Sorry for the slight delay in the update; I realised that I have three exams this week and I haven't finished studying for any of them (even the one I have tomorrow!)
Anyway...
You all know how the disclaimer runs by now.
And so the Turns passed. While Mor, Drianne and Brek learned to play, make and compose for every instrument of the Harper craft, Dioron and Andy learned signals, anatomy and first aid, improved their swimming skills and swam out to sea with various dolphin pods, though Booj and Dit became their special partners and joined them whenever they swam.
Then one day, it all changed.
"Mor! Drianne! Where are you?" called Brek, running through the halls, searching for his friends. "I've got great news!"
He bounded up the stairs, and nearly crashed into Master Seth on the way up. "Sorry, sir!" Brek called over his shoulder.
"Slow down a bit!" Seth shouted. "You'll break your neck, racing up and down the stairs like that! Or someone else's," he added to himself, rubbing his neck as he continued down the stairs.
Brek burst into his dormitory, and found Drianne and Mor there, rehearsing an orchestra piece together. "What's up, Brek?" Mor asked, stilling the strings of his gitar. Now twelve, he had grown a lot, and was taller than Drianne. His long black hair was desperately in need of a trim, and he was forever brushing it back out of his eyes.
"You look as excited as you did that time you found that two-marker at the Gather," Drianne remarked, secretly amused.
"This is much more important than a two-marker!" he said excitedly. "I just got a message from Father saying that there's eggs on the Benden Hatching Ground, and riders from there are coming here on Search!"
Mor felt his heart leap into his throat. What child of Pern hadn't dreamed of riding one of the great dragons, and having one as a lifelong partner? "When are they coming?" he asked eagerly.
"They should be here within a sevenday," Brek replied. "I'll probably be Searched, but it would be so great if you two were Searched too! We could all be dragonriders together!"
"That would be great, but at the moment, I'm going to concentrate on becoming a Harper," said Drianne, turning back to her music. Like everyone else, she too dreamed of becoming a dragonrider, but being far more realistic than the boys, realised that she didn't have much chance of being Searched, so she would work towards a goal she could achieve. Apprentice harpers were far down the list to be near enough for the dragons to sense if they were worthy, so there was little chance she would be picked out.
"I hope they come really soon!" said Mor in excitement.
And they did. The very next day, half a wing of dragons landed in the courtyard, two by two, depositing their riders before taking off to give the next pair room to land. The five bronze, brown and green dragons settled on the fireheights, while the blue stayed in the courtyard, beside his rider and the wingleader.
"Brek! There are dragonriders outside!" whispered Mor, peering out the window during breakfast. "The blue is still down in the courtyard, and aren't they supposed to be sensitive to possible dragonriders?"
"Yep," said Brek, looking very smug. "Today will be my last day at the Hall."
"Don't be so sure of yourself!" Drianne snapped. Brek had talked non-stop about the Search since receiving the letter from F'nor, and she was sick of it. "They might ignore you completely!"
After breakfast, Brek stopped Mor in the hall. "I'll be Searched, won't I?" he asked, worry on his face.
"Of course you will," Mor reassured him. "You're the nephew of the most famous Weyrleaders ever!"
"But what if Drianne is right? What if I'm not chosen?"
"You will be, so stop worrying about it."
"You'll never know how much your confidence means to me, Mor," said Brek with a relieved sigh. He gave his friend a brief hug. "Now, we'd better get to class."
"It's so much duller around here without Brek, isn't it?" Mor remarked as he and Drianne strode along the upper corridor of the Hall one rainy morning. Their duties as journeyman and journeywoman left them little time for themselves, so the two of them cherished the little time they could spend together these days.
"You mean B'kennor," she corrected. Then she sighed. "I know what you mean though. Life is nearly boring without him."
It had been three Turns since Brek had left to stand as a candidate on the Hatching Ground, but Mor still remembered it like yesterday. How all the apprentices and younger journeymen and women were lined up in the courtyard, and how the blue had moved along the line, stopping every now and then for a second look. How Brek, standing next to him in the line, sighed with relief and joy as the blue's rider announced that he had been Searched, and the happy look on his face as he stepped forward. His own disappointment as he was passed by.
A Turn later, he and Drianne had walked the tables, and now spent most of their time with their assigned Masters. For Mor, that meant composing and playing with Master Domick, and for Drianne, it meant making instruments with Master Trigarty, for she had become very adept with her hands.
"He said he'll be coming to the Hall soon," said Drianne, breaking into Mor's thoughts. "He didn't say how soon though, and he usually does. It's a little odd."
Just then, a bell began to toll. Mor sighed. "That's ninth hour. I have to get back to Master Domick now, so I'll see you later."
"I've got to go back for my scarf; I've forgotten it again. Catch up with you later," Drianne called as Mor headed for the stairs.
Looking through the score in his hands rather than where he was going, Mor tripped over something sitting on one of the stairs. He threw out his hands to save himself, and he felt something crack as he crashed down the stairs and the pages of the score went everywhere.
"Oh, my goodness!" a female voice cried. "Are you all right?"
A girl who looked no older than sixteen was gazing worriedly down the stairs at him. Mor was instantly captivated by her large violet eyes, and the black hair that fell to her waist, and he felt his stomach begin to do flips. Spending time with all the older boys had introduced Mor to the world of girls sooner than he would have been otherwise, and he was experienced beyond his years in the matters of love. Many of the female apprentices had made eyes at him since he became a journeyman, but it was the first time he had ever returned the feeling.
"I think so," he called back, and started to manoeuvre in an attempt to stand, wincing at every movement. He sure would have a fine set of bruises!
"Don't stand up!" she cried in alarm, and began descending the stairs. "You took a couple of nasty knocks, and I want to make sure you didn't hurt yourself." She finished her descent, and crouched beside him where he lay across the bottom three steps. She examined his head, and sighed in relief. "It doesn't look like you suffered any damage to your head. Is everything else all right?"
She gave him a hand to stand up, and he swayed with dizziness as he stood and pain coursed through his right hand as it hit the banister. "Hold on, you're not very steady, are you?" she said, putting his arm over her shoulders. "I think I'd best take you to a proper Healer. I'm only a journeywoman, so I'd like to get you checked by a Master over at the Hall. Good grief!"
She had caught sight of his right hand, which had bone sticking through the skin and was bleeding everywhere. She stared at it, horrified, for a few moments, before saying, "I definitely need to take you to the Healer Hall now. I don't have the equipment necessary to fix that!"
She began talking as they started across the hall for the next flight of stairs. "My name is Diara, and I just came here from my home in Laro Hold, Telgar. I'm a journeywoman healer, and I've returned to the Hall to get my Mastery. How about you?"
"Oh, I'm Mor, Master Domick's journeyman. He's the Composition Master here at the Harper Hall," Mor replied, glad to have something else to think about. He had to resist the impulse to keep glancing at his hand to make sure it was still there. He couldn't feel it at all by now. "I'm originally from Fer Hold, in Tillek, but I've been at the Hall for about five Turns."
They soon reached the Healer's wing of the Hall, where Diara turned Mor over to the capable Master Pierjan, and his hand was set, splinted and bandaged within the hour. Diara stayed with him as he was treated, and so was still there when Master Domick burst into the room.
"Mordekai!" he thundered. "What have you done?"
Both Mor and Diara jumped in surprise. "I haven't done anything, sir!" Mor protested. "I only fell down the stairs!"
"And broke your hand!" Domick cried. "How are you supposed to continue to improve your musical skills when you cannot play?"
"My hand should be mended within two months, sir. Surely my music can wait for that long?"
"It shouldn't have to! It wouldn't have happened if you had been looking where you were going for once! And who is this young woman?" he asked, turning his formidable frown on Diara, who shrunk back a little.
"This is Journeywoman Diara, the Healer brought me to Master Pierjan for treatment when she judged my injury to be beyond her resources to mend," Mor said courteously, giving her a reassuring smile. Diara smiled back tentatively, still unsure of the angry Domick.
Domick's frown lessened. "At least one of you two has a bit of sense,' he grumbled. "Report to my study this afternoon at the fifteenth hour," he added to Mor, who nodded. Diara heaved a quiet sigh of relief as the door closed behind him.
"I'm dreadfully sorry I got you into such trouble. I shouldn't have left my bag on the stairs, but I just had to put it down for a moment," she said, turning towards Mor.
"Oh, it doesn't matter," he replied. "I'm left-handed, so I'll still be able to write. Master Domick will just have to halt my lessons for a while. He's not as fierce as he sounds."
"You're so brave standing up to him," she breathed. Suddenly, she leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you around!" she said as she slipped off her chair and left, winking at him.
"Bye," he called as she closed the door. I'm in love! he thought to himself.
Sorry if the time-skips confused anybody.