Learning By Teaching: II

Ayatah meet a student interested in Anthropology.

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Center of scholarly knowledge and shipwrighting, Zeltiva is a port city unlike any other in Mizahar. [Lore]

Learning By Teaching: II

Postby Ayatah on November 4th, 2014, 5:48 pm

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Learning By Teaching: II

|| 8th Fall || Zeltiva University ||


Darium Wordling had a problem.

The problem started with Ayatah of the Scattered Bones, the infuriating savage who had once been his student and was now his assistant.

Why had he let such a woman poison the minds of his current students

Why had he agreed to be her employer in the first place?


It had been thirty-four days - he'd counted them - since she started her job, and though he couldn't deny that she was... somewhat able to fulfil the menial tasks he'd set her, the unthinkable had happened.

Each time Darium thought about it, he felt sick and disgusted. He wanted to set fire to the entire university, to burn down all the stupid students and liberal members of staff who oohed and aahed as Aya told them lies about her jungle home. Didn't they know that the Myrians were cannibals?! Savages who killed on sight, no questions asked? And yet this woman told stories of dancing, of romance and the jungle. The women were fascinated at the idea of a matriarchal race (evidence of just how basic the Myrian people were, in Darium's personal opinion), whereas his male students and colleagues admired Ayatah's lips as she told her stories, her toned stomach when she revealed the tattoos (more like children's drawings) that were symbols of her clan.

And now - now - one of his very own students had decided to change their minds and study the Myrian culture

What a farce!

Darium had wanted to fail the young woman as soon as the idiotic request left her heart-sharped little mouth. Of course, he hadn't - for reasons still unknown to him. She had been studying the Eypharians. But two days ago she had requested to change her studies, and seeing as she had not yet even started any essays or projects, there was no real reason why she couldn't -- other than being completely stupid and insane, obviously.

Nevertheless, Darium had admirably stayed true to his role of professor, and organised the girl to meet with Ayatah of the Scattered Bones - the original rotten apple that seemed to be decaying all the others. So here he was, striding down towards the library, student in tow, to find his assistant.

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Learning By Teaching: II

Postby Ayatah on March 25th, 2015, 12:14 pm

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Ayatah was sitting at her usual table in the centre of the Wright's memorial library. There were three books laid out open in front of her, four others discarded to the side in a messy pile. Her official task was to research about semhu, the famous dance of the Eypharian people. But for Aya, the job posed a great opportunity to do some of her own reading. In fact, she frequently found herself distracted by a completely irrelevant topic.

Right now, she was engrossed in reading about Eypharian cosmetics, despite having no real interest in make up. But it was nevertheless fascinating to see how her paternal people seemed to make beauty products out of anything.

"Ms Ayatah?"

Aah, the dulcet tones of her pig of an employer. "Yes, Darium?"

The professor twitched at her voice. Oh, how he loathed that accent! And didn't the damned savage know that the proper way to address her employer was Professor Wordling? What an ignoramus.

He waved a dismissive hand to the timid-looking girl beside him. "This is Lucy. She's a student of mine and has requested to learn about--" his voice cracked and Darium found himself having to swallow back a stomach full of bile. The next words that tumbled out of his mouth went against every cell in the professor's body. "The Myrian people."

"Really?" Ayatah was shocked. She had assumed that nobody would want to learn about her people. Especially not someone who seemed so... not Myrian. Lucy was blonde, petite, and completely inoffensive.

Darium groaned. He had long lost the desire to hide his disgust about the Myrian race from his assistant. "Apparently, yes. So for obvious reasons, I bought her here to talk to you." He turned to the girl, "Lucy, feel free to ask Ms. Ayatah any questions, and then come by my office later to discuss if you really want to swap to studying the Myrian people." With no further comment, Darium Wordling turned on his heel and strode away from his student and employee.

"He is such a pig."

Ayatah turned towards Lucy, both surprised and impressed at the poisonous tone with which she had just spoke. Perhaps the girl was not as meek as she appeared. "Yes. He can be. Take a seat." She gestured to the chair on the opposite side of the table. Aya began to tidy up her books, folding the top corner of each page so she knew where to continue reading later on.

Lucy sat down, all previous signs of frustration having dissolved from her soft face. Once again, it was impossible for Ayatah to imagine why such a girl would ever want to be educated about the Myrian race.

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Learning By Teaching: II

Postby Ayatah on March 25th, 2015, 12:15 pm

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"So. Lucy... You want to learn about my people?"

The girl gave a little giggle and nodded. "Yes. I know it's... strange. Most people just think the Myrians are bloodthirsty cannibals -- no offence," Ayatah smiled flicked her hand to dismiss the very thought of being insulted by the popular portrayal of her people, "but I disagree. I've read some books about their history, and I just think there's more to them than what meets the eye."

A tick passed before Ayatah nodded and replied, "that may be true. But you must understand that there is some truth to what people say. My people will kill trespassers without a single thought, without even considering why someone might be in the jungle. And then we eat them. We train to kill, we hunt the Dhani, we see anyone and everyone who isn't Myrian as the enemy."

She allowed these brutish words to sink in before continuing. Lucy maintained a steady gaze, never once betraying a sign of fear or intimidation at Ayatah's blunt words. "I don't want to put you off the idea, but I don't want you to think us Myrians are cuddly, but misunderstood, people either. There is more to our culture than killing and cannibalism, but it forms a large part of our identity as well."

Lucy nodded slowly, still staring hard at Ayatah's face. "I know that. Everyone who I've ever mentioned this idea to seems hell-bent on putting me off studying Myrians. I'm not about to wander into the jungle to make friends, because I know I'll be killed. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to learn."

She's certainly spunky, Aya decided, and she knows her own mind. Lucy reminded the Myrian of her younger self: desperate to learn, at whatever the cost. If anyone beyond the jungle was to learn about the Myrians, Lucy seemed to be the most suitable.

"Alright. I believe you." Ayatah raised her hands, revealing her open palms of Lucy to demonstrate that she came in peace. They shared a grin, "so what questions do you have?"

Lucy sighed, blowing out a cool jet of air from within her cheeks. Suddenly, the human girl found herself overwhelmed with questions! "Well... I guess... My first question would be..." After scrabbling in her bag for a quill and parchment she asked, "why did you leave the jungle? I've read that it's very rare for a Myrian to leave Tallooba."

"It's pronounced Taloba." Ayatah said gently, repeating the name of the Myrian city slowly so Lucy could hear the correct way to say it. And then the half-breed lent back in her chair, considering her answer. Lucy's question was more personal than what Aya had expected, but no doubt she was the only Myrian Lucy had ever met, so where better to begin than to learn more about the specimen in front of her?

"I left because..." There was no single reason. The djed storm, her miscarriage, her desire to learn, the need to leave the jungle in order to hopefully return at a later date. Now Ayatah sighed tiredly, rubbing her face with her hand. "Because I needed to. Being a half-breed is difficult in Taloba, let alone being one who wanted nothing more than to explore the outside world, to learn as much as she could.

Most other mixed-bloods are taught to only accept their Myrian heritage. Regardless of whatever race flows in your veins, a good half-Myrian will act like a pure-breed. The only exception I know was a lad called Quinto, whose father was an Isur. He lived with both his parents - his father was a metal smith in Taloba. Because of their... abilities with metal, Quinto was allowed to learn more about his Isur heritage. But that was only because it benefitted the Myrian people." Ayatah paused, remembered the strange-looking boy from her childhood. His left arm was different to his right, larger and had a red tint to his skin. Quinto had been a fierce warrior, and when he and Aya had trained in the military together, they'd spent many nights in each other's bed. [b]"But in my case, the Eypharian blood was of no benefit to Myri. If anything, it distracted me. I wanted to learn, to read. This is not a Myrian trait. Books are incredibly rare in Taloba, and are usually written by other Myrians preaching about the goodness of our people and the vulgarity of others."

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Learning By Teaching: II

Postby Ayatah on March 25th, 2015, 12:15 pm

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Lucy was hanging onto Ayatah's every word, her eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Her fascination was obvious, and the half-breed could not help but smile. "Does my description of my people match what you've read before?"

"Yes. A bit, at least. Most books focus on the negatives, without giving any credit to logic behind them. But in reality, all races prefer the things that benefit them. A half-Isur will be accepted into most cultures."

Ayatah found herself nodding along with Lucy. The girl was observant, critical. She was clearly not the sought to simply believe whatever she was told. "Exactly, yes."

"And I suppose the Eypharian people are the antithesis to the Myrian."

Now Ayatah shook her head before explaining herself. "I used to think that too, but now I'm not sure. Both races are proud. Both believe they have holy origins, only in the case of the Eypharians they think they were born directly from the romance between a river god and a woman. In the Myrians' case, we believe that when Myri ascended to Godhood, she united our people together. Both races perceive others as lower than themselves."

"Do you still believe that?"

"Hm." Was Ayatah's initial reply. In truth, she had no idea what she believed now. When she moved to Zeltiva, Aya had prayed to Myri every day. She had spoken in the Myrian tongue when home alone, determined to not lose touch with her maternal people. When was the last time she had prayed to her Goddess-Queen? Guiltily, Ayatah touched the gnosis mark on the back of her neck. It pulsed weakly under her fingers. "It is hard to be Myrian when you're not in Taloba." She admitted. "I've decided to choose a life of academia and logic. It just so happens that this life is not really compatible with the one I've left behind. It's hard to mix the two together."

"What about your family? Not many books describe the Myrian family structure."

Aya instantly smiled at the memory of her clan. But then the smile faltered, weakened, and disappeared altogether. They had been as supportive as a Myian family could possibly be. Though they encouraged Ayatah to better herself, all members of her extended family were worried for her. She remembered how their faces would crease into worried smiles when she would enthusiastically tell them about her latest book as a child. They had feared that her undeniable need to learn would endanger her life. And it had.

"I miss them. We Myrians do not have family units like humans do. I have a mother, a stepfather, and siblings. But we live in great compounds altogether, in clans. The Scattered Bones is the name of my clan, and so it forms my surname, I guess." Ayatah slid a piece of parchment between Lucy and herself. On the page, she sketched a collection of rectangles and squares in a rough circle, all centred around an octagon. "This is what my clan home looks like." she said, pointing to each shape in turn as she explained. "All the kids sleep in this longhouse. All the adolescent boys sleep here, the girls there. Then young couples, or those with new-borns, sleep in any of these four cabins. Everyone else muddles along. But the matriarch of my clan - my Great-Grandmother Quinneth - sleeps here."

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Learning By Teaching: II

Postby Ayatah on March 25th, 2015, 4:00 pm

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Lucy inspected the roughly drawn map before smiling up to Aya. She asked whether she could keep it, and Ayatah nodded. Then the girl delivered another question: "I've read that Myrians don't actually marry though. Instead, they tend to--" The girl's voice drifted off awkwardly.

Fortunately, Ayatah had scanned through enough books about her people to know what the misconceived ideas about Myrian mating rituals were. "--just have sex with whoever they like, just like animals do?" She smiled encouragingly, so Lucy knew she was not insulted by such crassness. "Yes. I've read that too. Apparently whenever a woman is in season, the men will just fuck her. But that's wrong. Very wrong.

Women are worthier than men in our society, so no male would simply... take a woman and impregnate her. If one did, and it was against the woman's will, the man would be killed. Rape barely exists in our culture."
This was something that Aya was proud of. During her first season in Zeltiva, a drunkard had attacked a young woman in the middle of the night. Though the event had been shocking, and an effort was made to find the male, Aya noticed how people of Zeltiva had reacted differently to what she was used to in Taloba. Everyone was of course sympathetic to the woman, disgusted and angry over the man had done to her. But had the event happened in Taloba, a group of men and women have hunted the rapist down, gutted him and fed him to the dogs. A man who forced a woman to bed with him was less than worthless in their society.

"But when it comes to consensual sex, Myrians do it like any other race. And not just to have babies, either. There is romance, there is love. As a woman, you can have sex with whomever you want, but most women will only have children with the man they love. Their mate, their partner. Cheva marks exist in my people, too." She smiled faintly, the ghosts of a love haunting her memories. Ayatah had been in love once, engulfed in that all-consuming desire to be with one person, to make them happy. "And we have heartbreak as well, of course. But when two people decide to make a life together, there will be a huge celebration between their clans. Music, a feast, dancing. A ceremony. Lots of flowers, of course."

Their educational discussion had turned into two young women giggling and talking about flowers and weddings. With a tight cough, Ayatah tried to turn their conversation back on topic. "So, no. We Myrians do not just hump all day long and take whomever we please. We fall in love, we fall out of love. Like any other people."

Their conversation settled after her final sentence. Lucy was scribbling frantically at her papers, no doubt noting down all the inaccuracies of the Myrian people that she had previously read about. But before the girl could speak, Ayatah had her own question to ask: "Should you decide to continue to study my people, do you know what aspect in particular you will focus on? For example, I studied the history of the Eypharian people."

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Learning By Teaching: II

Postby Ayatah on March 25th, 2015, 4:02 pm

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Lucy did not answer the question immediately. Instead, her green eyes remained fixated on the papers in her hand. Just as Aya was about to repeat her question, the girl answered. "I'd like to focus on family structure, and how families - sorry, clans - expand and such. I think doing that will make the Myrian people seem more..." She threw Ayatah an apologetic glance before finishing her sentence, "human."

It wasn't a bad idea. Of course, a student's work was never read by anyone else other than his or her professor. There was no way that Lucy's essays or papers would extend to any other audiences. But perhaps it was a start. If even one professor - even Darium Petching Worlding, that insufferable little man - could have their opinion on the Myrians changed by reading information that was both accurate and fair, it would be an improvement. "That sounds promising. And I'm more than happy to help you."

Again Ayatah touched her quill to a page of parchment. This time, she wrote down the names of her immediate family members. Their names were organised in a triangle, with Quinneth at the top and several other names fanning out below. Her own name was underlined, and appeared at the bottom level of the pyramid.

"As always, there is some variation between the clans. But there's always a basic hierarchy. The clan matriarch is at the top. She makes all final decisions, heads the clan, and solves any discrepancies between members." Her finger trailed down to the second level, which contained three names. "Then there are other revered positions within a clan. In mine, we have Havex the clan healer, Weizo our chief scout and warrior, and finally Paira. Not only is she my mother, but she's also our head hunter."

Ayatah paused, allowing the girl to scribbling away at her paper. When Lucy finished writing, she glanced up and nodded to Ayatah to continue. Her finger trailed to the third level of the pyramid. "And then below these three, we have our scouts, our cooks, our botanists, ... Anyone who has a specific job that they will fulfil each day. They're the best in their field, at least within our clan, but they’re not quite as indispensible as the previous three.

Finally, we have people like me. Young adults who have completed their military training and help the clan every day with a variety of tasks. Anyone who is not a child falls within this category. We'll help with whatever needs doing, and as we mature and become more practised in what we do, we may move up to the higher tier."


This last level was by far the largest of the hierarchy. If she had stayed in Taloba, Ayatah presumed she may have become one of her clan healers or hunters, but life had not allowed her to take that road. "It probably seems very... strict, to have a tier like this within a family. But there are so many of us that it's almost necessary to keep track of who's who and what their contributions are. Other clans will have other levels of hierarchy." She tried to think of an example, then snapped her fingers when one retracted itself from her memory and into her conscious, "there's one clan, for example, whose hierarchy reflect the members' magical abilities. If you can set a torch on fire, you're at the bottom, but if you drown the entire jungle, you're near the top."

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Learning By Teaching: II

Postby Ayatah on March 25th, 2015, 4:15 pm

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Lucy scratched at her parchment for five or so chimes, her brow furrowed as she silently went over what Ayatah had just told her. When she finally stopped writing, the girl flexed her wrist with a wince. "It's a lot of information."

"Yes, it is." Ayatah nodded wryly. She drummed her left hand on a book as she considered the next steps to Lucy's education. "Perhaps we can meet again soon. I've given you a load of information, and I'm sure there'll be some books about my people somewhere." Her voice changed minutely, taking on a more serious, low tone: "But you haven't exactly chosen an easy topic to study. There are few accurate things written about my people, especially the details of our family life. I expect that I'll be your main source of information."

The student gave a glum smile. "Unless it'll be a real bother to you?"

The Myrian shook her head. "Gods, no. I've always hoped a student will approach me one day with such questions. I want the people of Zeltiva to know that Myrians are not just killers. We're people as well, with lovers and children and parents." She regarded the student opposite her. Lucy was petite and inoffensive looking, but impressively spunky. "And you're as good a place to start as any."

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Learning By Teaching: II

Postby Keene Ward on April 6th, 2015, 2:46 am

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Grades


“For there is nothing lost, that may be found, if sought.”
-Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene

Ayatah

Skills
    Socialization +5
    Teaching +5
    Anthropology +5
    Rhetoric +2
    Writing +1
    Storytelling +5
    Investigation +2
    Negotiation +1
    Organization +2
    Persuasion +2
    Drawing +1

Lores
    Teaching: Diagrams
    Teaching: Analogies

Rewards/Consequences
None

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If you have any questions or concerns, please send me a PM!

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