Rook

by Robin Roseau

  She then engaged in what was clearly a verbal examination. From my perspective, while Tyreen was certainly nervous, I thought she acquitted herself well. Rustaleen eventually gestured to one of the scribe stations and asked her to perform her duties, watching over her shoulder as Tyreen went to work.

  For the most part, Larien and I stayed well back, not wanting to add to her stress, but a few times we carefully stepped closer. The first assignment was simply to copy a letter, and the original was hastily scrawled. I was impressed. Tyreen didn’t write faster than I did, but her script was beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

  And then she was asked to duplicate a page from a book, complete with simple ornamentation around the edges. She worked carefully at that as well, her lines crisp and clear, with smooth curves and sharp corners.

  Finally, Rustaleen said, “Thank you, Tyreen. Please wait in the hall. Close the door on your way out.”

  We watched as Tyreen slipped from the room, and then Rustaleen said, “Would you like her journeywoman examination the same day as that of your other apprentice?”

  “She’s been held back?”

  “Yes, but we do not know the reason,” Rustaleen said. “She gave all the right answers, at least as I would expect of someone age twenty and four.”

  “Her work looked...” I trailed off.

  “Impeccable,” Rustaleen said. “However, we do not know if she was being careful while I watched, and it may be that she grows sloppy when not under direct supervision. I will see what her old master reports.”

  I thought about it. “Is this necessary before you administer her exam?”

  “I must know,” she said. “If this guild certifies someone as a journeywoman, it is our way of saying she has not only the skills of a journeywoman, but abides by the standards as well. I would take your word for the latter only after she has worked as your apprentice for a sufficiently lengthy period, Lady Yallameenara.”

  “How long?”

  “A year.”

  I nodded. “All right. I would prefer she take her exam with Gressa, but I will not fight you as long as we are in general agreement.”

  “I believe we are in general agreement,” she said. She held out her hand.

  “Thank you, Rustaleen,” I said as I took it.

  * * * *

  I’m going to jump ahead a few weeks. Tyreen’s old master reported that Tyreen had shown recent improvements, and she was on the verge of suggesting she was ready to stand for her journeywoman exam. There was no way to tell if this was true, or if the woman had been holding Tyreen back for more selfish reasons. I considered that a guild matter, and I let it drop.

  And so, let us advance six weeks.

  We were quite a troop as we took carriages from the palace to the guild hall. Gressa and Tyreen were with me, of course, as were Larien and Terél. Tyreen and Gressa both invited one friend. Tyreen invited her cousin, Belle, and Gressa invited her friend, Thera.

  The girls dressed as scribes. Larien, Terél, and I wore our traveling vestments. I thought we cut quite a figure as we entered the guild hall.

  We were not the only guests. We were greeted at the door by a man and woman, both of snow-white hair. The man was named Wendest, and the woman was Bessa. “Today is a momentous day,” Bessa said. “Welcome, High Priestess. Welcome.”

  “The scribe guild is pleased to maintain warm relations with the Order of the Goddess,” Wendest added. “Please be welcome.” And then they held the doors widely for all of us.

  Inside, two apprentices met us. “This way,” one said, and she led us deeper into the guild hall, finally arriving in a large meeting room. Chairs were arranged facing the far end of the room, a few of them occupied, but most of the other occupants were milling about, talking in small groups. We stepped inside, the apprentice disappearing back into the hallway. And then Gressa came to a stop. “That’s my family,” she said.

  “Go to them,” I said.

  She didn’t wait. “Mama!” She screamed, and began running. “Father!”

  All of us watched after her, and then I turned to Belle, “Do you see people you know?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I know Gressa’s sister. May I?”

  “Go ahead,” I said. “And you may choose to sit with them later, or with us.”

  “Thank you, Yallameenara.” She stepped away, although unlike her cousin, she didn’t run.

  Then I turned to Tyreen. “Do you see anyone you know?” She shook her head. “Well, when it is time to sit, unless your family arrives, please sit with us.”

  “I will,” she said.

  I nodded. “Well. We should circulate, I believe, beginning with an introduction to Gressa’s family.” And so we stepped forward.

  We met Gressa’s family, and then I asked if there were others they could introduce to us. That turned into a few more introductions, and after that, we made our own way from group to group, spending a few minutes with each.

  And then from in front, there was a bang of a staff against the floor, three times. When we turned, a man of perhaps forty stood at attention and then said, “We are about to begin. If everyone can take your seats. Please leave the front seats for the families of our applicants, and for the High Priestess.”

  I let Gressa’s family sit first, and then I led my troop to the chairs, right in the front row. Once we were seated, everyone else took seats, a few stragglers taking a minute or two, and then the man banged the staff again. “Rustaleen, Senior Master Scribe!”

  A door opened, and Rustaleen stepped forward. She was dressed in a scribe’s uniform, but this outfit had clearly never been near a bottle of ink. She strode forward, coming to a stop in front of us.

  “Greetings,” she said. “This is a momentous day. Two of our apprentices have applied to be tested as journeywomen of the scribe guild.” She spoke for a few minutes, discussing the training each would have received, and the duties they would face in the future. And then she said, “Will the masters of our applicants enter?”

  One behind another, a man and woman stepped forward. The man was quite elderly, and he walked carefully, but he didn’t use a cane and appeared quite steady. The woman was not remotely as old, perhaps near Queen Ralalta’s age, and she strode forward purposefully. They came to a stop, one on either side of Rustaleen.

  Rustaleen turned to the man. “Master Henrid,” he said. “Is your apprentice present today?”

  “She is,” Henrid said. “Gressa, step forward.”

  Seated between her parents, Gressa stood and crossed the distance to Henrid. From his smile, I thought he was pleased to see her, and perhaps pleased to present her today. He held out both hands, and she came to a stop, taking his hands. The two smiled at each other, and then he gestured her to his side.

  “Very good,” said Rustaleen. She turned the other way. “Master Berandi,” she said to the woman, “Is your apprentice present?”

  “She is,” said the woman. “Tyreen, step forward.”

  From beside me, Tyreen stood, although she glanced at me, and I nodded to her. Then she walked to her previous master. The woman smiled, but it was not with the same warmth Henrid had offered his great-niece, and she simply gestured Tyreen into place beside her.

  “Very good,” Rustaleen said. “Tyreen, please introduce those who are here with you today. As she does so, if you are able, please rise and remain standing until all are introduced.”

  Tyreen looked around, her gaze settling on the front row. “High Priestess Lady Yallameenara,” she said. “And with her, Priestesses Larien and Terélmarestra. My cousin, former apprentice to Master Berandi, and now acolyte Belle. And my new friends, Gressa and Thera, also now acolytes to the goddess.”

  As Tyreen spoke our names, we each stood. Rustaleen paused, and said, “Welcome. All of you may as well remain standing, as I imagine Gressa’s list of introductions will include you.”

  I smiled and nodded.

  “Gressa, who else is here with you today.”

  “
My family,” she said with a gesture. “My mother and father, and my sister.”

  “Very good,” said Rustaleen. “You may all please be seated again.” She waited for the noise to settle, and then she said, “May I introduce the panel?”

  Five people stepped into the room, including Wendest and Bessa, whom we had met at the door earlier. Rustaleen introduced each of them, and then they each clasped hands with Gressa and Tyreeen and their masters before moving to their chairs, set at the front of the room, but in a line sideways, facing across the space in before us. They all sat together.

  “Henrid, would you care to introduce your apprentice more completely?”

  “I would,” said the man.

  At that, Rustaleen, Berandi, and Tyreen stepped to the side, furthest from the testing panel. Henrid paused and then he turned to his great niece and smiled. “This woman is my great-niece, the granddaughter of my brother. She is ten and eight years old. She was very young when her mother approached me, asking if Gressa could become my apprentice. Of course I agreed, but we waited until she was six years of age before I began to teach her.”

  He ruffled her hair. “She was a difficult apprentice at times,” he said. “But I have never had an apprentice that young who was not at times a little difficult. However, she settled into her role, and she learned the skills of our craft, and learned them well.” He looked out at the rest of us. “I am deeply proud of this young woman.”

  I led the applause at that statement.

  Then the old man turned back. He lifted a hand and fingered Gressa’s hair. “I do not know who was more surprised by this.” Still holding a portion of hair, he turned to look at me. “I do not believe my words regarding you were kind, High Priestess.”

  “I am not sure I blame you, Master Henrid,” I said. “Do I continue to hold your ire?”

  “You might have, if we were not standing here today,” he said. “No, High Priestess, there is no continued ire.”

  At that, I inclined my head in thanks.

  He turned back to Gressa. He played with her hair for a minute as she stood there, looking into his eyes. Without taking his eyes from Gressa, Henrid asked, “Does your goddess have work for my apprentice?”

  “Much work,” I said. “We have a rather large library to copy, and some of the books will be printed quite widely. But very few of those books are in Framaran. Most are either in the Words of the Goddess or in Altearan, and so they must also be translated.”

  “Much need,” he said. “And my apprentice will be at the forefront.”

  “Quite so,” I agreed.

  He nodded. “Good. This is good. And is she free to receive visitors?”

  “She is,” I said.

  “Very good,” he said. He turned to look out at the audience. “This woman is Gressa, my apprentice, but I have faith I will not be able to say that much longer. I present her as this guild’s next journeywoman.”

  I would have led the applause, but Rustaleen beat me to it. Then she said, “Master Berandi, would you present your apprentice?”

  There was a shifting of people, and then Berandi was looking at Tyreen. “This is my apprentice,” she said. “She came to me when she was nine years old and has been my apprentice until recently.” She paused and then faced us. “I present her as this guild’s next journeywoman.”

  I wasn’t at all impressed with the introduction, and I thought Tyreen was due far more than that. But Rustaleen began the applause, and the rest of us joined in.

  “Masters, if you would take your seats,” Rustaleen said. There were chairs for them at the head of the room, and one remaining for Rustaleen herself. And then the senior scribe said, “Apprentices, you will stand here, facing the panel.” she gestured. “You will offer no assistance to each other. Your questions will alternate.” She positioned both women where she wanted them and said, “May the examinations begin.”

  The panel took turns asking questions, roughly alternating between the girls, but not always. Sometimes one member of the panel wished to ask a follow up question from something asked earlier, and so she might not follow the pattern of alternating. But I thought both Tyreen and Gressa faced similar questioning, and while I didn’t feel they answered each question as well as they might have preferred, I thought they performed well.

  The questions lasted two hours, and then four apprentices entered, two pairs bringing in a scribe’s station each. They were set up at the head of the room, and then both women were set to a variety of tasks, not unlike the ones Rustaleen had assigned to Tyreen, but somewhat more extensive.

  The rest of us were encouraged to mingle about the room, or even to watch over the shoulders of the two women, Rustaleen explaining that a scribe learns to ignore or manage distractions. At first, I was going to leave them alone, but then curiosity got the better of me, and so I positioned myself where I could watch both work.

  And I knew, I absolutely knew the outcome. As they fulfilled the tasks assigned to them, my pride grew and grew.

  Our Prestainamatta had most certainly not made poor choices. Both women were careful in their work, quite careful, and while neither of them worked quickly, the quality of what they produced was high, as high as any I’d seen, and if this was an example of their daily work, I knew I would be quite pleased by the books they would produce for us.

  And then I felt Larien step away from my side. I looked over, and Master Henrid slipped into her place. We nodded to each other. “Master Henrid,” I said, holding out my hand. “I am Lady Yallameenara.”

  “Lady Yallameenara,” he said, clasping hands with me.

  “I would ask a question,” I said. “Could we step further away?”

  “Of course.” He didn’t release my hand but pulled me to the side, and we came to a stop, facing each other. “What can I tell you?”

  “I am not a master scribe,” I said. “Are they doing as good of work as it appears to someone like me?”

  He smiled broadly. “Yes, they are. Both of them.”

  “You trained your apprentice well then.”

  “I would not have been ready to present her otherwise,” he said. “Her work reflects on me, as does Tyreen’s upon Master Berandi.”

  “If the Goddess had not claimed Gressa, what would have happened after today?”

  “She would be considered a journeywoman,” he said.

  “That part I understand. What I don’t fully understand is what that actually means. Would she, well, would she journey?”

  “Ah, I understand your question now. Possibly, but that would not have been my preference. As you can see, I am elderly, and while my grandson is also my apprentice, he is but of ten and two years. I would have been free to reduce my work and allow Gressa to assume the greater responsibilities of our shop.”

  I lowered my eyes. “And you hold no ire I have taken her from you?”

  “No, High Priestess,” he said. “While there is a portion of me that is ready for an easier life, there is a portion of me that holds tightly to my duties.”

  I laughed. “I can appreciate that.”

  “My grandson shows promise. I do not know if he will have Gressa’s careful hand.”

  “He is a boy of ten and two,” I said. “I imagine his greatest attribute is his impatience.”

  The man laughed. “Quite so,” Henrid agreed. “I have never desired more than two apprentices at a time, and so I have turned away other offers. I will let it be known I would accept another, but a girl. And also...”

  “Yes?”

  “There are always widows,” he said. “Of all ages.”

  “I imagine.”

  “Some are of few means but willing to work hard. I believe it may be time to open my home to one who will help me see to my needs, some of the duties Gressa performed, but that I could not expect of a girl of eight.” He paused. “Oh, dear. That may not have sounded appropriate.”

  “You mean seeing to meals,” I said.

  “Overseeing the household,” he said
. “Gressa took those duties when she was ten and two. Even if she had remained in Wallarty, I could not have assumed she would continue such duties.”

  “I believe, Henrid, you love your great-niece.”

  “Very much so,” he said.

  “Has she lived with you all these years?”

  “Not at first. She lived with her parents, but then when my wife died, and her duties shifted to manage the household, she took a room in my home.”

  “Six years ago then.”

  “Yes, about,” he agreed.

  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “It was a blessing by the end.” He paused. “It is said you have magic.”

  “I have some, but in many ways, I remain an apprentice myself.”

  “Could you have helped my wife?”

  “The healers you undoubtedly hired could do more for her than I could have. I could have helped ease her, and I could have introduced her to the Goddess. Oh, not directly, but to the essence of the Goddess, if that makes sense.”

  “It does,” he agreed. “This library your new journeywoman scribes will duplicate: is it here, in Marport?”

  “It is at the home of the Goddess, in Alteara,” I said. “We have some books here, but not as many as I would like.”

  “Would it be possible to see these books?” he asked.

  “Of course, Master Henrid,” I said. “Perhaps you and your extended family would care to call on us at the palace? How long will you remain in Marport?”

  “A few days, I imagine,” he said.

  “Would tomorrow work?” I asked. “Perhaps you could come mid-morning, and we could collectively share lunch afterwards.”

  “That would be lovely,” he said. He offered a small bow. “I would like to see how Gressa is doing on her final task.”

  “Of course.”

  And so he took my arm and led both of us back to the center.