Literacy - Xanta [Private]

[Aesha]

Timestamp: Noon, The Third Brightening of Optia, Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era X Post Fractum.

Classroom 2A of the Academy of Lore was situated on the ground floor of the only building that the faculty occupied. When Xanta made his way there, ready for his lessons, the door had been left ajar to invite the new student in.

The classroom looked just liked any other, with a big teacher's desk at one end, and smaller desks and seats for the pupils arranged in the space in the rest of the classroom. Things had been pinned to the walls - in this case, concerning Charismean, since the classroom was primarily used for people who had signed up for reading and writing classes.

Yanda sat behind the desk, reading a textbook casually as she waited for her new student to arrive. She was the epitome of a kindly old schoolteacher. He figure was on the plump side, and she was wearing a very plain and simple cotton blouse, and a dark navy blue woollen skirt that reached past her ankles. Her grey hair had been tied up into a serviceable bun, and her brown eyes turned to look at Xanta as he entered the classroom. A smile appeared on her human features, that invited the Theyri into the room. Judging by the colours of her hair and the wrinkles that adorned her face, she was probably in her early sixties.

"Serale! You must be Xanta'Kun? I'm Yanda. Please, take a seat and we can get started."

[Xanta'Kun]

"That's me," Xanta said. "Good afternoon." He took a seat in the front of the room, as he was the only student, and figure he probably would be. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the kind old woman. He wasn't used to seeing old humans, and it was a strange experience for him. Wrinkles were a strange concept, as was the discoloring of her hair.

"I'm ready when you are, Yanda," Xanta said politely. "Is it alright if I call you that?"

[Minerva]

OOC: Serale! Just to let you know that I'll be picking this up now, with GM Aesha's permission.

IC:

"Of course you can, Xanta." Yanda replied, soft brown eyes twinkling in a motherly sort of fashion as her gaze perused her new student. She did not seem the sort to anger easily, to grow irked at anything in the way of iniquities on the Thelyri's part. She came across as a gentle, compassionate sort of woman, and one who was quite capable of exuding a patience and sense of encouragement much more than most others would be able to exhibit. The focal point of her vision followed Xanta as he made his way into the classroom, proceeding to take a seat at the front of it. It did seem rather odd that he was the only student present; the rest of the room physically radiated a sense of forlorn emptiness, a desolation that was quite unbecoming of what had the potential to be a fully utilised and functional teaching room.

"Well then, now that you've made yourself comfortable, why don't you tell me a little more about yourself, and what you already know where letters are concerned? I don't want to bore you to death on your first brightening here by babbling on like some madwoman about things you already know."

Placing the textbook casually aside, the elderly woman instead folded her arms languidly across her lap, leaning back in her chair by the merest amount as she awaited her student's reply. The atmosphere in the room was one of comfort and serenity, and there was nothing present to cause Xanta any sense of unease whatsoever. That feat, evidently, was partly caused by the friendly and laid-back disposition of his tutor for the forthcoming lessons in literacy.

[Xanta'Kun]

"Well, there's not too much to me, really. I know the Thelyri character set well, but I'm not too fluent in basic language. I lived in the Northern Seas outside of Prime, but my tribe left me because I hunted down and killed some pirates that had killed my father. It wasn't something they wanted to do, but it was part of my tribe's code, so I was forced to leave our seas. I don't think there's anything you can tell me that I already know, so babble all you want," Xanta said with a smirk.

[Minerva]

Yanda smiled warmly as an immediate, almost instinctive response to her student's answer. She did not seem in the least but nonplussed that he did not reveal much at all about himself, and merely put that down to the fact that he was either not too comfortable with telling her about his persona and traits, or that he was simply too shy too. Either way, he seemed willing enough to learn, and she would do nothing to hinder him in his desire to learn more about reading and writing in Charismean.

"Alright then, let's start, shall we? We will begin by looking at consecutive letters in the alphabet, one at a time for starters, and see how you go from there. I apologise in advance if I make you sound childish at any point, and if you start to find anything to trivial, do let me know."

What Xanta may or may not have noticed, depending upon his powers of observance, was that, strewn half-heartedly across the callous wooden surface of the desk besides his tutor, was an array of assorted parchments, inks and quills. The devices were not laid out in any particular or disciplined sort of order, and gave the impression that they had been placed there in a muddled hurry.

"Firstly, there is the letter 'a.' This letter looks like this..."

Taking one of the pieces of parchment from the desk, Yanda took up the quill, and proceeded to write out the relevant letter in her clear, concise, and flowing handwriting. She wrote out the symbol slowly, and several times, for the sole purpose of allowing Xanta to clearly be able to see what she was doing, and how she was causing the letter "a" to properly manifest itself.

"See? The letter forms something like a half circle to the left, and then is cut off by drawing a line at its end. Around, up and down, the line flicking out slightly at the bottom towards the right once its finished, understand? This letter is pronounced in one of two ways. there is the elongated, prolonged version, which is merely pronounced "a", as in "acorn", and the shorter version, which is spoken as "ah", for instance, in "apple", or "Abestat."

"Try writing and pronouncing the letter yourself, Xanta. You can use this quill, and try writing the letter on the paper there. Try and somehow link the sound and written symbol together, it'll make it easier for you to remember."

Handing her student the writing device, Yanda waited for him to try his hand at writing the symbol on the almost clear sheet of parchment, using her previous letterings as reference.

[Xanta'Kun]

Xanta certainly felt like a child, and suddenly he was relieved that he was the only student in this class. It would be embarrassing for him to do this in front of others. However, it was just him and this kindly old woman, so he grabbed the quill and parchment and began practicing the letter 'a'.

He drew a half circle opening to the right, with a line cutting if off. It was pretty crude, but it was his first letter in Charismean. He studied his'(\' verses Yanda's 'a', and tried again, making it a bit more fluid and connected, mimicking Yanda's better each time.

After the first 3 times, Xanta began pronouncing the 'a' and 'ah' sounds each time he scrawled the letter. Before too long, he laid down the quill and stated proudly "I think I have it now."

[Minerva]

As Xanta began to try writing out the letter "a", Yanda watched his progress with a benign and genial expression painted onto her face. Whilst his first few attempts were not overly successful, with a little perserverance and dedication they did improve, and soon his letters were matching her own in terms of structure and shape. A wide, auspicious smile defining itself on her weathered features, the woman nodded towards her student, signifying that she was pleased with what he had done, before deigning to speak once more.

"These are good, Xanta. Well done. Now, we'll look at the next two letters in the alphabet, alright?"

"Firstly, there is "b", which is pronounced "buh", as in "book" or "beast", and written like this..."

Taking up another one of the quills, one that had supposedly been previously hidden somewhere beneath the numerous papers and parchments strewn carelessly about the table, Yanda drew out the symbol "b" in her neat, fluid handwriting, at the same, languid pace she had utilised before.

"Start at the top of the line, then bring the quill down, and then up again to the half-way point of the line to form a half-circle to the right, see?"

Giving him a few moments to digest his knowledge of the new letter, Yanda considered her student inquisitively before moving on with the next.

"The next letter in the Charismean alphabet is "c", and is, for the most part, pronounced as a hard "cuh". If it is followed b an "ee" sound, however, it is voiced more softly, like a "see." The letter is drawn thus."

A simple arc signified the letter, little over a half circle curving towards the left. It was a simple enough character to have to copy, and it seemed as though Yanda wanted him to do just that. With an encouraging smile and a nod towards him, she gestured for anta to take up the quill once more, and get to work practising the writing and pronunciation of the two letters in turn.

[Xanta'Kun]

Xanta took the quill again and began copying the characters. It was simple enough, now that he had the idea of it. He made a 'b', starting with a straight line, and then a curved one connected to it. He scribbled it down several more times, pronouncing the 'buh' sound each time.

The he moved on to the 'c'. It was the simplest so far, so he breezed through it, doing several of the curvy little lines and saying 'cuh' or 'cee' alternatively.

Then he tried doing all three he had learned in a row. He started with an 'a', carefully and slowly drawing it out, then moved on to 'b', then 'c'. It was simple stuff, and he was glad for that.

[Minerva]

He seemed to be making progress quite quickly, and this was a trait that brought a wide smile to the elderly woman’s lips. He was certainly picking up on the lettering and pronunciation much more rapidly than some students she had had the pleasure of teaching in her time, and she had taught a lot. Weaving and locking her fingers together as she continued to watch Xanta draw out the new letters on the happily yielding surface of the parchment, a contended smile creased Yanda’s face further beyond the wrinkles already ingrained there as fond and fleeting memories of the past began to peruse her mind. How long had she been instructing and tutoring individuals as to the proper ways of reading and writing? How many times had she sat with her student, much in the same way as she was doing now, marvelled and taken pride at their respective progressions? Truly, too long ago to remember, although the memories dwelled in a specially sanctioned place within her heart.

“Yes, that’s very good. You’re learning, quickly, Xanta, and I’m sure we’ll be finished with the alphabet in no time, at the rate we’re going now.”

Taking up her own selected quill once more, Yanda then drew out two new symbols on the parchment’s surface, these being the symbols of “d” and “e.”

“This may seem a little mundane to you, I’m afraid, Xanta, but, sadly, that’s the way it goes. Our next letter for this brightening is “d”, pronounced as an abrupt, harsh “duh.” See the lettering there? It’s similar to that of a “b”, is it not? It is simply drawn the other way around, starting with the curve, and then drawing the line upwards and then down to close it. The letter “d” is used in words such as “Dog” or “stand.”

As always, a blatant emphasis was put on the relevant part of the word as Yanda spoke, allowing her student to clearly hear the sound and resonance the appropriate letter provided.

“Next comes “e,” which is spoken as a brusque “eh.” Sometimes, however, when placed on the end of a word, the “e” is silent, and not pronounced. We’ll go into that much later on, however, so don’t worry yourself too much about that.”

Motioning vaguely towards one of the sheets of parchments with one weathered hand, Yanda gestured for her student to practise the technique of writing the letter, and subsequently reading from it by pronouncing the appropriate sound.

[Xanta'Kun]

Xanta took the quill and parchment as was quickly becoming the customary mark of this class. He drew the new symbols as Yanda had shown him, starting out with several crude renditions of the letter 'd', pronouncing the 'duh' sound as he did.

He quickly moved on to 'e'. This letter was pretty fun to draw and he drew a few more of them than the other letters. It was curly and could be done with one quick motion of the hand. He pronounced the 'eh' sound each time.

Just to show how quickly he learned these letters, he drew out the crude alphabet that he currently knew. A... b, c, he paused for a second to remember d, and e. Satisfied with himself he put down the quill and looked up at Yanda.

[Minerva]

Watching him take up the quill and get to work on the new set of letters brought the same wide smile to the old tutor’s face. In fact, she had hardly been able to wipe that cordial gesture off of her features for the duration of the entire lesson thus far, or so it seemed. He was progressing at a much faster rate than she would have expected any new pupil to, and, for that, she was immensely pleased. As he scrawled out the various letters that he had learned, Xanta’s congruent pronunciation of each of the symbols worked well to ensure that the Thelyri’s memory recorded every one with a relative sense of accuracy and competence.

“Very good yet again, Xanta. We’ll try for a few more letters now, and then set you up with reading a few simple words out to me, alright?”

It was not a question meant to be answered, it was merely a rhetorical method through which Yanda could bring her student on to the next topic to be covered for that brightening. Of course, it was no hard feat to discern that the next topic would, undoubtedly, be more letters of the Charismean alphabet.

“Next comes the letter “f.” This is pronounced as a short, sharp “fuh”, and is used to start words such as “Fountain” or “Four.”

Taking up the quill once more, Yanda held the writing tool lightly within the grasp of one hand as she began to write out the relevant letter, allowing Xanta a clear look at how to draw the symbol in its entirety. The letterings themselves did not seem too complex to learn and draw, but remembering each one, and their corresponding sounds, was going to be a fair task for the Thelyri to conquer in itself.

“This next one is the letter “g,” and it is drawn thus.”

Another flowing, sinuous character was drawn on the surface of the parchment before Yanda began to speak once more in her affable, encouraging tones.

“This letter is pronounced, for the most part, as a succinct “guh”, as in “Green” or “Gold. These letters are the last two we’ll go over for this brightening. Once you’ve had practice writing and pronouncing these two, we’ll move on to some reading, alright?”

Without waiting for her student’s response to that particular query, the elderly woman set her quill back down upon the callous surface of the paper-strewn desk, before watching the Thelryi patiently, in readiness for him to set about runnig through the two new letters.

[Xanta'Kun]

Xanta practiced the letters 'f' and 'g' in the same way he had the others, writing them several times, pronouncing them, and writing them together.

He wrote them all again 'a' through 'g'. He came up with a word that he figured went with each.

[Minerva]

The process of learning how to read and write was turning out to be a very mundane one indeed. However, Xanta was progressively beginning to understand more and more of the mechanics of the Charismean language as he went along, about how its symbols appeared to the naked eye, and how they sounded when being pronounced out loud. Still, Yanda had already decided that they would learn no more new letters for today; there was only so much new information a mind could process and cope with each brightening, and there was always tomorrow to learn something else new.

“Alright then. Well, seeing as you seem to have managed admirably enough with the first eight letters in the Charismean alphabet, how about trying your hand at reading some words, eh?”

Her words were intoned amicably once more, and it was hard to fathom just whether or not the old teacher could present herself as being anything less than completely cordial.

“I’ll write out some very simple words for you, using some of the letters that we went over this brightening. See if you can read them out loud for me. This shouldn’t be too hard, so long as you remember how each of the letters is pronounced. Once you’ve ascertained that, you can simply string the pronunciations together to make the word, alright?”

Another wide, wrinkle-inducing smile, and Yanda began to write out several arrays of Charismean symbols on one of the blank sheets of parchment, before handing the finished streams of writings to her awaiting student. The letters she had scrawled out were clear and precise enough to Xanta’s eyes, although whether or not they would prove easy to read was entirely up to him and his mind. “Bag”, “Feed”, “Bead”, and “Fade” were the words inscribed upon the surface of the paper, and it was these that Yanda desired him to work on reading out loud to her.

[Xanta'Kun]

Xanta looked down at the words on the paper in front of him and began to sound them out in his mind. He started the first word: "Buh-ah-guh," he said, hesitantly sounding out the letters he had learned. He moved on to the next word: "Fuh-ee-ee-duh," he said again, a little more pronounced and sure of himself. Picking up mental momentum he carried on with the last two in succession: "Buh-ee-ah-duh, Fuh-a-dee," he said with a proud smile.

[Minerva]

He was hesitant to start off with, yes, but as he began to pick up on what he was doing, and gained confidence in the process, so did Yanda’s smile steadily begin to widen. She knew how hard it could be to learn Charismean reading and writing in some cases, but her pupil here seemed to be doing an excellent job of learning the basics. Once he had finished his vocal practices of the words she had jotted down, the elderly woman gave a cordial clap of her hands, before deigning to speak to him once more, her tones as affable and encouraging as always.

“Very good, Xanta, you’re doing very well. Those last two, however, were a slight trick on my part, and for that I apologise. You see, whilst the majority of words in Charismean follow the principles I have taught you, there are some exceptions to the rule. An “e” followed by an “a” makes the sound “Eee,” thus leaving the “a” silent. So the word “bead” would be pronounced as “Buh-Eee-Duh.” Also, an “a” followed by another letter and then an “e” is pronounced in a long way, as an “ay.” The word “fade,” therefore, would be said as “Fuh-ay-duh,” leaving the “e” as silent. Sadly there is a lot to learn, but this will be it for this brightening. If you could come here on the morrow at the same time, we’ll pick up from there.”

Nodding her head to him in a mild gesture of acknowledgment, the woman would then give her student enough time to ask any questions, if he so wanted, before bidding him farewell, ready to continue his teachings in literacy again the very next brightening.

OOC: If Xanta has no questions for Yanda, please RP your arrival at the classroom the next brightening in your next post.