Collecting Search Tokens
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: Devin, Duskdog, Halyonix, Iluva, Sia
Date Posted: 25th June 2025
Characters: Hesbia, M'sar, K'valas, A'garyn, N'dhavi
Description: Hesbia brags to the Tunnel Snakes that she got Searched but discovers she’s not alone
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 6, day 22 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Sybana
Hesbia slapped the Search token on the table in spiteful triumph.
Mesarian looked down and then looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. “Thought you hated dragonriders.”
“I do. Still do. But if they’re going to offer up seemingly precious things like this, I’m not going to tell them no, right?” Hesbia answered. She looked at the rest of them. “Anyone else get one?”
Kavalas silently reached into a pocket and placed a search token on the table too.
Aegaryn looked over casually, but Kavalas may as well have pulled out a knife. The ‘who’, ‘how’, ‘when’, the ‘why’ - didn’t matter. All that mattered was what he was going to do with it. “Sneaky, Kav.”
Kavalas shrugged, the corner of his mouth twitching in a half-smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. A casual shift in his hand indicated that they'd talk about this later. "Didn't see the point in makin' a fuss about it."
“Well now I feel less special,” Mesarian said, half-serious. Then his expression brightened and he laughed. “Shards, three of us? They’re gonna have a fit.”
"I didn't say I was gonna do it." Kavalas said and took the token back. "Got a nice space right now in the Lower Caverns. Why move into a barracks with a bunch of twelve turn olds?"
“Yeah, but imagine having a dragon to take you wherever you want, and then having your own weyr?” Naldhavi responded, slapping down his own Search token with a smirk. “Akadja and I are going to make that uppity little goldrider choke.”
Mesarian laughed harder. “I’m not in a rush, either, but imagine them all havin’ a wherry when a bunch of us walk out in front of the eggs.”
“I don’t think enough of you are considering all the new ways you could die.” Aegaryn pointed out coolly, “A dragon on the Sands, and a weyr later are the least of what you can get here.”
Kavalas nodded. "It ain't an Interval. Not gonna spend much time in that weyr if you get et by Thread."
Mesarian shrugged a shoulder. “Being able to fight it instead of hide from it don’t sound too bad.”
“Is that what the lower caverns staff does? Hide?” Aegaryn leaned back in his seat, arching a brow. “There’re plenty of ways to fight Thread that don’t involve death wriggling into your bones, or amputation.”
“_We_ hid from it,” Mesarian said. “That’s why we were in those sharding caves. Not sayin’ I wanna die or get maimed or anything, it’s just not enough to scare me off.”
Naldhavi waved a hand dismissively. “Pfft, I don’t plan on dying. I plan on actually being _good_ at this. There’s nothing that can’t be learned and mastered by someone who’s not too sharding lazy to try.” He tapped his temple. “We’ve all spent our whole lives figuring out ways to survive things that are trying to kill us, haven’t we? This is just one more.”
Kavalas turned his token over once in his palm, feeling the stamped metal edge catch against the callus on his thumb. "Ain't about laziness. Thread ain't some brawl you can outthink or outmaneuver. And you gotta _listen_ to your betters, y'know. N'havi isn't gonna be promoted to Weyrleader fresh out the egg."
“And it’s not about planning, either.” Aegaryn agreed, “Once you’re chosen and you’re _in_ it, that’s it. You belong to the Weyr. You obey.” After a long moment, he cast a critical glance around at the others. “Any of you ever even met a Dragonless rider?”
“No,” Naldhavi said easily, leaning back in his chair. “And I don’t actually care, either. I know how to weigh risk versus reward, and I promise you that nobody ever gained anything by letting the worst-case scenario scare ‘em off. If you guys wanna bunch up your skirts and work in the kitchens instead, nobody’s stopping you.”
Aegaryn cut his eyes to Naldhavi, “Is that what you heard? ‘Cause that's not what I said. I'm saying _think_ first,” a long finger pointed to his temple, “think it through, rather than getting sucked into stupid fantasies about what dragonriding's like. You wanna go Stand and make people stare, or get yourself eaten alive, or torn out of your wits from insanity, that's your business.” He shoved his chair out and walked off.
Kavalas rose quickly and went off after him.
Hesbia watched them go with a stormy but thoughtful expression. “He’s got some points right,” she remarked. “I still haven’t decided if I’m going to do it or not but if it’s one more thing that lets me stay here, I’ll check it out. Besides, dragonriders are always goo-goo over their sharding dragons like they’re the best thing ever. It’s gotta be worth it then, right?”
“And you’ll never be alone again,” Mesarian said quietly.
Last updated on the July 15th 2025