N'kar held Nelladwyn as he sobbed his heart out, holding him long into the night. Eventually his tears dried, and his whimpers turned into soft snores. Though it was awkward, and nearly impossible, for the boy had grown a bit during his time on the island, he managed to heft him over his shoulder. Though he knew he should carry him back to the room where the weyrlings slept, he carried him back to his weyr and set him on the couch, tucking a blanket in around him. The last thing he wanted was for his son to think his father had abandoned him too.
He sank into a chair at the table, rubbing his face with his hands. What a mess. But it was for the best. He poured himself some of the wine that D'rean had left behind, making a face at its sourness. Yes, it was for the best.
Someone knocked on the door, interrupting his troubled moment of contemplation. "Enter." R'nahl stepped in, prompting a groan from N'kar. "If you've come to scold me on my behavior, please leave. I've had enough over the past few days to last me a lifetime."
"I bring wine." He brandished a skin. It wasn't Benden red, but one of the newer varieties from Southern. Still wine was wine – and a day like today called for a dragon load of it.
N'kar finished off the last of the red and then poured the new wine into the same cup, not caring if the two different types intermingled.
You'll have a headache in the morning. Elanth warned him.
Good point. He replied, though he didn't heed the brown's warning. Aloud he said, "Let the wings have the day off tomorrow."
R'nahl made a face at that. "Fall is the day after."
"All the more reason for them to rest." While he didn't intend to fight the full fall like the bronzerider did – what was the point when so much of their territory was ocean? - he did intend to cover all the islands regardless of if they had holds or not, and the waters around them so the fishermen could go out once it was clear. "What's the status on the hatching grounds?"
"They're clear. Malena is just putting the finishing touches on it, like adding more stands so the holders and parents of those who are searched can attend."
"Good." They had a bit of time yet, before the eggs were laid, and even longer before they hatched, but he would rather they finish now instead of rushing at the last moment. "Nelladwyn will stand."
"He's too young."
"He's old enough. It'll do him good, I think."
R'nahl nodded. "Did you do it to impress her?"
"What?"
"Get rid of Llydwen. Did you do it to impress Kayta?"
N'kar glowered at the bronzerider. "What happened today was for Llydwen's own good. She was not happy here. It's time we all move on from that mess."
"Good."
"Good?"
"For the past however many turns, you have done nothing but let the shadow of that woman plague you. Not that your obsession with Kayta was any better, but it's good you move on."
"Why do you hate her so much?"
"Llydwen?"
"Kayta."
R'nahl's face scrunched up into a scowl. "She's untrustworthy, she has no control over that dragon of hers, and all she's done is distract you."
"You encouraged me to go after her, remember?"
"That's before I knew."
"I was told she only lied to protect the Weyr."
"By who, that old coot N'bel?"
N'kar spun the glass of wine in his hand. "He has a point. Any time she has lied or deceived it was to protect this Weyr."
"That hardly makes her a good Weyrwoman."
"That doesn't make her the worst either. As for control, I can't blame her for her dragon doing what was necessary to protect her. And the distraction is my own fault. Not hers. Only I command my own emotions."
The bronzerider's scowl turned deeper. "You should replace her with someone who knows what they're doing."
He snorted. The bronzerider knew that that wasn't possible; Queenriders couldn't be forced to step down – the only way out was to die or retire. "Like Malena? And then I can scold you for whenever you turn up distracted because you fought over some silly crawler?"
"I'm never going to live that down am I?"
"We all make mistakes. Just as the Weyr needs to move on from it's past, we need to move on from our own pasts. We need to learn to trust each other again and stop setting such unrealistic expectations."
"Well then, when are you going to apologize? It's been, what? Nearly a month now of you sulking."
Had it been that long? N'kar eyed Nelladwyn's still form on the couch. "Tomorrow. If she'll have me."
Unfortunately there was no time to meet with Kayta the following day. Even though N'kar had given the dragonriders the day off, there was too much for the lower caverns to do in preparation of fall, and she spent her hours scurrying between the storage rooms, the open stretch of beach where the healers tended to injured dragons, and the kitchens. He planned to speak to her after dinner then, but she did not attend the meal in the dining cavern, and when he approached her weyr afterwards, he could hear her soft even breaths drifting through her open window.
Lysith says she fell asleep and hasn't even touched the meal the headwoman brought her. Elanth spoke, confirming N'kar's suspicions.
The Weyrleader sighed, Tomorrow then.
But that was not to be either.
As soon as N'kar woke up, he was embroiled in meetings discussing the plan of attack for fall that day, where each wing should be positioned, and what riders were on firestone duty. He had also had the foresight to split some the flights up, directing some of the wings to sit out the first part of the fall, so they could come in and give tired wings a break. R'nahl had made a face over that, but N'kar reminded him that the islanders weren't used to fighting a full fall like the mainlander dragons were. In time they would be, but rather than pushing them as others had, N'kar would rather build them up gradually over time.
There was a brief respite for a meal, and then it was time to get dressed in the heavy wherhide jackets and pants dragonmen wore for protection. By the time N'kar had harnessed Elanth and strapped in, he was sweating and a headache was throbbing behind his eyes.
Thread would not stop because of a headache though. He clambered up Elanth's shoulder and clipped his belt onto the riding straps. Once he was settled, the brown dragon rose and settled on the ridge overlooking the Weyr where the wings were already waiting. Among them was the Queen's wing, their bodies gleaming in the noonday sun. Even though the Weyr only had two golds, a few greenriders like Gineara had offered to fill out their ranks. R'nahl had not been pleased about loosing her, but her replacement, N'nyal, had fit in nicely.
He gave the signal and they all took to flight, going in between as one and coming out above the smallest of the hold islands. They hovered, waiting, until the glimmer of thread showed up on the horizon. Then almost as one, the riders fed their great beasts firestone and surged forward to meet their ancient foe. Swooping and diving, they flamed thread from the sky, the ash following down to the ocean below.
The little bit of thread that did escape the wings was caught by the Weyrwomen below. N'kar watched as the greens and golds worked as a team, burning thread, dodging ash, and assisting those who needed it.
Malena leads well. Elanth observed, dodging one clump and flaming another. Since the air was so wet, the fire didn't do much to kill it – the back and underside still twisted, searching for something organic to destroy. A dragon in a wing beneath him caught it, burning the rest of it into nothing.
Malena leads? That was surprising, though N'kar supposed it was for the best. While Kayta might be the Weyrwoman, she hadn't flown nearly as many falls as Malena or Gineara. He had to admit that the sight of her among the others made him nervous, but she wielded her flamethrower well.
Which was more than he could say for himself. He hissed as a cloud of hot ash hit him square in the face.
Focus, Elanth crooned. The dragon hovered for a moment as if he were considering taking them back to the Weyr.
I'm fine. He had suffered worse in the past. Besides, the last thing he needed was to miss part of the fall over such a minor injury. He pushed all other thoughts from his mind and fell into the ebb and flow of the fall. But soon it became clear that his plans were all for naught.
While the fall started out easy enough, near the middle of it the riders and their dragons were starting to falter. The heat was too much, the air too humid. Clumps took twice as much flaming to be turned to ash, which meant the Queen's wing was moping up more than he wanted them to. The dragons were wearing out faster than he had planned - even the riders from Ista and Igen.
He gave the wingleader's the leave to direct their riders take breaks as needed, but soon the back up riders were worn out as well. The men they had just replaced were forced to come back before they were fully ready. And it wasn't long before the injuries began.
At first they were minor threadscores – a quick trip between solved that issue for now – but then a dragon screamed in pain and blinked between, and then another. N'kar shuddered as Elanth crooned beneath him, cutting off the mournful sound to blast another clump with flame.
We just need to last until we're past the last island. He could see it on the horizon behind them.
We are trying. Elanth replied.
Tell them to time it. Go to Southern, rest an hour or two, and come back. It would be dangerous, so many of them timing it at once, but it was their best option in the moment since he doubted any of the other Weyrs would respond to his plea for help. Wait until we're over the water… Now!
One by one the wings blinked out, disappearing mid fight only to return a few moments later. Their color was brighter, but it was clear their riders were suffering from the effects of being in two places at once. Their movements were slower and one or two dropped the bags of firestone that were tossed to them by others.
Shall we go too? His dragon asked
No. N'kar shook his head clearly going between times wasn't the answer either. Instead, they would see it through until the very end.
