‘Pern was one of the rst fantasy worlds I fell into and I am forever grateful’
LEIGH BARDUGO
DRAGONQUEST
VOLUME 2 IN THE DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
ANNE McCAFFREY
Praise for Anne McCaffrey and her Dragonriders of Pern series
‘I encountered Dragonflight at the age of eleven and was immediately charmed. Since then, I’ve read many, many more of Anne McCaffrey’s books, and the feeling of Real Magic has never gone away.’ Diana Gabaldon
‘Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books forever changed how readers looked at dragons – not just fearsome beasts to be slain, but bonded warrior partners. She taught a very young me that there was nothing cooler than a dragon you could ride, a dragon that could read your thoughts, that the mastery of a dragon was, basically, the best thing that could happen to you. Combine that with the wonderful world-building of Pern and her unforgettable characters and you get books that shaped a generation and more of fantasy writers. She was a true original.’ Cassandra Clare
‘Anne McCaffrey is one of the titans of this genre, and one of my favorite authors of all time. If you’re reading this, these books are worth your time. Full stop.’ Brandon Sanderson
‘Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series was the formative series for me growing up . . . The world building opened my eyes to what fantasy could be; the characters introduced me to women in roles of power; and the romances left my young heart aflutter. No series has ever captured my imagination so completely as Pern did.’
Susan Dennard
‘I grew up reading the Dragonriders of Pern, and they sparked a lifelong love of dragons and dragonriders . . . Nowadays, the characters are different, as my own dragon stories have been written and published, but echoes of Pern can be found in every one of them.’ Julie Kagawa
‘Pern was the birthplace of fantasy in the hearts of so many readers of my generation . . . These books were trailblazers, and the land they charted remains as gripping and innovative today as it was upon its discovery. We owe a lot to Pern.’ Seanan McGuire
‘Pern is where dragon riding was conceived, and fifty years later, Anne McCaffrey’s epic tale remains a masterpiece of adventure, intrigue, and romance!’ Danielle L. Jensen
‘Anne McCaffrey’s Pern novels are truly foundational books. The seeds of every dragonrider story are here, if not of every take on magical bonding. They carried me away as a young reader, and I hope they’ll do so for new readers now.’ Naomi Novik
Anne McCaffrey’s books can be read individually or as series. However, for greatest enjoyment the following sequences are recommended:
The Dragon Books
DRAGONFLIGHT
DRAGONQUEST
THE WHITE DRAGON DRAGONSONG
DRAGONSINGER: HARPER OF PERN DRAGONDRUMS
MORETA: DRAGONLADY OF PERN
NERILKA’S STORY & THE COELURA DRAGONSDAWN
THE RENEGADES OF PERN
ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN
THE CHRONICLES OF PERN: FIRST FALL THE DOLPHINS OF PERN
RED STAR RISING:THE SECOND CHRONICLES OF PERN (published in the US as DRAGONSEYE) THE MASTERHARPER OF PERN THE SKIES OF PERN and with Todd McCaffrey: DRAGON’S KIN
DRAGON’S FIRE
DRAGON HARPER
DRAGON’S TIME SKY DRAGONS
By Todd McCaffrey: DRAGONSBLOOD DRAGONHEART DRAGONGIRL
By Gigi McCaffrey: DRAGON’S CODE
Crystal Singer Books
THE CRYSTAL SINGER KILLASHANDRA CRYSTAL LINE
Talent Series TO RIDE PEGASUS
PEGASUS IN FLIGHT PEGASUS IN SPACE
Tower and the Hive Sequence
THE ROWAN DAMIA
DAMIA’S CHILDREN
LYON’S PRIDE
THE TOWER AND THE HIVE
Catteni Sequence
FREEDOM’S LANDING
FREEDOM’S CHOICE
FREEDOM’S CHALLENGE
FREEDOM’S RANSOM
The Acorna Series
ACORNA (with Margaret Ball)
ACORNA’S QUEST (with Margaret Ball)
ACORNA’S PEOPLE (with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough)
ACORNA’S WORLD (with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough)
ACORNA’S SEARCH (with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough)
ACORNA’S REBELS (with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough)
ACORNA’S TRIUMPH (with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough)
ACORNA’S CHILDREN: FIRST WARNING (with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough)
ACORNA’S CHILDREN: SECOND WAVE (with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough)
ACORNA’S CHILDREN: THIRD WATCH (with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough)
Individual Titles
RESTOREE
DECISION AT DOONA
THE SHIP WHO SANG GET OFF THE UNICORN
THE GIRL WHO HEARD DRAGONS
BLACK HORSES FOR THE KING
NIMISHA’S SHIP
A GIFT OF DRAGONS
The Petaybee novels written in collaboration with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
POWERS THAT BE POWER LINES
POWER PLAY
CHANGELINGS
MAELSTROM
DELUGE
Anne McCaffrey was one of the world’s leading science fiction writers, and the first female science fiction writer to achieve New York Times bestseller status. She won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards as well as the Margaret A. Edwards’ Lifetime Literary Achievement Award. She was deeply honoured to have been made a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 2005, and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006. Born and raised in the US and of Irish extraction, she moved to Ireland in 1970 where she lived in the ‘Garden of Ireland’, County Wicklow, until her death in 2011 at the age of eighty-five. She is the creator of the Dragonriders of Pern® series.
DRAGONQUEST
Ann eMcCaffrey
PENGUIN BOOK S
TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
Penguin Random House, One Embassy Gardens, 8 Viaduct Gardens, London SW11 7BW www.penguin.co.uk
Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com
First published in Great Britain in 1973 by Rapp & Whiting Ltd Corgi edition published 1982 Penguin paperback edition published 2025
Copyright © The Estate of Anne McCaffrey, Literary Trustee, Jay A. Katz Dragondex copyright © Wendy Glasser 1978
Anne McCaffrey has aaserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781804996690
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Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A.
The authorized representative in the EEA is Penguin Random House Ireland, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin D02 YH68.
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To An ne Do rothy McE lro yMc Caf f rey My Mo ther
1. Mor ning at Mast ercraft hall, Fort Hold/S everal After noons Later at Bend en Weyr/M idmor ning (Te lgar Time) at Master smith crafth all, Telg ar Hold
2. Evenin g(For t Weyr Time): Meet ing of the Weyr leader at For tWeyr
6. Mid mornin gat South ern Weyr /Early Mor ning at Nabol Hold: Next Day
7. Mid mornin gat Ben den Weyr /Early Morn ing at the Mastersmith ’s Crafth all in Telgar Hold
8. Mid mornin gat South ern Weyr
Early Mor ning in Harpe rcrafth all at Fort Hold/ After
Night at Fort Weyr : Six Days
14. Early Mor ning at Ruatha Hold/M idday at Ben den Weyr
15. Evenin gat Bend en Weyr: Impression Banquet362
16. Evenin gat Bend en Weyr/Lat er Evening at
CR AFTM AS TE RS
Ro bi nton ,M ast erha rpe r –Fort Ho ld
jo urne ym en and ap pren ti ces;
Se bell ,Ta lm or, Brudeg an , Ta ge ta rl
Fa nda rel, Ma ste rsmi th –T elga rHo ld
Terry , Craft mas ter
Wa nso r, Cra ftm ast er
Zurg, Maste rwe av er –South Bo ll Ho ld
Ni cat ,M ast erm ine r –Crom Hol d
Be le sde n, Ma ste rtanne r– Ige n Hol d
Ida rol an, M ast erf ish er –T illek Hol d
Sog ran y, M ast erhe rdsm an –Ke roo nHo ld
And em on, M aste rfa rmer –Ne ra t Hol d
WEYRS
BENDEN WEYR
F’lar, Weyrleader –bronze Mnementh
Lessa, Weyrwoman –Ramoth, queen
F’nor, Wing-second –Canth, brown
N’ton (craftbred) bronze Lioth
Felessan, born of Lessa, F’lar’s son
Manora, head woman of the Lower Caverns
Celina, second queen rider
FORT WEYR (Oldest Weyr on Pern)
T’ron, Weyrleader –bronzeFidranth
Mardra, Weyrwoman –Loranth
queen
P’zar Wing-second – bronze Roth
B’naj – Beth, green
T’reb – Seventh, brown
ISTA WEYR
D’ram, Weyrleader –bronze
Fanna, Weyrwoman –Miranth, queen
TELGAR WEYR
R’mart, Weyrleader – bronze Branth
Bedella, Weyrwoman
M’rek, Wing-second– bronze Gyamarth
IGEN WEYR
G’narish, Weyrleader
Nadira, Weyrwoman
HIGH REACHES WEYR
T’kul, Weyrleader –bronze Salth
Merika, Weyrwoman
Pilgra, secondqueen rider, Segrith
SOUTHERNWEYR
T’bor, Weyrleader –bronzeOrth
Kylara, Weyrwoman –Prideth, queen
Vanira, secondqueen rider
Brekke, youngest queen rider –Wirenth
Mirrim, Brekke’s fosterling
HOLDS
weyrbound to Benden Weyr:
Benden Hold – Lord Holder
Raid
Bitra Hold– Lord Holder Sifer
Lemos Hold –Lord Holder Asgenar
Famira, his wife, half-sisterto Larad, Lord Holder of Telgar
Bendarek, Crafthall Mastersmith
weyrbound to Fort Weyr:
Fort Hold (oldest Hold on Pern) –Lord Holder Groghe
Ruatha Hold – Lord Holder Jaxom (a minor, in the care of Lord Warder Lytol)
South Boll Hold – Lord Holder
Sangel
weyrbound to Ista Weyr:
Ista Hold – Lord Holder
Warbret
Igen Hold –Lord Holder Laudey
Nerat Hold –Lord Holder
Vincet
weyrbound to Telgar Weyr:
Telgar Hold –Lord Holder
Larad
Crom Hold –Lord Holder
Nessel
weyrbound to Igen Weyr:
KeroonHold – Lord Holder
Corman
partsof upper Igen Hold
Southern Telgar Hold
weyrbound to High Reaches Weyr:
Nabol Hold, Lord Holder Meron
High Reaches Hold– Lord Holder
Bargen
Tillek Hold –Lord Holder
Oterel
DR AG ON Q UEST
Prelude
Rukbat, in theSagittarianSe cto r, wa s ago lden G-type sta r. It hadfive planets ,twoasteroid belts, and ast ray pl anetit had attrac ted and heldin re cent millennia. When men first se ttled on Rukbat’s third wo rld and cal led itPern , they had tak en little no tice of the str anger plane t, swi nging aro und its adopted prim ary in a wildly err atic elliptical orbit. Fo rtw oge ne rat ions , the col oni sts gave the bri ghtredst ar little thought–untilthedespera te path of thewa ndere rbrou ghtit clos eto its ste psiste rat perihelion.
Wh en such aspect s wer e harmoniou sandnot dist orted by con junc tionswith oth er planets in the sys te m,theindige no us life of thewa ndere rso ught to bridge thesp ace gapto the morete mperate and hospitableplanet .
The initial loss es thecolonists su ffe red we re st aggering, and it wa s during thesu bseque nt long st ruggl e to su rvive andcombatthis men ac e dro pp in g throu gh Per n’s skieslike silver thre ads that Pern ’s tenuo us co ntact with themotherplanet was brok en.
To co ntr ol the incursionsof the dre adful Threa ds (fo r the Per ne se hadcannibalizedtheir transp ort shipsearly on andabandoned suc htechnol og ical so phistication as wa sirre levant to this pasto ral pl anet),
the re sou rc efu lmenem barked on along -term plan. The first phas einvo lved bree ding ahi ghly sp eci alized variety of alife for mindi ge nous to their ne w wor ld. Men and wom en wi th high empathy rat ings and so me innate tel epathicabil itywere tra ined to us e and prese rve thes e unus ual ani mals. The ‘drag on s’(nam ed for themyth ical Ter ran beast they re sembl ed ) had two ex tre melyus efu l charact erist ics: they co uld ge t fro m on e pl ace to another inst antly and, afte r ch ewi ng a ph osp hine -bea ring roc k,they cou ld emit a flam ing gas. As thedrago ns co uld ‘fl y’, they’d be ableto ch ar Threa dmid-air, yet escap eitsworse ravage sthemse lves. It too kge ner ati ons to de velop to thefull the us e of this firstph ase . The se co nd ph ase of the propos ed de fence agains t the sp or eincursions wou ld tak e longer to mature .ForThrea d, aspac e-travelli ng mycorrh izoid spore, devouredor ganicmatte r wi th mindles svo rac itya nd, on ce gro unde d, burro we dand prolifera ted wi th ter rifying spee d.
The or iginatorsof the two -stage de fence programme did no t co mpens ate su fficien tlyforchance no r for the ps yc hologica l eff ect of visi ble ex te rminationof this avi d fo e. Fo r it was psyc hologicallyreassu ring and de eply sat isfying to theend ange redPernese tose e the men ace ch arre d to imp ote nc e in mid-ai r. Also , the so uth ern co nti nen t, where the se con dphase was initiate d, proved unte nab le and the en tire col on y was moved totheno rther nco nt inen t to see krefu ge fro m the Th rea ds in the naturalca ves of the no rther n mou ntain ran ge s. Thesignificance of the sou ther n hemisph ere lostmeaning intheim med iate str uggle to es tablish new se ttlem en ts in theno rth. Re co llec tion s of Earth re ceded further from Pern es ehistory with ea ch su cce ss ive ge neration untilmemoryof theirorigins de ge nerated past lege nd or mythandinto oblivion.
The original Fo rt con st ruc te din the ea ste rn fac eof the gr eat We st Mountain range so ongr ew toosm all to hold the co lonist s. Anot hersettlem ent was sta rte d slightly to thenorth, by a gre at lake con ve nien tly ne stl ed ne ar a cave-filled cliff. RuathaHo ld, too , became ove rcr owd ed in a few ge ne rat ions .
Sinc ethe RedStar rose in theEast , it was de cide dto sta rt aholding in the ea ste rn mountains ,prov ided su itable ac com modations co uldbe fou nd.Suitable acc om modations no w meantcaves ,foronly soli drock and metal (of whichPern was in di str ess ingly li ght su pply) wer e im pervi ous to theburn ingsc oreof Threa d.
The winged, tailed, fiery -brea thed dr agons had no w beenbred to asize which re quired morespac e than the cliffside Ho ldsco uld provi de . Th e ancient cavepock ed co ne s of ex tinc tvolca no es, one high abovethe first For t, the other in the Ben de nmountains ,prove d to beadequate, needingonly a few im provements to be madehabitable.Ho wev er, su ch proje ct s to okthelast of thefuel fo rthegreat st one cutte rs (whichhad been prog ram med for only di ffident mining oper ations, no t wholes alecliff ex cavations) , and su bseque nt holds and wey rs wer e hand-hew n.
The dr agons andtherider sin theirhigh pl ace s and the people in theircaves wen t abouttheirse parate tas ksandea ch de velop ed habi ts that became custo m, whichsolidifiedinto tradition as incontrov ert ible as law.
Then cam e an interval– oftwohundred Turns of the planet Per n aro unditsprim ary –when theRed Star wa s at the oth er end of itserra ticorbit,a froz en , lone ly captive. NoThrea d fel l on Pern ’s soil .The inhabitants began to enj oy life as they had thought to find it when they first landed on the lovely pl anet.
They er ase dthedepredationsof Thre ad andgrew cro ps,planted orchard s, thought of refore str y for the slopes de nude dby Thre ad. They co uld eve nforg et that they had been in gr ave dange r of ext inct ion. Then the Threa ds ret urned for another orbit aro undthe lush planet – fifty yearsof danger from the skies– and the Per nes eagain thanked theirances tor s, no w many ge ne rati ons re moved, for providi ng thedragons who se are dthedr opping Threa dmid-airwith thei r fiery breat h.
Dragonkind,to o, had pros pered during that inte rval; had se ttl ed in fou r ot herlocat ions , following the master pl an of inter im de fence .Menmanaged to for get com pl ete ly that ther ehadbeen a sec ondary measur eagainst Thre ad.
By thethird Pas s of theRedStar, aco mplicated so cio-political-econ om ic str uc tur ehadbeen de vel oped to de al wi th this rec ur ren t ev il.ThesixWe yrs , as the old vol canic habi tations of thedr agonf olk we re cal led, pl edg ed them sel ves to prote ct allPern , ea ch We yr having a ge ographical section of thenorther ncontine nt liter allyunder itswings. The res t of thepopulation wou ldtithe to su pp ortthe Weyrssincethese fighte rs, thes edragonm en, did no t have any arable land in their vol canic homes, no rcould they tak e time aw ay fro m the nurtu re of dragonkind to learn oth er trade sduring peacetime, no rtime away fro m prote cti ng the pl anet during Pas se s.
Set tlem ents, called Ho lds,de vel oped where ver natur al caves wer efo und; so me, of co urs e, more ex ten sive or str ate gica llyplac ed then others .It to oka str ongmanto hold frantic, ter rifiedpeople in con tr ol during Th rea d attacks;ittookwise adm inistr ati on to co nse rve vict uals when nothing co uldsa fely be gro wn , and ex tra ordinary measures tocontrol population and
extensive or strategically placed than others. It took a
keep it use fu l an d he alth y un ti lsu ch ti me asth e men ace ha dp ass ed . Men wi th sp ec ia l sk ills inme ta lwor k in g, an im al br eed i ng , far m in g, fi sh ing ,m ini ng (s uc has th er ewa s) , we aving , for m ed Cr aft ha llsin each la rge Ho ld an d lo oked to one Mast erc raft ha ll wh ere th e pr ece pts of th ei r cr aft wer e tau gh t, an dcraft sk il ls pr ese rve d an d gu ard ed fro monege ne rat io n to an oth er . So th at on eLo rd Ho ld er co ul dnotde ny th e pr od uct s of th eC raft ha ll si tu ate d in h is Ho ld to others of th epl ane t, th e Craft s wer e dec re ed in de pe nd en tof aHo ld affi liat io n, eac h Cr aft ma st er of ahall owi ng al legi an ce to th eM ast er of th at pa rticu la r cr aft (a n el ec ted offi ce ba se d on p rofi ci en cy an d ad m in i str ati ve abil it y). Th e Mas ter craftsm an wa s res p ons i ble for th e ou tp ut of hi s ha ll s, th edi str ib uti on, fai r an d unpr eju di ced ,of al l cr aft pr odu ct s on a planet ary rat he r th an pa roc hi al ba si s.
Ce rta in ri gh ts an d pri vile ge sac cru ed to th edi ffe rent le ad ers of Hol ds an dM ast ers of Cra fts , and na tur ally , to th edr ago nr id ers to wh om allPern lo ok ed for pr ote ct io ndu ri ng Th re adf al ls .
Th e Re d Star wo ul d swi ng in ex or ably cl os e to Per n, bu t it wo ul d al so Pas s ag ai n, an dli fe co ul d se ttl ein to ale ss fren zied p att ern . Oc casi on al ly , th e con ju nc ti on of Ru kbat’s na tur al fi ve sa tel lite swould pr eve nt the Re d Sta r fro m pa ss in g cl os eenoughto Per n to dro pit s fea rfu lsp or es. Som eti me s, th ou gh , as sibl in gs wi l l, Per n’s sist er p la net sse emed to dra wth eRe dSt ar cl os er st ill an d Th rea drainedrelentles sl y on th eunfor tun at e vi cti m. Fear cr eat es fan ati cs an d th e Pern es e wer e no exc ep ti on . Onl yth edrago nm en cou l dsave Per n, an d th ei rpo si ti on in th e st ruc tu re of th epl ane t be ca me in vi ol able .
Man ki nd has ahist ory of forget ti ng th e un plea sant, th e un de si ra ble. By ig no ri ng i ts ex is ten ce , it ca nm ake
the sou rc eofpast Te rro rdi sappear . And the Red Star did no t pass cl ose enoughto Pern to dr op its Threa ds . The people pros pered andmultipl ied, sprea ding out acr os stherich land, car ving moreholds out of so lid roc k,andso busy with theirpurs uits , that they did no t rea li ze that ther ewe re only a few dr agons in the skies, and only one We yr of dragonri der s lefton Per n. In five gener ationsor so , the de sce ndants of the hero ic dragonm en fel l intodisfa vour. Thelege ndsof past braveries and the ver y re aso nforthei r ex istence fell into disr epute.
Wh en, in the course of natural for ce s, the Red Star began to spin clos er to Per n, wink ing with a baleful re d eye on itsinte nded, ancient vict im , one man, F’lar, ride rof the bronze dr agon, Mnem enth,believed that the ancient tales had tru th in them.Hi shalf-bro ther, F’nor, ride rof brown Canth,li ste ne dto hi s arguments and fo undbelief in them more exc iting than the dull ways of thelone Weyr of Pern . When the last golden eg g of a dying quee ndrago n lay harden ing on the Be nden We yr Hatch ingGr ound, F’lar and F’nor se ized this opportu ni ty to gain co ntr ol of theWe yr. Search ing throu gh Ruath a Holdfora str ongwoman to ride the soo n-to -be-h atc hedyoung quee n, F’lar and F’nor disc overe dLessa , the only su rvi ving mem ber of the proud Blood line of Ruatha Ho ld. Sheimpress ed young Ramot h, the ne wquee n, andbeca me Weyrwom an of Bende n Weyr. When F’lar’s bronze Mnementhflew the young quee nin her first mating, F’lar beca meWe yrlea der of Pe rn’s rem aining dragonmen .Thethre e ride rs, F’lar, Lessa and F’nor, fo rce d the Lord Ho lder s and Cra fts men to re cog ni ze their im minentdange randprepare the almos t de fence less pl anetagains tThrea d. But it wa sdist res singly obvious that the sc anttwo hundred dr agons of Be nden Weyr
co uldnotdefen d the spraw ling se ttlem en ts. Six full We yrs had beenne eded in the oldendays when the se ttled land hadbeen muc h sm aller. In learning to dire ct herquee ndragon be twe en one placeandanother, Less adisc ove red that dr agons cou ldte leport be tween timeas wel l.Risk ingherlife as wel l as Per n’s only quee ndragon, Less a and Ramothwent back in time, fou r hundre d Turn s, befor e the mys ter ious di sappearance of theot her five We yrs ,just after thelast Pas sof the Red Star had been com pl ete d.
The five We yrs ,seeingonly thedeclineoftheir prest ige and bored with inactivity after alifet im eof ex citing co mb at, agree dto help Lessa ’s We yr and cam e fo rwar dto her Turn.
Seven Tur ns have no w passed sinc ethat triumphant journ ey for war d, and the initial gr ati tude of theHo lds and Cr aftstotherescu ing OldtimeWeyr s has faded and sou re d. AndtheOldtimersthem sel ves do no t lik e the Per n in which they are no wli ving.Four hundre d Turns brought too many su btle changes ,anddiss ensionsmount.
Mor nin gat Mastercr afth all ,For tHold
Seve ral Aft ernoon sLater at Bend e n W ey r
Mi dmor nin g(T el gar Time) atM ast er sm ithc raf thal l, Te l gar Ho ld
Ho w to begin? muse dRobinton , the Masterharper of Per n.
He fro wned thou ghtfull ydo wn at the sm oo thed , moist sa nd in the sh allow tra ys of hiswo rkde sk . His long fac e set tled into de ep-groo ved lines and cre ase s, and hi s ey es, usu ally sn apping bl ue wi th inner amus emen t, we re gre y-shadowe dwith unus ualgr avi ty.
He fancied the san d begged to be violate dwith wor ds and no tes wh ilehe,Pern’srepos itory and glib dispen se rof any ball ad, sa ga or ditty,wasinar ticul ate .
Ye t he hadto co ns tru ct aball ad for the upco mi ng wed ding of Lord As ge narofLemosHo ld to the half-si ste rofLord Larad of Te lgar Ho ld.Be ca use of rec en trepor ts of unre st fro mhisne two rk of dr um mers and Harperjourneym en ,Robint on haddecide d to rem indtheguest s on this au sp iciousoc ca sion – for eve ry LordHo lder and Cr aftmast er wou ldbe invite d –of thede bt they ow ed the dr agonm en of Pern .As the su bject of hi s ballad, he had decide d to te ll of
the fantastic ride, be tw ee n timeitse lf, of Lessa , We yrwom an of Be nden We yr on hergr eat go ldenquee n, Ramoth. The Lords and Craft smen of Per n had been glad enough then for the arrival of dragonri de rs fro m the five ancient We yrs fro m fou r hundre d Turns in the past.
Yet how to re duce thos efascinating, franticdays, thos ebrave ries , to a rhym e? Even themost stirri ng chord scould no t re capture the beat of theblood , the cat ch of breat h, the chill of fea r and the hopeless su rge of hope of that first morningafter Thre ad had fallen over Nerat Hold; when F’lar had rallied all the frighte ne dLord s and Craftm ast ers at Bende nWe yr and enlist ed theiren thus iasti caid.
Robi nton looked up fro mthesandtrays, his ex pression su ddenly bleak.
‘The sa nd of mem ory dri es quickly,’ hesa id so ftly, lookingoutacros sthese ttled valley to war d the preci pice that hous ed Fo rt Ho ld. There was one wat chman on the fire ridge s. There ou ght to be six, but it was planting time; Lord Ho lder Gr ogh eofFor t Hold had ev ery one who co uldwalk upright in thefields , eve nthegangs of children whowere sup pose dto we ed spring grass fro m sto ne inte rst ices andpull mossfrom the wal ls. Last spring, Lord Gro gh ewould no t have ne glec ted that duty no matter how many drago nlengths of land he wan ted to putunde r see d.
Lord Gr ogh ewa sundo ub tedly out in the fields rightnow, prowl ingfrom one tract of land to another on oneof thos elong-legged ru nning beasts wh ich the Masterherdsm an Sograny was developing.Gr oghe of For t Ho ld was indefat igable, his slightlyprotrubera nt bl ue eye sne ve r missi ng an unpruned tre e or a badly harro wed row .He was a burly man, with gr izzled hair which he wor etied in ane at band. His com pl ex ionwas
florid, with a te mper to match.But, if he push ed his holder s, he pushed him se lf as wel l, de manding nothi ng of hi speople,hisch ildr en nor hi sfo ste rlings that he was no t ableto do him sel f. If he was cons erv ati ve in his thinking,it was because he kne w hi s own li mi tations and felt se cu re in that knowledge.
Robi nton pulled athislowe r lip,wonde ring if Lord Gro ghewa san exc eption in his disregard for this traditional Ho ld duty of rem oving all gre eneryne ar habi tations .Or wa s this Lord Gro ghe’s answe rto Fo rt We yr’s gr owi ng agitation over the im mens e fore st landsof Fo rt Ho ld which thedr agonr iders oughtto prote ct ? The We yrlea de rofFort We yr, T’ron, andhis We yrw oman,Mardra, had become less sc rup ulous aboutchec king to see that no Th rea d burrowshad es caped their wing ride rs to fal l on the lush for est s. Yet Lord Gr ogh ehadbeen sc rup ulous in the matter of gro undcrews and flame-throwi ng equi pm entwhen Threa dfell over his for est s. H ehada stableofrunners sprea doutthro ugh the Holdin an ef ficient ne two rk so that if dragonride rs wer e inco mpete nt in flight, there was adequate gr ound cover age for anyThrea d that mightel ude the flaming breat hof the airborne beasts .
But Robi nton had heard ugly rum ours of late, and no t just fro m For t Ho ld.Since heeventuallyhear d eve ry derog atory whisper and acc us ionuttered in Per n, he hadlear ne dto se parate fac t from spite, ca lumny fro m crime. Notbasicallyan alarm ist, becaus e he’d fou nd much sifte ditse lf outin the co urs eoftime, Robinton wa s begi nning to feel the st irrings of alarm in hi s sou l.
The Masterharper slum ped in hischair, st aring out on thebrightday, the fre sh ne w gre enof the fields , the yel low blos so ms on thefruit tre es, thene at stone Ho ldsthat li ne d the roa d up to the mainHo ld, the
clus ter of artisans’co tholds below the wide ram p up to the Gre at Oute rCo urt of For t Ho ld.
And if hissuspicions we re valid, what co uld he do? Write a sco ldingsong? Asa tire? Robi nton snorted . Lord Gr oghe was too litera l amanto inte rpret sat ire and to o righte ous to tak ea sco ld. Fu rther more ,and Robinton pushed hi mselfuprightonhis elbows, if Lord Gro ghewasne gl ect ful , it wa sin protestat We yr ne glec t of far greater magnitude. Robi nton sh udder ed to think of Threa d burro wing in thegreat st ands of so ftwo ods to theso uth .
He ough t to si ng hi sremonstr ances to Mardra and T’ron asWeyr leaders –butthat,too, wou ldbevai n effo rt. Mardra had sou re dlately. She oughttohave se nse enough to re tire gr ace ful ly to achair and let men se ekherfavours if T’ron no longer attracte dher. To hear the Holdgi rls tal k, T’ron was lus ty eno ugh. In fac t, T’ron had bett er res tra in himse lf. Lord Gr oghe didn’t tak e kindly toto omany ofhisch attels beari ng dragons eed .
Anot her imp ass e, thoughtRobinton with a wry sm ile. Ho ld cust omsdiffe redso fro m We yr morals. Maybe a wor d to F’l ar of Ben de n We yr? Use less , again. In the first placethere wa s rea llynothing the bronze rider co uld do . Weyrs wer e autonom ousand no t only cou ldT’ro n tak eum brage for any adviceF’lar mightse efit to of fer, butRobi ntonwassure that F’lar mightten d to take theLord Ho lders ’side .
Thiswasnotthe first timein rec entmonthsthat Robinton re gre tte dthat F’lar of Be nden We yr had beenso eager to re linq uish hi s leaders hi pafte r Lessa had gone back be tween to bring the five lostWe yrs for wardin time. For abrief few months then ,seven Turns ago, Pe rn had been united unde r F’lar and Less aagains t the ancient menace of Threa d. Every
Ho lder , Cr aftmast er, landsman,crafter , all had beenof one mind.That unity had diss ipated as the Oldtime Weyrlea de rs had rea sse rte dtheir traditional do minati on ove rtheHo lds boundto theirWe yr for prote ct ion, anda gratefulPern hadce de d them thos e rights . But in fourhundred Turn stheinterpret ation of that old heg emonyhadalter ed ,with ne itherpartysur e of thetransl ation.
Per haps now was thetime toremindLord Ho lders of those perilous dayssevenTurn s ago when all their hopeshung onfrag ile dragon wingsandthede dication of a sc anttwo hundre dmen.
We ll ,theHarper has aduty, too ,by the Egg, Robinton thought, ne edless ly sm oo thingthewetsa nd. And the ob ligation to broadca st it.
In twe lve days, Larad,Lord of Te lgar, was gi ving his half-si ste r, Fa mira, toAsgenar,Lord of Lemos Ho ld. The Masterharper had beenen joine dto appear with appropriatene wso ngs to en live nthefestivities. F’l ar and Lessa we re invitedasLemosHo ld wa sweyrbound to Be nden We yr. There ’d be ot hernotab lesam ong We yr, Lord and Cr aft tosignalize so auspiciousan oc cas ion.
‘And amongmy jo llysongs ,I’ll have st ron ge r meat.’
Ch uck ling to hi mselfat the prospect, Robinton pi cked up hi s sty lus.
‘I mus t have atender but intri cat e them eforLessa . She’s leg end alrea dy.’ Unco nsc ious ly the Harper sm iled as he pictu red thedainty, chil d-sized We yrwom an, with her white sk in, her cloud of dark hair, the flash of hergr ey ey es, hear d the ace rbity of hercleve r tongue. Nomanof Per n failed of re spec t for her, or bravedherdi spleasure ,with theexce ptionof F’lar.
Now awell-statedmartialthem e wo ulddofor Be nden’s We yrlea de r, with his keen am ber ey es, his
unco nsc ious superiori ty, theinte nse energ yof his lean fighte r’s fram e. Could he, Robi nto n, rou se F’l ar fro m his de tac hment? Or was heperhapsunne ce ssa rily wor ried aboutthese mi no rirritations betwe en Lord Ho lder andWe yrlea de r?
Now –a soli dbeat on thebiggest dr um for Fa ndare l, the Mas ter smith, with his endles s curiosi ty, the gr eat handswith their de licate skill,therangingmind in its ete rn al ques tforeffi ciency. So mehow one ex pect ed su ch an imm ense man to beas slow of wi tas he was de liberate of ph ysi cal movement.
Asadnote, wel lsustained,forLytol who had once ridden a Bende ndr agon and losthisLarthinan acc ident intheSpring Games – had it been fou rte en or fiftee nTurns ago?Lytol had left the Weyr – to be amongdragonfo lk only ex ac erbated hi s tremendo us loss –andtaken to thecraft of wea ving.He ’d been Cr afth all Master in the High Reac hes Ho ld when F’l ar had disc overedLess aon Se arc h. F’l ar hadappointe d Lytol to be Lord Warde rof RuathaHo ld when Less a had abdi cat ed her claimto the Ho ldto young Jaxom.
And how di d amansignify thedr agons of Per n?
No them e was gr and enoughforthose huge , winged beas ts, as ge ntle as they wer e gr eat,Impressed at Hatch ing by themenwhoro de them , flaming against Threa d, whotended them ,loved them , who wer e li nked, mindto mi nd, in an unbreak able bond that trans cen de dspee ch! (Whatwasthat rea ll ylike? Robinton won de red , rem em bering that his youthful ambitionhadbeen to be a dr agonm an.) Thedragons of Per nwhocould trans fer them se lves in so me myster ious fas hion be tw ee n one pl ace and another in the bl inkof an eye. Be twe en ev en one Timeandanother !
The Harper’s sigh ca me fro m his so ul but his hand moved to the sa nd and press ed outthe first no te ,wrote
the first wor d, wo nderi ng if he wouldfind some answe r hi mself in theso ng.
He had barely fill ed the co mpl ete d sc ore with clay to prese rve thetext, when he heard thefirst thro bof the drum.He st rod equickly tothesm all outer co urt of the Cr afthall,bendinghishead to ca tch the su mm ons; it wa shi ssequence all right, in ur genttem po.He co nce ntrat ed so clos ely on the dr um roll that hedi dnot rea li ze that eve ry other so und com mon to the Harper’s Hall had ce ase d.
‘Thread?’Hi sthro at dr iedinst antly. Robinton didn’t nee dto co ns ult the timet able to re alize that the Threa ds wer efalling on theshores of Tillek Hold premature ly.
Acros s the valley on Fo rt Ho ld’sramparts, the si ngle wat chman madehismonotonous rou nd, ob liviousto disa ste r.
There was a so ft spring warm th to the aftern oo nairas F’nor and his big, brown Canthemer ged fro m their wey r in Ben de nWe yr. F’nor yawne dslightly and str etc hed un tilhe heard his spinecrack .He ’d been on the we ste rn coa st all the previ ous day, Se arc hing for likely lads – and girls, sinc e ther ewa sa golden eg g harde ni ng on theBe nden We yr Hatching Gr ounds –for thene xt Impression.Benden We yr ce rta inly produce dmore dragons, and morequee ns , than the five Ol dti mers ’We yrs , F’nor thought.
‘Hungr y?’he as ked co urt eou sl y of hisdragon, glancing dow n the We yr Bowl to theFe edi ng Gro unds . No dr agons wer e dining and theherd beast s sto odin their fence d pastu re ,legs straddled , heads level with theirbony knee sas they drowsed in the su nlight.
Sle epy ,sa id Canth , although he hadslept as long and
de eply as his rider . The brown dragonproce eded to se ttlehimse lf on the su n-war med ledge, sighing as he sank do wn .
‘Sl oth ful wre tch ,’F’nor said, gri nning affe cti onate ly at hisbeas t.
The su n was ful lon the other side of theenormous mountain cup that for med thedragonm an’s habi tation on theeas te rn co ast of Pe rn. The cliffside was patte rn ed with the blac kmouths of theindi vidual dragonweyrs,starre dwhere su n flashed off micain the roc ks. Thewatersof the We yr’s spring-fed lake gliste ne daroundthetwogr ee ndragons bathing as theirride rs lounge don the gr ass ver ge .Be yond, in fro nt of thewe yrling barrac ks, young ride rs form ed a se mi circl earoundtheWe yrl ingm ast er.
F’nor’s gr in broadened .He str etc hed hi s leanbody indo lently, rem em bering hisow nwe ary hours insu ch asemicircle, tw ent y-odd Tur ns ago. The rot e lesson s whichhehadechoedas awe yrling hadfarmore significance to this prese nt gr oup of dr agonr iders . In hi s Turn ,theSilver Threa dof thos eteaching so ngs had not dro pp ed fro mtheRedStar for over four hundre d Turns .Theless ons these ladslear ne dwould save theirskins,thei r livesand, moreimp ort ant, their dragons .
Th e we yrling sar epr om is ing,Ca nth rem ark ed as he lock ed hiswings to hi sback andcurled his tail against hi s hind legs .He se ttl ed his gre at head to hi s fo releg s, the many-facet ed eye ne are st F’nor gl eam ing so ftlyon hi s rider .
Responding to the tacit plea, F’nor scr atc hed the ey e ridgeuntil Canth beganto hum so ftlywith plea su re.
‘Lazybone s!’
W hen I wo rk, I wor k,Canth rep lied . W ithou tmy he lp, how wouldyouknow whichhol dbr ed lad wo uldma ke a
good drago nride r? And doI n ot findgi rls who make goo d qu ee n rid er s, too ?
F’nor laughed indulgently, but it wa s tru e that Canth ’s abilityto spot likely candidate sforfighting dragons andbreed ing quee ns was much vaunted by Be nden We yr dr agonm en.
Then F’nor frow ne d, rem em bering the odd hosti lity of thesm all holde rs and cra fte rs he’d enco unter ed in South ern Boll’s Ho lds and Cra fts –until he’d identified himse lf as a Be nden We yr dragonride r. He ’d have thought it’d be theother wa y rou nd.Souther n Boll was wey rbound to Fo rt We yr. Tr adi tionally– and F’nor gri nned wry ly sinc e the Fo rt Weyrleader, T’ron, was soadamantin up holdingallthat was traditional, custo mary. . . and st atic – traditionally, the Weyr whichprotecte d aterritory had first claimon any poss ibleride rs. But the five OldtimeWeyr s rar ely so ught beyo nd theirownLowe r Caver ns for candi dates .Of co urs e, thou ghtF’nor,theOldtime quee ns didn’t produc elargeclutches like the mode rn quee ns , no r manygolde nquee neg gs . Co meto think on it,only three quee ns hadbeen Hatc hedinthe Ol dti me We yrs in the sev en Turn s sinc e Less a brought them for ward.
We ll ,letthe Oldtim er sstick to their ways if that madethem fee lsu perior.ButF’nor agreed with F’lar. It wa sonly com mon se nse to give your dragonets as wide achoice as possi ble. Though the wom en in the Lower Caver ns of Be nden We yr wer ece rtainly agreeable,there simply wer en ’t enough we yrbornlads to match upthequantity of dragons hatch ed.
Now,if one of theot her Weyrs, maybe G’narish of Igen We yr or R’m art of Te lgar We yr, wo uldthrow open theirjunior que ens ’ mating fli ghts, theOl dti mers mightnotice an im prove men tin size of clutch and the
dragons that hatc hed. A man was a foo lto breed only to hisownBl ood lines all the time.
The aftern oo nbree ze shifted and broughtwith it the pungent fum es of numb wee da-boil .F’nor gr oaned. He ’d forg ot ten that the wom en we re making numbwee dforsalve that wa s the univer sal rem edyforthe burn of Threa d and ot herpainful affl ictions. That had beenonemain re aso n for go ing on Se arc h ye ste rd ay.
The odourof numbweed was pervasive. Yesterday’s break fas t had tas te dmedicinalinstead ofcereal. Sinc e the preparation of numbwee dsa lve was a te dious as wel l as smelly process ,most drago nm en madethemse lves scarce during its manufactu re. F’nor glance d acr os stheWeyr Bo wl to the queen’sweyr. Ramot h, of co urs e, wa sin the Hatc hing Ground, hove ringover her lates t cl utchof egg s, but bronze Mne menth was abse nt fro m his acc us tom ed perc h on theledge. F’lar andhe wer e of f som ew he re,no do ubtescaping the smellof numbweed as wel las Less a’s uncer tai nte mper. She co nsc ientious ly took part in eventhemost onerous duties of Weyrwoman,butthat didn’t mean shehadto like them .
Numbwee dst ink notwithst anding, F’nor was hungry. Hehadn’t ea ten sinc elate afte rn oon yes terday, and, sinc ethere was a goodsixhour s’time diffe ren ce betwee nSo uth ern Bol l on theweste rn co ast and Be nden We yr in the ea st, he’d misse d the dinner hour at Ben de n Weyrco mp letel y.
Wi th aparting scr atch, F’nor to ld Canth that he’d ge t so mefo od, andstarted dow n the sto ne ram p fro m hi s ledge. One of theprivilege sof beingWi ng-se co nd was choice of quarters .Sinc e Ramot has sen ior quee n wou ldperm it only tw o junior quee ns inBe nden We yr, there we re tw o unocc up iedWe yrw om an quart ers . F’nor had appropriated one.
As he approachedtheentrance of theLower Caver ns , the aro maof boiling numbwee dmade his eye s smart. He ’d grabso me kla h,brea d and fru it and go listen to theWe yrlingmast er. They we re upwind.As Wing-sec ond, F’nor li ked to take eve ry opportunity to measur eup the ne w ride rs, parti cul arlythose wh o wer e no t wey rbred . Li fe in a We yr re quired ce rtai nadjus tmen ts for the cra ft and holdbre d. Thefreedom and privileg es som et im es we nt to a boy’s head, particu larly after he was able totake hi s dragon be tw ee n –anywh ere on Per n – in the spac e it tak es to co unt to thre e. Again, F’nor agreed with F’lar’s prefe ren ce in pres en ting olde rlads at Impres sion though theOl dti mers de plor ed that pract ice at Be nden We yr, to o.But, by theShell,a lad in hi s late tee ns re cog ni zed the res pons ib ility of his position (even if he wer e holdbre d) as a dr agonr ider . He was more emot ionallymature and, whilethere was no less eningof the impact of Impres sion with his dragon, hecould absor band unde rst and the imp lica tionsof ali felonglink, ofan in-the-soul co ntact ,thetotal empathy betwe en hi mself and his dr agon. An olde rboydi dn’t ge t ca rried aw ay. He kne w enoughto co mp ensat euntil his dragonet’s inst inct ive se ns ibility unfolde d. Ababy dragon had preci ous little se ns e and, if som esi llywe yrling lethis beas teat too much, the wholeWe yr suf fere dthrou gh its tor ment. Even an olde r beast lived fo r the hereand no w, with littlethoughtforthefutureandnotallthat much rec ollect ion – exce pt on theinst inct iveleve l –for the past. That was jus tas wel l,F’nor thought. For dragons borethebrunt of Thre ad-sc ore .Perh apsif theirmemor ies we re moreacute or ass oc iative, they’d baulk.
F’nor to ok a de epbreathand, blink ing fur ious ly against the fum es ,enter ed the huge kitchen Cavern.It
was seeth ingwith act ivity. Half thefe male population of theWe yr must be invol ved in thisopera tion, F’nor thought, for gr eat cauldro ns monopolized allthelarge hearths set intheoutside wal lof the Cave rn. Wo men wer e se ate datthe broad tables , was hing and cutti ng the roo ts fro mwhich the sa lvewasex tracte d. Som e wer e ladl ing the boil ing product into gre at earthen war e pots .Thos e who st irred theconcoction with longhandled paddles wo re masks ove r no se and mouth and bent freq ue ntl y to blot eye swatering from theacrid fum es .Older ch ildr en wer e fe tching and ca rry ing, fue lroc k fro m the st ore caves for thefires , pots to the co olingcaves . Everyone was busy .
Fo rtu natelyat the nighthearththehuge kl ah pot and ste w kettle were swinging fro m theirhooks over the co als. Jus tas F’nor hadfilled his cu p, he heard hi s nam e ca lled. Glancing around, he sa w his blood mother,Manora, beckonto him.He rusually serene fac e wor e alook of puzzled co nc ern .
Ob ed ientl yF’nor cr oss ed to the hearth where she, Less a, andanother young wo man who looked fam iliar though F’nor co uldn’t place her, wer e examining a sm allkett le.
‘M y duty to you, Less a, Manora— ’andhe paused, gro ping for thethird nam e.
‘You oughttoremem ber Bre kke, F’nor,’Less asa id, raisi ng hereyebrow s at his lapse.
‘How ca n you ex pect anyone to se ein aplac e de ns ewith fumes ?’ F’nor demanded, making much of blot ting his eye son hi s slee ve . ‘I haven’t se en muchof you, Bre kke, sinc eyouImpressed young Wire nth . ’
‘F ’nor, you’re as bad as F’lar,’Lessa ex claimed , so mewhat tes tily. ‘You ne verforge ta drago n’s nam e, but his ride r’s?’
‘How far es Wire nth , Bre kke?’F’nor as ked, igno ring Less a’s interru ption.
The gi rl looked sta rtled butmanage da hesi tant sm ile, then pointe dl y looked to war ds Manora ,tryi ng to turn attentionfrom herse lf.Shewa sa shadeto o thin for F’nor’s tas tes , no t muchtaller than Lessa whos edi minutivesi ze innowa yless ened the authority and re spect sheco mmanded .There was , howev er, a swe etne ss aboutBrekke’s so lemn fac e, unex pectedly fram ed with dark curlyhair, that F’nor did find appealing. And he liked her se lf-effac ingmodesty. He was wo nderi ng howshegotalong with Kyl ara,the tem pest uo us andirres pons iblese nior Weyrwoman at Souther n We yr, when Less atapped theemptypot befor eher.
‘Loo kat this,F’nor.Thelining has cr ack ed andthe entire ket tle ofnumbwee dsa lve is di sco lour ed .’
F’nor whistled appreciatively.
‘Would you know what it istheSmith us es to coat the metal?’Manoraask ed.‘I wo uldn’t dare us e tainted sal ve, and yet I hatetodisc ard so muchif there ’s no rea so n.’
F’nor tipped the pot totheligh t. The dulltanlini ng was seamedby fine cra cksalong oneside .
‘See what it do es to the sa lve?’ and Less athrus t a sm allbowl at him .
The anaes theti c ointmen t, no rmally a cre amy, pale yel low, had tur ne dareddish tan. Rather a threa ten ing co lour, F’nor thought. He sm elled it, dipped his finge r in andfelt the skin immedi ate ly de aden.
‘It wo rks,’he sa id with ashru g.
‘Yes ,butwhat wo uld happen to an open Threa d sc ore with that fore ignsubstance coo ked into the sal ve?’asked Manora.
‘Good point. Wh at do es F’lar sa y?’
‘Oh,him.’ Less asc rew ed her fine de li cat e fea tures into agr im ace .‘He’s off to Lemos Ho ld to se ehow that wo odcraftsmanof Lord As ge nar’s is do ingwith the wo odpulp leaves. ’
F’nor gr inned. ‘Never aroundwhen youwant him , huh,Lessa ?’
He r gr ey ey es snapp ing, she open ed hermouth for astinging rep ly,andthen rea lizedthat F’nor was tea sing.
‘You’re as bad as he is,’shesaid, grinning up at the tal l Wing-sec ond who re sembled her Weyrmateso clos ely. Though thest amp of their mutual sire was apparent inthethick shoc ks of blackhair, the str ong fea tur es , the lean rangy bod ies (F ’nor hadasquarer , broader fram e with no t eno ughflesh on hi s bone s so that he appeared unfinished), the two men wer e diffe ren t in te mp era mentandperso nality.F’nor was less intro spec tive and moreeasygoi ng than hishalfbroth er, F’lar, the elde rby thre eTurns. The We yrwoman som et im es fo undhers elftreating F’nor as if he wer e an ex tensi on of his half-brot her and, perhaps for this rea son , couldjoke and tease wi th him. She was not on easy te rms with manypeop le.
F’nor ret urned hersm ile and gave her a moc ki ng littlebowforthecompliment.
‘Well, I’ve no objections to runni ng yo ur er rand to the Mas ter smithhall.I’msu ppos ed to be Search ing and IcanSearchin Te lgar Ho ld as wel l as anywh ere else .R’mart’s no where ne ar as sticky assome of the other Ol dti me We yrl eaders .’He too kthepotoff the hook, peer inginto it once mor e, then glance d aro undthebusy roo m, shaking his head.‘I’ll tak e your pot to Fan darel but it looks to me as though you’ve alrea dy go ten ough numbweed toco at eve ry dragon in all six –ex cuse me – se ve nWe yrs .’He gr inne d at
Bre kke for the girl se emed curious ly ill at eas e. Less a co uldbe sn ap-tempere dwhen shewa spreo ccu pied.
Ramoth was fus sing over her late st clutch likea novice –which wou ldtend tomake Less amore irritab le. Str angefora junior Weyrw om an fro mSouther n We yr to be involved inanybrewing at Be nden.
‘A We yr can’t have to omuch numb wee d,’ Manora sai d briskly.
‘Thatisn’t the only pot that’s show ing cra cks, either, ’ Less acu tin,te sti ly.‘And ifwe ’ve go ttogather morenumbwee dto makeup what we’velost . .. ’
‘There’s the seco nd cro p at the South ern We yr,’ Bre kke su ggest ed,then looked flust ere dforspea king up.
But the lookLess aturned on Br ekkewasgrateful. ‘I’veno inte ntionof short ing you, Br ekke, when Souther n Weyr does the nursi ng of every fo ol who can’t do dgeThre ad.’
‘I’l ltake the pot. I’ll take the pot,’ F’nor cri ed with humoro us assur ance. ‘But first, I’vegottohave m ore in me than acupof kla h.’
Less a blinked at him, her glance going to theentrace and the late aftern oo nsu nslanting inon the floo r.
‘It’s only jus t pastnoon inTe lgar Ho ld,’ he sai d, patien tly. ‘Yes ter day IwasalldaySearchingat Souther n Boll so I’m hour s behi nd myse lf.’ He st ifled ayawn.
‘I’d forg ot ten. Any luc k?’
‘Canth didn’t twi tch an ear .Nowletme eat and ge t awayfrom the stink. Don’tknow howyoustand it.’XX
Less asn orted. ‘Beca use I ca n’t stand the gro ans when you ride rs do n’t have numbweed .’
F’nor grinned down at hi sWeyr wom an, aw are that Bre kke’s ey es wer e wide in amazement at theirgo od-
natur ed banter. He was sinc er elyfond ofLess a as a perso n, not just as Weyrw oman of Be nden’s senior quee n. He heartily approvedF’lar’s permanent attac hmen tof Less a, no tthat there se emed muchchance that Ramothwou ld ever perm it any dragonbut Mnementhto fly her. As Lessa wa sa superb We yrw oman for Be nden We yr, so F’lar was thelogical bronze ride r. They wer e we ll matchedas We yrwo man and We yrl eader, and Be nden We yr –andPe rn –profite d. So did the three Ho lds bound to Be nden for protect ion. Then F’nor rem embered the hostility of thepeop le at Souther nBo ll yester day untilthey learned that he was a Bende nride r. He st arted to men tion this to Less awhen Manora broke his trai nof thought.
‘I am ver y distu rbed by this di sco lour ation, F’nor,’ she sai d. ‘Her e. Show Mast ers mith Fan darel these , ’ and sh e put two sm all pots intothelarger ves sel. ‘He can se eexactly the change that occ ur s. Bre kke, wou ld you be kind eno ughto ser ve F’nor ?’
‘No ne ed,’ F’nor said hasti ly andbacked away, pot swi nging fro m his hand.He us ed to beanno yed that Manora,whowa sonly hismoth er, co uldneve r rid herse lf ofthenotion that he wa sincapable of do ing for hi mself. She was ce rtainly quick enough to makeher fos ter lingsfend for them sel ves , as his fos ter mother had madehi m.
‘Don’t dro pthepotwhen yougo be tw ee n,F’nor,’ was her partingadmonition.
F’nor chuc kl ed to himse lf.Once a mother , alwa ys a mother,he gues sed , for Lessa wasas brood yabout Fel ess an, the onl y chil dshe’d borne .Just aswe ll the We yrs practised fos ter ing. Fel es san – as likelyaladto Impres s abronze dr agonas F’nor hadseen inall hi s Turns at Se arc hing – got alongfarbetter with his
pl acidfostermother than he wo uld havewith Less a had she had the rea ring of him.
As he ladled outa bowl of st ew, F’nor wo ndere d at the perv ers ity of wo men. Girlswe re co ns tantly pl eading to come toBe nden We yr. They’d not be ex pecte d to bear child after ch ildtill they we re wor n out and ol d. Women in the Weyrsre mained active and appealing. Manorahadseen twicetheTurn s that, for inst ance, Lord Sifer of Bitr a’s late st wife had, yet Manora looked younge r. Well, a ride r prefe rre d to see k hi s own love s, no t have them fo isted on him .Th ere wer e enough spare wo men in theLower Caver ns right no w.
The kla h mightas we ll be medicine. He co uldn’t dri nk it. He quickly ate thest ew, trying no t to tas te hi s fo od. Per haps he cou ldpick so methingup at Smithcra fthallat Te lgar Ho ld.
‘Canth! Manora’s go tan erra nd for us ,’ hewarne d the brown dragon as he st rod efrom the Lowe rCaver n. He wo ndere dhowthewomen st ood the smel l.
Canthdid, too ,forthefumes had kepthimfrom napping on thewarm ledge.He was jus tas glad of an ex cu se to ge t aw ay fro m Be nden We yr.
F’nor broke out into the early morn ing sunsh ine above Tel gar Hold, then di rec ted brown Canth up the long val ley tothespraw li ng com pl ex of buil dings on the left of theFa lls.
Sun flash ed off the wat er wheel swhich we re tur ne d endles sly bythepowe rfu lwatersof the thre e-p ron ge d Fal lsandop era ted the for ge softhe Smithy.Judgi ng by thethin blac k smok efrom thest one buil dings, the sm elting and refi ning smithieswe re go ing at full cap aci ty.
As Canth sw oo ped lowe r, F’nor cou ldse ethe dist ant clouds of dust that meantanother oretrai n
co mi ng fro mthelast portage of Te lgar’s majo r river . Fan darel ’s no tion of putting wheel son the barge shad halved thetime it too kto ge t raw ore do wnr iver and acr os sland fro mthedeep mines of Cro mandTelgar to thecrafthalls throughout Per n.
Canthgave a bugle cry of gre et ingwhich was inst antly answe red by the two dragons, gr een and brown ,perc hedon asmall ledge abovethemain Cr afth all.
Beth and Seve nthfrom For t W ey r,C anth tol d his ride r, but the nam es we re no t fam il iar to F’nor.
Timewaswhen a man knew eve ry dragon and rider in Pern .
‘Are you jo ining them ?’he as ked thebi gbrown . Th ey ar etoge ther,Canth replied so pragmatica llythat F’nor chuc kledto hi msel f.
The gr een Bet h, then ,hadagree dto brown Seventh’s advances . Look ing at her brilliantcolour, F’nor thought theirride rs shou ldn’t have broughtthat pair away from thei r homeWe yr at this ph ase . As F’nor wat ched, the brown dr agonex tende dhiswing and co ver ed thegreenposs es sive ly.
F’nor st rok ed Canth’s do wn y nec k at the firstridge but the dr agondi dn’t see mto ne edanyconso lation. He ’d no lack of partner safter all,thoughtF’nor with littleco nc eit. Gre ens wou ld prefera brownwhowasas bi g as most bron zeson Per n.
Canthlanded and F’nor jum ped off quickly.The dust madeby his dragon’s wingsset uptw in whirls, throu gh which F’nor hadto wa lk .In the op en sh eds whichF’nor pass ed on hi s wa y to theCr afthall,men wer e busy at a number of tasks, mostof them fam iliar to thebrown ride r. Butatone shed he sto pp ed, tryi ng to fathom why the sw eating men we re winding aco il of met al throu gh aplate,until he realize d that the
material wa sex tru de das afine wire . He was about to as kques tions when he saw the su ll en, clos ed ex press ions of thecrafters.He no dded pl eas antly and co nti nued on hi swa y, uneas y at the indi ffer enc e– no, the dist ast e –exhibitedat his pres enc e. He was beg inning to wish that he hadn’t agree dto do Mano ra’s err and.
But Smithcra ftmas ter Fa ndare lwa stheobvious authority on whythebi gkett le had su ddenl y disco loure d the numbwee d. F’nor swu ng thekett le to makesu re thetwosa mp le pots wer e within, and gri nned at the sel f-consci ous ge st ure ;foran instanthe had aresurgenceof hi s boyhood apprehens ion of losing som et hing ent ru ste dto hi m.
The entran ce to themain Smithcra fthall was imposing: fo ur landbeast sco uld be dr iven abre ast throu gh that mas sive portal and no t scr apetheir side s. Did Per n breed Smithcraft mastersin proportionto that do or? F’nor wo ndere das its maw sw allowed him , for theimmens emeta l wingsstood wide .What had beentheorigi nal Smithy was now con ve rted to the arti ficer s’ us e. At lathes and ben ches, men wer e poli shing, en gr aving, adding the finalto uc hesto otherwise com pl ete dwo rk. Sunli ght str eam ed in fro m the windows set high in thebuilding’s wall,theeastern shutter s we re burnished with the morningsu nwhich ref lecte d also fro m the sa mples of wea ponr yand metalworkintheopen shelvesin the ce ntre of the bi g Hall.
At first, F’nor thought it was hi s entrance which had halted allactivity, but then he made outtwo drago nride rs whowe re menaci ng Te rry. Surpri sed as he was to fee lthetension intheHall,F’nor wa s more dist urb ed that Te rry was itsbrunt, for themanwas Fan darel ’s se con dandhismajo r innovator . Wi thout a
thought, F’nor st rod eac ros s the floo r, his boot heels str ik ing spark sfrom theflags tone.
‘And agood day to you, Te rry ,andyou, sirs ,’ F’nor sai d, sal uti ng thetw oride rs with airy amiability. ‘F’nor , Canth ’s rider , of Be nden .’
‘B’naj, Se venth’s ride r of For t,’ said the taller, greye r of thetworider s. Heob vious ly resente dtheinter ruption and kept sl apping an elabora tel y je welled belt knifeinto thepalm of his hand.
‘T’re b, Bet h’srider , also of Fo rt.Andif Canth ’s a bronze, wa rn himof fBe th.’
‘Canth’s no poacher,’ F’nor rep lied, gr inning outwar dlybutmarking T’re b for a ride rwhos e gre en’s am ou rs affe ct ed hisownte mper.
‘One ne verknow s just what is taught at Benden We yr,’T’re b sai d with thinly vei ledco ntempt.
‘M anner s, am ong ot herthings, when addre ssi ng Wing-sec onds,’F’nor rep lied, sti ll pleasant. But T’reb gave hi m asharp look, awareof asubtlediffer en ce in hi s manne r. ‘Good Mas ter Te rry, may I havea wor d with Fa ndare l?’
‘He’s in his st udy. .. ’
‘And you to ld us hewasno tabout,’T’re b interrup ted ,grabbing Te rry by thefront of his heavy wher-hi de apron .
F’nor reacted inst antly. Hisbrow n handsn apped aboutT’re b’s wr ist, hisfinge rs digging intothe ten do ns sopainfullythat the gre enride r’s handwas tem poraril ynumbed.
Releas ed, Ter rystoodback, his eye sblazing, hisjaw se t.
‘F ort We yr manner s leave much to be de sired , ’ F’nor said,histeeth showi ng ina smileas hard as the gri p with which heheld T’reb.Butnowtheot her Fo rt We yr ride rinte rve ne d.