Small Matters
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Iluva, Sia, Yvonne
Date Posted: 8th December 2024
Characters: Wyndall, Aleriand, Shassene
Description: Wyndall has a small get together with the Hallmaster and Hallsecond.
Location: Printer Hall
Date: month 1, day 15 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Aikley
It was well past the apprentice's curfew and Wyndall's apartment was still bathed in light from glows, although moonlight did its part. The Journeyman lounged in a comfortable chair and was refilling the Hallmaster's wine glass as he recounted a recent visit to one of the lesser Holds beholden to Emerald Falls, and his conversation with the Steward there. "And then he went on to say that decoration promoted a-- a dulling of the senses, if you will. That making your surroundings beautiful caused visual clutter that made it hard to think. I held my tongue but honestly, if our eyes and minds weren't designed to take in beauty, then why do humans love beautiful landscapes so much?"
Aleriand wasn't one for wine all that often, and so he was a little more focused on the glass than he was the middle of Wyndall's story. "Visual clutter?" He asked, incredulous, "The same sort of man that gets upset about illustrations in a book. Anything extra is distracting from a life of staring at ledgers. Do you remember when everyone was painting their walls to make it look like the room was twice as large? How is a bit of decoration any worse than that?"
"I did like that bit of visual trickery." Wyndall set down the bottle and leaned back in his chair. "Illustrations in books further the story and help with understanding, and if it were up to me ledgers would be _full_ of illustrations so I could better understand the flaming things."
An enthusiastic acolyte of visual clutter in her loose shawl and jangling mass of necklaces, Shassene made a soft sound of agreement. "And that's exactly it, isn't it?" She drawled, licking wine from her lip. "Why all the bother with spices and herbs if food is merely sustenance? A man either afraid of his appetite, the food he eats, or what the food will do to him is going to need a bland diet. I would starve."
"That reminds me-- Shassene, I want to wallpaper your office." Wyndell winked at her. "Can't have you starve, can we?"
"No danger of that here, thankfully," Shassene winked back as her glass raised to him. "Not like that poor Steward. Though I'm not sure I could devote my life to ledgers even _if_ they had superb illustrations. Wyndall's wallpapered room and an Aikley just to get by. Maybe." She laughed, though an Aikley of her own would be an asset regardless.
"When do I get an Aikley?" Wyndell turned to Aleriand. "And wherever did you find them, anyway?"
"Get your Master's knots and I'll consider it. It's not every day we get an Aikley." Aleriand said, though he had no intention of doing that, "I only got mine from sheer luck. Their father reached out to the Harper Hall looking to apprentice their kid. It was right before we moved to the Weyr after the fire. If the Weyr can't whisk the kid away, nothing will."
Wyndell sighed and slumped into his chair. "Well, we need more of them. Moving back here from the Weyr has taxed my organizational skills. And you're sure that Aikley has no interest in wallpaper?"
"If you find any more, I'm happy to have them." Aleriand said mildly. "What about you, Shassene? How are your apprentices shaping up?"
"_Lovely_." Shassene beamed. "The seniors started the semester with steel-like focus and they seem to be staying that way. Some juniors are... still a little distracted exploring their creativity." She sipped her win and murmured magnanimously, "One of them made a paintbrush out of another girl's hair without her agreement or knowledge. The worst part was it pushed primer around like a dream."
Last updated on the December 16th 2024