Learning is Good

Writers: Estelle, Paula
Date Posted: 26th December 2018

Characters: Ueltin, Tasni
Description: Ueltin makes sure he meets Tasni and they start to talk.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold, Harper Hall
Date: month 7, day 15 of Turn 9

It was a warm and peaceful afternoon in the Harper Hall's archives, but
Tasni was engrossed in an account of fear, desperation and death. She
was making notes on a record of the plagues that had struck Emerald
Falls decades ago, trying to understand the circumstances which had led
to the ban on female crafters. Some of the justifications she had read
for that decision made her want to growl or throw something - how could
they have turned a whole generation of intelligent, creative women out
of the crafts they loved? - and she'd turned to the histories to try and
get a grasp of the situation at the time.

What she read there only made her sad as well as angry at the waste of
lives.

The sound of footsteps and a door opening made her look up, relieved for
the distraction. She didn't recognise the tall, blond man who'd just
entered the archives, but he had the knots of a journeyman harper. Most
likely he was back from a posting.

That thought made her sit up in interest. She now had plenty of
information about life in the Harper Hall, but she wanted to know more
about the situation in the other holds, particularly the outlying ones
where she'd heard rumours that women were still treated badly.

"Good afternoon, journeyman." She smiled. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Good afternoon, journeywoman," Ueltin replied cheerfully. Allegro
chirped on his shoulder. "I'm just dropping off some records for
master archievist. Have you seen him?" Ueltin replied, showing off the
pile of records in his hand. He had been looking for convenient excuse
to strike a conversation with her. He had actually hijacked the task
from an apprentice. The apprentice had not minded it.

"He's teaching an apprentice class as the moment, but I can file those
away for you, if you want. I'm an archivist." She stood and offered a
hand. "Journeywoman Tasni, visiting from the North."

"Well met, Tasni," Ueltin replied and handed her the records. "Here
you go. From North, huh? That's pretty rare. I'm journeyman Ueltin, by
the way."

"Well met, Ueltin." She glanced at the records and saw that they were
copies of musical scores. It shouldn't be too hard to find the right
place for them. "I'm studying the history of the Southern Holds and
Halls, and the best place to do that is here in your archives, so the
Hallmaster has kindly agreed for me to be posted here for a while. I've
learned so much already," she said with genuine enthusiasm. That project
might not be the only reason she was here, but it was enjoyable even so.

"Learning is good," Ueltin replied with a smile. "I'm mainly a teacher
myself," he continued and sat on a table corner. "After ten Turns
travelling around Southern Holds, it was time to come home and refresh
my skills a bit."

"Ten Turns? That's a long time to be away." It would mean that the last
time he'd been here at the Hall, the ban on female crafters would have
been in effect. Yet he didn't seem bothered by the presence of a
Northern journeywoman in the archives, which Tasni found interesting.
"I'd love to interview you about your travels some time, if you wouldn't
mind. There's a lot here in the archives about Emerald Falls itself, but
I'd like to know more about life in the smaller holds."

"Yes, it is. So it was high time for me to show my face around here,"
Ueltin replied to her first remark. "I'll be happy to tell you
stories," Ueltin continued. Of course, there were stories he couldn't
tell. But there were plenty of things he could tell her. "I would
love to hear your stories from North, although I already know a bit,
since most of my relatives are seacrafters," he grinned.

"I'll do my best, but you'd probably find my stories very dull.
They're mostly about discovering some long lost scrap of hide in the
archives," Tasni lied cheerfully. "This trip to the South is by far
the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me. I can tell you
about my journey, though! Maybe I even met some seacrafter friends of
yours on the voyage."

"That's quite likely, I have lot of those. I was mostly posted to
coastal Holds, with occasional forrays to inland or short stays at
Weyrs," Ueltin replied. Well, getting to know her was not an
unpleasant task, he thought, she was interesting.

"Oh, you've been to the Weyrs?" That might explain his relaxed attitude
to a female harper. She wondered if he had met anyone who remembered her
from Dolphin Cove. Hopefully no-one would have any reason to mention a
troublesome weyrbrat who'd left for the North Turns ago, but she would
still have to be cautious.

"I grew up in a Seahold just stone throws away from Far Island Weyr,"
Ueltin replied. "Plenty of dragonrider Blood in my family tree."

"Seacrafters and dragonriders. That's a fine combination to have in your
bloodline." Tasni's eyes sparkled in appreciation. Whatever his family
background was, she thought, he'd certainly inherited good looks from
someone. A girl could have a little fun while she was gathering
information for her Masters.

"I take it you have nothing against dragonriders then," Ueltin
grinned. There was places where he couldn't advertise having
dragonriders in a family.

"Oh, no, nothing at all. Especially not in a Pass," she said firmly.
"I've never been able to understand how folk can complain about
weyrlife. The dragonriders risk their lives to protect us, so they
deserve to live how they please."

"I wish more people here shared your attitude," Ueltin said.

"Is it very common to have a dislike of dragonriders here?" Tasni
asked. She hadn't heard anyone criticizing them in the Hall, but
perhaps they kept their mouths shut around the visitor. "Where I'm
from, people respect them."

"In some places, yes. There's part of the population that has
something against dragonriders," Ueltin replied with a sad shake of
his head. He found such attitude incomprehensible.

"Women crafters, too, I've heard. It all seems very strange to me."
She gave him an encouraging smile. "But you can do something about it!
You're a teacher. You can educate the next generation so they aren't
as prejudiced as their parents."

"I'm doing my best," Ueltin replied.

Last updated on the January 21st 2019

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Learning is Good