Chapter 7
Lessa and F'lar consulted with the rest of their party about asking Adara and the Commander if some of them would like to visit Pern. No-one had any objections, indeed they all thought it would be a good idea. They were thinking through what a permanent friendship or even trade agreement would be like for them. With no thread, this world may be a place for dragons and riders to recuperate without the fear of thread. New food sources could be obtained and they could give - or sell - some of their unique flora to the clans. Clarke was especially interested in the fellis and numbweed. Lessa mentioned that two of the junior Benden queens' clutches were about to hatch and she wanted to invite them to see it. The two junior queens had risen within days of each other and had no problem clutching on the hatching grounds together. Ramoth would not share the hatching ground when it was time for her to clutch, but the juniors had no problem with that.
Lessa and F'lar approached the Commander and Adara about it and said they would welcome any of the people here to come to Benden to witness dragons being born and to celebrate their new found friendship. Both leaders agreed to discuss it and left.
Adara and Lexa asked the Pernese that they did not talk about this second chance as only a handful of people knew about it. This second chance was to be remembered by only a few as a lot of people were killed by the clans or by the Skaikru and each side didn't want them to remember the war they had fought and died in.
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Lexa and Adara consulted with Anya and Clarke about what to do. Anya was wary of going in case they couldn't come back, but she did want the chance to see a dragon being born. She was curious but tried not to show it. Lexa was herself a little dubious about going but Clarke was excited to go and Lexa didn't want her to go without her. Adara wanted to go as she'd been reading about these people and wanted to see the world for herself. She was hoping to buy some of the medicinal stuff like fellis and numbweed. She wondered if she could talk to the Mastercraftsmen about how to improve on their projects.
The consensus was to allow as many people to go who wanted to, with the proviso that some would have to stay behind to look after the buildings and the surrounding area. In the end 36 of the 48 people there would be going. As there were 38 dragons, each dragon carried an extra passenger. They had all been told to wrap up warm as flying a dragon was very cold, especially high up. They had raided the outdoor clothing stores to get enough warm clothing for all those going.
Eventually, everyone was on the back of a dragon, tied to the riding straps. The Commander was on Ramoth with Adara on Mnenenth and Anya on Lioth, N'ton's bronze dragon. The dragons took off with Lessa and F'lar taking off first and the rest following them in rank order. They reached a cruising altitude while their riders gave them the image of the garden and suddenly, they were there!
They waited until everyone was there and then went between to Benden. They came out of 'between' high over the bowl of Benden Weyr. They glided down to the ground inside the bowl, so the visitors could see it all. Once down, they helped their visitors to the ground and moved to one side so the rest could get down from the dragons.
Lessa and F'lar then led them into the kitchen cavern to get some warm food and drink in them. Each person was offered a cup of klah - a native drink something similar to coffee and hot chocolate combined. Most of them liked it, though one or two didn't. They had fruit juice instead. The meal was a soup made from a large bird-like animal they called a Wherry. Everyone enjoyed it immensely.
After their meal, they broke into smaller groups and were shown around the Weyr by several of the riders and weyrfolk. They were shown the Weyrling barracks and the lake with the livestrock pens nearby, the caverns for living and kitchen and storage and they were told how the weyr was run. Each group was also told the history of the weyr. Later that afternoon, they heard a humming as the dragons announced the imminent arrival of the new dragonets. Lessa and F'lar rushed the visitors into the hatching cavern and to the stands. As guests of honour, they were arranged on the first three rows near the entrance. Each was quietly excited to watch the birthing of the little dragons. They saw the size of the eggs and were amazed by them, even when newly hatched, they would be as big as a large deer.
The candidates for the eggs came in after everyone else had taken their seats, moving to one side of the eggs. As two golden dragon eggs were on the hatching sands, there was a larger than usual group of female candidates as well. Now that green dragons were picking female riders again, some of them would be chosen by the greens instead.
The gold riders of the dragons that had clutched these eggs were with their dragons, making sure that the dragons let the candidates impress the dragons.
Lessa and F'lar sat beside the Commander and were quietly talking to each other.
"Are there always so many more candidates than eggs?" the Commander asked.
"Usually there are more. We like to give the dragonets as many candidates to choose from as we can, but this time, the dragons didn't search as much because we had threadfall out of phase. That happens from time to time, but it means that we have to be extra vigilant."
"What happens to the ones who don't… impress?"
"We usually let them go home if they want to or we keep them here as some of them can be candidates again."
Just then the humming increased and the candidates moved to stand around the eggs, waiting for them to break the shell and impress. The humming continued to increase until suddenly a crack appeared in one of the rocking eggs. With a last thrust, the shell split in two and a bronze emerged.
"That's good," said Lessa. "A bronze first is a good luck sign." Adara nodded and watched as the dragonet looked around him. None of the boys seemed to be the right person. He moved around them and shoved two boys aside who were in the way. He started looking around for the mind he needed to impress with.
"He doesn't seem to want one of the candidates," said Adara with concern.
"Sometimes they pick someone from the stands."
"Someone who wasn't searched?"
"It happens sometimes. The dragons choose and so far, none have chosen badly so we let it go. The dragon is always right at impression."
The bronze moved towards the Earth people. He was looking at them and stopped in front of Raven. She panicked.
"What do I do?" she wailed. "I'm not supposed to impress!" The dragon screeched at her, wanting her to look him in the eye.
"Raven!" Adara yelled, "he wants you. Impress him!" Raven looked at her and then looked the dragon in the eye and fell forward and hugged him.
"Zilith, his name is Zilith!" Raven exclaimed, awed at the opportunity afforded her. "Yes, I know you're hungry, Zilith, we'll get some food soon," she cooed at him.
Adara was dumbfounded. She hadn't thought about this possibility. She looked at Lessa and she was in the same condition.
"What does this mean?" she asked. Lessa slowly turned to her.
"I have no idea. This is the first time a bronze chose a female. It's never happened before."
Another egg cracked and another bronze fell out. He too looked around and couldn't see his lifemate. He creeled aloud and suddenly he fell over, tangling his wing under his feet. One of the boys tried to free him, but the bronze didn't want him and hissed at him and lunged, but his fouled wings were in the way and he fell again. Atom couldn't stand it any longer and ran down the steps to unfurl his wings.
"It's alright, Jojeth, I'm helping you. You'll be okay," Atom soothed his new dragon.
Two other eggs cracked and two blues emerged. They creeled in unison and took off for the visitors, stopping in front of Monty and Jasper.
"Shimuth!" exclaimed Monty.
"Shenzeth!" said Jasper, kneeling and hugging his blue dragonet.
More and more eggs hatched and made for the Earth visitors. Impression after impression happened and none of them were with Pernese. The candidates grumbled about the visitors taking their dragons, but F'lar told them that the dragon chooses and they had.
There were only a handful of the eggs left to hatch including the two golds. Bronzes, browns, blues and greens made for the Skaikru and Trikru people and impressed them. Each visitor was in awe of their dragons. Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine this could happen!
A bronze and brown made their way over and stood in front of Octavia and Bellamy, respectively.
"Olonth!" said Octavia.
"Vadith!" said Bellamy and they both hugged their dragons and moved off with them to feed them.
A brown and blue hatched and went to Lincoln and Ash. Lincoln's brown was called Jangith and Ash's blue was called Vanilath.
"Aren't the bronzes, browns and blues supposed to impress males?"
"Yes, but these dragons seem not to follow the rules. I have no idea why they are impressing the opposite gender."
"Does that mean that the golds could impress men?"
"I hope not. No offence, Adara but I have no idea what would happen if they did."
A green emerged and headed straight to Paul.
"Oh, Garath, you are the most beautiful dragon in the world!" he cried as he hugged her.
"I'm so glad that Paul impressed. He's had a hard time since his two friends died. I think this will be good for him," explained Adara to Lessa.
"We get that too, some people are so hurt that the only thing that eases it is a dragon."
"Yes, but Paul also feels survivor guilt as he survived and his two friends died."
"That is a heavy load to bear, Adara. I think the dragon will help him."
"Adara!" yelled Clarke. When Adara turned to her, she pointed to the hatching grounds. There was a golden dragon creeling at her. Adara's eyes connected and she was filled with awe at the power of the mind of the dragon.
"Inkalith?" The dragon creeled again and Adara rushed towards her and threw her arms around her neck.
"You're alright, Inkalith, you're just hungry. We'll get you something to eat in a minute, sweetheart." Clarke looked on in envy, wishing she could impress and feel what her friends were feeling. Lexa put her hand in Clarke's and gave a little squeeze of comfort. Clarke looked at her and smiled.
Anya was looking into the eyes of a bronze with shock and awe and a feeling of completeness.
"Ovrath?" Anya whispered, unable to believe what was happening.
The second golden egg hatched and she made her way towards Jill.
"Linamarth!" Jill squealed in delight as she rushed to her dragon.
There was one last egg and it split to reveal a green who impressed with Jackson. All in all, every dragon hatched that day chose a visitor from another world. Both junior queen dragons didn't seem to mind at all, in fact they both looked a little smug.
All dragons were led out of the grounds to feed. After that they oiled their dragons with the help of the older dragonriders and the weyrlingmaster who didn't know what to make of it all. No-one had heard of dragons choosing the opposite gender, except for greens, but for women to impress bronzes and blues was unheard of.
All the browns had impressed with males, Bellamy, Murphy, Jones, Tomac, Lincoln and Miller. The bronzes had impressed three females, Raven, Octavia and Anya, and three males, Atom, John Mbege and Drew. The blues chose Monty, Jasper, Fio, Artigas, Seth, Roma and Ash. The greens had chosen Monroe, Harper, Fox, David Stevens, Eric Jackson and Paul. The golds chose Jill and Adara. 27 dragons chose 27 Earth people. Nine Earth people were left in the stands unsure what to do next. Lexa, Clarke, Charlotte, Jake Griffin, Frank Gibson, Hannah Green, Maya, Saben and Kane.
Lexa and Clarke took over the responsibility over everyone including the Earth dragonriders. The riders were involved with their new lifemates and couldn't really put that aside to deal with the fallout of it all.
"What now, Lessa?" asked Lexa. "We were supposed to go back to Earth when this was over. Do we have to stay here for a while or do we get to go home with the young dragons or do the riders have to stay here while the rest of us go home?" Lessa just looked at her. She had no clue how this was meant to play out. 27 more dragons to fight thread or 27 dragons starting life on a new world? She just didn't know. She shook her head, unable to make any sense of it all.
F'lar was consoling the candidates, telling them that at the next hatching, they would stand again. The weyrleaders present also agreed that the next time their golds were ready to clutch, they were invited to stand for those eggs as well - even if some of them would be over age by then. This appeased most of them as all of them left the hatching grounds.
Lessa turned to the dragons who had clutched this hatching.
"Did you do something about this?" she asked both dragons.
"We might have suggested to the eggs that they start a new life on another world."
"Why?" Lessa asked, confused.
"Because threadfall is coming to an end and after that, dragons will not be needed as much. We decided that our offspring should have the chance of a new life, free from the threat of thread. Now a new colony of dragons and riders can live their lives and produce a new community of dragons born on their world."
Lessa turned and told Clarke and Lexa what the dragon had said.
"They can influence the unborn dragons!" Clarke said, shocked.
"I've never known them to. Ramoth has not done that and I didn't think it could be done. Sometimes the candidates sneak into the hatching grounds when a dragon is feeding and touches certain eggs, but they swear they didn't. It's about 50-50 that they impress the dragon they touched."
"So if the dragons want our people to take the dragonets home, are you okay with that?" asked Clarke.
"We'll have to be. The dragons chose and you are not from this world. We cannot absorb your people as well and I know Adara is the leader of her people and Anya is the chieftain of her village. Your people are needed back on Earth. All I ask is for three days for your people to start getting used to looking after their dragons."
"We'll have to prepare for an influx of your people too, Lessa," said Clarke.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we know nothing about dragons, so some of your people will have to come back with us to teach them. We don't have a weyr, nor anywhere we could use as a hatching ground, not to mention all the things that happen in a weyr. We need things like that oil used for dragons. We don't have that and we can't make that much from anything we have on Earth. We'd need to find a source of oil, refine it and make the barrels to store it. We're talking about building a weyr from scratch - with people who haven't got the first idea how to do that." Lessa's eyes grew wide as the implication of Clarke's words hit her.
They would need everything! There was nothing on their world they could start from. Maybe the big building they were digging out could be utilised for the dragons and they could turn that into a weyr. They would also have to be taught everything from oiling their dragons to making their own flying clothes. It would be like Sean and Sorka starting the very first weyr all over again. The prospect was, quite frankly, frightening. The weyrs of Pern would have to supply everything to Earth until they figured out how to do it themselves. Weyrlingmasters, riders, weyrfolk, craftsfolk, they needed it all. It was a big undertaking, but Lessa was determined to honour the dragons and help them set up the very first off-world weyr.
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Later that day, the new dragon riders were sitting on the ground near the lake. All around them their dragons were sleeping.
"Adara," said Octavia. "What do we do now?"
"We learn all we can before we go home," Adara told them.
"We're going home?" asked Drew. "With our dragons?"
"Yes, we are going home with our new life mates. We will have to start a weyr from scratch, including calling it a weyr. There will have to be riders who come with us to show us how to care for our dragons and teach us to fly them and teach us how to go between. We will be starting with nothing - literally nothing. No weyr, no hatching ground, no place to live, no-one on our world to depend on when it comes to our dragons. We will not only be the first riders on Earth, but we will be building a whole new society. We may have to start a new settlement just for us."
"Does that mean that you'll have to stop being Skaikru Heda?" asked Monroe.
"Maybe. I don't know, but ask yourselves this, can you look after your dragon if you are on your own? Can you see Skaikru or Trikru just accepting these new creatures on our world?"
Both Skaikru and Trikru thought about how their people would react and they knew that some of them would be envious, or downright cruel to their dragons. Some would even try to kill them for food. Not a thought that they wanted to dwell on.
"There are… what? Five Trikru and one ex-Azgeda dragonriders. Are you all from the same settlement apart from Ash?" asked Paul. Anya nodded.
"Would your dragons be safe with your village?" Anya took a while to answer that.
"I hope so."
"But you can't say for certain?" Anya shook her head, sadly.
"No."
"I think the Skaikru will be okay with this, Arkers… not so sure. They may resent not having one and they will be plotting to get one. They won't understand how we are bonded with our dragons and will probably think that they are like horses. That you can train them to you. I don't like that thought, but I know the Arkers will not be happy."
"He's right," said Miller. "The Skaikru would accept them, but the Arkers won't. Some of them will be okay, but the majority wouldn't."
"Who takes over if Adara can't be at Connor Town to oversee everything?" asked Jill. Adara looked around.
"Kane would be the most likely, but I don't trust the Arker part of the Skaikru. I was okay with them when it was just us, but now? I believe they may revolt. They may turn on the Trikru too. I'm scared for what can happen if Kane can't keep them in line." Every Skaikru there was stunned at that admission.
"What happens if they do?" asked Fox, fearfully.
"I honestly don't know, but war may break out. If it does, we will have to stay out of it - all of us, Trikru and Skaikru dragonriders. We have to stay separate or we end up fighting each other. Do you really want your dragon to die because you were fighting someone? Would the dragons join in? How badly injured would you let your dragons get? Do you really want to put your dragons in that situation?"
They all thought about it and realised that their dragons now superseded any alliance they had with their clans. They would not put their dragons in a position to get injured so any fighting the clan got into, they would have to stay out of it. It was Anya who stated it simply.
"We have to form a new clan." Fio and Tomac looked at each other.
"What about our mates?" Fio asked.
"If they want to come, they can," stated Adara. Both nodded.
"We need to inform the Commander," said Anya. Adara nodded and looked around. Spotting Lessa she stood up and, making sure that Inkalith was still fast asleep, she made her way over to the weyrwoman.
"Lessa," Adara said, getting her attention. "Do you know where Commander Lexa is?"
"She's with the rest of your non-rider people. They have been given fire-lizard eggs and are waiting for them to hatch."
"Can you take me to them, please?"
"Come with me," Lessa said, turning towards the kitchen cavern. When they got there, Adara saw her people all waiting around a table with eggs on it. There were 11 eggs on the table and nine of her people. She walked up to them and saw that all of them were watching the eggs in front of them. Weyrfolk were standing by with chopped up meat for the fire-lizards first meal.
"Now, remember," said Menolly. "When the fire-lizard hatches, you need to feed it slowly. Make them chew their food otherwise they can choke. Talk to them, remind them that there is enough food and they will get their share. Keep them focused on you and after the meal, they will go to sleep in your arms. That's when you know they look to you."
Adara watched as one of the eggs cracked in front of Hannah Green. A handful of meat was passed to her and she was reminded to feed it.
"Yes, yes, I'm feeding you, okay. You'll get enough to eat. Chew your food carefully, little green, you'll be okay."
More eggs cracked and a queen started grabbing meat from Lexa's hand.
"Slow down, little one. I'll feed you," she said.
Kane was feeding a bronze and Jake Griffin was feeding another gold. Both men were enraptured with their little ones. Eggs from two different wild nests had been brought in for them to bond with.
Frank Gibson and Clarke were feeding a blue and bronze respectively. Frank had a look of awe on his face and Clarke was enamoured of her bronze. Maya and Saben were each feeding a young fire-lizard. Then one emerged in front of Charlie and she looked uncertain about what to do. Adara moved to her side, grabbing a fistful of meat on the way.
"Feed him, Charlie. Make him take it from your hand at your pace. Make sure he chews it too." Charlie got the idea and spoke to the brown as she slowly fed him. Suddenly meat was yanked from Adara's hand and she turned around to see who had taken it. Her eyes connected with a blue and a brown, fighting to be fed. Adara looked around and saw that everyone had a fire-lizard and no-one was looking to feed these two. She sighed and fed both of them. She had just gotten two fire-lizards as well.
When each fire-lizard had been fed and were fast asleep in their new person's arms, Lessa came up to them and asked them if they knew what they were going to name them.
"I'd like to call mine Mika, after my mother. Greens are female, aren't they?"
"Yes, they are. The genders are the same for dragons and fire-lizards.
"Then Mika it is," she said, stroking the back of her new friend.
"I'd like to call my brown, Myles after our Myles that died," said Charlie. "His colour is the same shade as Myles' hair, and Connor already has a town named after him."
"I think that is a fitting tribute to our friend, Charlie," said Adara, smiling at her.
"What are you going to call yours, Adara?" Charlie asked.
"Well, I think I'd like to name the blue, Saxon, and the brown, Lakota."
"I think I'd like to do something similar to Charlie. There used to be a company called Wells Fargo and I'd like to name him Fargo in honour of Wells Jaha. I don't think David would mind," said Clarke.
"Etana," said Lexa. "It has two meanings, either strength of purpose or attractive and unusual."
"Both of those meanings are apt," said Clarke, still stroking her bronze fire-lizard.
"Simon, after my grandfather," said Maya, of her brown.
"Osleya, it means champion," said Saben, stroking his green.
"I want to name my bronze Hugo, after Victor Hugo," said Kane.
"Bella," said Jake. "I wanted to call her beauty, but Menolly's is called that and Bella means beauty and this little gold is definitely a beauty." Jake didn't even realise he was babbling. Clarke grinned.
"Flint, for the station I lived in," said Frank, his blue snoring away in his arms.
"Those are all good names," said Menolly. "Now, when they awaken, feed them again and then oil them. Just like dragons, they need oiled while they are growing and they need to be oiled every two days when they are full grown. Their skin can't produce the oils needed to keep it in good condition." They all nodded. Adara remembered the reason she had come up here.
"Commander?" she said. When Lexa turned to her she continued. "We've talked it over and we've realised that we cannot be part of our respective clans anymore. If you fight, we have to stay out of it because of our dragons. We won't risk them. So we want to form another clan of dragonriders and their weyrfolk, but we want to be part of the Kongeda. We don't want to fight with anyone. Our dragons are more important than anything - including clan wars." Lexa and everyone else looked at her.
"Adara!" said Clarke. "You're our leader!"
"I know, but can you honestly say that Skaikru Arkers will take to our having dragons in the town? Do you think they would be okay with my having a dragon and prioritising her over them?"
"No," said Clarke, after thinking about it. "Some of them would do something stupid."
"I'd have to talk to the other clans about this," said Lexa. "Where do you want to go?"
"We don't know, but I think for now, we'll stay at White Oak. The building is big enough to be made into a weyr. I know that if we are to move, it would be better to do it sooner than later. We'd need to talk to the weyrleaders here about where to go and how to build a weyr. It's a big undertaking, but I think we need this."
"What about us?"
"I think you'll be okay. They don't reach dragon size and they can be trained to your commands. Just make sure that you don't think about anything negative around them and they won't react to everyone. I've heard that they can tell when someone is thinking bad thoughts about you or malicious actions they intend to take. No-one can hide from a fire-lizard, so that is one more layer of protection for you."
"Then we'll need to learn all we can for our new friends, dragons and fire-lizards," said Lexa, hoping that she didn't have a revolt on her hands when the clans found out about them.
Adara nodded and slowly got up to go back and report to the other riders. She only hoped none of them were jealous about her having two fire-lizards as well.
She got back to the circle of riders and Murphy looked up as she approached.
"Geez, Adara, isn't your dragon enough!?" he said, with a grin on his face.
"Tell me about it! The others were getting fire-lizard eggs and when they hatched I was helping Charlie when these greedy buggers stole the meat out of my hand. No-one was trying to feed them so I did and now I have these two!"
"Well, I've got enough on my hands dealing with Baramuth, I don't envy you trying to deal with a dragon AND two fire-lizards," said Murphy. He laughed at the look of horror on Adara's face.
"Don't worry, we'll help you out," said a voice behind her. She spun around and saw three young riders standing there. All of them had fire-lizards. "We remember what it was like trying to look after both at the same time."
"Thank you, I've got the feeling I'll need it."
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"What are your dragon riders' names?" asked one of them.
"What do you mean?" asked Miller.
"When you become a dragon rider, your name gets shortened," said D'bor, walking up to them. "My name was Dinelbor, but when I impressed Cralleth, I became D'bor." They all thought about it.
"The girls as well?" asked Fox.
"Well no. The girls or women usually keep their names."
"But isn't it an honorific from the dragons?" Adara asked, sure D'bor had told her that the first time he went to Earth.
"Yes," he drawled out, not sure where this was going.
"So only males are allowed the honorific dragon name? Does that mean the dragons don't honour the female riders, or does it mean that the MALE riders kept it for men only?" Adara asked, leaning forward with a touch of menace in her voice.
"Sexist morons!" huffed Octavia.
"Yeah!" said Roma and Monroe in unison.
D'bor started to backpedal when the females of the group stood up. He was stopped by the two female riders in his weyrling class. Both Pernese women stared at him, also wanting to know the answer.
"Well...," D'bor prevaricated.
"Well, which is it?" asked Adara, advancing on him.
"It was started by the first riders," said N'ton, coming over to them. "Because the males were ridden by males and they flew to fight thread, the dragons would sometimes slur their names when talking fast to them. Eventually the dragon names stuck but only for the first riders who were male. The first time they fought against thread, the gold riders used flamethrowers to combat thread. The males chewed firestone and could flame naturally."
"So, it was the first male riders who got an honorific, but the females - who also fought thread - didn't. Don't you think that's a bit sexist?"
"Well…" said N'ton, not really sure how to get out of it.
"Most of us only have short names that can't really be shortened," said Drew.
"My name is Bellamy. If my dragon wants to call me Bell, like O does, I don't mind, but the rest of you will call me Bellamy, got it?" he said. Nods were given all around.
"I'm keeping my name," said Jasper. "I don't think I'd like J'per or J'sper. I much prefer Jasper. It's not that hard to say."
"I think I'd like to be called N'han," said Miller. "With Nathan as my given name, I think I'd like that."
"No problem… N'han. That's going to take some getting used to. We're used to calling you Miller instead of Nathan, but if you want the honorific, I'm not going to say you can't," said Adara. "I just want it to be equal. If males can get it, then females can too. Right Octavia?"
"Damn straight!" she replied.
"L'con," said Lincoln. "Not sure that sounds right. No, I think I'll keep Lincoln."
"Ar'gas," said Artigas.
"David," said David
"I'm still debating between Eric, Jackson or J'son," said Jackson.
"When Halonth wakes, you can ask her what she prefers," Adara suggested. Jackson nodded.
"Anyone else? Octavia could be shortened to O'via, Monroe to M'roe, Raven to R'ven. We also have two Johns but we usually call them by their surnames so we don't confuse them. What about you two? Want to change names?"
"I'm good with either John or Mbege," he said. "Though if my Chamnith wants to call me Bege or something like that, I don't mind."
"Nah," said Murphy. Even though my first name's actually Jonathan, I think I'll stick with Murphy."
"Well you could be J'han, like Miller's now N'han," said Fox.
"What's your first name, Fox?" Murphy asked.
"Hilda," said Fox, quietly.
"What was that?" he asked again. Fox steeled herself.
"Hilda," she said in a louder voice. "I was named after a long dead relative and always hated it. I'd much rather be called Fox."
"Got it," said Murphy. After a pause, Adara took charge again.
"Okay, on another note, N'ton, where do we get oil for our dragons from?"
"There's some in the weyrling barracks," he said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb.
"No," Adara said. "Where do we get oil to take back to Earth from?"
"Oh," N'ton said. "I hadn't thought of that."
"We need everything, N'ton. EVERYTHING. Weyrlingmasters to teach us. Riders to show us how to move around and care for our dragons when they can fly and to teach us to go between safely. We need weyrfolk who know how a weyr works. We need food, oils, clothing, hides for making riding straps, crafters to set up new crafthalls, the whole thing, N'ton. We don't have any of it. Our world is still recovering from the war and we don't have the population nor the crafting to make the stuff ourselves. Our plants are different to yours. Our animals are different to yours. We wouldn't know where to start on finding out what fish or berries could be used for oil."
N'ton began to see the scope of the endeavour to return the newly hatched dragons to Earth. They had nothing and had no knowledge of dragons. From what he had been told, there were approximately 60 or 70 thousand clanspeople spread through 12 clans and the entire Eastern part of the old country. There were not many people near who could be taught or trained to care for the welfare of the weyr.
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Later that day, when they were oiling their dragons again, the others came over to watch - and to oil their own little friends. Lexa and Clarke were oiling their fire-lizards while Charlie and Frank were watching the dragons being oiled whilst waiting their turn. Charlie took note on how the dragonriders oiled their friends. She watched as they oiled the eyelids carefully with their fingers and oiled the face with a cloth, but used a larger cloth on a brush to oil the body, legs and tail of the dragons. Charlie was thinking she should use her fingers for Myles' head and a small cloth for his body until he got bigger and needed a bigger cloth.
Frank was watching how the kids - and he still thought of them as kids, no matter what they had done just because he was conditioned to see them as kids - with their dragons and noticed that no-one was arguing. The Trikru and Skaikru were both getting along. Frank realised that it was the dragons that brought them together. If they did form their own clan then he wanted to go with them. With Adara and Anya, he could see a time when all clans had dragons and no-one wanted to fight anymore. They could then turn to improving their lives and learning, or rather relearning forgotton crafts and science.
Hannah was watching her son with his blue dragon, Shimuth. She watched as he suddenly smiled and paused in his oiling with an almost reverential look on his face. She watched as her son took a deep breath and let it out in a happy sigh. Monty was happy. She knew he was happy with Harper, but now, it looked like he had found peace too. As she looked around she realised that all of them, well the Skaikru anyway, seemed at peace. They were more mature than the Arker Skaikru had initially thought, but now, that maturity paired with the peaceful looks made those of the hundred seem like they had been like this all the time and the Arkers just hadn't taken any notice. Her son and his friends had grown up and were now masters of their own destiny and no-one - not even their parents - had the right to stop them. Hannah knew she wouldn't stop them, even if her son was one of them.
Jake, Kane and Saben just watched as the Trikru and Skaikru dragonriders got along. Saben especially saw that now there was no difference between them. Adara was the leader of them and even Anya was respecting that. He was surprised that Anya didn't try to take over. She had always said that the Skaikru goufas were more than they seemed but she also saw them as uninformed and ignorant of everything to do with the ground. Still, she had respected their leader enough to work with her in bringing down the mountain. For that alone, Saben knew they would follow Adara. He was wondering if he could be part of it. He knew he was too old for a dragon, but then again, Fio and Tomac had impressed dragons even though they were over the age of most candidates. He was content with his Osleya, she was enough for him.
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Unbeknownst to the Earth people, the Weyrleaders, craftmasters and Harpers were in a conference at the Harper Hall. They had called the meeting to discuss what to do about teaching the Earth people about looking after their dragons and how to run - or rather build - a weyr. F'lar stood up when everyone had arrived and sat down.
"Adara and her people need to go back to Earth. That is not negotiable. They are needed back there. Adara is the leader of her people and Commander Lexa rules over 12 clans. Without them, their people would either go to war or at the vey least, revolt against their leaders. Adara's people in particular are still coming to terms with living on the ground and not in space in a station. What we need to discuss here, is how to help them."
"They need everything," said N'ton. "I've been talking to Adara and she knows how little they have and how little they know about dragons. To keep those dragons alive, they will need our help."
"What kind of help," asked J'frey. Lessa stood up and everyone watched her.
"They need weyrlingmasters, dragons and their riders, weyrfolk, and crafters within a weyr. They need oil, food, clothing such as flying clothes, individual weyrs. Shards, they even need an actual weyr!" she said. "These people know nothing of dragons and their ways, they have no weyrs nor holds, their crafting was put back centuries because of the war. They have nothing and no time to learn it." They all took in the ramifications of the undertaking.
"I'm asking for volunteers to go back with them," F'lar said. I've got six dragons and riders who want to go to Earth to teach them and to help start a weyr. I've also got three riders whose dragons can still fly, but cannot fly thread wanting to go. We need people who don't mind roughing it until somewhere is built or modified for use as a weyr. We need crafters to go and start craft halls there. We need weyrfolk to run the weyr and to help with everything that happens in a weyr - even though they haven't got one yet. Healers, Harpers, Stone masons, miners, loggers, masters who know how to make buildings safe for use. We'll need to build water wheels and windmills for power. If they can find solar panels, they have Raven and Monty to install them. They need everything."
"Will our people come back?" asked one of the craftmasters.
"If they want to. I won't say that they'll all come back, but I think most of them will."
"How long would they have to be there?"
"I don't know. How long does it take to set a weyr up from scratch without any knowledge of how to do it?"
"If I may?" asked Sebell. When F'lar nodded, Sebell continued.
"How many people can say that they started a whole new craft on another world? Don't forget, they will be on Earth and the flora and fauna will be a little bit different from here. I for one will be asking one of our master harpers to relocate to the new world. That master will keep records of everything they do there, not just what the harpers are doing, but also what the new dragonriders are doing, how they are organising their weyr, if in fact they call it a weyr. They don't have thread there, so do they need to learn to chew firestone and breathe fire? There are a lot of questions that need answering."
"Sebell's right. We need to ask our people if they want to volunteer to go help them set up on Earth," said N'ton. "I've been there, and there aren't a lot of people there."
"I will ask my people if they want to volunteer," said K'van.
"I will too," said T'gellan the weyrleader of Monaco bay - the only weyr that wasn't built into the side of a volcano.
"I think I would like to see where they are going to be before I ask my people to go there," said Master Fandarel. "I need to see how much they have and don't have, so I know who to send."
"What about their beasts?" asked Ballora, the beastmaster.
"Not many are domesticated any more. They go hunt and catch wild animals for food. The only place they keep animals is in the capital and that's only because they can't catch enough for everyone there. Other than that, there are no domesticated animals except for runnerbeasts, which they call horses. They are not for eating, but riding." N'ton was in favour of helping to rebuild the old world. He wished he could go too, but being a weyrleader, he had responsibilities on Pern.
"Will we be sending people to become weyrleaders there?" asked Mirrim.
"No. It will be up to them to decide how to build their new weyr. I think they will continue on with the way they do things. Adara is a leader, Anya is a chieftain and some of the others held high positions within their communities. I don't think they need to organise their weyr along our lines. They will not be flying thread, so they do not need the structure we have. We need to talk to the Earth riders and see what they want from us," F'lar explained.
"Can we send some of our beasts to them for the dragons to eat?" asked Ballora. I think if we can do that, then there's a good chance of the dragons thriving. I think if they have to rely on hunted food, then the people there will start resenting the dragons for eating their food."
"Okay," said Menolly. "I think we each need to get a list of who wants to volunteer for this. We need at least one weyrlingmaster who is okay with women having bronze and blue dragons, and what kinds of animals to send, what types of plants would thrive in their area without taking over. Would numbweed be a good thing to transplant on Earth? We all know the value of it. If we could transplant it, then they could make their own. Same with fellis."
"There is a lot to think about," said Mirrim.
"And not a lot of time to do it," said Lessa. "They go back to Earth in three days. We have people willing to transport the young dragons and their riders back home. The nine who want to go will be staying there to help them. We need to send an experienced weyrlingmaster. Any ideas who?"
"Bear in mind, that these new riders are already more mature than our candidates would be, because of what they've been through. I know I wouldn't be as capable as them after seeing that mountain," said F'lar with a shudder.
Everyone was thinking about who to send or ask to go. Sebell and Menolly had heard from Piemur that he would consider relocating to Earth if Jancis wanted to go as well. Sebell was wanting to send one of the more administrative minded harpers to document everything. This would be an auspicious start to this new found Earth and hopefully, new friends. Menolly was certain that the traditional ways of Pern were not the way the Earth people would do things, but at the same time, the Earth people knew they needed Pernese help with everything. She hoped that it would lead to a lifelong friendship and a generational one as well.
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AN: All dragon names for the Earth Riders are mine. I have not read all of the Dragons of Pern books, but I have read everything about the ninth pass. I hope I haven't inadvertently used an already known dragon name.