DRAGONRISE
CHAPTER 1: THE EXPEDITION
3.20.507 After Thread.
Today was the day.
I'd been waiting my whole life for this. Five turns ago, when I first got my knots at only sixteen, I never would've guessed that I would be the one that Masterharper Jurian would pick me for the expedition. I had been one of Jurian's apprentices, handpicked by him after growing up in the Harper Hall. I'd been trained specifically as a spy—to travel Pern, seeking hidden knowledge and lost information regarding the dragonriders of old, to the point that my code name was Rider.
Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. This expedition had everything to do with dragonriders.
I was in my room, making one final check on my gear. I would be gone indefinitely, so I had all of my clothes packed in my suitcase, along with as many toiletries I could stuff into a duffel bag. I didn't have many personal belongings due to my constant travels—just enough clothes to fit in a single suitcase, the metal flute I had made a few years back, a rapier I'd been gifted by a Smithcrafter, and a pistol I'd been issued as soon as I gained my knots. My gun and its ammo were tucked away in the duffel bag. I usually kept it hidden; Harpers usually weren't issued weapons. The rapier was fine, since it was a gift, and it was so obsolete in this day and age that I'd probably never use it.
But after going over everything one last time, I clasped the suitcase shut and zipped up the duffle bag. I took the rapier, still sheathed, and tied the sheath to my belt. I was dressed for travel, wearing a purple button-up shirt over a black cami, jeans, and brown leather hiking boots. It was almost spring, but that was a good a time as any to wear warm, fuzzy socks, too. I grabbed my fleece-lined jacket and shrugged it on.
Tiara, my firelizard, on the other hand, was not too keen on leaving. I'd had her as long as I could remember. She was fairly large for a queen, with gold and cream mottled over her hide. She also was kind of fat from constantly begging for scraps the cooks caving a feeding her. Hopefully this expedition would help her lose some weight. I was beginning to question how she could even stay aloft.
The not so little queen let out a dejected croon as she glided over to land on my shoulders, wrapping herself around my neck, sharing images of us curling up in bed together, enveloped by warm blankets. I couldn't help but laugh.
"Sorry, Tiara, but we have work to do," I said.
There was a knock on my door. Frowning, I turned around and went to open it. My eyes widened when I saw who it was. "Masterharper!"
Masterharper Jurian had reached his elderly years. I wasn't sure how old he was exactly, but he had aged considerably over the past few years. Only wisps of white hair remained on his bald head, but he wore a full beard, white as snow. His skin was weathered from years of serving the Harper Hall, but his brown eyes were warm and wise. He wore the usual dressed shirt, tie, sweater vest, and slacks. Pern may be constantly changing, but Jurian remained the same.
"Arya," he greeted me, giving a gentle smile. As fatherly as Jurian could be, don't let that fool you. The man had become Masterharper for a reason. "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."
"No, no, it's fine!" I smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head. "I just didn't expect you to stop by."
"There are a few things I still must tell you about this expedition," Jurian said, getting straight to the point. "Things you need to known as Rider, and not Journeywoman Harper."
My surprise immediately faded away. I nodded. "Of course, sir."
The Masterharper did not begin immediately. Instead, he stepped further inside, looking around the room I'd had since my graduation. Photographs and paintings alike hung on the otherwise barren stone walls, collected as souvenirs from my various jobs. I'd been all over Pern—from Tillek to Nerat. I'd even been to the South on a couple of occasions. Landing was beautiful. I had an entire bulletin board tacked with sketches of what I believed dragons looked like, from my Harper education and other knowledge I'd learned from my work. I'd also tacked notes from my research on the dragons. Anyone else who saw this would probably call be crazy.
"This expedition is not like any other archaeological digs I have sent you on," Jurian said, turning around to face me. He clasped his hands together behind his back. "Before, you were searching for archaeological evidence to catalog and send to our museum. The task before you now is much greater than that."
I frowned. "Has something happened, sir?"
"I was contacted by Katarina, Mastercomputerer, in Landing," Jurian answered. "They recently finished developing a technology to seek out technological signals. It originally was meant to see if we could find life beyond Pern, but… they discovered something after scanning our planet."
My eyes widened. "What did they find?"
"There was a ping—a small, but present signal—in the ruins of Fort Weyr." The Masterharper met my gaze. "They ran the program several times to ensure it wasn't a glitch. But it persisted the entire time. It is extremely advanced technology, far more advanced than anything we can produce. But if our forefathers were barely out of a dark age after they defeated Thread, how could they have possibly created such a thing, even with the aid of AIVAS?"
"...You want me to investigate this," I said.
He nodded. "What you find must not reach any other ears besides my own. If this is connected to dragons, Fort, nor any of the other countries, will want the knowledge to leak. They all seem very keen to dismiss the existence of dragons and Thread, despite the confirmation that the Red Star does exist, even if it does not appear in our skies any longer."
"You have my word," I said. "I will see the mission through, as always."
"Good." Jurian smiled for a brief moment, before it faded back to seriousness. "As for the expedition itself—Fort has finally come to a decision on what aid it will provide. They will provide vehicles to get you as close to Fort Weyr as possible, until you and your team will switch to horses and ride the remainder of the way."
"Team?" My eyes widened with excitement. "I actually get a team?!"
The Masterharper sighed. "Don't waste your excitement. As Fort sees this as a waste of time and resources, they had decided to provide you with a 'team' full of troubled youth. This will count towards their sentences of community service."
"What?" I narrowed my eyes. "Are you serious? They're sending me delinquents? They're never going to want to work."
"I imagine is precisely why Fort made the decision."
"Ugh!" I ran a hand through my bangs. "Great, just… great."
"We are still sending you aid," Jurian said wryly. "The Harper Hall will be sending food and other necessary supplies. Also, the Healer Hall has chosen to send one of their apprentices along for first aid, and the Wherhandler Hall has sent a handler to serve as your guard."
I sighed. "Thank you, sir… At least the Craft Halls look after each other."
"That is all," Jurian said, as he turned to go. "Be careful, Arya. Fort may have been the last Weyr to be abandoned, but that doesn't mean it's any less unstable."
He left then, before I could thank him again. The door clicked shut behind him. I let out another sigh, looking at my bedroom before me. I wondered how long it would be before I got to sleep in my own bed again. Well, it didn't really matter. Adventure awaited. I couldn't let the circumstances weigh me down.
Tiara chirped, reaching up to nudge my cheek with her nose. That got me to smile. I reached up to scratch her behind her headknobs.
Everything would be okay. I'd find out where that signal came from, and maybe make some more archaeological discoveries. If I had to do it all myself… so be it.
I brought my gear down to the courtyard, where a brigade of cars awaited. My bags were taken from me to be packed away. I noticed a large trailer hooked up to the back of a truck. The door on the driver's side was open, as was the back of the trailer. A woman stood at the very back of the trailer, tending to something inside. I wondered if that was where the wher was.
I had seen whers before, but never had been allowed to get up close. If this was the wherhandler, I wondered if she'd let me say hi. Well, I should probably introduce myself to those I'd be working with anyway.
"Well, here goes nothing," I said to Tiara.
I walked on over to the trailer. "Excuse me!"
The woman gave one final pat to whatever was inside, before stepping down from the trailer. She was tall and broad-shouldered, built sturdy and muscular. She definitely looked like someone trained to be a bodyguard—like she was tough and no nonsense. She had poofy, cloudlike dark brown hair pulled back in a neat bun, brown skin, and dark brown eyes. A single beauty mark sat at the corner of her plump lips. She wore a black suit with a white blouse, a pair of sunglasses tucked into her blazer pocket. She even wore a shoulder gun holster underneath her blazer.
She raised an eyebrow. "You must be Miss Drake."
"Yes, that would be me! Journeywoman Harper Arya Drake, at your service," I greeted her cheerfully, holding out my hand.
The woman eyed me skeptically, before accepting my hand and giving me a firm shake. "Imani Jernigan, wherhandler of Brown Imansk."
"It's nice to meet you," I said, giving a smile. "Could I perhaps meet Imansk as well? Whers are such beautiful creatures."
Imani snorted. "It's not every day I hear that come out of somebody's mouth. But sure, I guess. He's gonna be helping guard you." She stepped to the side and gestured for me to come closer.
I immediately shuffled over. The trailer was very dim, with the windows covered up with blackout cloth. The other light came through the open door. But all I could see was the heavyset dragonkin standing right in front of me. He wasn't incredibly tall, but he was robust, with shorter legs and a smaller and slightly stunted pair of wings. But his eyes were hidden by a pair of black goggles. Right, whers were normally nocturnal creatures and sunlight hurt their eyes!
"This is Imansk," she said. "Don't let him fool you, he's a big ol' puppy when it comes down to it. He takes his job very seriously, though. You couldn't find a finer wher for the job."
"Can he see?" I asked, genuinely curious.
Imani nodded. "Those are night vision goggles. Practically all whers wear 'em these days. Otherwise work for us would be very limited."
Imansk reached out, sniffing at my hand. It was hard to read his expression, due to the goggles hiding his eyes. I couldn't see what color his eyes whirled to know how he was feeling. But he didn't try to bite my hand off, so I think that was a good sign.
The wher snorted, before rumbling, turning his massive frame around, and plodding back to plop down onto the cushions in the back of the trailer.
"He thinks you're all right," Imani said with mild amusement. "Could've had a worse reaction."
"I'll be sure to win him over," I said, now determined to befriend that wher.
Imani stepped forward, so I shifted back, giving her space as she closed up the trailer. "Well, if you'll excuse me, Miss Drake, I have some rounds to make. It was nice meeting you."
"Oh, goodbye-"
And she was gone, leaving to probably get reports from the drivers. I watched her walk away.
"Pretty, but all business," I muttered, looking down at the firelizard lounging on my shoulders. "To be fair, Harpers tend to have a… reputation." I made a face. "I'm not like that, am I, Tiara?"
The gold looked at me and blinked.
"Okay, so the last time I went on a date, I had to wheedle information out of an eccentric scientist who did experiments on firelizards." I crossed my arms over my chest. "He was kind of cute, but it was work. I don't have time to flirt with every pretty face I see like some Harpers."
I didn't actually hold any of my fellow Harpers with contempt. Sometimes, I just… felt jealous of how simple their jobs were. Thanks to technology, Harpers no longer had to travel all across Pern to spread news. These days, we had telephones and the internet. So a lot of Harpers these days became Harpers simply to perform—to make music.
As a kid, despite being super shy, that had been my dream. I wanted to become a singer. I wanted to write songs and sing and make beautiful music. I wanted a band. I wanted to come home to an entire fair of firelizards. I wanted fame and fortune. But the day the Masterharper scouted me, that option was no longer available. My talents were needed elsewhere.
I didn't regret becoming a spy or delving into the ancient ruins of the dragonriders. It was a life of adventure I never would've gotten as an idol. But sometimes, I just missed having the time to write lyrics and music and practice my singing. I hadn't sung in such a long time.
"ARI!"
I snapped out of my thoughts, turning towards the familiar voice. I immediately spotted her.
I waved. "Kyrie!" She must be the one that the Healer Hall sent.
Kyrie Clark was an Apprentice Healer and the daughter of the Masterhealer. She was only sixteen years old, still without her knots, but she was one of the most hardworking healers I'd ever met. She was short and chubby, still having quite the baby face. She wore her bright red hair long, tied back in low pigtails, with blunt bangs that reached down towards her light green eyes. She was dressed all ready to go hiking—maybe more so than me—in a forest green parka, a green cardigan, a white turtleneck, jean short, gray woolen leggings, and green leg warmers over hiking boots.
It wasn't surprisingly in the slightest that Kyrie proceeded to bound over and glomp me in a big hug. I couldn't help but laugh a little, before she pulled away and gave a little jump.
"I am so excited to be here!" she exclaimed, holding up her hands and clenching them into fists. "I didn't think Dad would choose me for this mission, but he did, and I'm so excited!" Her eyes widened and she dropped her hands. "Well, I mean, I'm excited to see what Fort Weyr looks like, not to actually, y'know… take care of the injured. I don't want anyone to get hurt!"
"Kyrie, relax," I laughed. "I get exactly what you mean. But even if somebody does get hurt, we've got one of the best healers around."
Since the Healer Hall was part of the Harper Hall, I had also grown up alongside Kyrie. Though she was several years younger than me, I'd always found her endearing. She was like a little sister to me. I may have gotten her out of trouble on more than one occasion. She had a good heart and pure intentions, but she was so desperate for her father's approval, she… didn't always make the best decisions. With her skill, she should be earning her knots this year, but I imagined her lack of maturity was what held back the Masterhealer from giving them to her. Maybe he hoped this expedition would help.
Kyrie blushed, smiling sheepishly. "Thanks, Ari… I try my best. I just hate seeing people suffering."
I gave her a gentle smile. "I know, Kyrie. We're lucky to have you."
Her smile turned a little brighter, and she nodded. "Have you met the other expedition members yet?"
"Only one of them," I said. "Not… the team Fort gave me."
Kyrie immediately winced. "You won't like this."
"Come on, what's the worst it could be? A bunch of rebellious delinquents?" I jested, but really, if these kids had community service, they couldn't be all that bad. "Let's go meet the team."
Out of all the vehicles here, there was one that stood out in particular. For one, all the other vans were black or white. This one was blue and was emblazoned with Fort's emblem. The doors were open, with a small group of young people standing around. There was four of them—three guys and a girl. That was a lot less than I had expected. I also spotted Imani off to the side, speaking with the driver.
"Hey there!" I called to all of them as we approached. "Welcome to the Fort Weyr Expedition. I'm Arya-"
I immediately cut myself as the only girl in the group turned towards me. Kyrie's words suddenly made sense. I recognized her immediately, with her long, straight platinum blonde hair brushed over her shoulder, her bangs swept to the left, tucked behind her ear. She had the same light honey brown eyes, the same fair complexion, the same ugh, why am I here expression. The years had been kind to her. We'd always been around the same height, but she was taller now. She'd filled out, in more way than one. It didn't help that the clothing she wore was form fitting—a thin black tank top under an orange flannel shirt, a black aviator jacket, black skinny jeans, and black hiking boots. Honestly, part of the reason I found myself staring was because she was so damn beautiful.
It was Elara O'Rinn, my best friend from back when I was a kid.
Her gaze had immediately flickered to us as soon as we started to approach, just like everyone else. She glanced briefly at Kyrie, not really recognizing her, but then her eyes landed on me. It was the faintest change—her eyes widening ever so slightly—that anyone could've missed it. And then it was gone, replaced by narrowed eyes and a scowl.
What was she doing here? The last time I saw her, she was being shipped off to a boarding school to 'fix' her attitude. Apparently it didn't work. Her father, the CEO of O'Rinn Industries, must have used his monetary influence to bail her out of whatever trouble she'd gotten herself into. We had met in school at the Harper Hall. Back then, I had been… painfully shy. I had been super attached to her, like a security blanket. In hindsight, she was a brat and I deserved a better best friend. But she'd been all I had, besides Tiara.
I wasn't prepared for this. I had practically wiped her from my mind. Our friendship hadn't been awful, but.. the last few months before she was sent away had been defining. I had never even considered seeing Elara again, even though I should have, with how big her family was. I was different now. I bet if I didn't have to introduce myself, she wouldn't even recognize me.
"I'm Arya Drake," I began again, managing a smile as I regained my composure, sliding into the poker face I had developed over the years. You needed one in my line of work. "Journeywoman Harper and head of this expedition. "And this is Tiara." I pointed to the firelizard on my shoulders. "I know all of you aren't here of your free will, but… let's all try to have some fun."
Elara rolled her eyes, looking away and crossing her arms.
"Let's begin with introductions," I said, ignoring her and looking down at my only real friend. "Kyrie, you can start."
The redhead's eyes widened, cheeks flushing. "Oh, um… sure." She looked at the others, smiling meekly. "I'm Kyrie Clark, Apprentice Healer! I'm here to make sure everybody is in tip top shape! If you're ever hurt, I'm your gal!"
"Even if you're just an apprentice?" Elara's snide voice cut through the silence that fell. "How can we trust someone who is still in training?"
It took every ounce of self control not to jump to Kyrie's defense and rip Elara's head off. Instead, I looked her dead in the eye. "Why don't you go next, then, Elara?"
She held my gaze for a moment, before looking away, scowling off to the side. "...Whatever. Elara O'Rinn, heiress of O'Rinn Industries, since we're apparently announcing our occupations for all to know."
Shards. She really hadn't changed one bit.
I looked over to who was standing to her left, keeping a bit of a distance. A young man who appeared to be around my age, so early twenties. He was tall and kind of scrawny, having awkwardly skinny proportions that would probably not look so awkward if he'd filled out some more. But it was on obvious sign of poverty—whoever he was, his kind of skinny wasn't normal. He had wavy dark brown hair with bangs that fell into his warm brown eyes, parted to the side. He was somewhat pale, even with his olive complexion. He wore a heavy white turtleneck sweater, blue jeans, and hiking boots. He was pretty handsome, despite the awkwardness.
He must have realized I was waiting on him, because his eyes widened and his cheeks darkened. "I… I'm Luka Vasilyev."
There was another boy standing off next to him. The striking resemblance between the two of them made me wonder if they were brothers. This other boy was much younger; he couldn't have been older than sixteen. He was several inches shorter than his brother and though he was heavier set, he was just as skinny. He wore his straight dark brown hair short and neat, his bangs parted and swept to the side. He had the same olive complexion as his brother, but his eyes were bright blue. He wore a blue and white hoodie, jeans, and sneakers—not nearly as prepared as his brother.
"... Aleksei Vasilyev," he muttered, looking away.
Jeez. Talk about friendly.
I moved onto the last person here. Another guy, around my age. He was slightly shorter than Luka, but of a similar build—lithely athletic with lean muscle. He had shaggy, pin straight black hair, his bangs slightly swept away from his amber eyes. He wasn't particularly tan, nor was he pale. He wore a dark brown leather jacket, a black tank top, skinny jeans, and heavily worn brown combat boots. A blunt hung out of his mouth, half smoldering.
Great. A smoker. He was handsome, in the rugged sort of way, but the cigarette was a major turn off. So disgusting.
But he must have caught me sizing him up and naturally interpreted it the wrong way. A cocky, lopsided smile quirked on his lips. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
"Ezekiel Ritter, at your service," he drawled, holding out his hand. "My friends call me Zeke."
Ritter, huh? I recognized that name. Surnames had only been readopted about two hundred years ago, but they were all connected to occupations. Last names like Drake and Ritter signified that someone was descended from dragonriders. For myself, I had no idea if it was true; I'd always assumed it was because of how, as a child, I was fascinated by the stories of dragons and their riders. But Ritter? They were a rich family who claimed descent from the leaders of Benden Weyr who ended Thread. They had money, and money meant power. It was just a little ironic that their son was here, having to do community service.
I eyed his hand almost skeptically, before accepting the handshake. "A pleasure, Ezekiel."
Now that all introductions had been made, I stepped back, giving my crew some more space. Ezekiel seemed a little flabbergasted, but it was probably good for him. I looked over them all one last time. Kyrie, with her hopeful excitement. Elara, grumpily brooding. Luka, nervously shifting. Aleksei, quietly unhappy. And Ezekiel, roguishly baffled. These people were who I had to work with for at least the next month.
"Well," I began, "I look forward to working with each and every one of you. Here's to making new discoveries!"
I could only hope that me being given a crew full of delinquents—however out of place some of them might seem—would not backfire on me.
Hello everyone, and thank you for reading! This is a post-canon DRoP fanfic featuring a modern Pern without dragons. This story is connected to my other DroP fanfic, Dragon's Treason, which I've lost inspiration for. But I wanted to continue with the second half of that story, so here it is, with a few adjustments.
Pern has undergone industrialization and technological advancements over the past 500 years, thanks to the knowledge AIVAS shared and the fact that they no longer had to spend so many resources on fighting Thread. A lot more will be explained as the story goes on.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy Dragonrise! I also would love to hear your thoughts!
