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Post by bleedtearsofshame on Oct 18, 2006 11:42:26 GMT -5
Sitareh gritted her teeth against the flash of annoyance as Rayvna vocalized the thoughts of the holders in regard to dragonkind. Fools! Even in legends, they should have been respected! Not dumbed down until they resembled mere beasts of burdens! At least that helped to explain the reservations that some of the Holders felt about helping the Weyr and its people. If they thought that dragons were little above runners and nothing else.... It was infuriating. They would have to show the Holders the truth. Then, they would fall on their knees and beg forgiveness for their words, for their foolish thoughts.
Aviciath responded to her rider's anger, eyes whirling in gentle swirls of crimson and gold. We are not dumb beasts, she said with a huff.
"I know, love," she said allowed, eyes flickering towards where the dragon lay. "Do not worry. We shall show the world the truth. They have nothing but their foolish legends to guide them about dragonkind. Now that we are here, they shall realize their error."
Sitareh's gaze shifted back to Raveyna. "And yes. Thread is returning. The Red Star looms closer as every day passes and with it brings the silver menace. It will fall from the skies in a torrent of destruction, consuming everything in its path. I saw Thread consume a man once, ate everything in less time than it took to draw two breaths. Only his belt buckle remained." Her voice grew troubled for a moment. But realizing the slip in her control, her words hardened and she regained her composure.
"We dragonriders have returned to protect the people from such a fate. We have come to save Pern. You will need us very soon, sooner than anyone would like to admit. Although not everyone truly believes that Thread will fall. Day after day, I am faced with idiotic Holders who refuse to help us, saying that we are using Thread as an excuse to rob them of their wares. They do not wish to believe, and so they hide their heads in the ground. But they will see. The entire world will see. Thread will return and we dragonriders will be their only saviors."
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Post by ravyna on Oct 18, 2006 19:04:33 GMT -5
Although Ravyna heard the Weyrwoman's words, the thing that caught and held her attention was the interaction between woman and dragon. Ravyna could not, of course, hear the dragon's thoughts, but it was obvious that the pair shared an immediate connection. The fact that she'd been allowed to witness -- and living in a Weyr, would have the chance again and again -- such a bond caused her head to spin. For so long, it had all been legend. Ravyna found herself wondering when she would wake from this confusing and wondrous dream.
And a green of her own? Was it really possible that she, herself, might some day know that amazing connection? Suddenly, Ravyna felt a surge of loyalty the likes that she never thought she'd experience.
"If you would like," she said, her voice taking on an aura of dark determination, "I might be able to help you to brush up on some of the other barriers that might be caused by the customs of our modern day Pernese. The first of those is the most formidable, I'm afraid. I worry that the majority won't believe Thread is really coming until they're watching their crops seared in the fields, and their herdbeasts screaming in agony as they're eaten alive."
Ravyna's eyes glittered, the amber flecks within glowing almost dragonlike. There were a few she run across in her wanderings that probably wouldn't even believe then.
She turned once again toward the Queen dragon. "Do you really think a dragon might want me for a lifemate some day? How does it happen? And are candidates really crushed to death on the sands at every Hatching?" At the second question, her tone became dubious. "The local boys even teased that the Hatchlings fed on the bodies of the crushed candidates ... but I never believed them."
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Post by bleedtearsofshame on Oct 18, 2006 19:49:48 GMT -5
Sitareh studied the other girl carefully at her offer for help, schooling a frown from her features. It was strange to have such an offer, the sudden determination in Ravyna's voice. It was unusual for the young goldrider to team up with a woman on any project, for most women could not be manipulated the same way that men could. It was awkward for her.... But she was smart enough to realize that she might need a bit of help in dealing with the Holders in this new day and age. Their cultures were different in so many ways...
She would consider it. To save some time before answering though, the golden haired woman decided to answer the easy questions. The yearning that sprang up in Ravyna's eyes was interesting... Perhaps that would be a way to tie the girl to the Weyr, pull her loyalties to Araelen. She would have the opportunity to impress a dragon, and thus she would do all that she could to help out her future home...
"I think that you indeed might impress a dragon," she said smoothly. "Although I cannot tell for sure if you have the qualities looked for in a candidate, for usually it is the greens and blues who can sense candidates, and we have none amongst us yet... But you are the right age. It is the dragons who know, though. No one can tell for sure who will impress. There are those whom everyone is confident will impress and are left alone on the sands for turns. And there are some men and women who are shyer than mice, and the dragons head straight to them. The hatchlings know who is meant for them. It is one of the greatest mysteries of Weyrlife."
Her lips curved into a faint smile, her expression softening as she remembered her own impression day. "And it happens all so quickly. One minute you are on the sands, nervous and your feet are burning from the sound. Then you are staring into a pair of whirling eyes and there is a voice in your head, and all you can feel is love and adoration. And you know that you'll never ever be alone again. You realize that you've been walking around your entire life as only half a person - and when you find your dragon, you are whole again."
There was a moment of silence, and Sitareh realized the depths of vulnerability that had reached out from her words. It was one thing to speak such a way around dragonriders who understood... But those who had not impressed could never quite get it. She shook her head, recovering her composure. "And there are rarely deaths upon the hatching grounds," she said, allowing scorn to color her voice. Not directed towards Ravyna, but the world they had come to in which such ideas were readily believed. "They do happen, of course. Normally to those who are too foolish to move out of a hatchling's way, or if they grab at a dragon who is on its way to their rider. Then, the hatchlings react. Usually these aren't serious. Scratches that might leave some deep scars, but rarely do maulings result in death. One just has to have common sense while on the sands."
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Post by ravyna on Oct 21, 2006 12:08:21 GMT -5
"Common sense seems to be seriously lacking in our day and age," Ravyna said quietly, all the while her brain twirling around the Weyrwoman's words. The future was before her, and the promise of power, of leadership, of rising above all the people in her past who tried to control her, who abused her for their pleasure and status.
To be a dragonrider? Suddenly a covert dart through the darkness and absconding with a stolen runner seemed like an insignificant act, even though it was one that had given her satisfaction for some time.
The girls' expression misted over for a moment as she imagined herself landing on a green dragon in the midst of the training area of that runnerhold, delivering an edict for the collection of tithes. Golden grains and fodder would flow in for the beasts of Araelen Weyr, and Ravyna and her green ... what would be her name? Or would she be a queen ... ? The spark in the eyes flashed brighter and she looked at the lovely Aviciath. Ravyna and her dragon would receive the bows of those who had tormented her.
She schooled her response carefully and said, with an effort to sound humble, "Oh, I do hope the dragons might find me worthy."
As to the other ... "If ever you're uncertain of how the holders might respond, or what resistance they may try to raise, feel free to ask. I'll assist if I can." She bowed her head slightly, a show of respect, but under her dark lashes, her gaze never left the Weyrwoman's face.
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