Pavor Nocturnus
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Halyonix
Date Posted: 21st April 2025
Series: Bronze and Blue Entwined
Characters: I'serin
Description: I'serin has his usual nightmare but it's different now
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 5, day 17 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned K'mai, Chioneth
I’serin usually had this same dream -- a recurring nightmare -- whenever he was stressed. And while he subconsciously knew the reason for that stress (set up in little tents in the Weyrbowl), it still did not stop the dream from occurring, dragging I’serin along through its sequence of events until it released him at the end.
It always began with the rumbling, the impending earthquake that heralded their doom. A confused I’serin rising from a table, listening to Aluneth, who was attempting to assess the rapidly evolving situation.The orders to run, to evacuate. I’serin mentally going through the list of his family. Running down to the Infirmary to grab his mother and one of her apprentices.
The walls heaved. Groaned. Cracks formed in stone, spiderwebbed across foundations. I’serin remembered all of this in terrible detail as he ran for Aluneth. Pushing his passengers onboard his dragon. Yelling at another of the Weyrfolk to mount.
And then the dream did something new.
He heard himself say, “I have to find K’mai,” even though that was not how history went. Derailed of its usual outcome, the nightmare shifted and I’serin now found himself charging back into the Weyr, shouting, as corridors twisted, warped around him, forming a labyrinth he could not escape. Nor could he find K’mai.
The walls grew closer, confining. Trapping.
Encasing him forever in stone.
With a garbled shout, I’serin broke free of the nightmare. He felt as though he had been fighting for hours. Judging by the way the sheets were bound around his limbs, perhaps he had. }: The nightmare again? :{ Aluneth asked softly. Panting, I’serin nodded. In the Turn after River Bluff’s destruction, this had been a common occurrence. The mindhealers had said it was a normal thing for survivors to experience as the mind tried to work through its trauma. That did not make it any easier to endure.
Untangling himself, I’serin focused on his breathing to ground himself enough before stumbling towards the comfort of Aluneth’s bulk. Like a shaken child, the Weyrleader of Dragonsfall Weyr curled up against his dragon’s side, letting Aluneth’s wing form a protective shield from the world outside, as he battled the internal world of his mind.
Why had the dream been different this time? Was it trying to reveal something? It was not that I’serin put much faith in the logic of dreams but this one had always been telling, forcing him to face his stressors instead of running from them. Except this time, he had no clear recourse. What did the stone walls closing in mean? Why had he needed to find K’mai? If he had let the dream play out as before, would it have had a different ending? Was there an answer to be found or was it just a dream?
I’serin remained there, eyes tightly closed, until he could sense the dawn filtering through Aluneth’s wing. No closer to the answer, he exhaled in defeat. Extricating himself from his cocoon, one hand holding on to Aluneth, he watched the sun rise over the Weyr. His gaze drifted over the tents that housed the Holdless, the ledge that held Chioneth, up to the weyr that housed K’mai, avoiding the direction where his father slept, as he packed away the dream and its cryptic meaning for another time.
Rubbing his forehead against the headache that was certain to find him later on, I’serin went back into his room to prepare for whatever troubles the Weyr would bring him that day.
Last updated on the April 25th 2025
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