Vinna stared. Here stood the man who had caused them, her, the Weyrs, the people of Pern, so much terror and trouble, and she felt cheated.
It was with some difficultly that she acknowledged the emotion, hating that fact that her reaction be so ironically selfish. Still, she felt cheated nonetheless. Ynunn appeared to be nothing but a common citizen of Pern, the commonest. So plain, so undefining! Nothing at all like his charismatic generals. Then, she felt troubled. Mawth, the blue dragon, was standing there beside whom Vinna assumed to be his stripling rider, and another, slightly older boy, as if the bane of his species weren't standing just to his left!
"Ynunn, you have defied and attacked the Weyrs and their dragonmen! I, who am Weyrleader E'rren of Telgar, command you now: You and your men will lay down your arms. You will surrender to the Weyrleader, and Lord Laliek of Crom Hold who marches here now!"
"Well spoke, but you'll not be taking Keogh today," Ynunn crossed his arms.
"Keogh will be liberated," E'rren insisted sternly.
Ynunn slapped a hand on the shoulder of the larger boy beside him, the child cringed, but seemed to think better than to pull away. Mawth shivered and whimpered again. By the Egg! What Weyr had even had a Hatching so recent that—
Dread filled Vinna, her face went white, and she felt numb.
Mawth turned to face the lanky child, who said something to him. Raising his head, Mawth released a curious keen, and Vinna felt the message he sent.
Pyramanth, fly! She shouted.
Without question, Pyramanth opened her wings and rocketed herself into the sky. She tottered unexpectedly as a blast of familiar, impossibly cold air hit them. Hanging above Z'ror and Dr'gan's wings, were perhaps twenty (clearly juvenile) dragons, with a gold that could only be Ketith at their head.