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It was nerve-wracking to stand before an assembly of Masters of the Craft, including Masterharper Lenne. Even though she had just exchanged friendly words with Lenne about this examination outside the chamber, seeing all the formal markers of rank and Craft on display made Cora want to flee and leave this business to more confident candidates.
Lenne struck a bell near her place, and the general chatter of the room vanished with its pure tone. "Joyrneywoman Cora, Harper of the Dolphin Hall at Half-Circle Sea-Hold, you are here before these assembled Masters of Craft to be examined for your suitability to join our ranks. Is this your intent?"
"Yes," Cora managed to squeak out.
"Not a promising start," rumbled Masterprinter Golmur.
"Be nice, Golmur," said Kira, the Masterarchivist. "She's not seen us when we're trying to be frightening."
"What evidence do you present as proof of your attainment of mastery?" Lenne continued, shooting Golmur and Kira threatening looks.
"A work of history, to be added to those taught to all Pernese," Cora said.
"I note no players here, nor instruments on your person," said Masterdrummer Pali. "Do you intend to give us this work by voice alone?"
"I do," Cora said. Mastersinger Syrene, who knew perfectly well what little talent Cora had for singing on pitch, cocked her head inquisitively.
"Deliver your work, then, Journeywoman Cora," Masterharper Lenne intoned, motioning Cora to the center of the room, where the acoustics were best to be heard, and also any flaws in performance would be magnified for all. Cora went to the spot, drew a steadying breath, and began.
"We know now from the machine named AIVAS that those who came to Pern traveled in search of a place where they could live at slower pace than the rush of the electron through the circuit. While we had initially believed they meant to overthrow the tyrrany of machines entirely, we understand the arrival of the destroyer named Thread, and destruction wrought by a" —she hesitated on finding the word she'd recently picked up from the dolphins —"volcano interrupted their plans and scattered them northward."
Masterprinter Golmur and Masterarchivist Kira nodded, while Masterdrummer Pali and Mastersinger Syrene looked confused.
"With the remains of their machines, the Ancients established the first Holds, created the first dragons to seed the first Weyrs, and then established the Crafts to ensure that the knowledge they deemed essential would be passed down through the generations so that there would always be a force ready to fight Thread at its resurgence."
"This is already too long to be a Teaching Song," Syrene objected.
"There is no composition or rhyme scheme to it, either," added Mastercomposer Damian.
"Masters," Lenne said, using the voice she did when scolding apprentices, "we do not interrupt performances. There will be time afterward." After a silence, Lenne nodded to Cora. "Continue."
"…fight Thread at its resurgence," Cora said quietly to herself, as a reminder. "Thus began the Age of Dragons," she resumed. "For nine Passes of the wandering planet, the color of the blood of dragonriders that would fight the Thread dropped in its wake, the dragonriders fought, the Holders taxed and tithed, and the Crafts tended the wounds, built the protections, and taught the next generation about their duty to destroy the menace, wherever it may appear. Until, through the machinations of the machine AIVAS and the efforts of great dragonriders through time, the threat of Thread was defeated, and Pern rejoiced as one when the final Pass came to a close, the invader finally outlasted. The heroes of so many Turns retired themselves to watch the skies vigilantly in case some new threat came to be, and slowly, without the pressures of Thread, the dragonriders dwindled to only the few that remain today. The Age of Dragons had come to a close."
Damian and Syrene looked ready to speak some barb or commentary, but Lenne fixed them with her gaze, and their styluses scratched annotations in front of them instead.
"The Lords Holder were the first to rejoice at no longer having to pay the tithe that maintained the Weyrs, and the first to cry out in anguish as they learned their own fates had been tied to those of the dragonriders. With no Thread to threaten, and no dragonriders to enforce the tithe requirements, the Holdless, the peasants, and those outside the rule of the Lords, aided by the printings of Masterprinter Nala, distributed through High Stationmaster Teresa, of High Stationmaster Tenna's line, and the Runners, and Chief Dolphineer Sora, Companion of the Tillek, of the line of Chief Dolphineer Readis, and the Dolphineers, at the direction of Masterharper Robina, of the line of Masterharper Menolly and Masterhaper Sebell—"
A hiss escaped Pali's lips. "The Nameless Ones are not to be spoken of in these halls," he said. "Not, of course, revered Masterharper Sebell or Masterharper Menolly, whose songs we still use as Teaching Ballads," he added, realizing where he had interrupted Cora. "The Journeywoman defies our pronouncements in her performance," he said, appealing to Lenne with a gesture.
"I believe I was clear, Pali," Lenne said. "No interruptions." Turning back to Cora, she gestured her permission. "Proceed, Journeywoman."
"—begat and gave strength to an uprising against the Lords Holder and their governance. The Lords appealed to the dragonriders to assist them in reasserting their control and restoring their rule. Weyrleader B'lan and Weyrwoman Cassia refused, citing the long-standing precedent of Weyrs not interfering in Hold business. Lacking the might of the dragonriders, the Lords Holder could not stand against those who had been agitated against them, and the Age of Lords Holder swiftly followed the Age of Dragons into history."
Cora paused, expecting some new interruption, but Lenne appeared to have finally imposed discipline on the assembled Masters.
"In the wake of the Lords Holder collapsing, the Crafts, the remaining structure placed by the Ancients, feuded with each other. The Technologists and the Anti-Technologists clashed with loud and bitter battles, claiming the authority of Tradition, the pronouncements of AIVAS, and the workings of the Charter as proof that their vision of the future was the true pathway intended for Pern for the era currently called After Thread."
Several of the assembled Masters, by the way their faces twisted, grimaced, or appeared to be reminiscing, reminded Cora that while she spoke of things of the past, some of the effects of those things were in the living memories of those who listened to her.
"Masterharper Robina could not contain what she had unleashed, nor could her successor, Masterharper Patma, nor her successor, Masterharper Berak." And it's unlikely Masterharper Lenne will succeed, either, was the unspoken thought among the assembled. "The Records that remain to us are silent on how to resolve this conflict, for they assumed that dragonriders, Lords, and Mastercrafters would always balance each other. The accounts of the trial of Masterglasssmith Norist and others who were the precursors to the Anti-Technologists are written with outrage for their actions toward Masterharper Robinton, but contain precious little about what arguments, if any, were made against Norist's convictions."
Pali's eyes flared at the mention of another of the Nameless, but he did not speak.
"The Records left to us by the machine AIVAS are nearing a complete transcription. They are more fruitful in offering potential solutions to our difficulties, but they also have many accounts where the solution to the problem was the death of enough of the combatants to halt the momentum of the conflict. Because Masterharper Robina used the Records of AIVAS to begin the conflict, it is unlikely that those Records well be accepted as an authority to end it."
Cora paused, the only one she had intentionally placed in her recitation. She held the attention of all the Masters, even if she knew, by the looks of their faces, that she had not convinced all of them that what she had said was truth.
"The Crafts are the last authority remaining on Pern," she said. "If we fail, all of Pern dies, as surely as if Thread had eaten us all."
A cacaphony erupted from the Masters on either side of Lenne and Cora, shouted questions, statements, and accusations all blended together such that Cora could not distinguish one from the other. The volume escalated until Cora feared the Masters themselves might come to blows, before Lenne, with a wink at Cora, struck the bell fiercely, filling the room with a sound that overpowered even the loudest of the Masters' protests, resonating for a seemingly-infinite time before finally fading.
When silence returned, Lenne spoke.
"Masters, we have heard the performance of Journeywoman Cora," she said, her voice filling the room easily. "What questions do you have to ask her about this work?"
"It's prose," Syrene said immediately.
"It's got good footing, Syrene," Damian said reluctantly. "Maybe it doesn't need to be a song."
Lenne stared pointedly at them until Syrene understood. "Journeywoman, why did you choose a form completely unlike the Teaching Songs and Ballads of our tradition?" Syrene asked.
Cora took in a deep breath, and then spoke.
"Because the Era of the Crafthalls is also over. It is the one point the Technologists and the Anti-Technologists agree on."
"Then all Pern is destined to destruction, just as we have finally rid ourselves of Thread, Journeywoman?" Pali asked, amused.
"No," Cora said. "The Crafts, as they are, will all die. Whether they change to become something suitable for the era After Thread is not yet determined."
Another burst of argument erupted from the Masters, excluding Lenne. When she threatened them with the bell, they subsided, albeit grudgingly.
"Journeywoman Cora," Golmur said, measuring his words carefully, "what proof do you offer that this accounting of our history is true and accurate?" Lenne smiled at Golmur, approving of the question.
"The fragments that remain of the Records of the First Masterharper have always suggested the Harper Hall is a remnant of something larger the Ancients established. The breadth of knowledge in the Records of AIVAS suggest this is true for all Crafts, not just ours. The Records of Masterharpers Robinton, Sebell, and Menolly indicate a great unease with the rapid re-introduction of the technologies necessary to defeat Thread permanently. Masterhealer Oldive, Masterprinter Tagetarl, and High Stationmaster Tenna are in regular correspondence about how best to suppress violence against their facilities by Anti-Technologists and how to curb the distribution of materials that grossly misrepresent the practice of Healing augmented by the Records of AIVAS for the purposes of raising fear and converting more to the side of the Anti-Technologists. Most notably, however, is a repeated reference in the Records of the Masterharpers of the Age of Dragons about a charge passed to them from their predecessor to keep the language static."
The Masters turned their heads to Lenne, who nodded. "The Journeywoman is correct," she said.
"Another defiance of Tradition," Pali murmured.
"Speak up, Pali," Lenne said.
"It is …highly irregular," Pali began, realizing what he had been about to say would have been unwise in the presence of the Masterharper, "for anyone other than the Masterharper and their chosen successor to read those Records."
"I agree," Lenne said amiably, "but Journeywoman Cora had already found reference to such a charge in a proposed revision to the Charter. When did you date it to, Cora?"
"The end of the Second Interval, right around when the first Records of the Harper Hall began," Cora said. "Masters," she added, trying to capture their attention again, "it is my contention that this Hall was founded to keep the language of Pern from evolving, and in so doing, provide a critical piece to prevent the society of Pern from evolving. In this charge, we have failed."
Silence greeted the weighty conclusion, until Kira began laughing. "We were always going to fail at that, Journeywoman Cora. You know this better than I do, with your studies under my tutelage, trying to document when new terms entered our language. What does this have to do with the Masterwork you have submitted to us?"
"The charge of keeping the language and society unchanging seems to have been something present from at least the founding of our Hall. The most generous reading I have of it suggests such a charge was only meant to last until the menace of Thread was no longer present, but it is hard to find evidence of such."
"No surprise there," Damian said. "With Thread as a constant threat, there would be no time to consider such things."
"Except that we have two Long Intervals to account for," Cora pointed out.
Gone away, gone ahead,
Echos roll unanswered.
Empty, open, dusty, dead.
Why have all the Weyrfolk fled?
Golmur sang, his baritone filling the space. Syrene provided the countermelody from the second line.
"I agree, Master Golmur," Cora said, after he had finished, "but that only accounts for the Second Long Interval. We have no records of the First Long Interval that indicate they received any sort of message from the future to tell them that Thread would return and that they must hold their society together for that time. Or, for that matter, during any regular Interval. We have become much changed in five generations of After Thread. Every Interval had at least ten to do the same, and did not. What is different for us?"
Cora's question hung in the air, the answer waiting for one brave enough to seize it.
"Dragonriders," Cora eventually provided.
"And now she slanders them," Pali said.
"Hear me out, Master Pali. The misdeeds of Weyrleaders and dragonriders are easy to find in the Records of the Holds and the Crafts. There is always some misdirection, so as not to speak ill of dragonriders in an obvious way, but most of their figured speech is easy enough to understand. Yet those Intervals do not attempt to end tithes or break free of dragonriders as a whole, on the fear that Thread would return. Once that fear is gone, and the dragonriders no longer need the systems that support them against Thread, they all collapse. We are the last of those systems, but we are not invulnerable. Masterharper Robina knew this, and tried to build something that would stand when the shaking was done."
"She is Nameless," Pali protested. "We should not think of her as anything other than one who betrayed our Traditions."
"Don't be hidebound, Master Pali," Golmur said. "Even Norist, dimglow that he was, recognized the frightful potential of what the Technologists want to create."
"And in the sounds of our celebration,
the drums reverberated 'Thread! Thread! Thread!' " Kali half-sang, softly striking the drum code for Threadfall with her hands on the table. "Is this what Master Terese was referring to?"
Lenne rang the bell gently.
"We are away from our task, Masters," she said into the silence that followed. "If you wish to discuss the matter of the future of this Hall and Craft, I will set a date, a time, and a theater for it, and I will invite all those who wish to provide their input in writing or with their presence to do so. What lies before us is a Masterwork, and we must decide whether to accept it, and its composer, into our ranks or to reject it. Do any of you have further questions about this work?"
None of the assembled Masters spoke.
"Then go to your chambers and deliberate, and at the sign of the next hour, return to deliver your decisions."
The Masters filed out, leaving only Cora and Lenne in the examination chamber.
"Well, that was invigorating, Mother Lenne," Cora said, falling back to her Sea-Trader's accent. "Have you any words for me that your Sight has revealed to you?"
"Only the ones I spoke to you," Lenne said, matching her accent, "when you were merely Trader Cora and you chose this path, despite my warnings: 'Harper's gold is the last price you'll pay for Pern.' Stop prying, Cora. It will happen according to what I have seen, or we will adjust."
"I have made my decision," a voice from the shadows said. Master Palm, first among the covert agents of the Masterharper, stepped into the place that Master Pali had vacated. "Accept her, and quickly, so that I can make full use of her."
"Did you listen to her performance?" Lenne reproved mildly.
"Oh, yes," Palm said. "An entirely standard recounting of how we got into this situation. Only Masters with their heads in their sand tables would dispute it or disapprove. She'll pass, but Pali will object on content and Syrene on form." He waved his hand in a dismissal. "More importantly, I have good news for you. We may yet have peace in our lifetime."
"Oh?"
"Yes. It seems that both sides are willing to abide by Menolly's treaty."
"And how did we get those baskets of dimglows to agree to it?"
"They can't think of anything better."
"Must be something in the water at Half-Circle, that it keeps turning out sharp, shrewd women to help us." Lenne said, winking at Cora.
"There is a demand."
"And here comes the Threadscore. What is it?"
"The Craft must be dissolved."
Lenne's hands drummed a vulgar reply with accents for emphasis.
"Haven't heard that from you in a while," Palm said, smiling brightly. "I believe they could be persuaded to leave the Harpercraft intact, if it solely concerned itself with music and no other domain."
Lenne sat back, contemplating this new future direction.
"I know you don't like it, Lenne. Both sides have their reasons for hating AIVAS now, but they all learned from it. They're both demanding that the Harpercraft give up the monopoly on information as a condition of accepting Menolly's settlement."
"And what then?" Lenne said. "Simply allow them to have whatever truths they believe in and the means to share them widely? Stand by and allow them to spread lies and slander? We freed them from Lords and this is how they repay us?"
Cora stepped forward and gently rapped the bell Lenne had used to quiet the Masters. It still had the intended effect, drawing Lenne and Palm away from the pitched battle they were about to have.
"Masterharper, were you listening?" Cora asked.
Palm recovered first, the edges of his lips twitching up. Lenne soon followed, and their laughter echoed through the chamber.
"Go on, Palm," Lenne said, between fits, "and tell them if that's what they need to stop the bloodshed, then they can have it. I shudder to think of what our descendants will have to contend with, but at least they will live to see the struggle."
Palm waved a hand. "The Printers will continue, and so will the Archivists, and the…College, was it, Cora? What your scouring of the Records indicated the Harpers came from?"
Cora nodded.
"They just won't all be in the same Hall, playing the Masterharper's tune." Palm concluded.
"Do I at least get to keep you?" Lenne asked sourly.
"Of course," Palm replied. "Pern will still need people who can be discreet, gather knowledge, and provide what influence they can toward a better outcome. You'll just have to be subtle about it."
Lenne drummed a different vulgarity as Palm left, right before the sound of a Voice Master chastising an apprentice for lateness filtered up to them in the examination chamber. The sign of this particular hour was almost always such a display, and most of the other members of the Hall marveled at how the Voice Master always seemed to have a different way of emphasizing the need to be timely for each day some apprentice was invariably late to class.
So summoned, the examining Masters returned to their seats.
"Masters," Lenne said, looking at each one in turn, "what is your decision?"