An Epic

Writers: AL, Eimi
Date Posted: 27th May 2008

Characters: T'mahl, Lirit
Description: T'mahl invites the Harper Lirit to join him for dinner
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 6 of Turn 4

Lirit couldn't hear the din of the dining hall, for he was too wrapped into the music. That was what happened often times when he was performing - at least, not when he was performing for a grade. He would often lose himself in the melody, his mind making up images to accompany it. His fingers danced over the gitar strings, his voice a high, sweet soprano that often made people look twice when they realised it was not coming from a woman. Ah, music, much sweeter than a bubbly.

Well, sort of.

The last strains of the gitar and his voice mingled together before fading, and then Lirit stepped down to let another harper provide entertainment to those gathered for the evening meal. The fragrance of the food made his stomach growl and he turned in the direction where he knew he could sit and be served.

"Very nice! Please sit down with me," the Weyrlingmaster smiled as he scooted over to make room for the harper. Lirit had a very nice, though surprisingly high voice. T'mahl had been secretly curious if the Harper's voice had just never broken, or if perhaps some accident of youth had caused such a pure soprano voice to be preserved. Or was it possible that the harper was one of those who put out the apperance of a man, though was actually a woman... He had spent the set wondering and was glad for the chance to satiate his curiosity!

Lirit stopped and turned toward the sound of his voice. It was obvious that the compliment was for him and he swept a bow, gitar in one hand, walking stick in the other. "Tis my pleasure." He straightened, his cheerful grin spreading across his face and merriment twinkling in his eyes, though they didn't seem to quite focus upon the speaker. "It's always nice to hear that my performance has pleased others. So where should I sit?"

Well, the voice sounded like a normal male... Although some manish women had rather low voices as well... "Oh, ah..." T'mahl patted the wooden chair loudly. "Right here."

Lirit turned toward the sound, reaching out tentively. His hand found the back of the chair and he slid into it, his smile still bright. "So what's your name? I'm Lirit."

"I am T'mahl," the bronzerider replied as he filled a glass of water for the Harper. He decided his companion was most definitely male. "I have heard you perform before."

"Oh good, a fan then!" Lirit reached for the cup, his fingers carefully darting about until he found it, then lifted it and sipped slowly for a moment. "I'm always happy to sit and dine with someone who has an appreciation for talent."

"Well, I have none of my own, so I must only admire talent from a distance unfortunately." There had been a time when T'mahl had considered Harpering, but he had no musical ability whatsoever and the other aspects of the craft held no interest for him. Lirit shook his head. "Ah well, I'm really not all that talented, to be honest. I have to work a lot." Well, he didn't have to. He practised...a lot. After all, music was his life. "Were you in any craft before impressing?"

"I am a technician with a mechanical specialization." Which was actually more interesting than it sounded, T'mahl realized. At least to himself. "I cannot practice as much as I once did, but it is still a kind of hobby of mine when time allows."

"Yeah, I would think with thread falling, continuing your craft would be difficult." Lirit took another sip of the water before setting it down.
"Ah, a technician. Definitely not the craft for me. I'd wind up burning down the weyr - I'm sure I'd find some way to burn through rock even."

"Then probably a cook would not be wise either," the bronzerider smiled. "No, I could probably cook." Lirit turned to smile up towards the drudge that brought him his plate as he heard it being set down before him. "I'd just burn everything. People would probably get used to it eventually."

"Oh but why stop singing?" the bronzerider chuckled. He rather liked his food cooked, but not burnt.

"Music is the food of life!" Lirit declared, then stated before taking another bite of his food. "Though I won't decline an offer of the actual stuff."

**Spoken like a true harper,** T'mahl smiled, shaking his head. "Man cannot live by music alone."

"You know, I have never put that to the test." Lirit tapped his fork on his lips, his expression thoughtful. "I wonder if I could live by music alone."

The bronzerider snorted as he stabbed a tubar with his fork. "You are welcome to try if you wish, though I think you would be alone in your experiment." "But think of all the time I could have to practise if I didn't have to take the time to eat food." Lirit sighed dramatically. "I'd probably just waste away. Oh well, it was a nice thought."

"Well, you could try to practice and eat at the same time, but I'd be afriad you'd choke when you took a deep breath."

"Then another harper could write a tragic ballad about me." Lirit lifted his fork and waved it about a few times to some imaginary beat. "I'm sure it would bring tears to the audience how I died for the love of my craft."

T'mahl chuckled softly. "An epic, to be sure."

Last updated on the June 1st 2008

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An Epic