Chap. 47 Place of Marvels

Chap. 47  Place of Marvels

K'ndar was spellbound. Landing wasn't just not quite what he had imagined, it was more than he could ever have imagined.

Rahman had introduced him to Shawn, a 'techician' who worked in 'administration.'

"I'll leave you in Shawn's capable hands, K'ndar, and Shawn, let me know if there's something he needs," the old man said.

"Yes, sir. Good to have you back," Shawn said. The elderly man walked away. 

"Does he live here?" K'ndar asked, feeling abandoned. 

"Off and on. He moves around, a lot. Whenever he can cadge a dragon ride, he does. He brings back reams of data. Too much, sometimes. Keeps the astronomers and the cartographers busy, he does."

'Reams of data" meant nothing to K'ndar, although the books he'd read mentioned data all the time. He was too shy, though, to ask what data WAS. Or how many was a ream.

"What is 'administration?" he asked. 

"Don't be too impressed, pun not intended," the young man said, "It's just a fancy word for working for the equivalent of the Weyrleader or the Headwoman. Landing is a strange beast, we're not a hold, nor a weyr and we're far more than 'just' a hall. We do a little of everything, except breed dragons. Yours, by the way, is a beauty, and where did you get that handsome fire lizard?"

"My brother, Sandriss," K'ndar said, hoping that Shawn would slow down his pace so that he could just gawk, "he's got a breeding pair, as does his business partner. They're traders. Well, they WERE, until Sand married and they had a baby."

"When did you Impress?"

"Just over a year ago, I graduated just before Turnover."

"I'm weyr bred, like you, but I never had any desire to be a dragon rider. Too scary, honestly."

K'ndar shook his head. "I’m not weyrbred, I was raised on a cothold on the steppe. What Weyr?"

"Benden, " Shawn said, immediately impressing K'ndar. It was the Pern equivalent of royalty. "But then I fostered at Ruatha. I was twelve when they found Aivas , and I was brought here because I had 'aptitude', so I've spent more time here than at either of them."

"Have you met…um.."

"Lord Jaxom? Of course. He and Ruth used to come here often, in fact that's how I got to be here. But now he's fairly tied up with being a Lord. And yes, Lessa and F'lar. But I was just a kid, didn't have much to do with any of them. Here we are, come on in."

Shawn stood in front of a low, convex roofed building and waved a hand at what appeared to be a solid wall.

An opening appeared with the whoosh of a panel sliding sideways. 

K'ndar stopped, transfixed. Shawn looked back at him, expectantly.

"Um, do you mind," K'ndar asked, "if we go a bit slower? I've never seen anything like this. How does this..this opening just open?"

Shawn laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm so used to it that I forget that a lot of you kids have never seen anything like Landing."

K'ndar felt a mix of emotions. He felt embarrassed at appearing to be an ignorant, naïve yokel,  and bridled at being thought of as 'just a kid'. It didn't feel as if Shawn was intentionally being condescending, but he still resented it. He just wanted to just stand and stare and absorb, and to ask a hundred questions. He felt as if he were being rushed, and he'd only been here a very little while.

"I've never seen anything like this. It's not at all what I expected. I read "The Aivas Report" but it didn't say anything about this…door?"

Shawn nodded.  "Yeah, again, I'm sorry, I'm rushing you, I guess. I haven't led too many tours, just yet, and you are probably the first dragonrider I've met that actually read the report. So, I'll slow down, take you around, and ask whatever questions might hit you. Some things I just don't know, like how the door works!"

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He lay in the bunk he'd been assigned. It was cool inside the room despite it being windowless. The walls were of something that wasn't rock, or wood, or any substance he had ever seen. 

Virtually all the buildings were the same size and shape, other than a tall, three story building, the purpose of which he knew nothing. It drew dragons like a magnet but the Landing staff insisted that dragons were not allowed  on it. 

His mind whirled with the things he'd seen.

 It was all too much, too complex. He'd been shown a  printing press, clanking and whirring, attended by a handful of people. They fed it paper and it spit out printed text. But it made such a loud noise he had to cover his ears. 

There were 'computers', with a dozen or more people sitting in front of lighted boxes. Letters appeared on the front of the box. That, he was told, was 'data'. But how could Rahman bring back reams of it if the letters weren't something one could hold, or carry? 

He'd seen classrooms, filled with people his age, and younger, and older, learning from an instructor. 

A team of men and women were in a smithy, creating a 'machine' that they claimed would halve the amount of time it took to cut a hayfield as long as you had several good draft horses to pull it.  They also were creating a machine that would pick up the hay and turn it into 'bales'. Having cut hay, turned, stacked and stored it in a barn for most of his childhood, he could appreciate the usefulness of the thing. 

He was rushed past the library, probably the one place he knew something about and wanted, desperately, to spend time in. "Maybe tomorrow, we'll have time," Shawn had said, more interested in showing K'ndar another amazing thing.

He felt…stupid. He felt as if somehow, he'd been cheated of something, but he couldn't put a name to it. The people here were unlike anyone he'd ever met, almost as if they were from another world. Maybe they were like the original settlers, from earth. 

The formal education he'd received had been enough to teach him to read and write, do math, understand physics, and appreciate biology, but it had been in a world where light came from glows or candles, and one wrote on slates or hides.  The room he was in had light emanating from some source he could not see. One waved a hand, or even, in some cases, said the world 'on' or 'off' and the light came on or went off as ordered. In fact, he'd played with that feature for at least five minutes, just amazed.  The writing materials he'd seen were paper and pens, or the lighted boxes where there was nothing at all to write ON, but still, the front of it had letters that appeared as if from the air itself. 

Where did the light come from? How was it that the air outside was hot and muggy, and yet here in this room, without a window, was cool and dry? 

He felt small. He felt insignificant. He felt…claustrophobic. 

Are you afraid?

He felt a surge of emotion for Raventh.

Yes. There is nothing to fear here but yes, I am afraid. I feel small. Like I just hatched.  Is Siskin with you?

He is now. There are lots of fire lizards here, he's been playing with them. He likes the greens. They like him even better.

K'ndar laughed. But then the flood of insecurity and low esteem returned, flooding his soul with despair. 

I am so stupid, he thought. No brighter than a wherry. These people are my superiors. 

Don't be silly. You are a dragon rider. MY dragon rider, and I am Raventh, the best brown ever.

Yes,  but…these people are not and they aren't like anyone I've ever met. I'm…lonely. Like I'm not even like them.

With a burst of clarity, he suddenly understood the Abominators, the people…like Jenmay, the Oldtimer, who violently resisted and  hated anything Aivas had ever introduced to Pern. They were still wrong, in his opinion, but he now could understand why they felt such antipathy towards 'modern' ways. They were afraid, like him. Because they did not understand any of it.

Come out. Come be with me. It's a warm night. I have a comfortable place to sleep. You can sleep with me and Siskin. Siskin will protect you from the little night creatures. He eats them. I will protect you from the big ones. 

That was the best thing he'd heard all day. He got up off the bunk, waved a hand at the wall. It obediently opened up, he found his way outside, and headed for his dragon.

He curled up between Raventh's strong forelegs, the dragon's head blotting out the night sky.  His back against Raventh's warm, broad chest allowed him to feel the brown's strong, slow heartbeat. Siskin chittered sleepily as he stretched out beside him. 

Raventh curled his neck around K'ndar, cradling him. 

You are mine. And I am yours. We love each other.

He looked at the familiar stars wheeling overhead, and slept.

Chap. 46 The Winged Taxi

Chap. 46  The Winged Taxi

"Before I forget, sir, " K'ndar said to Rahman, the astronomer, "I'd like to thank you for sending the books to me. I've just finished them and by the egg, I've learned so much. I would like more, please, if that's possible."

The old man smiled.

"Oh, it's possible, my lad, no doubt. I'd be glad to lend you some more, on whatever subject we have in Landing's library. Rendel did explain what a library is, did he not?"

K'ndar busied himself with making last minute adjustments to the man's riding straps.

"He did, sir. I was disappointed, at first, that I wasn't going to be able to keep them, but now I understand. It's a good idea, a library. I hope the Weyr gets more books. A LOT more."

"They're printing more books as we speak. Aivas might be dead, but we still have access to his data, and it's being published as fast as the printers can set type."

That was a bit above K'ndar's understanding, but, he had a feeling he'd soon learn. He felt a bit of embarrassment at what felt like special treatment. 

"Why me, sir? There are plenty of more experienced riders here who could take you to Landing."

"My dear K'ndar, there is a method to my madness. You indicated a desire to read, to learn, to open your mind. Not to denigrate dragonriders, but only the youngsters like yourself seem willing to do so. I would like to see you go further in your learning, especially once thread stops falling. It's why I asked for you to transport me. I would even like-although I don't know if your Weyrleader would approve it, for you to be my permanent transporter."

"Permanent? Like I take you all over Pern?"

"All over Pern. Well, at least all over Southern, but I do make it up north several times a year. Would you like that?"

K'ndar thought about it. The concept was attractive, no doubt. Not having to fight Thread? Going everywhere on Pern? He'd always had wanderlust in his soul. But friendships he'd established with his team mates, his sister Glyena, and loyalty to his wingleader interfered. The loner in his soul, and the dragonrider in his mind, warred.

"I don't know how that would affect the wing, sir," he said, more out of duty than conviction.

"I will let you think about it, then. The offer stands whenever you choose. I admit the thought just hit me, so I would have to speak with the Weyrleader first. As you might guess, he might not approve. So don't get your hopes set too high, just yet."

"I won't, but I must admit I like the idea."

"Did you read the book about Aivas?"

"I DID. I found it…fascinating."

"Well, keep the map of Landing in your mind. You will need it. I don't mean to sound condescending, but Landing, for a lad like you who has never been anywhere but your hold or the weyr is awe inspiring. It's complex, and even frightening, to some. Once we get there, I will hand you over to one of the folks living and working there. He or she will escort you around and answer any questions you will undoubtedly have. If you get lost, just ask to be shown to my quarters. I told the Weyrleader you may have to stay a few days. Are you prepared for that?"

"He was willing to release me?"

"Aye. Said there was nothing on the schedule for sweeps or fighting thread for at least a seven….a week." 

He thought about it for a few moments. "I would need to take some oil for Raventh."

"Everything one needs for caring for a dragon is already at Landing, to include herdbeasts and oil. And, of course, you can always come back here to pick up what you might need."

"Duh. You're right. Then, sir, I would say that yes, I'm prepared for a few nights at Landing."

He mounted Raventh and summoned Siskin. The fire lizard wrapped himself around K'ndar's neck.

"Before we go, sir…who is McDuff?"

Rahman laughed.

Chap. 45 Siskin's first ride

Chap. 45 Siskin's first ride

Siskin, his young blue fire lizard, suddenly appeared, chittering in agitation. His eyes rolled an aggravated orange. He flew right in Raventh's face, for all the world sounding as if he were scolding. Then he settled between Raventh's wings, muttering. 

What's wrong with him?

I was 'gone'. He was afraid.  He was asleep when we left. I had to think about fighting Thread so I couldn't tell him we would be back. He is still a baby. He will learn.

You can probably reassure him better than I can. 

He is better now. He was angry with me but now he's happy.

Raventh had bathed in the dragon lake and K'ndar was oiling him. He had it down to a science now, and found that oiling took much less time. He remembered the first time, back when Raventh was still a small dragon, he'd taken hours to oil the brown and still managed to get more oil on himself than on the dragon.

I wonder if we should leave him here while we're on missions, or take him with us.

I'll ask him.

Do you think he'll understand?

He's still young. And he doesn't 'think'. He feels. But I'll try it.

Raventh was quiet for a while. Then he laughed.

He wants a full stomach. Right now.

K'ndar laughed, too.

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D'mitran, K'ndar's wingleader, came up to him as K'ndar cleaned up a sated Siskin.  Sometimes it seemed there was more meat on the lizard than in him. But then, even the bigger dragons weren't known for being neat eaters.

"I know we just finished a threadfall, but I have a request for your service as transport," he said.

"Me?"

"Rahman, the starsmith, asked for you specifically."

"Oh, yes, of course, that is, if Raventh is up to it."

Does it mean going someplace?

Yes

I can do it, it's not hard. Just between?

"Just a between? Raventh wants to know," he said.

"Well, two..one there and one back," D'mitran said. "He's here, he was 'taking readings' while we were fighting thread, and wants to go back. Honestly, if you get there and feel tired, spend the night. There's plenty of room and the food's good, and I'd rather you be rested than risk going between when you're both tired."

"Certainly. When? Now?"

"Get something to eat, and go. If you need the coordinates I can get them for you, but I bet my boots you have them memorized. B'rant's too good a Weyrlingmaster to not have taught you."

"One of the first things I learned is that a dragonrider needs a good memory," K'ndar said.

"Aye, that's a sure one."

"Where am I taking him?"

"Landing." D'mitran said, grinning. 

"OH WOW. YES! I've wanted to see Landing for a LONG time, yes."

Let's take Siskin. He may as well learn as much as he can.

That's a great idea!

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He made sure that Rahman was securely strapped in. Then he mounted Raventh and 'called' for Siskin.

The blue arrived, excited. He perched on K'ndar's shoulder.

Let him know we are going to go between, and to stay with us.

I did. I am visualizing Landing's dragonstones. Also, ours, just in case.

Smart dragon. Smarter than me!

He was a bit worried, wondering how other fire lizard owners moved around with their lizards. He'd never heard of one getting lost. But you never knew.

He is familiar with Landing

?

All fire lizards seem to have the same memories, of all of Pern locations. I don't know how they do that. They have to learn new ones, though

"Ready, sir?" he asked, knowing the answer would be:

"Lead on, McDuff," Rahman answered.

Someday, he vowed, he'd learn what that meant.

Chap. 44 After Action meeting

Chap. 44  After Action meeting

"I know it's not our normal meeting spot, but it's a lovely day and we can let our dragons play in the lake while we talk," D'nis said.

The weyr had flown against Thread earlier that day. 

His wingleaders, wingseconds and B'rant, the Weyrlingmaster, were lounging on the grass, as well. They all thought it was a much better place to meet than inside the office.

After action conferences weren't obligated to being held indoors.

The usual dissections of the wing's performance, and individual actions fighting Thread were discussed.

"I am very pleased that today we had no injuries," D'nis said, "and normally I'd say dismissed. But I want to discuss with you all the concern I have, as does Danelle, that Elanath shows no signs of an impending mating flight or laying a clutch. She's due."

The others nodded. They knew that there were three other golds, but none of them were old enough to breed, not just yet.

"The healers have checked her over several times, and Elanath says she feels 'fine'. In fact, she's concerned about Danelle, as well. As you undoubtedly have heard, she's not doing well. The healers have checked her and on the surface, can't find anything wrong."

"Like dragon, like rider," said M'ran.

"No, it's like rider, like dragon," argued another, a fainthearted attempt to lighten the mood. It fell flat. They were all worried.

"She's only 22," D'mitran said of the weyr's queen. "Maybe she just needs time to ramp up. After all, she's only had three clutches total."

"But only last year's had any golds at all," said another.

"I know. Maybe in her case it's not so much…well, what do I know, I'm no healer. Maybe Elanath is unhappy that there were no golds in her last clutch.  I think she's..ashamed? But she shouldn't be, she has no more control over it than any human has of choosing the sex of a baby."

"Sir, begging your pardon, not to dredge up old business, and maybe it's connected,  but I'm a bit concerned on how Danelle did fighting Thread this morning. I certainly don't intend to step on any toes here, but it seemed to me as if she was…." one of the wingseconds hesitated.

"Out of sync? I know. I saw it, too. It was just once or twice, but…" D'nis said, feeling as if he was betraying his Weyrwoman. But this was the sort of interaction and observations that characterized every after action conference. A gold rider was just as subject to accidents as a Weyrling, but with far more disastrous consequences. Recriminations served no purpose, so everyone was able to make observations of anyone else, regardless of rank. Better to prevent an accident than deal with the consequences after one.

He shook his head, sick with worry. While she didn't complain, he'd been aware that Danelle hadn't been feeling well for some time. She wasn't pregnant. Of that, he was quite sure. Like most weyrwomen, after impressing a gold, she'd devoted her life to duty rather than childbearing.

"She'd never take being confined to Weyr during threadfall, especially without a definite reason," D'nis said, "nor, for that matter, would Elanath. But we've done it many times to a green dragon or a brown rider when it was obvious they were ill. We've even confined a Weyrleader." He remembered being confined to weyr the year before, due to an ear infection that affected his balance. He'd felt ashamed even though it was the best thing to do.

His staff nodded. They appreciated his courage to even point out his own failings.

"Would we have to call Jianath out in case Danelle had to be confined? She does have the experience of leading the Queen's wing."

"From over 400 years ago, and even then, I bet she'd not led a wing more than once or twice," said M'ran.

"I think I'd sooner just order the junior golds stay home than let Jianath lead them. It's not the dragon, it's her rider. I don't think Jenmay is ….competent."

"She's a bloody hag, she is," someone said, under his breath but still audible.

"I've seen Jenmay going in and out of Danelle's office a lot, lately," M'ran continued.

He shivered. Jenmay, the Oldtimer, was disliked by most of the weyr for her stodgy, old fashioned ways, her sniping, and quickness to point out the "moderns' errors.

"Jenmay's been discussing herbs with Danelle and the healers, both for her as well as for Elanath. She continued to be an herbalist even after she impressed Jianath," D'nis said, shivering, too. Jenmay was cantankerous at best and hideous at worst.

"She knows her stuff, I'll give you that. The healers told me that the herb she advised did a great job in clearing up a nasty skin condition one of the kids had, just with a few applications. None of our healers had ever heard of it."

"Wasn't that the time she and Jianath went North to harvest some plant that doesn't grow down here?"

"Which time was that? She goes off on her own a lot. She is retired, after all."

"I don't know. I know next to nothing about medicinal herbs. I can slather on numbweed, that's about it," D'nis said. The others laughed.

"She insists on going alone, although I've asked her to take some weyrlings to help her harvest as much as possible so that we could find out if we could grow it here." He shook his head, remembering the confrontation.

"She said the herbs were in a secret spot, known only to her and she wasn't about to share it with us "moderns". We've "grown soft..and stupid…over the years."

"And this is her way of punishing us for it," someone said.

"Sounds to me as if she might be doing a little…trespassing? on someone's Hold," M'ran said

"Hmmm. Didn't think of that. I hope you're wrong, it wouldn't do to have any Hold angry with us, North OR South."

"Next time, let's have Corvuth ask Jianath where they went."

"What a pain in the back end she is. What did we do to deserve HER?" someone groused.

"Aye, I hear you, but..she's here. We dragonriders take care of our own, no matter if they're worthy of the care or not. Just think of when WE'RE old." D'nis said, "She's taught our healers-both animal and human, a lot. In one small way, she is right. So much information was lost in that 400 year interval. It's almost as if she was a human Aivas, in a way," he said.

"For Pern's sakes, don't say that to Jenmay. She's death on Aivas. Won't allow a word about it. Insists we use old fashioned terms like 'runnerbeast' instead of "horse', solely because Aivas taught us the new words," B'rant said. He idly picked up a rock from between his feet and tossed it into the lake, just to hear it plunk.

"I can't tell you how many times my weyrlings complained about her forbidding any mention of Aivas, and when an entire class of Weyrlings complain about the same thing, something is wrong," he added.

"Yet, she wears the glasses that Aivas taught the glass smiths how to make," M'ran said.

"Aye, funny how she thinks no one notices."

D"nis nodded, having heard it many times, himself. He loathed Jenmay. She was meddlesome and mean tempered. Was that from coming forward at an advanced age? No, he knew it was because she wasn't Weyrwoman. When she'd first arrived at the weyr-some would say, from banishment-she'd insisted on hovering over Danelle, constantly criticizing her decisions, and interfering with the staff. It seemed to many that she wanted to displace Danelle, but her gold, Jianath, was aged and hadn't bred in years.

Jenmay's meddling had slowed after Danelle had threatened to send her back to Telgar, from where she'd fled after having a fight with the Weyrwoman there.  Now Jenmay was dispensing advice on herbs instead of leadership.  How in the world Danelle put up with her, he didn't know.

In a small part of his mind, he was glad he didn't have to. Not fair to his Weyrwoman but then, sometimes, "life is unfair", as his dad used to say.

I think we're done now Corvuth said, trudging out of the lake. He shook his wings, sending water everywhere.

He was followed by the other dragons. The hot sun would soon dry them off.

D'nis got up and reached for his bucket of oil.

"Well, gentlemen, I believe we have dragons to oil."