A Golden Gathering

Writers: Corrin, Heather, Yvonne
Date Posted: 8th August 2025

Characters: Saibra, Sybana, Thiseta, Tsaera, Teigan
Description: Thiseta visits Dragonsfall Weyr to meet her weyrmate's family - and the goldriders of Dragonsfall.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 7, day 4 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: A'ris, Kapera, Aydhan

Saibra

Sybana

Teigan

Imbeth came from /between/ into an icy wind nearly as cold as /between/. Ice crystals danced in the high atmosphere and carved faint rainbows around the sun. Thiseta crouched lower over Imbeth's neckridge as the gold began to circle towards the Dragonsfall Weyr cliffs. She could feel Teigan's arms around her waist and was grateful for his warmth.

**Chioneth sends her welcome and asks us to join her on her ledge,** Imbeth said. **She has brought Galgaith with her.**

Thiseta blinked behind her goggles as she scanned the cliffs. There-- twin beacons of gold, and around the curl of the cliffside, a third-- Tabanirth, River Bluff Weyr's old queen, tucked into the lee of the cliff and out of the wind. Imbeth folded her wide wings and started her descent.

It had been a long time since Thiseta had visited Dragonsfall Weyr. It was one of the oldest Weyrs in the Southern Continent. Its weyrs, hallways and rooms had been carved with a precision that Barrier Lake's meandering floorplan lacked, and Thiseta felt a brief stab of envy. Dragonsfall was steeped in grand history and carried the weight of thousands of Turns, and her Weyr was barely a scratch in the landscape.

}:It is _my_ Weyr,:{ Imbeth reminded her, }:And much warmer than here. Would you want to live in all this snow?:{

**Maybe,** Thiseta said. **I hear their Kitchens are amazing.**

}:A herdbeast is a herdbeast everywhere.:{ Imbeth replied.

Thiseta twisted in her seat so she could be heard over the wind. "Saibra's asked us to join her in her weyr. Would you like to join us? I think she's brought Sybana with her."

"I'll pay my respects and then duck out to explore," Teigan said into her ear. Dragonsfall was his home and it had been many Turns since he had seen it last. He would do a little investigating to see how things had changed in his absence before heading to his parents' weyr.

"Welcome," Saibra greeted the gold and her passengers once they had landed on the expansive ledge that belonged to the Senior Weyrwoman. The dark-haired woman seemed immune to the cold and snow as she wore only a sweater and no coat.

Thiseta slid down Imbeth's foreleg and landed with a soft *thump* on the ledge. She turned to help her weyrmate down before pulling off her fight helmet and goggles to greet the Weyrwoman of Dragonsfall Weyr, for the first time, as a peer. "Thank you, Saibra. I'm very pleased that you were able to make time for a visit. This is my weyrmate, Master Healer Teigan. Teigan, this is Weyrwoman Saibra of Dragonsfall Weyr."

"It's my pleasure to meet you, Master Teigan, especially since your mother has talked nonstop about your upcoming visit." There was a sly little gleam in Saibra's eyes as she studied the handsome healer.

Teigan ducked his head in a respectful gesture. "Thank you, Weyrwoman, and I apologize for my mother's enthusiasm. Might I trouble someone for a ride back down to the Weyrbowl? I'd like to do some exploring."

"Of course, I'm sure we have some Weyrlings on lift duty today." Her eyes unfocused for a moment, a clear sign that she was conversing with Chioneth. Seconds later a brown dragon appeared on the ledge. "A'ris and Kyllavath will see you down."

"Thank you," Teigan said to Saibra, before turning to Thiseta. "I'll catch up with you when you're finished." He squeezed her hand before leaving with the brown Weyrling.

"This is Sybana, she recently Impressed Galgaith at Chioneth's last hatching," Saibra said, turning to the gold Weyrling at her elbow.

"Weyrwoman," Sybana said, dipping a graceful curtsy that had all the hallmarks of a fine hold upbringing. She was dressed more typically for the weather than Saibra, wrapped in an emerald cape trimmed with white fur. It looked as pretty as it did warm. "My Galgaith was very impressed with your dismount. She thinks I ought to try to slide like that too."

Nestled comfortably beside her dam in the lee of the cliff, the juvenile gold was watching the new arrivals with obvious curiosity. She was about three fourths the size of sleek Chioneth, but already nearly as broad. The effect was awkward to say the least, an impression compounded by frankly massive feet she'd yet to really grow into.

Thiseta considered the enormous, half-grown gold before turning to Sybana with a smile. "I must admit that I practiced probably more than I should have when I was a weyrling. Congratulations on Impressing a gold dragon, Sybana. It's such a pleasure to meet both you and Galgaith." She directed the last to the weyrling dragon with a small half-bow.

"Let's chat inside. We don't want you taking a cold back with you to Barrier Lake." Saibra led the way into her toasty office.

Shock froze Thiseta in her tracks. Why had Saibra said that? Did Saibra think she was weak, that her illnesses made her too fragile for her new knots? Suspicion rose like a dark mist to cloud her mind.

}:Perhaps she is simply cold,:{ Imbeth said as she settled herself next to Chioneth and Galgaith. }:It is very cold here.:{

**True.** Perhaps she was reading too much into things... she was sensitive about her illnesses, and Saibra was probably just being kind. Thiseta followed Saibra and Sybana inside where they were met by the eldest goldrider at the Weyr, Tsaera.

Tsaera rose from her chair by the fire to greet them. "Congratulations, Weyrwoman Thiseta. I hope you don't mind that I am abusing my age to avoid standing on that ledge. I'm still not used to the weather here," she said, casting a wry look at Saibra.

"Of course not. It's a delight to see you, Tsaera. It's been... five Turns? Six?" Thiseta tried to remember the last time she'd seen Tsaera. It had been a Turn or two after Tabanirth had stopped rising and Tsaera had stepped down as Weyrwoman at River Bluff. She'd travelled through several Weyrs, including Windswept Isles. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Terribly kind of you to say," Tsaera said dryly. "Come sit, Saibra's a generous host and has a whole table set for us. I hope you didn't eat before you came."

Thiseta laughed. "I had been warned to expect a small feast, and I'm hoping that your... dragontails, I think they're called? I wanted to try one before I went back to Barrier Lake. Everyone who knew that I was coming here told me that I had to have one."

"Ah yes, the dragontails. We have our incredibly talented kitchens to thank for that. They're always coming up with something, but the dragontails have truly been a hit." As they took seats on the couch and in the chairs, Saibra silently studied Thiseta. She couldn't help compare her to Kapera. She remembered the time she and Kapera had attended another Weyr's hatching. Neither of them had been in the company of chaperones so they'd spent the evening drinking together. A girls' outing, they'd called it. "Congratulations on becoming Barrier Lake's Weyrwoman. I won't lie, I had anticipated it being Aydhan."

**At least she said it out loud.** Thiseta smiled. "I think most people did. I think I did."

Saibra waved a hand. "It's not as if she's been there _that_ much longer than you, and with the Weyr itself being such a new installation, you've got the opportunity to really set things up the way you would like."

It was a simple comment, but Thiseta could feel the weight of it. "Kapera's already laid such a strong foundation for that work. I don't really have changes to make."

"Oh, trust me," Saibra said, "give it some time and you'll find things you want to change. Dragonsfall was _long_ established when I became its Weyrwoman, and within a Turn, there were absolutely things I wanted to do differently. Shells, I'm still changing things."

"Perhaps in a while. But my Weyr has seen so much change lately... and so have I. And my weyrmate, Teigan," Thiseta said casually. "He's a Master Healer. I don't suppose you've met him before?"

"I hadn't met him before today." Then Saibra's head cocked to the side. "Well, he _did_ send a message to me, last sevenday, regarding your health and need for a nice, warm and dry place to have the meeting. That was very sweet of him." The Weyrwoman smiled at Thiseta.

Shame flooded her and brought a faint pink to her cheeks. Thiseta smiled through the betrayal. "Very," she said, keenly aware of the eyes on her. The new Weyrwomann at Barrier Lake, brought low again by weak lungs and too much time in the Infirmary. Not up to the knots on her shoulder. A liability to her Weyr, a Weyr already fragile after the loss of its previous Weyrwoman. "But hardly necessary. Healers are such fusspots sometimes. So," she said, turning to Sybana. "Tell me about Galgaith. I've heard so much about her, but gossip is so unreliable. What is she like?"

Sybana’s face lit up, the careful mask of politeness attentiveness slipping away as a brilliant, unguarded smile took its place. "Oh, Galgi is _wonderful_." And just like that, she was off, launching into a story about the gold's most recent escapade.

Last updated on the August 29th 2025

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A Golden Gathering