Chapter 4
Fort Weyr
If the story of Callihara and Bernan had not already grown to epic proportions, their departure from the Harper Hall on the back of the Fort Weyrleader's majestic bronze dragon was enough to ensure their place in the history of Pernese ballads. The departure was bittersweet, as the two newly Searched candidates left their studies behind and parted from the people they had grown close to.
Although Calli and Bernan had said farewell to Saneria in private, even that meeting was as impersonal as ever. Despite the fact that San hugged them and cried with them, she seemed distant, as if Calli was shouting to her friend from across a canyon. The occasional flicker of unguarded emotion in her eyes could not be completely suppressed, but not a betraying word would pass her lips. Calli finally had to kiss Saneria's cheek, her hand resting on her friend's shoulder as she looked into her eyes, telling her that no matter what, she would always be there for her.
Parting with the journeyman who had become a mentor and close friend had been harder than the two had expected. Nordam was solemn, thumping Bernan on the back, then placing his hands on his shoulders and speaking to him so softly that Callihara could not hear what he said. He hugged the girl tightly after that, then whispered to her, his mouth brushing against her ear. Tears in her eyes, she kissed him on the cheek, and returned to the safety of Bernan's waiting arms.
However, as they approached the bronze dragon, and L'ral prepared to help them up, suddenly Callihara was unafraid. The dragons had chosen her out of all the girls on Pern. She was worthy of this journey, and it was her destiny. She was not afraid of the challenges that the Weyr would present to her. She would take it all in stride, and conquer every difficulty with grace and poise. She lifted her head just a little higher, grinned at the Weyrleader, and took her seat on Rolth's back.
Bernan was having a very different experience than Callihara. His heart pounded and his palms began to sweat with sudden anxiety about leaving his home and climbing on the back of the massive beast. He visibly swallowed, and complied with the Weyrleader's instructions, but he was not happy about it. While Calli seemed content to be perched on the back of the gigantic dragon, Bernan felt like a fish out of water, desperately and impossibly gasping for air. Closing his eyes, and feeling waves of nausea overcome him, Bernan groaned and wondered what he was getting himself into. The only light in his darkness was Callihara's excited chattering, and the warmth of her body against his. With a sickening lurch, the dragon leapt into the air, and became airborne.
From the back of the dragon, Calli watched the Harper Hall grow smaller in the distance, until she could no longer pick out her friends from the crowd of observers, until the Hall itself looked like a child's toy. She felt excitement swell within her chest as she saw how beautiful Pern looked from the air, with the rolling landscape, mountains, and clear blue sky. This is my home, she thought, suddenly filled with a sense of purpose and pride for who she was. L'ral turned around and shouted something at them, and then Calli remembered that Rolth would soon be taking them between to Fort Weyr. She squeezed Bernan's hand, took a deep breath, and they were gone.
As Calli was thrust into the deep, agonizing nothingness of between the urge to panic was as strong as L'ral had described it. She tried to count to three as he had instructed, and it seemed like every instant was never-ending. Just as she almost gave in to despair, color and light erupted into her world as Rolth burst out of between into fresh, breathable air. Again, L'ral turned to look at the two young people who sat behind them, seeing that both had made it through as well as could be expected. Calli felt Bernan's vice-like grip around her waist, and turned to see how pale and frightened he looked. She smiled weakly, significantly shaken by the trip as well. He managed a forced grin, and patted her arm to let her know that he was okay. Then they turned and looked at Fort Weyr, which lay below them.
If Harper Hall was a pebble, then Fort Weyr was the biggest boulder the apprentices had ever seen. The Weyr was built within a system of caves inlaid directly into a mountain. Rolth swooped past it, and Calli craned her neck to look at it more closely. Bernan gulped as the dragon swerved, and he heard Callihara gasp in awe, while he muttered under his breath, closing his eyes again, resting his forehead against Callihara's shoulder.
That's enough now, Rolth, L'ral half-scolded his dragon.
Callihara enjoys this, Rolth's mind voice informed him happily. Then L'ral felt as slightly discontented tinge as the dragon commented, The boy does not.
L'ral frowned to himself, and instructed Rolth to land in the main Bowl. The dragon's sudden descent thrilled Callihara to no end, L'ral observed, hearing her excitedly chatter to her companion, who had turned a distinct shade of pale green. L'ral looked over his shoulder at them, and he caught Callihara's eye. "Remember to hold on tight," he cautioned them, and Callihara complied, tightening her grip, and urging Bernan to do the same. Rolth landed in the main Bowl as gently as he could, knowing instinctively that gentleness was what the ex-apprentices needed. After landing, the three sat unmoving on Rolth's back. L'ral contemplated what would occur once Callihara and Bernan set foot in the Weyr, and wondered how his boldness, and the Weyr's desperation, would impact their lives. As for Callihara, a thousand thoughts flew through her mind, and she didn't know what to make of them, and at that moment she could only be conscious of the rapid pounding of her heart. Bernan found himself unable to swallow, his breath quickening against his will, and he searched, unsuccessfully for a moment, for Callihara's hand and for the comfort that he knew she always brought him.
L'ral dismounted first, and extended his hand to Callihara, who slid off of Rolth and stood a little shakily on the ground. She looked back at Bernan, and watched as he brushed off the hand that L'ral offered and made it to the ground without any assistance. Turning away from him, Calli tried to take in the Weyr. She had always imagined that she would visit Fort Weyr for the first time as a Journeyman or a Harper, playing and singing for some great event. She had certainly never thought that her arrival here would also mark the death of her old life, and the beginning of a new one, as a candidate for the Hatching. Rolth had landed in the middle of the Bowl, and she turned around for a few times, recalling what the Weyr had looked like from the air, and smiling as she realized that she was now standing in the midst of it. Dragons sat on the ledges, and as she looked up at the sides of the Weyr, she noticed that the walls were hollowed out all around. She supposed that those were the weyrs that the dragons and their riders inhabited.
"Callihara." She snapped to attention at the sound of the Weyrleader's voice. He laughed lightly. "It's quite impressive, isn't it? You'll have a chance to stand and stare for as long as you like later. For now, you need to meet the Weyrwoman and we can see what we can do about instructing you for the Hatching. It's not all fun and games, you know."
"Oh, I know, sir," she said, nodding affirmatively. Suddenly, she turned around again, relaxing a little when she saw Bernan. "I thought I'd lost you."
"You were justifiably enthralled, that's all," he said, touching her arm, smiling with his mouth closed. She nodded, and they picked up their packs and followed L'ral, wind striking their backs as Rolth took flight again.
"L'ral? Is that you?" The Weyrwoman's voice rang sharply throughout the chamber, before either L'ral or the ex-apprentices were able to catch sight of her.
"Indeed it is!" the Weyrleader replied, his tone light. He winked at Callihara, and she realized that he was most likely an expert at dealing with a Weyrwoman stressed with the imminent Hatching of a clutch of eggs.
"Oh, good. Oryoth said that you'd come," the woman said, coming around the corner with her arms full of white garments. "Oh, excuse me," she said when she noticed Callihara and Bernan. "I didn't realize you were accompanied, Weyrleader." Her tone contained a hint of annoyance, but she smiled, and L'ral opened his arms to take the garments from her.
"Tiania, may I introduce you to Callihara and Bernan, formerly of the Harper Hall, current candidates for the Hatching," L'ral said, gesturing, despite his full hands, to the two young people.
"I'm very pleased to meet you," Tiania told them, clasping their hands in greeting. "There is much that has to be done before the Hatching, as can be expected. I'll have beds prepared for you in the dormitories but I must also meet with you immediately to prepare you for the Hatching. We're quite pressed for time, I'm afraid," she explained, but her anxiety and weariness could not completely shadow the earnest friendliness that she greeted them with. The two new candidates merely nodded. "L'ral, take this young man to join the other male candidates," she said, giving Bernan's shoulder a gentle shove towards the Weyrleader. "You may come with me," she said to Callihara before walking quickly towards the door of the chamber and down the corridor. Calli started to follow the Weyrwoman and then remembered Bernan. She turned towards him and saw the bewildered look on his face. She smiled reassuringly but he raised his eyebrows in seeming apprehension. She stepped towards him and touched his face with the tips of her fingers.
"Chin up. I'll see you soon." She smiled at him winningly before she was whisked down the corridor and out of sight. Even after she disappeared, Bernan stared at the place where she had been. L'ral was silent for a moment, and then put his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Women," he said, rolling his eyes, watching Bernan's lips form into a small smile. "Come on. I'll give you a crash course in dragons before you go to meet the other candidates." Bernan nodded, thankful beyond belief for the Weyrleader who undoubtedly had much more important things to do than deal with the anxieties of a young man who was completely and totally out of his element.
"So, Callihara, is it?" Tiania began as Callihara helped her fold the white candidate robes and place one on each of the bunks in the dormitory. The girl nodded and the Weyrwoman continued. "Have you had much contact with dragons?"
"No, Weyrwoman. Just with the bronze dragon who saved my life, Perlath was his name, and with the Weyrleader's Rolth, of course." Callihara kept her eyes down, speaking to the Weyrwoman humbly, as was custom.
"Very interesting. Did Perlath speak to you at all?"
"Only a little. He knew how startled and frightened I was, I think."
"I can imagine," Tiania said, sympathy in her voice. "Does it seem strange to you that you would make that sort of a choice? I can't imagine how you were able to think so rationally, so quickly."
Callihara was taken aback by the Weyrwoman's compliment. "I honestly don't know," she admitted. "It was the only thing there was to do. It was the only option I had, really. Why would I hang on if it meant Bernan's death as well as mine?"
The Weyrwoman was silent for a moment, apparently thinking the event over. "And you and this boy, Bernan, you were lovers then?"
Callihara's pale skin quickly turned pink. "We weren't, not then. We played in the same trio and were good friends. After the fall we began a sort of a courtship, I would call it." Callihara didn't know how to describe their chaste relationship without sounding childlike. She knew of the sexual aspect of Weyrlife, but had never really thought of it as a problem, or even anything that concerned her.
"I'll be honest with you, Callihara," Tiania said. "You seem to be very willing to leave everything of your old life behind at the prospect of impressing, which I find to be extraordinary, as I have heard that you are a talented and promising musician." Tiania met Callihara's wide eyes with her own. "The Weyr is much different from Harper Hall. Oh, the people are much the same, you have those with their own agendas and those who will do anything to help you, your friends and your foes, so to speak. But this courtship that you speak of, this is not how it is at the Weyr. We love, as the rest of Pern does, but for queenriders, the passion and mating of your dragon affects dictates your own. If you are to impress, you must be prepared for this." The Weyrwoman paused, studying Callihara's face. Her expression was impassive, but her eyes had widened, just slightly. "Do you understand?"
She was silent for a moment, and then nodded vigorously. "I do."
"Good," the Weyrwoman replied, "Because if you hadn't, I'd really be in a bind." She smiled and Callihara did as well, and Tiania began to instruct Callihara as succinctly as she could about everything she would need to know before the Impression began. Calli listened as attentively as she could, but for the first time, her hopeful dream of impressing the queen dragon was shadowed with doubt.