Candidate Lessons: (All Candidates)

[J'zeni]

For the fourth time J'zeni set up the Candidate Lessons, writing on the board and setting out some well used hides to allow those who wanted to to make notes. He sighed and stared at the empty classroom as he waited for whatever Candidates were going to show up to do so. It was rather depressing never quite getting past the third lesson before Candidates moved Weyrs or other things occurred to leave J'zeni and Kitti wanting students. At the moment it was rather depressing, especially with such a large clutch on the Sands. He was glad the Candidates of White Sands were going to get to come here to Impress from Tuirith's clutch.

He brushed his tunic off and settled on the table, swinging on leg as he watched the door for a few moments. When Shadowstalker slung in, making his dark presence known in one of the corners J'zeni chuckled and gestured for the great feline to 'come'. His long time companion wandered over, brushing the entire length of his massive body across his friend's legs and nearly knocking J'zeni over. Even though he was taller by two inches than he had been earlier in the Turn, and developing even more solid muscles from a combination of Weyrling chores and other activities, he was stll no match for the feline. "Hey there. You'd better keep your head down or you might scare the Candidates." Though Shadowstalker tipped his ears forward at the sound of J'zeni's voice, he did not respond in any other way. He moved to the table and walked around it a few times before curling up underneath, his tail sticking out one side and his front paws the other.

With all the shuffling of Candidates, J'zeni had no idea where any of them were in knowledge. He had given a few to Daegarethe in order to get her accustomed to Weyr life but hadn't gone much further than that. Nalsait had only seen a few but no one was excused because they did not have knowledge enough for J'zeni's satisfaction. He had Starrest and Starjumper send messages to three current Candidates so he could find out what they knew.

He grimaced to hear his stomach growl, and patted it, promising some food after the lesson. The Weyr was on edge ever since the tithe train didn't come and now supplies were running low, he could tell by the strained expressions from the kitchen staff and the slightly decreased portions at meals.

Upon the board he wrote two sentences:

What do you know about being a Candidate?

Now that he felt more prepared for his students, he settled back down on the table, and continued swinging his leg. He fiddled with the charcoal as he waited, managing to smear a dark streak across his cheek without realizing it.

Starrest chirped and shook himself from his half daze. Leaning toward the charcoal streak, he clucked a few disapproving noises and began to clean J'zeni's face with his tongue and by using his front feet as tiny wipes.

[ricci]

How many times through the first handful of lessons had he gone through now? Kelynes had, unfortunately, lost count. Life was terribly busy anymore. On top of his Candidacy, Kelynes was also studying Dragonhealing, as well as typical human Healing (much to his parents' delight) and he really didn't have the time to do frivolous things such as "keep count" of how many first lessons he'd been through. He sighed as he entered the classroom.

"Hello," Kelynes said simply. He knew that J'zeni's official title was Candidate Master, but it was just... very difficult to call somebody so freshly Impressed himself by that title, so Kelynes simply avoided titles altogether when it came to the Weyrling and his gold-riding assistant. He peered down at Shadowstalker and shrugged slightly, he'd seen the feline before, and had become accustomed to its presence, if not entirely comfortable.

Remembering past experience, Kelynes took one of the first available seats, since otherwise J'zeni would demand he move forward as any good Candidate Master ought to. He respected that, sure, but that didn't mean that the Apprentice Dragonhealer had to like it. Still, he tried not to look too sour (and succeeded, to a point) as he sat and took up a charcoal. There was no point to answering the question without other Candidates aloud just yet, so instead he took a hide and wrote the question down, and began to write.

Having been through the Candidacy system for several months now, I've had the opportunity to further my studies when we were unable to continue them via lecture-led lessons. The records here at Great Cliffs are meticulously kept, and thus I am aware of my duties as a Candidate, where my position is rank-wise, how Candidacy can, will and does effect my craft, and how to behave on the Sands. I have been practicing cutting fire-stone for some time, though I don't often have the time for it. Most of my free time is spent in the infirmary, be it dragon or man.

The apprentice made a pause in his writing. It wasn't exactly his neatest, but the hide was old and, to be honest, he was quite tired. He'd been up late examining a book on dragon anatomy and comparing it to sketches he made of fire-lizard anatomy, wholly similar, but with some very tiny differences. He stifled a yawn and continued to list the things he had been doing on his own free time, as well as with guidance from various members of the Weyr, generally Wingriders. Kelynes certainly knew how to network. If J'zeni said anything or asked anything of Kelynes, he would certainly answer calmly and with respect, for all that the son of high-ranking healers had difficulty with it.

[randomoldmember]

(Hey if you don’t mind, I have a few profiles for NPC candidates I made for another site{which died})

Daegarethe paused at the door and licked her lips nervously. It was finally time for her first candidate lesson, and she didn’t know quite what to expect. She had seen J’zeni and had gotten a few lessons to become accustomed to Weyrlife, but everyday she felt like a bubble of oil in a pool of water. Dae was immersed in the Weyr’s culture but still oddly detached with her outsider’s perspective; perhaps the upcoming lessons would allow her to feel more at home. She supposed it helped to have a brother as a rider, S'rabh's Cerawuth was what really sparked her interest in becoming a rider. The little green even talked talked to her once, which had left Dae feeling a bit flattered to say the least.

She walked in and grabbed a sheath of hide and a piece of charcoal and let out a small groan “Dinna know there’d be ‘riting.” She muttered rebelliously. Dae had enough of writing and reading with her lessons with the harpers. They were trying to get her fully literate by the hatching, and the stress always left her with a throbbing headache by day’s end. Dae sat down at a chair near the front with a sigh at the discomfiture of having extra writing to do. Nonetheless she copied it down with slow, large letters slightly childish looking handwriting, her mouth moving with the words. It took her another few moments to process the words. Well she wouldn’t bother writing down her answer like the other candidate present, not wanting to be here all day.

“Seems te’ be a lot of waiting around, waitin’ for the eggs to hatch. All the while preparing to become a dragonrider on the offchance a lil dragon happens to impress ye. ” She said, then searching for more to say, feeling like the Candidatemaster would want a /slightly/ more detailed answer. "Erm..." She fidgeted slightly. "Alot of work, seein' how the Weyr works from the bottom. I guess so if anyone happens to become Weyrleader or such they would know about the people they'd haveta' lead." Or maybe because they didn't have enough drudges to upkeep the Weyr, or the Candidatemaster and Headwoman hoped to weed out the weak and whiners with demanding tasks. But she wasn't about to put that in words.

Feeling satisfied with her answer she leaned back. Daegarethe found that with her harper classes if she spoke up and made it look like she put in the effort it made things go easier if she fell into the role of teachers pet. She wasn't ingratiating by nature, she just had the feeling that these candidate lessons could take awhile and doing the little things like participating might make them not more enjoyable, but less of an annoyance.

[J'zeni]

((Sweet - If you send them to me I can put them up in the Adoptables if you want =) We need Candidates even if they are NPCs.))


Starjumper decided this was the perfect time to commandeer J’zeni’s lap. It was an old habit of hers she hadn’t done in Turns, settling into his lap like a feline and demanding attention. He stroked her sides and rubbed her eye ridges, running his finger along her delicate wing bones and lavishing her with attention while he waited for Candidates to arrive. Starrest didn’t seem to mind, the bronze was content with licking the charcoal off J’zeni’s face. When he heard noises of someone approaching, the fire-lizard chirped and ducked his head behind J’zeni’s neck, doing his impression of ‘if I can’t see you, then you can’t see me.’ Shadowstalker ignored Kelynes.

“Hello Kelynes.” He greeted the first to arrive, watching him as he chose a chair. At first J’zeni thought he could just skip over all the mundane stuff and go into something more interesting, like dragon anatomy or how to make riding straps. It wasn’t exactly Candidate material, but with someone who had been at the lessons multiple times, he just ran out of things to teach them. J’zeni knew that feeling well enough; he had attended Candidate lessons for three Turns before Vor chose him. He figured making a more advanced lesson would be something new for Kelynes as well as giving him a head start when he finally wound up with Aurora instead of him.

Before he had a chance to put his plan into action, Daegarethe came in, and he had to reconsider his lesson plan. She was basically new at the Weyr and altogether had no idea what she was doing, simply because she hadn’t had enough lessons. He managed to prevent himself from sighing. Although for some Daegarethe’s accent might be difficult to understand, it reminded J’zeni of Kitti’s and he heard the frustrated mutter as she settled down into her chair.

As he watched Daegarethe struggle with the charcoal, he wondered what the Candidates decided to write on the hides. Obviously it was of great importance to her because she was careful as she scribbled on the hide. He glanced over at Kelynes as he waited for the other Candidate to finish. Crossing his arms over his chest he leaned back slightly and waited for her to finish writing, a rather bemused expression on his face. Finally, looking rather pleased with herself, Daegarethe put the charcoal down. J’zeni peered down at what she had written, but was at a bad angle to even attempt to read upside down and that was not a strong suit.

Not that he had long to wait, because she started speaking promptly afterward. Once she had finished, J’zeni replied, “Just to let you know Daegarethe, writing is never mandatory. Some Candidates like to take notes so I provide hides for them, and some don’t know how to read or write so they don’t have to use the hides.” He wrestled his arm away from Starjumper who gave a frustrated cheep and clung to her friend’s forearm so hard she left scratches with her sharp claws. “C’mon, stop it Star…jumper.” J’zeni finally pushed her off his arm. Perturbed, she muttered as she curled around in a circle and sat on his lap again.

The Candidate Master shifted position until both of them were comfortable again, and finally continued speaking. “It’s a good answer. Yes there is a lot of waiting, There’s a lot of work and preparation, the work is because everyone needs to work in order for the Weyr to stay active and healthy. Also, by learning what everyone in the Weyr does, we can learn to appreciate more the people who are not dragonriders. A lot of Weyrbred Candidates don’t realize that everyone in the Weyr is important, and that Impressing a dragon isn’t the be-all-and-end all. Some holdbred think that too. No matter who you are though, Impressing a dragon will change your life completely, and that’s why there is so much preparing. There are things to remember when it happens, and things to understand in case it doesn’t.” Starjumper bumped her head against his hand until he started to scratch her again.

“So here’s what we’re going to do – you’re both at completely different levels, and there are only two Candidates right now.” He was disappointed and saddened, especially with the huge clutch hardening on the Sands. “Instead of having one class for everyone, we’re going to have two classes. You’ll wind up with private Candidate lessons that will be tailored to what you know and what you need to learn. Daegarethe, your classes will be in the morning, just after break fast and Kelynes – since you’re dividing your time – your lessons will be in the afternoon. I’ll talk to K’ivan so he knows what’s going on. I’m sure he’ll be accommodating.”

J’zeni kept his attention on the apprentice Dragonhealer as he spoke to Alvoradath. It was getting easier to speak with his dragon without looking like a dimglow. At least his mouth didn’t hang open like it did when he was first Impressed. Still, he had the vague glazed expression in his eyes that so many dragonriders got. Alvoradath? He heard his dragon’s prompt reply: Yes Zen-mine? J’zeni smiled slightly, his dragon always sounded so happy to talk to him. Did you hear what I said just now to Kelynes? Will you contact Baizynth please and relay the message? //Of course// Thank you.[/i]

“Since everyone’s here there’s no reason to waste our time today – Kelynes, I’d like you to read what you wrote to Daegarethe… and then tell her what you think the most important thing for her to know or remember is…” He gestured for Kelynes to stand up.

[ricci]

((Note: I hope the "slang" I use at the bottom of this post is acceptable. ^.^; I was trying to think of something, and decided "Well, Kelynes has read a lot of records in a lot of places, so why not?"))


"Thank you, Candidate Master," Kelynes said after J'zeni suggested the more personalized lessons, as well as scheduling them with K'ivan so that he would be able to continue his Dragonhealer apprenticeship without, hopefully, any setbacks. He felt he had had enough setbacks with disappearing Candidates. He could only imagine the frustration that J'zeni (and in fact, the rest of the Weyr) likely felt.

Without hesitation, Kelynes stood and angled himself so that he was facing the space between J'zeni and Daegareathe.

"I rather wrote quite a bit," Kelynes mustered absently. "Answering the question on the board, I wrote 'Having been through...'" he continued on the long paragraph, though he skipped over the majority of what he had been doing that was not related to Candidacy for J'zeni and Daegareathe's sake, ending with the guidance of a greenrider named T'viz; that guidance had been "'Do not overburden yourself with tasks, but remember that every man works better under pressure. Don't be too easy on yourself, and never be too hard. Balance.'"

"Greenrider T'viz's guidance was rather thrown at me in the midst of his own busy life, but I would definitely say it was his advice that struck me as the most relevant and important statement in my answer. By remembering to balance oneself's life and ambitions, you create the ability to take on more studying time. When I first arrived here at the Weyr, I literally poured everything into Candidacy, and everything into my Craft, but I've learned now that it is better to also have time to relax, or else pouring my all does nothing. All it does is cause me to fail to recall my lessons the next day, I was so weary," Kelynes finished.

He glanced at his paragraph one last time. When he was at Healer Hall, he was oft considered one of the strongest writers in his turn. He wondered absently if that held true here at Great Cliffs Weyr. His pride hurt a little when he realized that he wanted to be the best writer, and he thought privately to himself that he really was quite the cocky wherry, wasn't it?

"I hope that is sufficient, Candidate Master. If T'viz's guidance was not what you were looking for when you asked what was most important, then would you please guide me to a more appropriate response?" Kelynes asked this more quietly, with his pride making strange twists and turns inside of his heart it was hard to be his usual calm, collected, and altogether cold self.

Perhaps if he Impressed... Kelynes blinked at that thought as he sat down. For all that he was doing Dragonhealing anymore and for all that he was a Candidate to Impress, he really could not say that he'd given Impression all that much thought. His thought finished on its own. Perhaps if I Impress, I will not be such a son-of-a-Shunned.

[K'ivan]

((I like the slang. Its a good use of something different beside "wherry" or "dimglow" or the other common ones we see.))

[ricci]

((Glad you like it. ^.^ We should compile some slang and whatnot... Some that just are... Canon-ish, like "Son-of-a-Shunned"... and come up with some for 10PPC, eh? Find ways to fit our Weyrs and stuff in there some how. x3 "As red-headed as an Islander." "Stingier than Feyotlian"... ))

[K'ivan]

((I like it! "As red-headed as an islander" That's awesome! Let's post it up on all three sites and see if we can some entries?))