Rocky Isle Guild Classes - Jygust 31st, 1225 AD

[Ashari]

Jygust 31st Morningtide 1st mark - Noontide (6 marks)

Meditation - with Guild Mistress Ashari Gywien in the Garden Room
Pan's Pipes - with guest teacher Motley in the Garden Room
Literacy [Common] - with Guild Mistress Ashari Gywien in the Library

Meditation...

The morning started off on a sedate note in the form of a relaxing meditation class. Ashari had gotten up early and prepared by moving the furniture out of the way to give them plenty of space so that they might all sit on the floor. She unrolled small mats for them to sit on. They were rectangles of woven straw imported from Amun Rah before the catastrophe there. Each was an artful masterpiece in it's own right, and went with the overall decor of the room well.

Ash considered the first order of business to be breathing. She intructed the students as to how to hold their shoulders square and upright while sitting cross-legged on the floor. "The spine ought to be comfortably straight," she stated with closed eyes and wrists resting on her thighs, one hand ontop of the other with palm upward, nestled by her groin. "Breathe in through your nose," she further suggested. "And then out again through your nose."

The beautiful brunette allowed the steady inhalations to continue for a solid burn before continuing on with the simple exercise. "Every time you breath in, count to one, when you breathe out, count to two. If your mind wanders or you lose track of what number you're on, start again at one," she continued.

"Pay attention to how you breathe - whether you're breathing into your chest or into your stomach. Does your chest relax as you breathe? What muscles are moving? Can you feel the rest of your body?" She posed them the questions, but they were done so with an intonation that suggested they weren't meant to be answered but pondered.

Thus, the class was spent breathing and relaxing, and with the students becoming more accustomed to their bodies. As time was coming to an end, Ashari's eyes opened onto her students and she told them to stretchs, have something to eat and then head to the library.

Literacy [Common]

Ashari had been taught her letters and numbers as a child with her mother as guide and her brothers for competition. For those students who were already competant, Ash offered them the opportunity to just grab a book and find a quiet nook to read. If they had questions on a word, then she would happily answer it to the best of her ability.

For those who weren't so lucky as to already have a sense of what was what, the mistress began simply, with personal chalkboards and Ash displaying how to write each letter. The young woman apologized, in advance, and assured the students she didn't intend to talk down to them, and that frustration was likely - but that she had every intention of teaching them to the best of her ability. She named the letters, and sounded out which made what sounds, as if she were teaching a child, for it made the most sense. "A - Aae, B - Bee, C - Cee, D - dee," and so on. The next order of business was applying simple words. "Cat, Dog, Mom, Dad," etc. Repetition was key, she found, and so the first lesson was rather dull.

[Motley]

Motley's second foray into teaching picked up largely where the first class had left off. As soon as everyone was seated, he made his way through the room after trying to get everyone to play the same tune he had taught them yesterday.

As he waddled his way to each, he listened carefully to each individual play, helping them with their breath and the position of their hands as they worked their way through the song. As they finished, he had everyone start again, playing the same song over and over until each had some personal attention and a pointer or two on how to play better, hold the instrument better, and how to maintain the level of their play throughout the entire song.

When it seemed everyone was playing better, he had them play one last time together as a group, and then he applauded him for their efforts. He maintained a mantra of practice, practice, practice, and suggested everyone play at different times of the day and night so they could feel how their own energy level throughout the day affected their play.

The last part of the class was spent answering any questions the class might have, and helping them to understand how the notes blended into melodies, how the melodies blended into the chorus, and how every component blended into a song.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Meditation

Aerin kept quiet about her private lesson with Ashari as she took her seat among the others and pulled her feet up into a lotus position as she had found early on in her self-practice that her feet would hurt if she allowed her legs to rest upon them. Self-practice aside, however, she listened to the instructions, finding new ways to do things without struggling against the new methods. Her personal choice had been to allow her head to droop, as if bowed in prayer, but she mimicked her mentor’s posture and found it to be a bit easier to work with.

The breathing, however, was another matter.

One of her first tasks in self-teaching had been breathing control and she had always gauged it off of heartbeats, four for the inhale, two for the exhale, breathing deeply and smoothly in near-perfect rhythm. Aerin quickly discovered that the habit, which now seemed to be rooted in subconscious second-nature, would be very hard to break as her body instinctively went into her usual cycle and seemed to stubbornly not want to be dictated. After one small fit of silent gagging through Ashari’s accelerated rhythm, Aerin abandoned herself to ‘failure’ and did it ‘her’ way.

In….thump thump thump thump…Out…thump thump.

As if still blocking her progress, the redhead found herself having to force the exhale through her noice rather noisily, which only furthered distraction, so only a burn or two had passed before she found her lips opening to let air out, while breathing in through the nose seemed to make inhales easier.

In….thump thump thump thump…Out…thump thump

"Pay attention to how you breathe - whether you're breathing into your chest or into your stomach. Does your chest relax as you breathe? What muscles are moving? Can you feel the rest of your body?"

Truth be told, Aerin could not feel a thing, although she knew the answer to the breathing question as her stomach expanded and contracted with each breath – her breasts already drew enough attention when she was not meditating, so she had worked hard at discovering how to breathe in such a way as to make them perk up as little as possible when meditating. The lack of movement in her bosom helped with concentration as well as the young magelet had been blessed at birth with hypersensitive nipples and the movement of clothing across them while chest breathing was…she found…counter-productive to clearing her mind.

Aerin did the rest of the class as bid, although she had already found herself to be accustomed to her body even where erogenous zones were not involved. When the class ended, she rose slowly – having learned even as early as the first garden meditation when she and the tomcat had met with their bitter feud, that relaxed muscles did not much enjoy a brisk return to activity. All the while that she rose, however, her previously-cleared mind was focused on one thing – an empty mat set out for Paige which had not been filled.

Damn it all to Nether… She knows that we have classes now…, the redhead fumed as Ashari began the next class.

Literacy [Common]

Her own hand dutifully followed the motions of scribing the letters, even if she was not very conscious of it, Paige’s absence still glaring in her mind. Where was she? Had she spent the night with that odd fellow Aerin had seen her with in Simple Pleasures? Had she changed her mind about training? Had there been pressing business at her job? Had the Seaside Slayer gotten to her? A multitude of questions running through her mind as her eyes found themselves darting more and more toward the library door.

Paige knew there was class, but she had – presumably – told no-one that she was going to miss out, as far as Aerin knew, for there had been no announcement in class. Absentmindedly, Aerin’s chalk traced and re-traced the same four letters on her chalk board, her eyes eventually locked upon the door without any hint of removal. After a few endless burns, she stood and gave a small bow to Ashari, mouthing the word “Paige” silently as not to disturb the others. With movements just as quiet, she set her chalkboard down and exited the room, her eyes smoldering.

I recommended her, it looks bad on me if she fails… she fumed quietly to herself as she exited Thalas Manse (if not stopped, of course)

Behind, on her chalkboard, it was evident that Aerin had at least mastered the letters C, F, K, and U and – surprisingly enough – managed to form a word with them.

Pan’s Pipes

OOC: Skipped - Sorry, Master Motley.

[Yelena Kintessia]

Mediation

As Yelena got to the room to begin classes, she noticed that the furniture had been moved and in their place were beautiful straw mats, all unique and looked to be of the highest quality. She shook her head to clear her mind. It was time for learning.

Breathing. Yelena emulated Ashari as best as she could. She sat cross-legged, straightened up her posture, and placed her hands down just like her teacher. Yelena nodded to herself once when she believed her form was correct. She breathed in and out of her nose as instructed, trying to be consistent with every inhale and exhale.

One... two... three... four...

Yelena continued to count as she breathed, but she had to start over a couple times. As she kept counting she tried to feel how she was breathing. She could feel her chest rise and fall. The muscles in her stomach seemed to be most active as she was breathing. The blond wondered about if she felt her whole body. She didn't quite understand but the answer she was forming was a no. She shook her head trying to clear her mind to try and feel the rest of her body as she was breathing. After some burns it felt like she had felt something but it went away the next instant.

When class was finished, Yelena noticed Aerin looking over to Paige's mat. Surely the redhead was thinking the same thing she was. Where was Paige?

Literacy [Common]

Yelena contemplated getting a book to read, but was not still entirely content with her ability to read the common language. Her mother taught her through poems, but she did not mind a basic refresher course. She copied the letters just as she saw them, over and over again, as well as repeating the sounds over and over again. For the words, Yelena wanted to write everyone's name. As class went on she was beginning to notice Aerin was deep in thought, or bothered by something. Soon after Aerin left the room. Where did she go? Yelena looked down at where Paige usually sat. To find Paige? The adhiel stayed until the class ended with a worried feeling.

Pan's Pipes

From the moment Yelena put a breath into the instrument, the sound was not right. She wasn't completely aware of it until Motley had corrected her, and she apologized. She looked around her in the room Aerin and Paige both gone. She did not even know if Paige returned home the last eveningtide. Yelena decided to go find Aerin. “I'm sorry Master Motley, but I need to leave. I'll play better in the next class.” She rose and started for the door, telling Ashari she was going to look for Aerin.

[Ashari]

Ashari apologized profusely for the impropriety of her students concerning their classes. To Motley she explained that one of her students hadn't returned home last night. "They're worried," she said. "I imagine they've run off to find her." She paid him double what she normally would.

OOC: Students leaving/missing classes is not allowed! When you return to the house Ash will want to speak to you both. Good luck on the search, though.

[Meridiuz]

OOC:

Skills awarded:

Aerin: +* in Meditation
Yelena: new skill Meditation at basic, +* in Literacy[human]