Post by **Auria (etc)** on Sept 28, 2008 16:30:35 GMT -5
The drudge had sent him down, down into the heart of the Weyr. Far below the rest of the activity, into the depths and shadows. All he'd said when she'd approached him in the cavern was that he wished to stand for the next Hatching. He'd asked who he had to see.
She'd responded at first with something that sounded like a hiss ... in a quiet voice that spoke of fear. Then she had taken him to the top of a flight of dark, narrow stairs, given him instructions to the "candidates quarters", and scurried away.
The stairs seemed to go on endlessly, lit only by a dim glow every several dragonlengths. At first he'd had to feel his way along the wall, but soon his eyes adjusted, for this was not the first time he'd lurked in near darkness.
As Baryn turned toward the instructed quarters, he began to hear voices. They were quiet, distant at first, and grew louder as he approached. He could see light spilling out into the hallway, stretching toward him as if it sought to reveal all his secrets. He pressed himself against the wall, avoiding the golden revelation, and willed his steps to total silence.
The voices were within, and then a moment of mild laughter. The dark man pulled himself farther into his robes and peered quietly around the corner.
Cots, in an open dormitory. All together. No privacy. From the looks of belongings scattered about, both males and females shared the abode.
This was not at all what he had expected. Talk of dragons around the planet indicated that they thought themselves and their riders privileged. He had assumed that those destined to ride their young would be revered, spoiled. This dark and crowded ... to Baryn, anyway, it seemed crowded ... place was not to his liking at all.
He backed up as silently as he had come, and decided to find himself a more private place to stay. The corridors became even darker, though he wouldn't have thought that possible when he started out, and soon he felt the heat of the caverns increasing. It became warm, close, uncomfortable, with just enough light cast by the carefully shielded glows to allow accustomed eyes to keep the feet they guided from stumbling.
Eventually, the hallway opened up, became broad and high, as if enlarged to allow the passage of much larger bodies. Ah, here would be where the young dragons traveled, then. He turned one more maze-like corner, his innate sense of guidance allowing him to recall the paths behind, and found that there were doorways on either side. Looking into the first of those, he found sleeping quarters ... or at least a small bed, space for a trunk, and a large hollowed out platform. That, then, must be where the young dragons slept, and where their riders tended them.
This, then, was more to his taste. Quiet, solitary, and with passageways that most humans probably would take days, even weeks, to learn to traverse without getting lost.
Baryn stepped inside, removed his black robes, and laying down in the lightweight desert tunic and trousers meant for casual wear, he stretched a mangled hand up to rub his mangled jawline ... blasted scar itched mercilessly ... and fell asleep.
She'd responded at first with something that sounded like a hiss ... in a quiet voice that spoke of fear. Then she had taken him to the top of a flight of dark, narrow stairs, given him instructions to the "candidates quarters", and scurried away.
The stairs seemed to go on endlessly, lit only by a dim glow every several dragonlengths. At first he'd had to feel his way along the wall, but soon his eyes adjusted, for this was not the first time he'd lurked in near darkness.
As Baryn turned toward the instructed quarters, he began to hear voices. They were quiet, distant at first, and grew louder as he approached. He could see light spilling out into the hallway, stretching toward him as if it sought to reveal all his secrets. He pressed himself against the wall, avoiding the golden revelation, and willed his steps to total silence.
The voices were within, and then a moment of mild laughter. The dark man pulled himself farther into his robes and peered quietly around the corner.
Cots, in an open dormitory. All together. No privacy. From the looks of belongings scattered about, both males and females shared the abode.
This was not at all what he had expected. Talk of dragons around the planet indicated that they thought themselves and their riders privileged. He had assumed that those destined to ride their young would be revered, spoiled. This dark and crowded ... to Baryn, anyway, it seemed crowded ... place was not to his liking at all.
He backed up as silently as he had come, and decided to find himself a more private place to stay. The corridors became even darker, though he wouldn't have thought that possible when he started out, and soon he felt the heat of the caverns increasing. It became warm, close, uncomfortable, with just enough light cast by the carefully shielded glows to allow accustomed eyes to keep the feet they guided from stumbling.
Eventually, the hallway opened up, became broad and high, as if enlarged to allow the passage of much larger bodies. Ah, here would be where the young dragons traveled, then. He turned one more maze-like corner, his innate sense of guidance allowing him to recall the paths behind, and found that there were doorways on either side. Looking into the first of those, he found sleeping quarters ... or at least a small bed, space for a trunk, and a large hollowed out platform. That, then, must be where the young dragons slept, and where their riders tended them.
This, then, was more to his taste. Quiet, solitary, and with passageways that most humans probably would take days, even weeks, to learn to traverse without getting lost.
Baryn stepped inside, removed his black robes, and laying down in the lightweight desert tunic and trousers meant for casual wear, he stretched a mangled hand up to rub his mangled jawline ... blasted scar itched mercilessly ... and fell asleep.
