladies there will measure you and might have you try a robe on. Once your done, return here and pay attention to the rest of the questions, you may get another one if I see fit.”

Turning his eyes across the room, he let them fall upon the young man who had asked which side he belonged to. “Keylen, Who is the current Weyrleader here at Refuge Weyr? Answer that and you may join Zayten.” Pen held at ready, he gave the young man a moment to think as he turned toward another young man within the group of taller candidates.

Arlin would guess the young man to stand very close to an even six feet. With scruffy brown hair that came in several tones, the Weyrharper couldn’t help but think the boy looked like a mess with his hair like that. Meeting the boy’s yellow-green eyes, he spoke directly toward him. “What’s your name young man?” Arlin had to refrain from calling him a boy as he looked closer to 20 turns and one of the oldest candidates in the room. ((directed to Parallel))

~~

Within the common room three women waited. They had about three dozen robes there spread out in several piles. Measuring tapes hung on their necks and they had pins and needles tucked into the cuffs of their own shirts. Pretty things, each one was just a few turns older than the candidates themselves and they had willingly volunteered at the chance to get a good look at the potential new dragonriders.

[parallel]

Parallel

Standing confidently at his full height, Parallel watched as Zayten passed his question and went off to get fitted for his robes. White robes, the traditional garb of the candidates on the hatching sands. Excitement coursed through Parallel as he stood, but he refrained from showing too much. He knew everyone here was just as excited as he was, but this was neither the time nor the place to displaying it.

He waited patiently for his turn to be questioned, hoping he would know the answer. He spent much of his time at the weyr already watching and listening, learning all he could as quickly as he could. So he definitely hoped he knew the answer to whatever question the harper might ask.

Well, if it was anything like Zayten's, he'd be fine.

When the Arlin addressed him he was pleased to note that he'd been referred to as "young man", and considering his age in relation to the rest of the group, it was appropriate. "Parallel, sir," he said, inclining his head to the Weyrharper.

[Ise]

Zayten nodded and headed into the common room. He smiled at the girls that were there for the fitting, recognizing the three of them and greeting them by name. He chatted it up with them, completely at ease as they took his measurements. Sure, he could have just given the girls the numbers to his measurements but it was much more fun to talk with them a little and hear some of the most recent gossip. They handed him a robe to try on before putting a few pins in it to show where they'd have to make a few adjustments before letting Zayten go and he finally headed back out into the common room.

[Na Qaiah]

Tamar had been listening intently as the Weyrharper spoke. Even though he hung on every word, he still jumped with the loud sound the tossed scroll made. Sitting straighter in his chair, he dared to look around the room before catching the last part of seperating by size. Shrugging tamar got up and headed over to his side of the room where others like him who were a few inches shorter then the Weyrharper were standing. Quietly making note that he wasn't the shortest one here made him feel better about himself too. He sure knew what being small could get you, teased thats what. He made a mental note to help stand up to help just in case some were teased about their size. He knew how it felt.

Learning that they were to answer questions before being able to go get fitted with a robe started Tamars heart pounding. He was terrible with names, and it was a good thing he wasn't asked the question about that queen. He felt he should have known the answer and he mentally kicked himself for being slack in that area. He sure hoped he was asked a question he could answer when his turn came. By the shell, what would happen to him if he couldn't answer the question.

Raising his arm to his face to cover a pretend cough, he hoped it would be enough to cover his embarassment he was sure was showing. Taking another look at those in his class, Tamar wondered how many of them would be riders and how many would be turned away in dissappointment. He understood there was no guarentees.

Turning his attention back to the class, he was in time to hear the next question that was asked the quiet boy with the messy hair that reminded him of his best friend back home. He quietly wondered if he would make good friends here too.