Post by Anna on Feb 7, 2009 23:16:42 GMT -5
The Specializations of the Harper Hall
The Harper Hall may seem, at first glance, to be a frivolous hall. Not, however, when you look at what they do. They teach, they record history, they are the law-givers, they spy. In a world where there is no instantaneous communication, not mingling of people from distant places, they are the ones who keep the world current on everything that happens. They take news from one end of the continent to the other and even across the dividing ocean. While they entertain with their songs and their music, they also teach new ideas, bring news, and take the pulse of the hold and hall. They see where trouble is brewing and know what must be done to bring peace.
The Harper Hall has many specializations:
Performer:
• Vocalist
• Musician
Mechanical
• Instrumentalist
• Drummer
Law
• Negotiator
• Arbitrator
• Mediator
Teaching
• Archivist
• Scribe
• Basic Educator
Covert
• Spy
Most harpers specialize in more than one area and sometimes in more than one category. All harpers, for example, must be capable of being basic educators. They also must be skilled musicians. Each harper will have a basic training in all areas of the craft, but once they reach senior apprentice rank, their training will focus on the specializations for which they have the most aptitude.
Performers are those harpers whose talents are best used in front of other people, who have the charisma and talent to make them most effective dealing with large groups. They are the ones who are known best for their voices or their abilities to play instruments. They are often the means by which the hall disseminates current events, new information, and takes the general pulse of a hold or hall.
Mechanics are those who specialize in a less visible role, making the instruments that the hall needs to work their craft. Drummers are those integral in the communications network of the planet, sending messages from Hold to Hall to Weyr by drum codes.
The harpers who have the minds to know, understand, and interpret the laws of Pern and remain unbiased and neutral focus their time on that. They keep the Charter and ensure that the rights of individuals, the rights of Lords, and the rights of Halls are not breached or broken. They negotiate on behalf of individuals or groups, or mediate between two opposing parties for a peaceful and fair resolution to conflict.
It is important to note that while the harper hall can and will mediate and negotiate upon request, they will not infringe on a Holder’s right to govern and judge his own people. All judgments and decisions reached by a harper are subject to acceptance by the Holder, Lord Holder, or Craftmaster.
The teaching category oversees the archivists, who maintain the historical archives of Pern, the scribes who record and preserve current events, and the methods of basic education for all people of Pern. More details later will go into the educational methods used.
The last category is a well-guarded one and never discussed openly. These are the spies of the hall. The harpers who specialize in this field answer directly to the MasterHarper, and only she determines their assignments. They are key in keeping the hall aware of the true state of the halls and holds, for finding out information that others may wish kept hidden. They are skilled at infiltration and blending in with their surroundings, as well as uncovering information and putting disparate bits of information that seem unrelated together.
NOTE: Personas who would specialize in the spy field must meet specific requirements and go through an extremely rigorous approval process. They are also moved around very frequently, at the discretion of the MasterHarper. They are never permanently assigned anywhere. They do not make close relationships.
The Rank System
There are three ranks in the Harper Hall: apprentice, journeyman, and master. Each rank is also divided, to show level of experience: junior and senior.
It’s important to note entrance into the craft does not ensure promotion. All apprentices will not one day become masters, nor are they guaranteed to become journeymen. Promotion is based upon skill in the craft and comes only after consultation with those crafters who have been directly involved in the training.
Apprentices enter the hall around the age of 12, with exceptions made for young boys who have exceptional singing voices before puberty who also show a strong affinity for the craft. Apprenticeships generally last four turns, the first two concentrating on complete training in all aspects of the craft and the last two focusing on those aspects that an apprentice's talent determines they’ll specialize in. The first turn of apprenticeship is often completed at the apprentice’s home hold. After that time, if the parent, holder, lord holder, or Craftmaster will sponsor the apprentice, they transfer to the main hall to continue their training. Often, the Harper Hall itself will sponsor a promising apprentice. Talent is not to be wasted, after all.
Apprentices are junior for their first two turns, and senior for their last two turns. While they have some chores assigned to them, the hall focuses more on teaching. Each apprentice spends approximately a candlemark to two candlemarks a day working on general chores. Apprentices live in barracks, and each is assigned a bed, a trunk at the foot of the bed, and a small cabinet. The hall provides two new outfits a turn, in the harper colors, as well as sufficient underthings and shoes. The apprentice can choose the style they prefer, but any other clothing the apprentice wants will have to be provided by other means.
Journeymen are traditionally promoted at the hall, generally around the age of 16, and all promotions are conducted once a turn. After an apprentice becomes a journeyman, s/he is available for posting wherever the hall chooses to send them. It should be noted that married journeymen will still be transferred as the hall chooses.
All journeyman do not become masters. Masters are the harpers who have gained the experience and resources to be of more benefit where they are and who have proven themselves more effective by staying in one place. They are the college professors of Pern, to the journeymen’s school-age teachers.
Posting and Transfers
Most postings last a turn. A few journeyman have permanent assignments, but that is rare. Once posted, a journeyman will travel a circuit in the area of his posting so that all the cots, minor holds, and family communities that cannot support a full-time harper still get the benefit of a harper. Between circuits, a harper will spend a month at the hold or hall where he’s posted.
Major holds will traditionally have two or three masters permanently assigned to them, and a dozen or so journeymen. Minor holds will usually have a half-dozen or so journeymen. Cots will very seldom have any harper assigned to them, with a few exceptions. The number of apprentices at each hold or hall fluctuates.
Journeymen are not arbitrarily assigned according to the MasterHarper’s whim. For a harper to be placed at a hold, the Lord or Holder must contract with the Harper Hall. The MasterHarper and the Lord or Holder negotiate the terms under which the hall will provide the service. If a Lord or Holder, or another Craftmaster, does not wish to have a harper in residence, then the Harper Hall cannot force one there. However, the Harper Hall can also refuse to contract a harper.
While masters may, on occasion, be reassigned, their postings tend to be permanent, and they do not do the circuits that journeymen do. You will never see a master younger than thirty turns, and most often they are at least forty turns before being promoted.
Apprentices who have surpassed their four initial turns of training are given a choice. They may leave the hall and return to their home hold or, they may remain part of the hall and periodically be reviewed for promotion. As trained apprentices they are often assigned outside the hall to assist journeymen and masters elsewhere. They are especially useful at cots with large populations of children.
The Harper Hall may seem, at first glance, to be a frivolous hall. Not, however, when you look at what they do. They teach, they record history, they are the law-givers, they spy. In a world where there is no instantaneous communication, not mingling of people from distant places, they are the ones who keep the world current on everything that happens. They take news from one end of the continent to the other and even across the dividing ocean. While they entertain with their songs and their music, they also teach new ideas, bring news, and take the pulse of the hold and hall. They see where trouble is brewing and know what must be done to bring peace.
The Harper Hall has many specializations:
Performer:
• Vocalist
• Musician
Mechanical
• Instrumentalist
• Drummer
Law
• Negotiator
• Arbitrator
• Mediator
Teaching
• Archivist
• Scribe
• Basic Educator
Covert
• Spy
Most harpers specialize in more than one area and sometimes in more than one category. All harpers, for example, must be capable of being basic educators. They also must be skilled musicians. Each harper will have a basic training in all areas of the craft, but once they reach senior apprentice rank, their training will focus on the specializations for which they have the most aptitude.
Performers are those harpers whose talents are best used in front of other people, who have the charisma and talent to make them most effective dealing with large groups. They are the ones who are known best for their voices or their abilities to play instruments. They are often the means by which the hall disseminates current events, new information, and takes the general pulse of a hold or hall.
Mechanics are those who specialize in a less visible role, making the instruments that the hall needs to work their craft. Drummers are those integral in the communications network of the planet, sending messages from Hold to Hall to Weyr by drum codes.
The harpers who have the minds to know, understand, and interpret the laws of Pern and remain unbiased and neutral focus their time on that. They keep the Charter and ensure that the rights of individuals, the rights of Lords, and the rights of Halls are not breached or broken. They negotiate on behalf of individuals or groups, or mediate between two opposing parties for a peaceful and fair resolution to conflict.
It is important to note that while the harper hall can and will mediate and negotiate upon request, they will not infringe on a Holder’s right to govern and judge his own people. All judgments and decisions reached by a harper are subject to acceptance by the Holder, Lord Holder, or Craftmaster.
The teaching category oversees the archivists, who maintain the historical archives of Pern, the scribes who record and preserve current events, and the methods of basic education for all people of Pern. More details later will go into the educational methods used.
The last category is a well-guarded one and never discussed openly. These are the spies of the hall. The harpers who specialize in this field answer directly to the MasterHarper, and only she determines their assignments. They are key in keeping the hall aware of the true state of the halls and holds, for finding out information that others may wish kept hidden. They are skilled at infiltration and blending in with their surroundings, as well as uncovering information and putting disparate bits of information that seem unrelated together.
NOTE: Personas who would specialize in the spy field must meet specific requirements and go through an extremely rigorous approval process. They are also moved around very frequently, at the discretion of the MasterHarper. They are never permanently assigned anywhere. They do not make close relationships.
The Rank System
There are three ranks in the Harper Hall: apprentice, journeyman, and master. Each rank is also divided, to show level of experience: junior and senior.
It’s important to note entrance into the craft does not ensure promotion. All apprentices will not one day become masters, nor are they guaranteed to become journeymen. Promotion is based upon skill in the craft and comes only after consultation with those crafters who have been directly involved in the training.
Apprentices enter the hall around the age of 12, with exceptions made for young boys who have exceptional singing voices before puberty who also show a strong affinity for the craft. Apprenticeships generally last four turns, the first two concentrating on complete training in all aspects of the craft and the last two focusing on those aspects that an apprentice's talent determines they’ll specialize in. The first turn of apprenticeship is often completed at the apprentice’s home hold. After that time, if the parent, holder, lord holder, or Craftmaster will sponsor the apprentice, they transfer to the main hall to continue their training. Often, the Harper Hall itself will sponsor a promising apprentice. Talent is not to be wasted, after all.
Apprentices are junior for their first two turns, and senior for their last two turns. While they have some chores assigned to them, the hall focuses more on teaching. Each apprentice spends approximately a candlemark to two candlemarks a day working on general chores. Apprentices live in barracks, and each is assigned a bed, a trunk at the foot of the bed, and a small cabinet. The hall provides two new outfits a turn, in the harper colors, as well as sufficient underthings and shoes. The apprentice can choose the style they prefer, but any other clothing the apprentice wants will have to be provided by other means.
Journeymen are traditionally promoted at the hall, generally around the age of 16, and all promotions are conducted once a turn. After an apprentice becomes a journeyman, s/he is available for posting wherever the hall chooses to send them. It should be noted that married journeymen will still be transferred as the hall chooses.
All journeyman do not become masters. Masters are the harpers who have gained the experience and resources to be of more benefit where they are and who have proven themselves more effective by staying in one place. They are the college professors of Pern, to the journeymen’s school-age teachers.
Posting and Transfers
Most postings last a turn. A few journeyman have permanent assignments, but that is rare. Once posted, a journeyman will travel a circuit in the area of his posting so that all the cots, minor holds, and family communities that cannot support a full-time harper still get the benefit of a harper. Between circuits, a harper will spend a month at the hold or hall where he’s posted.
Major holds will traditionally have two or three masters permanently assigned to them, and a dozen or so journeymen. Minor holds will usually have a half-dozen or so journeymen. Cots will very seldom have any harper assigned to them, with a few exceptions. The number of apprentices at each hold or hall fluctuates.
Journeymen are not arbitrarily assigned according to the MasterHarper’s whim. For a harper to be placed at a hold, the Lord or Holder must contract with the Harper Hall. The MasterHarper and the Lord or Holder negotiate the terms under which the hall will provide the service. If a Lord or Holder, or another Craftmaster, does not wish to have a harper in residence, then the Harper Hall cannot force one there. However, the Harper Hall can also refuse to contract a harper.
While masters may, on occasion, be reassigned, their postings tend to be permanent, and they do not do the circuits that journeymen do. You will never see a master younger than thirty turns, and most often they are at least forty turns before being promoted.
Apprentices who have surpassed their four initial turns of training are given a choice. They may leave the hall and return to their home hold or, they may remain part of the hall and periodically be reviewed for promotion. As trained apprentices they are often assigned outside the hall to assist journeymen and masters elsewhere. They are especially useful at cots with large populations of children.
