Research and Records

Writers: Estelle, Francesca
Date Posted: 5th March 2024

Characters: Arrilon, Tasni
Description: Arrilon and Tasni catch up in the archives.
Location: Harper Hall
Date: month 7, day 20 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: Jayala

After a morning of individual and small group practice, followed by a
quick lunch, Arrilon was glad to surround himself with the rows of
shelves and hushed tones of the archives. The Master Archivist had
told him it was time for him to come up with his own research project,
but he was struggling to settle on a topic to explore. He had spent
almost two months digging into old histories of the Hall, with the
vague idea of learning about how past harpers thought about their
teaching practice and seeing what was different today.

The fire at the Hall had destroyed many records, but some still
remained. In addition, there were records that had been held in
private possession and only more recently been turned over to the
Hall. Arrilon had started with the oldest records he could find,
looking through what previous Masters had written, but hadn't found
much mention of teaching, and nothing that piqued his interest. Now,
he had decided to jump to the times of the plagues. While records were
even scarcer during that time period, such a period of upheaval and
the craft ban meant teaching practices must have changed; or, that was
his hope.

He skipped some of the records, then skimmed through a few more,
before coming to a bound collection of records from a previous Master
of Apprentices, covering the beginning of the plagues. Arrilon's eyes
lit up and he took the records to the nearest table, sitting down and
opening the first page. Hopefully there was something interesting
there.

A pair of lively blue eyes watched him as he sat down across the
table, apparently so engrossed in the material he'd brought over that
he hadn't noticed anyone else was in the archives. It was one of
Tasni's first days back in the archives after returning to the Hall.
She'd needed time to recover from her journey, and to complete her
report on White Hollow Hold in the privacy of her room; Master Jayala
had been adamant that no-one else catch a glimpse of what she'd
written.

Now she was getting familiar with her own research again, she
remembered having talked to the journeyman before about what she'd
been working on. It seemed a very long time ago.

"Psst." She kept her voice low so as not to disturb anyone else who was
working, and tilted her head towards the records he'd brought. "Found
something interesting?"

Arrilon's head came up quickly in surprise, eyes meeting Tasni's. He
knew she had left the Hall on some type of harper business and did not
realize she had returned, or that she was sitting right there. "Hi,"
he said slightly awkwardly. It was easier to focus on his research, so
he launched into a brief explanation. "Well, I'm hoping there will be
something interesting, but I'm not sure yet. I'm trying to see how
teaching methods at the Hall have changed over the years and realized
the plagues and the craft ban must have led to changes, right? So,
maybe this Master of Apprentices Delmorvin has something interesting
to say. Or, if he's like everyone else I've read, maybe he won't." He
shrugged. "We'll see."

"I remember - he was Master of Apprentices right through that period,
wasn't he? I remember looking to see if any of his letters or papers
mentioned sending the girls home, after the ban was voted through, but
he never mentions it. I think the Hallmaster or his second handled
it." She leaned forward, looking with curiosity at the script on the
page he'd opened. "Perhaps there'll be more in his writings on the
classes he taught, even if it's indirect. Is this a new project you're
working on?"

"I'm hoping this can turn into a project. So far I really haven't
found anything though. If there's nothing here, I might need to decide
on something different." He tried not to let frustration creep into
his voice. "Before coming to the Hall, I hadn't realized how much the
fire would impact any research." This had not been an issue at the
Weyr.

"I didn't either. With music, there were at least copies in the Holds
to work from, but they wouldn't have had so many teaching texts, or
the historical records. There are so many gaps." She thought for a
moment, then brightened. "Wait, have you ever met Master Zahira? A
little old lady, quite frail - she doesn't leave her rooms much, but
she's sometimes in the Hall for formal dinners. She got her Master's
knots before the plague. Perhaps she'd be willing to talk about what
it was like back then."

Arrilon hadn't thought beyond searching through records, so Tasni's
suggestion took a moment to sink in. "I may have seen her from a
distance. I'm not sure though. It's true that there are people around
who lived through the Plagues." His mind started thinking through
possibilities. "And if she's a Master, she must have experienced any
changes firsthand. Do you know her?"

"I haven't spoken to her myself, but Journeyman Seldrit, who plays the
harp in my chamber group, says she holds a class for instrumentalists
sometimes. You have to be brave to attend, though." Tasni lowered her
voice to a whisper, in case any other Masters happened to be
listening. You could never tell, in the archives, who might be hiding
behind the shelves. "He said she's Master Jayala's grandmother, and
she's even more fierce, if you can imagine it."

"Really?" Arrilon found the Hallsecond a bit intimidating. It was
strange to think her grandmother might also be a Master Harper. He
looked down at the open book in front of him. "I think I'll spend
another candlemark or two looking here, just in case there's
something. But, talking to older harpers is a great idea." He smiled.
"Thanks. It makes me wonder who else is around and might want to talk.
Although, they're probably all men." It did seem like Master Zahira
would be the perfect place to start. "Who else might know Master
Zahira? Besides the Hallsecond?"

"You could ask Seldrit. I'm not sure if he's dared to go to the
masterclass yet, but he'd know who had. Or - " A better idea struck her
as she remembered the last time she'd seen the Master being assisted
into the Hall. "You could talk to the Hall staff. She's very elderly, so
one or two of them must have the duty of helping her wash and dress and
get about. They'd know when would be the best time to approach her."

Their conversation kept shifting in unexpected ways. Arrilon was
finding it hard to keep up. "That's so... sneaky. It's a good idea,
but I don't know if I could pull it off. Wouldn't it look suspicious
if I'm creeping around the hallways talking to Hall staff?" He knew
some harpers were experts at wearing disguises and spying. However,
that wasn't a part of the Craft he had gravitated towards. Realizing
how negative he sounded, he added, "Thanks, though. This is all really
helpful. Hey, what are you up to in the archives today? How's the
research going?"

"Slow. I had to focus on another project for a while - nothing too
interesting, just some research the Hallsecond wanted - so I'm reminding
myself where I got to and starting to draft how I'm going to write up my
work on women after the plagues." Her nose wrinkled slightly - she'd
always preferred the research, the thrill of tracking down some new
scrap of information, to the chore of wrestling her findings into a
report. "I'm hoping I might get a chance for another trip to the holds
before I'm finished, but I'm not sure. The Northern Hall must be
wondering what's become of me."

Arrilon had assumed Tasni wouldn't stick around in the South forever,
but hadn't realized her time there was already coming to a close. They
hadn't had too many interactions, but he found her fascinating. He
would be sad not to see her around the Hall anymore. "Do you know how
much longer you're here for?"

"Until I have a draft of my report, I hope. I can polish it up back in
the North, but right now I'm still using the archives here, and the
Hold's Records, enough that it makes sense to stay." She thought of
Calenta's letter to her husband, still tucked into a pocket in her pack.
Her reason told her he'd almost certainly died escaping from White
Hollow, but she still couldn't help holding out a hope she might still
find him and deliver it, after so long. "I'll miss the Southern Hall if
- when I leave. I never thought I'd settle in so well here."

"Well, I hope you found what you need. It will be strange not to see
you anymore," he said, although it felt awkward to admit. "Although,
who knows, maybe you'll need to do some follow-up research at some
point."

"I expect so. Our Halls should be in closer contact. It's not as it was
back in the Interval, when we were so cut off from each other. If you
can beg a dragon ride it's no harder than travelling anywhere else in
the South." Tasni smiled. "You should come to the Northern Hall to study
for a while, if you can get permission. You'd find it very different,
but interesting, I hope."

"Yes, I'm sure it would be interesting." It was hard to imagine
leaving the Southern Continent, even temporarily. Although, depending
on the direction his research went, perhaps it would eventually be
useful to make a trip there. "Joy is terrible at sending messages, but
if there's anything I can look up for you, feel free to contact me. As
long as I'm still at the Hall, I'd be happy to help."

"Thanks. I appreciate it - there's bound to be something I've forgotten.
And I'd like to hear more about how your research into teaching methods
goes. I'm not going back tomorrow, though," she said, teasingly. "You'll
have to put up with me for a few sevendays yet. Maybe more, if I can get
another trip in before I leave."

"Right. Well, that's good." Why did he always feel so unsettled around
her? **Maybe because you're attracted to her.** The thought was so
unexpected, he wondered for a moment if his firelizard had suddenly
developed the ability to communicate in full sentences. But, this was
not the time to suddenly reflect on his feelings, so he quickly tried
to remember what she had just said. "Great. Well, I should get back to
reading." He gestured to the records in front of him. "I'm still
hoping there's something interesting in here."

"If there is, let me know. I'd welcome the distraction from writing up."
Tasni didn't appear to have noticed his moment's distraction. "Good
luck, anyway. I'd better get back to work, too." She pulled a face, then
bent her head over the notes she'd been studying again.

"Thanks." Arrilon looked down as well, trying to focus on the text in
front of him.

Last updated on the March 9th 2024

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