Chapter 13
Masterharper Robinton regarded the young Journeyman Blue Rider quizzically.
"What can I do for you, T'rin?" he asked.
"Well, sir, it's a bit awkward" said T'rin. "I've discussed it with L'gal of course: but since it flies against protocol in so many ways we both thought I'd better come and ask you – since it's to me the child came to ask for an apprenticeship."
"And wherein lies your dilemma?" queried the Masterharper. "Surely you are both competent to decide if a child is worth training?"
"Sir – may I ask you to test the child yourself first?" asked T'rin. "I don't mean to be insolent….but I'd like to have knowledge of whether YOU feel she's ready."
The Masterharper raised a delicate eyebrow. Two smudged names on apprentice forms starting with obvious dragonrider contractions suggested to him that it was not entirely the gender of the child as let slip by T'rin that inhibited him; he had every believe that two dragonrider apprentices were female Green Riders, and assuming they made the grade he had no objection at all to that! He only hoped that Kitiara would not find out and ask to continue her harper studies as a candidate to be near T'rin to the detriment of her other studies and the boy's wellbeing. However, he would see what the problem here was sooner if he went along with T'rin's odd request.
"As you wish" he said. "I trust that you must have excellent reason: though it still puzzles me why you would doubt your own judgement."
T'rin opened the window and gave a piercing whistle through his fingers; it was a means he had devised to gain Kullana's attention and bring her running in the hopes of errands to run for him!
Kullana was knocking on the Masterharper's door as soon as her short legs could run up the stairs.
Robinton regarded the little girl; and she returned look for look in full measure. Not in impudence, the Harper thought; but in genuine interest from a child accustomed to be treated with the egalitarian respect shown at High Reaches Weyr.
He asked her some theory questions; and if her answers were succinct to the point of being taciturn they covered what he asked. At his request she drummed simple messages; and added unnecessary and pithy asides, quite accurately, to one, starting guiltily as T'rin barked,
"MANNERS!"
She played chords on a gitar, her own small sized one that T'rin had crafted for her: she picked out tunes on the harp: and managed, less competently, a tune on the flute. At Robinton's request she sang scales, major and minor, and triples, and accurately pitched from a given note. She passed over her written notes on recent lessons, including rough notes on her own tunes.
Robinton turned to T'rin.
"Wherein lies the problem?" he asked in his beautifully modulated voice. "I would have said she had been an apprentice for at least a turn and would willingly post her confirmed to stay."
"The problem is that she's not Turned eight yet" said T'rin. "But she needs more."
Robinton blinked.
"Not turned eight? I'm amazed. I see your dilemma – but it were a shame to waste her talent. You have my permission to make her a formal apprentice, T'rin, but I forbid you to send her to be confirmed Journeyman until she's Turned fourteen – what you in the Weyr call the Age of Choice. She'll need those turns of maturity to support the position – even supposing her to be a levelheaded young woman at that age as so many weyrbred youngsters are."
T'rin nodded.
Kullana expressed her approval by swarming up the tall form of the Masterharper to give him a big smacking kiss on the cheek in a most uncharacteristic display of affection!
"Apprentice!" barked T'rin.
Kullana looked mutinous, and debated sticking out her tongue; then slithered own and stood, like a weyrling, to attention.
"YES sir, Journeyman!" she said crisply.
"Go and wait for me with Camnath" said T'rin.
Kullana nodded her head in acquiescence and marched sharply off.
"You are very firm with her" the Masterharper made it almost a question, knowing that T'rin was wont to keep a firm but light hand on the apprentices he trained.
T'rin grimaced; and told the sordid history of Kullana and her sister-aunt Takula.
"They test limits all the time" he said. "They've mostly grown out of it, but I've had her pushing hard for a while….it's why I wanted to apprentice her properly, to stretch her as she needs stretching. She's bored; and she makes trouble; and she knows most people will make allowances for her for her unhappy early life. But she's quite amenable to tough discipline – as long as it is fair. She needs to know where the limits are. And she doesn't seem to mind, or she'd not have come back for more of my strictness in class. It's easier to lighten than tighten; but then, I'm teaching my grandmother to suck eggs there!" he added with a grin.
Robinton returned it.
"I know that you know how and when to be gentle" he said "So I make no recommendations; you know her best. And I dare swear T'lana has her eye on Kullana too, and her sister – if I know that young Weyrwoman at all! Keep me posted; and if she DOES lose interest for being too young, well you can always release her from her apprenticeship. She looks enough like T'kul, I have to say, that I've no doubt she'll Impress one day anyway!"
T'rin nodded gratefully.
Fortunately Master Robinton was prepared to be as flexible as the people at home, at High Reaches! T'rin found himself telling his Master about the drum message perpetrated by Kullana on poor Mi'a; and the Masterharper laughed until tears ran freely down his cheeks.
"Oh my! Yes, T'rin, she DOES need stretching!" he chuckled. "Almost as bad as a group of apprentice lads who passed drum messages about their enemies and bullies!"
As this was T'rin and his friends, the young Blue Rider joined the Masterharper's laughter rather ruefully!
T'rin found Kullana a lot easier to handle now her skills were acknowledged officially; and was able to settle better to other duties. One of the things that he discovered was that the very act of logicating could add to his skills as a Harper.
After a nasty case when a blackmailing Woodcrafter drove a Ranking woman to suicide, the logicators discussed the similarities in the threats to loved ones and security of life between this act and kidnapping; for the Lady Libethra's daughter had been kidnapped but a few months previously by the child's own half brother; and Libethra had brought little Tefanny to the Weyr rather than be forced into marriage as Lady Warder – her husband being dispossessed for his lack of discipline to his son – as Lord Bargen did not believe in Lady Holders. T'rin passed on this discussion of the logicators to his favourite master, Master Domick in a long letter: for the mercurial tunecrafter had explained to T'rin how behaviour patterns of one person might give a clue to future behaviour of others in similar situations. The aberrant behaviour of using threats might, T'rin felt, help his Master and friend; and Domick wrote his thanks for the concise description of such!
In the meantime, Segrith had risen: T'arla had taken advantage of L'gal's Solpeth's involvement, something L'gal was quite happy about!
T'rin anticipated a steady trickle of candidates, the younger ones of whom would certainly need to continue lessons under the aegis of the Weyrharpers, if only to check that their standards of literacy reached the standards that R'gar expected. He knew too that sometimes illiterate candidates were brought in by the flexible High Reaches team and he had had few enough literacy skills himself when he and his sister had come on Search! Generally T'lana undertook quiet extra lessons to catch up those who needed it; but T'rin had a quiet word with Horgey.
"Could you have the patience to teach the illiterate, Horgey?" he asked. "They'll be defensive, maybe bitter – but you're not threatening to look at stuck in a chair and you might get more out of them than a Journeyman Blue Rider, or worse, Bronze Rider."
Horgey brightened.
"I'd be glad to, T'rin. I had enough trouble myself to catch up at the Harper hall with writing, and often sore fingers from Master Morshall's criticisms of my writing, let alone the comments of the Master-recordkeeper! I know how it feels to feel stupid next to everyone else."
T'rin gave him a comradely grin.
"I knew you'd not let me down" he said.
Horgey was filled with joy.
T'rin was certain he'd not let him down! What a long way they had come together!
He had a little green firelizard now, whose appetite took a considerable part of his time: though Allessa always saw to it that he had plenty of meat for her. T'rin was teaching him how to train her and he was enchanted by the way she sang along with his practice in her pure clear treble voice. Horgey dared not mention it yet, but the feeling in his legs had been increasing, and he had voluntarily moved one foot almost an inch the day before! It was odd; he had touched his foot tentatively and felt the touch of his hand, though not as pressure, but as heat! He knew he must make haste slowly if he was to make any progress at all: but one of the things that overjoyed him was knowing when he needed the necessary, and being able to hoist himself across to a purpose-built stool with a contraption fashioned by T'lana, H'llon and L'gani. Sometimes he had to ring his bedside bell to ask his drudge Danel to help him back to bed: but it was a start, and a matter of dignity, and he felt so much less unmanned by being able to take care of much of his own hygiene requirements.
T'rin expected that there might be some candidates with musical ability: and probably most would consider themselves more musical than in fact they were. He had needed to break the news to several Riders that they had a pleasant hobby; and better to leave it at that. Fortunately L'gani had helped out there, informing one Blue Rider with a temper that he, L'gani, loved woodwork – but he'd never have the cheek to try to apprentice himself to H'llon! As L'gani was Weyrsecond this carried more weight – unfairly – than the word of a Journeyman in the craft the Rider was trying to join! Therefore T'rin was not entirely happy when M'kel brought in one candidate and led him straight to T'rin with the comment,
"Jaysen here was asking so many questions about our Harperweyr I thought I'd bring him straight to you."
T'rin could not refrain from an inward grin at M'kel's choice of description – Harperweyr – for it was more appropriate than any other fumbling designation yet made. Just sometimes M'kel had a gift with words. However, T'rin regarded the lad soberly.
Jaysen was slight and dark with an olive cast to his skin and a nose that suggested a kinship with Meron of Nabol; though H'llon and his band of woodcrafters had just brought in one of Meron's daughters who had fled unkind fostering, and the logicators as a whole had found her pleasant enough. Indeed, H'llon was busy rescuing the girl's next sister down, and doubtless making serious representations to the foster parents about ill treatment. It was just a shock on a male face: but T'rin was prepared to reserve judgement until he had spoken to and tested the boy.
"If you are so keen on music, why did you not go to the Harpercraft Hall as an apprentice?" he asked.
The boy lifted his chin.
"Because my father would not countenance me wasting my time as a musician" he said. T'rin gasped. The boy's voice was pure as gold; and if it was not so fine as T'rin's old friend Shoris then it came close!
"Your father is an idiot, if you can hold a tune with that lovely voice of yours" the journeyman snapped.
"I can hold a tune. I don't know if I can play or not – I've never been allowed an instrument. Instruments are toys for girls and defectives" said the boy resentfully.
T'rin made a few rather basic comments on Jaysen's father's understanding – or lack of it. He started to cover the man's habits, antecedents and cleanliness when he realised this was not the most tactful thing to do to a man's son.
Jaysen seemed rather more impressed by T'rin's fluency than shocked by his insults to his father. T'rin shook his head in irritation.
"And yet he lets you come on Search?"
Jaysen shrugged.
"One can boast if one's son Impresses, for his deeds are visible. The Harpers who kept the Traditions alive under Fax had to be careful; it is not glamorous, even if it was, I'm guessing, as dangerous as fighting Thread."
T'rin looked approval on the boy.
"You've a fine appreciation of what it really is to be a Harper" he said. "I recall Master Robinton making a speech – there'd been some expulsions" – of Horgey and his friend as it happened – "And he reminded us that friends of his had died to keep the Traditions alive so that not all were totally unprepared when Thread returned. And to us it seems incredible that Thread should have been forgotten: but that it WAS needs to be kept alive too!" he added "We'll put you to egg anyway: it matters not if you Impress or no. And you can stay for three goes, picking and choosing the hatchings, until you are twenty turns. By that time, if you're not Impressed, you should be a Journeyman if you work hard enough and so be independent. The Weyr has jurisdiction over you while you are here; if need be the Weyr can decide to send you to the Harper Hall. Is that fair?"
The boy's face suffused with joy.
"Oh yes, sir, Journeyman! When do I start?"
"After the noon meal I have the beginners. You'll work with them, having no training. In the evening, L'gal will work on your voice; he's the greater expert on that and it's worth training as well as might be" T'rin explained. "Being a candidate as well with R'gar's lessons you'll have little enough leisure" he warned "For you'll be training for two jobs!"
"Sir, if others can hold down the task of being Harpers AND dragonriders, I'm sure I can manage the extra lessons!" asseverated Jaysen.
T'rin nodded.
"Good lad. Now get your stuff to the candidates' dormitory and go find something to eat."
T'rin reflected that there were some stupid people about. The boy Jaysen had an acute appreciation of the real role of harpers; but even if all harpers did was make music, that were surely of value to bring diversion for those with frequently hard lives and little enough joy and colour!
As to the idea of holding down two jobs, T'rin grinned wryly over the thought that in fact he himself held down three – if one counted logicating! The logicators actually had very little leisure time – or rather, they chose to use it on their chosen purpose of righting wrongs. But on the other hand, the busy people of High Reaches who had filled their leisure times with useful occupations had no time or inclination to make trouble as the Oldtimers had made trouble; and would be less likely to become bored at the end of the pass!
The girl who had been found by H'llon's apprentices rejoiced in the lengthy name of Imbelinne. Having sisters called Meliandra, Sorelinna, Ipominea, Clytelia and Adellys she felt she had almost got off lightly! She seemed to have forged a friendship with Horgey; suffering from a broken leg and a broken arm, H'llon had suggested she might like to spend time with someone else still incapacitated; and T'rin had come in one day to find Horgey recounting his own tale simply and without self pity. The young Journeyman slipped away.
Imbelline was young; and healed fast. She also had the sense not to rush things, content to listen to Horgey telling the tale of the logicators and the Harperweyr and how good High Reaches people were. As she healed, T'rin heard her play along with the boy; and if she had no genius, she was without doubt competently taught.
The day came that Horgey asked T'rin and L'gal to attend him; Imbelline was with him. The boy asked shyly,
"Imbelline has a talent for words. I- I wondered if it was enough for an apprenticeship."
Imbelline smiled brightly.
"Well, it appears to me that I should engage in the judicious acquisition of a craft, lest I find myself unImpressed, that I may yet be of use to the Weyr for its sanctuary to those of us who find ourselves in dire straits. Whilst there is undoubtedly a need for cleaning operatives within the Weyr, and I can undoubtedly effect as good an epuration as any, I believe my intellectual qualities lead to such an occupation being a prodigal waste of my talents."
Acting-Master L'gal and Journeyman T'rin exchanged glances of sheer delight.
"Beautifully measured cadences" murmured L'gal.
"You said that about Y'lara" reminded T'rin.
"Different cadences" said L'gal, dryly. "Do you think that you have talent, Imbelline?"
"Musically? No sir" she said candidly. "But I can hold a tune, and I know all the required drum messages for the Ranking; and it's not so difficult to make an educated guess at those not normally taught. I can memorise lengthy messages and passages: I love words. And I am, I believe, a diligent observer."
L'gal and T'rin exchanged another look.
"Talk Drumbeats" said T'rin, trying to hide his excitement.
The look the girl gave him was puzzled, but she spoke up quite readily.
"If you write them down – I do not, of course, know the accepted notation, but adopted my own method of recording – it is possible to trace certain regularities, similarities and relationships between certain messages. It follows, therefore, that other messages not intended for interpretation by those of us trained only in the basics might contain certain sequences related, ah, thereunto."
"You almost ran out of verbiage at the end of that complex and involuted little passage" grinned T'rin.
She grinned back; and T'rin noted that, whilst ferrety, her face had a gamine charm that verged on the pretty when she smiled unselfconsciously.
"I do sometimes" she admitted. "Am I right though?"
T'rin thought furiously; and decided to explain about T'lana's ability to work things out, and how it had worried Master Domick into despatching e spy – Lugal – who had so unintentionally Impressed Bronze Solpeth!
"For picking out the patterns if nothing else you should be a Harper" T'rin told her firmly. "Horgey says you have a pretty, but rather reedy voice; L'gal will work on that and see if he can't improve it" he shot a sly look and a grin at L'gal, who chuckled. The girl looked a question, and L'gal took pity on her curiosity.
"Our voice master passed certain remarks on T'rin's singing voice. He does NOT train singing" he said.
"I see" said Imbelline. "Well, actually I do not, fully; I expect it's an in-Hall joke."
L'gal grinned.
"You could say that. You've been trained in the basics?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. Report to class with Mi'a, T'arla and the kids. F'lim is way ahead of all of you: you may be technically above some of the others, but it's easier to work as a group. And if you Impress, some of them will be colleagues too."
Imbelline had settled in well with the other girls; and Mi'a later told T'rin that her habit of long words had been an attempt to enrage her ill educated foster parents in a way they could not legitimately punish her for. It had worked!
"I warned her off you" said Mi'a, cheerfully. "But she's not after any emotional entanglements at all just yet."
"Warned? I like THAT!" T'rin protested, injured.
Mi'a chuckled, unimpressed.
"You ARE too handsome for your own good" she said. "And for the good of silly young maidens that long to be the one to tie you down! Anyway, we'll look out for Imbelline, T'arla and me. She's all right."
As Imbelline also took to mathematics and its applications to instrument crafting in string length and thickness or pipe lengths and hole placement as though born to it, the two journeymen were delighted with their decision to take her on.
It did not occur to them that some masters at the Harper Hall might have viewed the large numbers of females in the harperweyr with some disapprobation; and as the Masterharper was happy to accommodate the cheerfully egalitarian outlook of High Reaches and so never TOLD those more hidebound masters they did not have to find out.