The Harpsong House
building inside The Entertainers Guild
Can be home to characters.
An entertainment house focused exclusively on entertaining their guests with music alone.
Patron/ goddess: Harp Song
Founder: Melody
House Mother: Celtic Harp
Apprentice: Faith
Speciality:
Unlike other houses, which do have almost always music playing in the background, this house is exclusively focused on entertaining their guests with music alone.
The Harpsong House is asociated with the Music Underguild of the Scholars Guild, having a common history and often working together to bring more music to the Empire.
Harpsong Entertainers are thought to play and sing by the more experienced members, mainly by the House Mother, and also have knowledge of crafting musical instruments on their own. Songs played in this house cannot be heard anywhere else in the Empire, as they are written by the Harpsong entertainers. They also play songs from the archives of the Music Guild, archives which contain songs from all over Equestria, being the largest music sheet library from before the Cataclysm. Therefore, in the Harpsong House, you will sometimes be taken back to the days before the Great Cataclysm, where all species in Equestria were living in harmony under the rule of the Great Princess of Twilight. Sometimes they speak of even older times, when the Sun and Moon were reunited after their long parting of 1000 years... Somehow none of those songs seem to mention grifix. One will often find themselves wondering why.
Hierarchy
The House Mother
They are the regulator of the guild, training and raising Entertainers with rich music knowledge. They sometimes recieve older members, but most have been raised in the house since a very young age, like in most entertainment houses.
Instrument Crafters
All members have knowledge in crafting musical instruments, and they usually craft their prefered instrument on their own. However, there are a select few which are masters in instrument crafting and provide guidance to the other Entertainers.
Music Writers
All entertainers can write their own music, but there are a few who prefer just writing over performing. Their songs are often performed by others.
Entertainers:
Grifix who perform music on a regular base, entertaining the guests.
Note: there are no music "teachers". as with every House, the entertainers are trained by the house Mother and other older grifix. Elders often don't retire, as singing is an activity that can be performed at any age. They do, however, perform less often and spend more time educating the younger ones.
History:
Long ago, deep in the snowy forest, a young grifix hunter got lost from the rest of the patrol. After hours of walking around aimlessly, she sat down in the snow, ready to give into despair. All of a suden, she started to hear sounds in the distance as trees blew and birds chirped. The song of the forest, it was so wonderful, as it gave her the impression that it was the first thing she ever heard. She thought to herself that if she ever comes out alive, she will chase the beauty of sound her whole life.
Suddenly she heard a voice singing in the distance, and upon going closer she saw a beautiful female grifix with flowing mane and tail that looked like music notes, playing the harp in an open field. The young grifix was overwhelmed by the sound, so she grabbed a hollow branch and used a small brace to carve holes in it, creating her first instrument, a flute. She then played it while walking the forest, forgetting all of her fears. The sound travelled over the trees and reached the Expedition Patrol, which followed it until they found the lost grifix, Melody.
When she arrived back in the Empire, Melody left the Hunters Guild and joined the Scholars Guild. Looking through the ancient books in the library, she found a large number of unintelligible sheeets of paper, filled with strange round symbols that sat on lines grouped as five. The symbols remined her of the hair of the mysterious mare she saw in the woods, so she had the idea of playing thise on her fute, and so she discovered they were in fact music sheets.
Upon that discovery, she went to the higher ups and played a couple sheets in order to demonstrate their use, which had been unknown until that point. That's how the Music Underguild of the Scholars Guild was formed, in order to study the large amount of music sheets in the library.
But Melody did not find joy in orderign and classifying pieces of paper. She wanted to spread the joy of music. So she left the Scholars Guild, leaving one of her students in charge of the Music Guild.
She then went to the Entertainment Guild, a dirty place of desire, secrets and corruption. She liked not the reputation of that place, but it was the only place where she could make the music heard. And so she founded the Harpsong House, named after the strange mare in the woods.
Location:
The guild resides in one of the main buildings in the Entertainment Guild, being accessible from the main street. There is a black and white house that contrasts the bright red surroundings of the Entertainment District. A statue on Harp Song thrones in the inner yard of the house, playing the harp, in the same position as Melody saw her in the forest.
Patron Goddess:
Harp Song is the Music Guild and Entertainment Guild's Goddess. Harp Song was once a unicorn that roamed the streets of Equestria playing music in secret due to no one seeming to care for her music, as the times were too troubled back then.
PS: information on the Music Guild's organization will be added soon. Do not mistake the Harpsong Guild with the Music Guild, they are different organizations part of two different parent guilds.
House regulated by @crystalizzy77
Associated Location
Associated Faction