Emergency Weyr Conclave

Writers: Avery, Devin, Heather, Suzee
Date Posted: 3rd April 2019

Characters: Cyradis, Saibra, K'ran, N'vanik, M'stan, Leriyah, Raelis, S'shin, H'lib, T'miel, Udari
Description: The Southern Weyrs hold a conclave to decide what to do about River Bluff's riders.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 27 of Turn 8

Cyradis

Saibra

K'ran

N'vanik

"Open the shutters, air out the council room, and quickly." Saibra
barked to the drudge nearest her. "You," she pointed at a curly-haired
one, "build the fire. Our guests won't be used to the cold." At
forty-six degrees it was borderline warm for Dragonsfall standards,
but for those coming from warm areas, it would be a snap of cold.

The Dragonsfall Weyrwoman thought back to the last time they'd had a
Weyr Conclave, how she'd been put-out that they had not hosted, now
here they were, hosting an emergency meeting after the disaster at
River Bluff.

These were certainly not the circumstances Saibra had hoped for when
playing hostess to the other Weyrleaders of Southern Pern.

}: Our guests arrive.:{ Chioneth passed along the message to Saibra and
Erdenth just before the first bronze and gold popped into the air
above Dragonsfall.

Xmrenth arrived over Dragonsfall and answered the challenge of the
watch dragon's bugle with a brassy warble. K'lvin wasn't alone on
Xmrenth's neckridge, he carried with him the River Bluff Weyrleader.

Panitath popped in with a loud pop of displaced air and descended
after declaring herself to the Watchdragon. "N'vanik should be here
soon" She said as she slid down and wrapped herself in the cloak she'd
brought for the purpose.

Once Xmrenth landed, K'ran slid off of his Wingleader's bronze. They'd
walk together to the Council chambers. Since he wasn't coming with a
Weyrwoman, he figured it would be nice to have the backup of a second
authoritative representative.

Another gold and bronze pair appeared, the leaders of Vista Point.
T'miel's bronze landed first and he waited for Galardja to dismount
before escorting her in.

Galardja wore a somber expression as she took her Weyrleader's offered
hand. While she'd never thought highly of Lenala, she certainly never
would have wished something like this on her and Galardja mourned the
loss of a fellow goldrider and Queen of Pern.

N'vanik joined his Weyrwoman a few moments later. It was always a bit
strange coming back here and it was far more unsettling to be at
Dragonsfall under these circumstances.

M'stan and Leriyah arrived next from Far Island. The tall Weyrleader
bristled against the cold of Dragonsfall, thankful for the warmth of
his fur-lined riding jacket. "It's good to see you all," he said to
the group as they gathered in the council room and began taking their
seats, "even under such circumstances."

K'lvin felt out of place beside of K'ran in the room full of
Weyrleaders, but he was one of the only people left at River Bluff
with the experience to assist his Weyrleader at the conclave. He had
also been the one to visit the main Holds in the River Bluff area and
ask for their help in taking in displaced weyrfolk. His mind still
felt scattered from the events of the last few days, and he was
carefully avoiding in any thoughts of his weyrmate.

The Rising Moons pair of Raelis and S'shin were next to arrive. They
walked in silence to the council chamber, both sorry to hear of the
loss of Lenala and wondering what the new news from River Bluff would
be.

The Windswept Islands pair arrived. Elderly Weyrwoman Udari was
wrapped in a heavy cloak against the chill. Her Weyrleader Tr'nai made
sure she was seated and comfortable before sitting down himself.

With their arrival, all of the Southern Weyrs were now represented.
K'ran entered the conference room, took a seat next to K'lvin, and
nodded in greeting at the other arriving Weyrleaders. He was content
to let Saibra or K'sedel speak first since they were hosting, even
though the news was from his Weyr.

Cyradis smiled gently at K'ran. "How is Rogueth doing?"

Several pairs of eyes turned to the River Bluff Weyrleader. They had
all heard different stories and tidbits through the grapevine. Saibra
gave a nod to one of the drudges, who began placing cups of klah by
each of those that had gathered for the conclave.

"He's not able to launch himself into the air yet, but he's
recovering," K'ran replied to Cyradis.

"Sorry to hear he can't fly," Tr'nai said. He couldn't imagine how he
would feel if he couldn't even fly his own dragon.

"If I may," K'reyel got to his feet, slowly easing the chair back
after the drudges had placed a cup of klah, and pitcher of juice by
him. "Perhaps we should begin. First, I'd like to offer my
condolences, and I do understand what a loss this is. Devastation like
that..." His voice trailed off momentarily as Thayan Peak crossed his
mind. "Anyway," he continued. "K'ran, if I could ask you to tell us
what you know."

Now that K'sedel had brought it to order, K'ran took a deep breath. He
used a good hand to push one copy of the Masons' report to the center
of the table so it could be passed around. Another he kept to read
from.

"First, I'd like to thank all of you for your help. The gift of
supplies and places for our vulnerable to stay meant that wounded were
saved that might otherwise have died," K'ran said simply.

"The day after the earthquake, a team of Masons from the Miner Hall at
Garnet Valley arrived to do a structural integrity assessment. The
loss of the Hatching Grounds means no golds could lay and tend their
clutches, and the dragon infirmary and weyrling barracks were a total
loss. Enough of the weyrs and lower caverns were damaged that we
wouldn't be able to house our population."

"Their conclusion, after three days of work, is that the Weyr is unfit
for habitation at this time. And as a Weyrleader, I agree that it
cannot be used as a working Weyr. This means that the Conclave will
need to address two major issues. How to cover River Bluff's territory
for now, and where to send the displaced riders."

N'vanik's heart ached for K'ran and for everything he and the River
Bluff folks had suffered. "I'm sure we'd all be happy to take on a few
riders each, and their families and non-riders too." One or two Weyrs
would be overburdened to take on everyone, but spreading them among
the remaining seven Weyrs should be manageable, if a bit of a stretch.

Cyradis nodded in agreement. "We can house an entire wing along with
their support staff."

M'stan and Leriyah exchanged looks, clearly corresponding with the
help of their dragons before the Far Island Weyrleader looked back at
those gathered, "Far Island can take a Wing as well. That does leave
the matter of Threadfall territory. With another Wing we could expand
our reach."

T'miel spoke next. "Vista Point would take some riders and be happy to
take over some of River Bluff's former territory. In conjunction with
Dragonsfall and Far Island, we could cover it all."

"If the Weyrs west of the Sea of Azov split up River Bluff's
territory, then Rising Moons could take some territory from one of
those Weyrs on their east, to lighten the load," Raelis said.

"If we all take a bit more, that would make sure none of us are
stretched too thin," N'vanik said. "Can someone get a big map?"

Cyradis nodded at N'vanik's train of thought. "Yes, if each of the
Weyrs adjusts their borders a bit we could make the changes roughly
equal and not burden one or two weyrs with the full responsibility."

Saibra stepped out for a brief moment, collecting a flight map from
her desk that she brought back into the council room. "This should
have all the territories on it," she said, spreading the large sheaf
of parchment in the center of the table and laying weights on each
corner to keep it from rolling up.

H'lib of Dream's End Weyr had been silent for some time, but now he
spoke up."If we move ours up to end at the south or north end of the
barrier range, ceding it to Rising Moons," he said with a nod at
Raelis, "We could expand ours out westward to at least Jade Harbour."

Every time N'vanik saw H'lib he remembered how good it felt to punch
that jackass in the face. "We could push west to take some of Dream's
End's territory and south along the mountains to ease things up for
Rising Moons."

It took a few candlemarks, but finally the revised map of Threadfall
territories had been drawn up in a way that ever Weyr agreed to. As
for the people of River Bluff, K'ran had brought a list of River
Bluff's wings and staff numbers, and they had been divided up to their
new homes. When he got back to the Weyr, he'd give the weyrfolk final
information on the moves so they could shuffle internally to stay with
family.

"If that's all, I think we're done," Udari from Windswept said. She'd
been nodding off near the end and was eager to get home.

M'stan and Leriyah from Far Island stood as well, luckily their trip
wasn't as far since they were neighbors to Dragonsfall. M'stan put a
hand to the small of his Weyrwoman's back, regarding her with a warm
expression that she returned before escorting her out to their waiting
dragons.

Saibra said her polite goodbyes, stopping to give Cyradis a brief hug,
"Come again under better circumstances." She released the Dolphin Cove
Weyrwoman and then reached out a hand to give K'ran's arm a light
squeeze. "And I hope Rogueth has a speedy recovery."

Cyradis smiled with warmth at Saibra. "I will," she said and then
looking back at the map on the table turned back including K'ran and
N'vanik. "Why don't I take that to the Harper Hall and get copies made
for all the Weyrs. I can have them delivered as soon as they're
complete."

"Good idea," N'vanik said. The meeting had gone smoothly, the other
Weyrleaders stepping up without complaint to do their best for each
other and Pern. No sign of the egos and sniping from last time.

On her way out, Galardja laid a hand on K'ran's arm. "I'm truly sorry
for your loss." An entire Weyr destroyed, a goldrider dead, other
lives lost. It was almost too terrible to think of.

"Thank you for your concern," K'ran said. He watched the other
Weyrleaders and Weyrwomen leave the Conclave room, taking sympathies
from those who wanted to offer any and answering any last
questions.Once they were all gone, he looked around the Dragonsfall
conference room with wistfulness. Now that River Bluff was closing, he
wasn't a Weyrleader anymore and he would no longer be a peer of these
men and women. Melancholy filled him as he realized he had no idea
what his future would hold. Shaking his head, he joined K'lvin for the
last ride back to River Bluff.

Last updated on the April 16th 2019

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Emergency Weyr Conclave