Dolphinsinging
Main Hall and Ballroom
The ballroom's vast space is simply and tastefully decorated, combining images and
materials from many parts of Pern. Opposite the main entrance, a broad balcony is
supported by pillars of the finest northern marble; polished to glassy smoothness,
they contrast the toning blues of the walls. A staircase of the same stone rises in
sturdy flights to the upper level. The high vaulted ceiling with its round
wrought-iron window is white, brightening the room, while the varnished floor is
the deep red-brown of a Lemos hardwood. High on the west wall, a large 'mural'
shows a map of Pern, framed by images of harper life and symbols of the Craft,
while the bright 'tapestry' opposite offers an... [look closer]
Watching from a bit of artistically carved lintel are six firelizards.
You see Leyte here.
Tytom is here.
Obvious exits:
Artist's Workshop Archive Vault Harper Office Harper Classroom
Shainman Rehearsal Hall Great Hall Instrument Workshop Curving
Stairways
Jessa is standing in the main hall a bit to the right of the entrance that leads
into the rest of Ista Hold. In her hands she holds a book and she stands straight,
as if she were trying to look somewhat official in the hall as she looks around at
the comings and goings.
Tytom is looking around the main hall, awaiting the rest of the gathered apprentices. Walking towards the door he approaches Journeywoman Jessa "How fare
you this day Journeywoman?"
Esmati emerges from the balcony, making her way down the steps at a demure pace.
She pauses briefly at the bottom, and then makes directly for the unfamiliar face
by the doorway. "Excuse me," the tall girl queries, "would this be where we were
to meet for the dolphinsinging class?"
Jessa's wandering gaze turns towards the apprentice that greets her and she smiles,
"Doing quite well, and yourself? Are you here for the dolphinsinging class?" And if
that didn't answer the female apprentice's question, Jessa nods. "Yep, I'm Jessa,
waiting here to lead you to the dolphin hall for the class." A few other
apprentices mill about and start to slowly gravitate towards the trio.
Tytom says, "Yes, Journeywoman, I am here for the class. I am well today and
looking forward to hearing your Dolphins today."
Esmati nods, satisfied. "Pleased to meet you, Journeyman Jessa," the girl says,
drawling Igenite voice polite, before shooting a mildly curious glance Tyran's way.
"Excuse me, are you a new apprentice here? I don't believe I've seen you before."
Jessa smiles to Tytom, Esmati, and the vague semi-crowd of random apprentices
"Alright then, well, shall we head over to the dolphin hall then?" Not so much a
question as a polite command to the group. "This way you can see the dolphinhall,
learn more about dolphinsinging, and meet the dolphins." The journeywoman turns and
then heads out, at a slow pace so that even the most dawdling of apprentices can
keep up. Let's see how many of them follow along.
You go to the Great Hall.
You pass through the great doors into the courtyard.
You walk down a few steps into the courtyard.
You walk towards the beach.
You go to the Ista Sea Hold Courtyard.
You go to the Main Hall.
Main Hall
Running through the cavernous Main Hall of Ista Sea Hold, a ten meter ledge of
sea-worn stone comprises the main working area along with a lane of seawater the
flows parallel to the shelf. Upon the ledge are six tables used mostly for classes
or cleaning dive gear. To the west a large archway leads to the entrance foyer and
the dormitories, as well as the Crafthead's office. Along the other walls are
smaller archways, leading to the other areas of the Hall. Opposite this area runs a
wide bridge that crosses the sea-lane towards the other side, to the other archways
that lead deep inside. On non-Thread days, heavy metal shutters are opened from
large windows, letting fresh sea air and sun... [look closer]
Gliding above is a brown firelizard.
You see Cindy the Drudge here.
Obvious exits:
Records Room Office Corridor Bridge Docking Cavern Kitchens
Courtyard
Esmati walks in from the Ista Sea Hold Courtyard.
Tytom walks in from the Ista Sea Hold Courtyard.
Tytom turns towards the other apprentice. "I am Tytom. I have bin here for a
while, but have bin keeping to my self recently" then turning back he follows the
Journeywoman.
Jessa enters the main hall of the Ista Sea Hold, also known as the Dolphincraft
Hall, and walks to the middle where she stops and turns around to look at the
Harper apprentices that followed her here. When the last one enters she smiles,
"Alright, welcome to Ista Sea Hold, which has the Dolphincraft and Seacraft Halls.
Now if you'll follow me, we can go to the Lounge and see if the dolphins are here
and start class."
Esmati trails on Jessa's heels, glancing about the sea hall with enough curiosity
that it's plain she's never ventured this way before. "Yes'm. Are they probably
here, or is it hard to predict?"
Tytom says, "This hold seems well built. I take it that that you have a water lip
so that the dolphins can come right up to the hold?"
Jessa shrugs in reply to Esmati, "They're not too hard to find, and especially
mornings and evenings they are here to share news with us. And yes, we have a water
lip for them, which you'll see in a moment or two." The dolphinsinger looks at the
assembled group. "Well then, let's head over." Jess turns and heads them over
towards the rest of the hall.
You go to the Arched Bridge.
You go to the Hall's Lounge.
Hall's Lounge
Cozy to the point of downright stuffy this lounge exudes a salty briny air.
Overstuffed and comfortable looking are the chairs of dark blue that reside at one
end of this circular room. The smattering of tables that they surround are nothing
more than tops with scarred wooden legs attached as well they should be. The bases
of the tables and chairs are waterstained and marked by mild salt buildup. Rugs
worn with age decorate the polished floor of this relaxation area soft greens and
browns making barefeet swoon. Paintings of charts and various sea mammals and fish
have been painstakingly added to the walls creating the atmosphere of their mother
sea. To one side of the bridge is a wide ledge... [look closer]
To the south, you see three people.
Settled near the water are Minty, Havelock, Scamp, Sam, Demitri, and Archimedes
Swimming about are Zaphi, Ihiske, Tika, and Tesia
You see Dartboard here.
Obvious exits:
Baths Men's Dorms Staff Hall Women's Dorms Infirmary Bridge
Sea Lane
Tytom walks in from the Arched Bridge.
Tony walks in from the Arched Bridge.
Esmati walks in from the Arched Bridge.
A mottled grey and white head pops up and peers into the lounge, chittering
happily. "Hello. My Name Tesia..." She begins. "J'ssa? Who people?"
Tony watches with a memoic look on his face
Esmati nearly jumps back a step, but catches herself in time. Barely. "Er."
Tytom with a entranced look upon his face Tytom takes a knee in order to take a
better look at the dolphin
Tony steadies Esmati, with a passing thought to push, instead of support.
Of course the extra activity of a small group of Harpers would awaken the dolphin's
interest and cause them to come. Or perhaps Jessa asked them to come. The
journeywoman smiles, "G'day Tesia, these are some Harper apprentices that came over
for a class on dolphinsinging." And there's a harper master there too, but no time
for specifics. Jess points to the lip, "And there you can see the lip that lets
them get closer. We also have a shallower pool used for medical cases."
Tony gets down on his knees and places his hand in a gesture of greeting
Esmati stares, though her bemused expression quickly turns rather charmed. "Um.
Pleased to meet you, Tesia," murmurs the girl, picking forward through the little
crowd of apprentices.
Tesia chitters more quickly, peering around at the guests. "Harpers? Sing like
you?" Has the little 'phin heard Jessa sing? Well, undoubtedly, one of them has,
and what one of them knows, the rest of them know of course. "Come to sing happy
song for us?" The dolphin squees happily.
Tony sings a small scale of 18 notes then slides the notes in waves back to where
he started
Tony with a final hum, slides the notes into silence, with a rings tone, which was
reverberaated off the water
Jessa looks proudly on at the gathered Harpers and their varying reactions, smiling
as someone sings a little bit for the dolphin. "So any of you notice anything about
Tesia?" Jess asks the crowd in an attempt to get the class moving along in a
direction.
Tony stands up again
Tony says, "Would it be Tesia unusual colour markings ?"
Tytom takes out his reed pipes and repeats the scale
Esmati's lips quirk. "Well, she certainly seems to like music, ma'am. Is that why
there're dolphinsingers?"
Tony 1/2 stumbles, springs out his hand but safely regains his footing, and moves
to the rear of the group
Jessa shakes her head at Tony and notices his rank. A master, eh? To attend out of
interest or to keep an eye on the oh so rowdy apprentices? "Well, besides that..."
she says, and before she can get to what she was looking for she smiles at Esmati.
"Dolphins have an oral history that is passed on, and dolphinsingers record this,
and have another main purpose. So can anyone tell me something that they noticed?"
Hint: not physical.
"Un-us-ual?" Tesia asks. "What means /that/ word?" She swings her head from
right to left as the singer and piper offer the music. "Pre-tty." She says,
nodding to her friend. "What those?" She means the pipes of course.
Tytom offers the pipes for Tesia's inspection. "These are my pipes Tesia. They are
made of sea reeds an stained with fish oil for color."
Esmati purses her lips, peering down over Tytom's shoulder. "Well . . . she
doesn't seem to talk quite like a human would, but that isn't what you mean, is it,
ma'am?"
Tika squees as she surfaces in the lounge cavern, look around at the humans.
Okay, Jessa's class is tending towards the chaotic at the moment, what with people
discussing pipes with Tesia and others stumbling around. But the journeywoman
continues nonetheless, since even in this disorganized array there is certainly
something to be learned or at least observed. And it looks like someone is actually
paying attention and putting her observations to use. Jess nods to Esmati, "That's
actually exactly what I mean. Their language. For a while they were separated from
humans, so their language changed a bit. So dolphinsingers also work with dolphin
language and grammar and try to prevent it from, ah, deteriorating further." The
dolphinsinger waves to Tika, "Hello Tika!"
Esmati always pays attention in class. It's one of her more aggravating points,
really - though she actually does look quite interested. The girl steps back,
slightly, obviously unwilling to venture *too* close to the water - within
splashing range, specifically. "Oh, I see. How do they learn to speak? From
their parents, the way people do?"
Tesia splashes idly with her fins, listening to the boring human talk. "J'ssa,"
She asks. "When your boring class done, harpers can come swim?" She flips on to
her back, and swims a slight ways away from the ledge, reappearing to hear the
answer.
Tytom steps back from the edge, sliding in behind Esmati
Jessa is just oh so hurt by Tesia's harsh words. "Of course they can." If they want
to, but Jessa's not going to tell Tesia that and get her all excited over nothing
if the Harpers decline. "They learn to speak from their parents, and specifically
the Tillek, who is the oldest, wisest, and knows all the history from memory. The
Tillek is also supposed to keep the language accurate." And obviously something
didn't quite work right with this system. "Any other questions before we move on?"
Esmati's lips quirk. "So, the . . . Tillek . . . is sort of the Masterharper for
dolphins? Though I'd feel sorry for a Masterharper who had to memorize everything
without paper to help." Despite having just *asked* a question, the girl shakes
her head. "No, ma'am."
Tony wades into the waters of the Sea Lane.
Tony swims in from the southwest.
Tony wades into the waters of the Sea Lane.
Tytom nudges Esmati tords the edge
Luckily for Esmati, Jessa isn't too picky about details and all. "Essentially, yes.
The Tillek is the historian for the dolphins." The journeywoman pauses and looks at
the group. "So what kind of stories do you think that dolphins tell?"
Tesia squees, clicks and laughs, listening to Jessa for a moment. She watches Tony
swim out to the Sea Lane. "We tell stories about Shad's." She squees loudly.
"Podsisters tell us good stories about swimming and catching fish and..." She
stops, realizing she's probably messing up Jessa's class again. "I Sorry, J'ssa."
"Oh, hm. Well, you said they have an oral history, so -" Normally, Esmati is
fairly graceful on her feet, but a series of events conspire against her. Tytom's
nudge comes just as the girl is in mid-sentence and failing to pay attention.
Caught off balance, the girl only makes things worse for herself by
overcompensating, and ends up - "Ack!" - tripping. Whoops.
Tytom reaches out his hand to catch Esmati, befor she hits the water
Yep, a chaotic class indeed. Jess says nothing about the lack of balance in this
batch of students and instead nods and continues, "No problem Tesia, you're welcome
to continue." Jessa did, after all, invite the dolphins, which implies that they're
free to contribute. "Yes, they have an oral history. What kinds of events do you
think they pass on?"
Esmati is probably blushing at the moment, though it's hard to tell with her dark
complexion. The girl gives Tytom an extremely chilly nod of thanks, primly
smoothing down her skirt. And taking a good long step back from the water. Well,
then. "Um. Could you repeat the qu -" One of the other apprentices mutters it to
her. "Oh. Really bad storms? Shipwrecks?"
Tony swims in from the southwest.
Tesia flops her head around happily, swimming up and down the ledge. Maybe this
could be fun. Especially if one of them fell in. "Hissstory, G'ography." Her tone
sounds like she's listing a litany of classes. "Fissh catching." She swims back
over to where the bulk of apprentices are, and splashes a big splash on to the
ledge. "Being nice to pod."
Tytom says, "the first thread fall, and the crossing from southern"
Tony goes home.
Jessa doesn't even flinch as Tesia plays 'splash the Harpers', a game quite similar
to 'splash Jessa' apparently. "Right, they record history of important events such
as storms, crossings, threadfall, shipwrecks... and other things that we may
perceive as less important like fish flows and geographic changes. But that's
important to /them/."
Esmati makes a face at the splash, even if she's far back enough that only her toes
get touched. "What do you mean by 'fish catching' . . . Tesia?" She looks a bit
hesitant talking directly to the dolphin. The girl turns her gaze to Jessa. "Is
that what you mean by 'fish flows'?"
Tesia tilts her head toward Jessa, as if to say that the Dolphineer would answer
the question. Her reply is less clear. "Like humans, learn to eat not messy."
She says, meaning that little dolphins have to be taught to catch fish.
Jessa shakes her head at Esmati, "Tesia is talking about eating, I'm talking about
the patterns that fish migrate in. They tell all sorts of stories about what goes
on in the ocean, and some of that is important history to them that is passed
down." The dolphinsinger smiles at Tesia and then looks over to her group of
apprentices. "So, dolphins pass down history that is important to them, and what
importance do you think this can of to us?"
Ihiske peers at Jessa before blowing out a spray of water to clear his blowhole,
"Jessa has a lovely voice. For a human," he teases, this once choosing to speak
correctly. He can. When he wants to that is.
Tytom smiles as he gets showered by water. "So, things like how weather affects the
currents. They can show fisherman, where the fish are and where it is and is not
safe to sail. They are probably also good at giveing weather warning"
"Well," says Esmati, slowly, "I know that we lost a lot of information about what
happened before the Plague in the 6th Pass, because so many records were lost or
deteoriated. Do they maybe help fill in the gaps? How far back does their history
-" Ihiske's proper grammar makes her start. "I thought you said their speech was
a little different than ours, ma'am?"
Jessa shakes her head to Tytom, "That isn't exactly history, that's news that they
bring to the dolphineers and seacrafters to help them. It does become history if
something big and important happened because of it though." Jess looks over at
Ihiske. "G'day Ihiske," she says, grinning at the silly dolphin. "Well, for the
most part their grammar and pronunciation is off, but that's because they were
separated from us for so long, and they can learn to speak more like us." Jess
takes a breather. "They also tell us stories about shipwrecks, and we can use those
stories to correlate the finding of artifacts..." she says, giving an example of
the use of their history.
Tesia dives under the water, and swims toward Ihi, popping up near him. "Hiii.
J'ssa is teaching class." She says, trying to get her grammar as close as possible
for the elder dolphin. "One almost fall in." She listens to Jessa, squeeing
delightedly. "You find wreck?" It helps to listen to the teacher, silly 'phin.
Ihiske squees with mirth at the startled comment, "Some speak better," is the large
dolphins comment, he turns an eye on the younger dolphin, "Wreck?" what'd he miss?
"Ohhh. I see. You've very good speech then, er, Ihiske." Esmati ruminates on
Jessa's example, folding her hands demuring behind her back. "So they bring up
artifacts? What sorts of things? I wouldn't think much would stay whole for very
long in the ocean."
Ihiske bobs his head. He speaks good, but he knows 'phins that speak better,
"Jessafish find wreckstuffs?" okay, so now he's not speaking well. That's hard work
after all, and usually saved for very few people. Esmati is eyed for a moment,
"Wreck stuffs. Old old stuffs. Lots of stuffs," he answers.
Tytom says, "so do they rember the stories of man's first arival in Pern?"
And dolphins have short attention spans. But they make up for it by being cute and
sweet. And this class is rapidly divurging into the realm of slightly off-topic.
"Er, no... there is no wreck, at least that I know of, I was just saying that
dolphins tell stories about old shipwrecks and we can correlate that to findings in
the ocean," Jessa says, catching the dolphins up. "Dolphins don't necessarily bring
things up, but dolphineers and their partners find things like bracelets, old
tools, boxes..." Jess says to Esmati, giving the girl a rather short version reply.
"I think Mailli found something recently?"
Ihiske bobs his head, "Old stuffs. Lots of barncles on it," he answers helpfully.
Always happy to talk about his Fish.
Tesia swims under the water back to the other side of the ledge, but just barely
underwater. Most of her dorsal fin and back can be seen. "No wreccks." She
says, sadly. "I found a ball a time." she says, remembering, popping up happily.
Short attention span indeeed.
Esmati gives a thoughtful nod, though she looks a little disappointed at how
mundane the list of discoveries is. "Oh, I see. What else do they do? Other than
helping sailors and the rest of it?"
"There's a contract between dolphins and humans. Dolphins protect humans in the
water and inform of weather, changes in conditions, tell them where the fish are,
and help humans. In return humans take care of dolphins by removing bloodfish, and
treat them when they're sick and stranded," is the brief reply given to Esmati
because Jess is determined to move this course onwards in a direction. "So, we
talked about the dolphin's grammar and pronunciation, what types of stories
dolphins tell, and the use of such stories. So uh, would you like to /hear/ a story
from their oral history?"
Ihiske bobs his head, flipping water towards the humans nearest him, "We 'membered
the contract. Not forgett, long long time. Long long time we sing/No answer we
hear/Long long time we search we guide/No thanks we are given after many many
Turns/Long and longer we sing and we Guide/Long and longer do we seek to abide/Ever
the contract to us it is new/Long long time." Ihi's voice fades slowly in the
echoing of the lounge area, the mournful tone broken by the squee he lets loose
with at the end.
Esmati opens her mouth to respond to Jessa, before going silent as Ihiske sings.
"*Oh*. They really do sing!" She abandons her habitual reserve, looking utterly
charmed. "Yes, I'd like very much to hear a story, thank you."
Jessa was going to sing one herself, but since Ihiske so nicely demonstrated, that
spares Jessa from that task. The journeywoman crouches down next to the ledge to
give Ihiske a scratch, assuming he wants one that is, and looks to the Harpers,
"So... any questions?" Or rather, any last requests before they get tossed in the
water? "Thanks for that, Ihiske."
Ihiske bobs his head and clacks his beak. Which sends water spraying into the air.
Ooh, a scritch! "Scritchings?" aww, how pathetic?
Esmati clears her throat, recovering her scholarly air. "Er, no, ma'am. Thank you
very much, it was very interesting . . . I've never seen dolphins up close before,
they're very interesting." Yeah, that? That was pretty much her just *asking* to
be dunked.
Jessa gives Esmati a close look, but just sort of half-shrugs it off as she looks
down to Ihiske, "Yeah, scritchings!" she says to the dolphin, giggling at Ihiske as
well. "Well, you're free to stay here and talk with the dolphins or go back to the
Harper Hall. If you have any questions later feel free to seek me out and ask."
This is the cue for the random apprentices to mill about and start chattering and
making noise.
Ihiske squees happily as he tail walks back from the ledge far enough to slip down
beneath the water a good ways. Another squee is given as he drops himself. And wait
for it... Here he goes. Ihiske launches himself swiftly into the air in a full
breaching and crashes back down into the water after turning a summersault.
Silly Ihiske. Jessa didn't even scritch the 'phin and he's freaking out. As the
apprentices mill towards the exit, Jess stays crouched to spend time with the
dolphins.
Ihiske bobs his head again, "Fun!" he states emphatically, "Come back? More fun?"
is asked. Not that he wants the apprentices to stay, just that he would like to see
them again.
Logfile from Jessa
