Dragon Rising
A fanfiction by Plikkit based on the novels by Anne McCaffrey.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people, places, or concepts of Pern. Those are solely credited to Anne McCaffrey, in all her wonderful talent.
I know there may be some incorrect facts: if you see some, please don't burn me. Just let me know so I can fix it
RECAP: Saya still had one hand on Valianth's emerald head, stroking eye ridges and causing her dragon's eyes to whirl with pleasure. At that call, she turned and saw Ellan kneeling next to the new queen, who shone a shade of pale gold. Tears of bliss seeped down Ellan's round face as she stroked the new queen Inneth's large head. Saya, who had quite forgotten about the queen hatchling, stood for a moment, astounded. Then, Valianth interrupted her thoughts.
I'm hungry.
---Chapter III----
And so the little green hatchling was. Saya and her new life partner helped each other stumble from the Hatching Grounds with the other pairs, to find a cavern and trays heaped high with raw, dripping meat. Valianth gorged in post-hatching hunger, her muzzle stained red.
Saya watched with unadulterated pride and ardor. Valianth was hers, all hers, her gorgeous, strong green beauty. When she could tear her eyes away from the feasting dragonet, she observed the same mix of feelings reflected in the faces of her peers, now Weyrlings. With that, Saya thought of F'bran and the others and wondered if they had now been deemed true dragonriders. In all her ecstasy, she was happy for him, too.
When Valianth and her siblings finished, a sentimental-looking rider by the name of G'sas led them to the cluster of weyrling caverns. Saya swept dirt out of a stony wallow and Valianth ambled over to curl up, her belly swollen beneath her striking hide.
Dearest Valianth, Saya thought, once again folding her legs under herself to rub her dragon's eye ridges. She was rewarded with a mental stream of loving, tender thoughts as the green dragon drifted into satisfied sleep.
Saya's Impression of green Valianth had been greeted by a variety of reactions among those watching the Hatching. It had undoubtedly been unexpected, especially because it had occurred before the queen's own Impression. Normally, disappointed queen Candidates went after greens, but Saya's was not of this nature.
F'bran, standing towards the back of the tiers, noted the shattering of the queen egg and then saw, with ambivalence, Saya's face transform into pure, joy-steeped beauty as she made an Impression with a stunningly emerald dragonet. He was only slightly dismayed as the new queen lurched forth from her egg behind her, greeted enthusiastically by the Weyr bronzes; that feeling was quickly dismissed when he saw the love etched on Saya's face as she stroked her dragonet's eye ridges. So, she hadn't Impressed the queen. She was still Saya and would make a fine greenrider.
S'del watched with horror as Saya Impressed the scrawny green hatchling that had wandered behind her. The word "No" was on his lips as he stood, wine goblet crashing to the floor. But Inneth, the new queen, was already butting that girl Ellan and soon she had Impressed to the other Candidate.
S'del roared with anger. That girl Saya had been perfect--perfect--for Weyrwoman; the fact that a green dragon had stolen that was enraging. Saya didn't know the mistake she had made, committing herself to the smallest and lowliest color of the dragons, when she could have ridden a queen.
Jerkily, S'del turned and stamped out of the tiers, intending to let his feelings be known. His Candidate, a greenrider...
Saya must have fallen asleep, for when she awoke next to a still-slumbering Valianth, there was a thick fur draped over her body. She smiled as she saw her dragon's green bulk next to her, admired her lovely hue and translucent wings.
Then, a hand slapped a globule of something cold and sticky on her cheek.
She sat straight up, kept from exclaiming by a desire to let Valianth sleep. She glared some half-hearted annoyance at F'bran, who was squatting next to the wallow with a jar of thick salve.
Saya ran fingertips over her wound, now covered in goo--the pain was gone.
"What is that?" Saya asked, gesturing to the jar in F'bran's hand.
The bronze rider smiled. "Numbweed. Excellent on Thread- and- eggscore." Saya grimaced.
He continued. "You'll be learning about that, and more for the next while." His chest inflated. "I'm a full-fledged dragonrider now, a Wing member as of this morning!"
Saya bit her lip, once again aware of how many gaps there were in her knowledge.
F'bran, not wanting to distress her, said, "She really is a very lovely green." He nodded to the dragon behind his friend. "What was her name?"
Saya smiled, and turned to rest a hang on her green's shoulder. "Valianth."
"Such a dazzling color! Yes, definitely the prettiest shade I've yet to see in a green." He grinned, such a characteristic gesture for him.
Saya beamed at him. Then young Valianth stirred, and she hastened to rub her fingers along the sensitive ridges. The hatchling's outer eyelid drooped in pleasure, and soon she was sleeping peacefully again.
"Hard to believe she'll grow to fight Thread," Saya said, and shuddered. She was not without the Pernese deep-seated fear of the skyborne menace, and the thought of pitting her precious Valianth against the ancient foe made her stomach flip.
"She'll grow incredibly fast," F'bran assured her. "And get stronger by the minute. You watch. When she's full-grown, she'll be following her instincts and begging to get out there and flame Thread."
"What will we learn as weyrlings?" Saya asked him, curious. She stood up from under her fur and folded it, tossing it to the side. Then, she saw that she still wore the white robe of Impressing. Flushing, quickly she excused herself from F'bran and, finding that some simple clothes had been placed near Valianth's foreclaws, she changed in a nearby bathing room.
She then combed her hair with her fingers and splashed cool water on her face, eager to get back to Valianth and F'bran.
"You'll learn how to care for a growing and mature dragon," F'bran told her when she returned, as if she hadn't left. They stood together and began to meander throughout the weyrling caverns. "You'll learn about Thread, and then you'll get up and practice maneuvers to avoid it. Your dragons'll be taught to chew fly properly, go between, and chew firestone."
"F'bran!" G'sas had appeared at the entrance to the caverns, his face rosy and chest heaving. F'bran! Thread falls unexpectedly at Tillek and High Reaches is already fighting elsewhere! You and Caprioth are needed! Suit up and get out there!"
F'bran's jaw worked, and he gave Saya's forearm a squeeze and jogged out of the room without a backward glance, following G'sas. Saya watched him go, worried. She knew of dragonrider's dedication to fighting Thread. She admired it. As she watched F'bran go, unquestioning of his duty, she told herself that she wanted to be as committed to protecting Pern and its people as he was. As Valianth would grow to be.
As she turned back around, she was suddenly facing Belled, Yikiz, Kewen, and Feteen--although apparently they now were B'led, Y'kiz, K'wen, and F'teen.
"Who're yours?" she asked them, knowing precisely why they had approached her.
She watched with amusement as their faces simultaneously cracked with smiles.
"Brown Hirth," B'led mumbled, flushed with joy as his face suffused with memories of Impression.
"Bronze Witarth," Y'kiz told them proudly, his eyes glinting.
"Blue Pelth," said K'wen, looking over his shoulder. Pelth was in view, a healthy-sized blue who was slumbering happily.
"Green Kabriith," F'teen said, grinning at her. He knew of their new similarity.
"Green Valianth," Saya said, treasuring the words as they escaped her lips. She saw their eyes change focus as they looked behind her to her sleeping green dragon.
"Congratulations," K'wen said sincerely. "I am glad you're a dragonrider, even if you didn't Impress the queen."
F'teen scowled at his fosterbrother; elbowed him. "She would have been a dragonrider regardless, even if she had to Impress a bronze."
"Bronzes aren't Impressed by girls!" Y'kiz said sharply, his brows furrowing. "You're talking nonsense."
Suddenly, there was a terrific rumbling roar as the dragons of Fort Weyr bellowed in unison, taking off to fight Thread over Tillek. The new Weyrlings stared up at the ceiling as if to see through it, to the ledges of the bowl, and witness the awesome sight of Wings of multicolored dragons churning the air to gain altitude. Saya sighed contentedly. Someday, she and Valianth would do that, in the company of friends.
The defiant bellows of their elders had roused the sleepy dragonets in their wallows, and each of them called out in response. It was a gratifying sound. Saya felt Valianth's mind awaken and sense for her rider, so she rushed off to tend to her beast.
G'sas had returned, looking slightly disgruntled at being left behind from the fighting to tend to the weyrlings. But he passed out jars of oil and instructed them on how to rub it into their dragons' hides, taking special care on spots around the neck and tail ridges.
"If you don't oil them properly for the next two months," G'sas reminded them coolly, "their hides will dry out and grow uneven, and then crack between."
It wasn't as if Saya resented this time to bond with Valianth, and she took pleasure in pouring and massaging the oil into the green hide.
I itch terribly, Valianth said. My hind legs.
Obediently, Saya dabbed sweet oil where she directed and rubbed it in until the dragon's emerald skin gleamed brilliantly.
"It's only been six hours since your Hatching and I believe you've already grown," Saya told her playfully.
I am a dragon. I am meant to be large, Valianth replied matter-of-factly, with a calmness that Saya adored.
"Indeed you are. You're the best, loveliest dragon on Pern, I'm sure of it," her rider told her fervently. "Just wait til you learn to fly."
Valianth expressed thoughts of happy anticipation of her first moments airborne.
"Are you hungry again?" Saya asked, noticing some other riders taking their beasts to the platters to eat once more.
Yes.
And so, after making sure that Valianth was thoroughly and completely oiled, rider led dragon to a freshly slaughtered pile of herdbeast, and the young green feasted to her growing heart's content.
As she did so, Saya looked around and took in more of her surroundings for the first time. Her closest friends had indeed Impressed, although she had seen no sign of Ellan, but there were some she knew who were not in the Weyrling caverns. Disappointed, they had likely already been transported home. For one horrifying second, Saya wondered what would have happened had she not Impressed her joy, her Valianth. She swiftly pushed those thoughts from her mind and concentrated on the adventures ahead as she watched a full and jubilant Valianth waddle ungracefully back to her wallow.
Saya padded over to B'led, who stood over his sleeping brown, watching him soberly.
"B'led," she whispered, although she knew normal voices would not wake dragons.
B'led turned to smile briefly at her, his eyes flickering to her face.
"Hirth is a finely built beast," Saya said, although she was no judge on draconic anatomy and felt silly right as the words came out.
B'led nodded in agreement, love touching his features. "He is." Then, B'led paused. "My life before seems like merely a fallacy now. I never knew what completion was." His dark hair had fallen to shade his eyes, and he seemed to bear an air of seriousness that made Saya cock an eyebrow.
Then she nibbled her lip, as she usually did while in thought. She had been feeling the same way since her Impression; that life seemed revived, more purposeful and vivid.
"I--" she began, but cut off at the sight of S'del striding angrily toward them. Weyrlings parted as he passed, swinging arms that until now Saya hadn't realized were so thick and oafish.
B'led followed her gaze and immediately stiffened at S'del's furious expression, and, strangely, stepped half in front of Saya.
"Can we help you?" B'led demanded, coldly for his usually mellow personality; he had no right to speak in such a way to his superior.
"I must talk to Saya," S'del replied with equal amounts of ice. Saya looked at him, confused, and shot a glance at Valianth who was curled in her bed, practically unconscious.
S'del saw where she looked and did the same. As he saw the young green, his lips curled in a sneer that gave Saya the deep and horrendous urge to hit him in the mouth. But the repercussions would be nasty, and Saya didn't want to leave Valianth alone for the time she would spend scrubbing cavern floors with a tooth cleaner.
"So, that is your new partner?" S'del asked her in disgusted tones, without trying to disguise his contempt. "A green, is it? What's the lucky beast's name?"
Saya tried as hard as she could to find a reason in his words to snap back at him, but she could find nothing evident. "She," Saya answered semi-calmly, "is Valianth."
"Yes, she's lucky...lucky to have got you," S'del drawled.
B'led, forgotten or ignored, watched this conflict unfold with growing uneasiness. What quarrel could this dragonrider (still here when the Weyr was Threadfighting?) have with a weyrling?
Saya pushed past S'del, clenching her teeth, outraged at his instigations of Valianth's supposed "worthiness." But he seized the back of her tunic, causing B'led to cry out in apprehension.
"Why did you choose her when you could have ridden a Queen!" S'del commanded, not loosening his hold. G'sas raised his head in alarm on the other side of the cavern.
S'del continued mercilessly. "You…you were meant to be a goldrider! I knew it! You were supposed to be…supposed to be! You are wasted on that green, d'you hear me? Sharding wasted!"
His ranting and raving had awoken Valianth, who hissed and spread her wings as she immediately picked up on her rider's distress.
What has upset you? Who is this man? she demanded of Saya, rising to her feet.
"Why do you care so much?" B'led asked, his voice shaky and uncertain. "There are four other girls who didn't stand for Inneth!"
As Saya realized how S'del had distraught her dragon, her indignation rose beyond mere irritation at his insults.
"You are wrong, S'del, and petty!" she spat, aware of and not caring about the audience of curious weyrlings they had attracted. "You call yourself a dragonrider? When you fuss and yell about superficial things like a dragon's color?"
S'del regarded her with sudden coolness, though he continuously trembled, withholding more anger.
Saya projected soothing thoughts to Valianth, whose eyes were flashing red and whose newly-sharp talons were extended unconsciously. One moment, my dear, while I deal with this dimglow.
"And one more thing, S'del," she then hissed to the brownrider. She jerked out of his brittle grip. "I am the lucky one. Begone, before you upset more dragons with your presence."
His lip twitched, and his fingers flexed; but he did not attack her. Instead, he whirled on one foot and exited the cavern, to Saya's immense satisfaction.
"What in the name of the Egg..." G'sas said into the silence that ensued. Saya, still fuming, ignored B'led's concerned query and strode with a vengeance back to her dragon. However, before she reached out to her beast, she condemned herself for acting foolish, and spent a minute calming her nerves.
What is wrong? Tell me, Valianth insisted, though she had settled considerably as Saya scratched her eye ridges.
"That rider, called S'del...he had a few issues to settle with me. I sent him along." Saya had never felt so empowered, so passionate. S'del had been wrong about her relationship with Valianth; she, Saya, was the one who was blessed, blessed to have Impressed such a green as Valianth. His stabs at her color were pathetic. Saya was already frustrated with the strange feelings of arrogance she felt directed at her. She had to do her best to support her dragon above them before the green adopted a debilitating attitude of dejection.