Your Great Good Fortune
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: Corrin, Duskdog, Sia
Date Posted: 8th March 2026
Characters: N'dhavi, Sybana, E'kirim
Description: N’dhavi seeks out Sybana at the Hatching Feast
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 14 of Turn 12
Sybana would have liked nothing better than to snub Naldhavi and walk off, but there were eyes on her--now more than ever--and him as well. The new bronzerider. It wouldn’t do to make a scene. She would have to trade a few civil words-- but she had no intention of offering him the congratulations he hinted at. “What a remarkable ascent for you,” she smiled. “Your head must be spinning.”
_Ascent_. On the surface, it was innocuous. And not entirely wrong. He was aware of how much this… elevated him. That was the point, after all. Coming from some people, he might not think much of it. But from her, he already expected the worst.
The only credit he cared to give her was that she wasn’t terrible at verbal sparring, at least. If she wasn’t so hateful, he might even enjoy it.
No matter. He still had Malzyveth, and that wasn’t something she could take away.
“It is,” he replied, because that much was true, at least. He _was_ a little overwhelmed. He hadn’t expected Impression to feel anything like this. “I suppose yours must be, too… I’d heard that no one was expecting a bronze in such a tiny clutch. Lucky for us both that turned out not to be the case, eh?”
Sybana’s smile froze and fell as his words struck the raw nerve of the night. For a heartbeat she was back in the dimly lit hatching cavern, counting and recounting the fragile shells around her-- but she rallied. The next dance was striking up behind her, the gentle music offering cover for the venom in their conversation. Still she stepped closer, to ensure privacy, lowering her voice to a lethal softness. “Lucky for you, certainly,” she murmured. “But I’m not so selfish. I never wanted a bronze for the sake of a bronze. I wanted one for the good of the weyr and the strength of the wings. Can you honestly say the same?”
She looked up at him through her lashes, through thinly veiled disdain. “I really don’t think you can. So you may toast tonight to your great good fortune, but don’t flatter yourself to think your Impression was anything but an ill-turn for me, for the Weyr, or for Pern.”
N’dhavi couldn’t fully suppress the flare of anger that rose up in him -- so strongly that he felt Malzyveth stir slightly at the back of his mind. But then his dragon, still blissfully unaware, slipped back easily into deep sleep.
It wasn’t that she was wrong. It was that the intent of her words was to hurt, not that the content of them was incorrect.
“You say that like it’s an insult,” he said hotly, his voice low, too. “To want something that betters my lot in life. The only person who would say that’s selfish is a person who’s had everything in life handed to them. Or naive enough to think that every other bronzerider in this Weyr only wanted bronze ‘for the good of the Weyr’ -- as if _he_ wasn’t getting a single thing out of it. Despite what some men may say, being pretty doesn’t automatically make a girl stupid -- so what’s your excuse?”
“I’m not--” Sybana cut herself off, temper tightening her throat. There were more pressing things to address than his opinion of her intellect and background.
“Do not mistake me,” she hissed. “My issue isn’t that you want to better your lot. It's that I suspect it's _all_ you want-- but worse still is how you chose to do it.”
She drew herself up tall. He was taller. “You were gifted a place in this Weyr, yet that wasn't enough for you. You _had_ to Stand. Now you’ve taken a bronze and a duty you're wholly unsuited for, leaving everyone else to pay the price. You see, I am _not_ naive. I know there is no love between the holds and the holdless. You've spent your life cut from society. I don't believe for a second you're ready to turn around and defend it. Not if your own safety is on the line-- and don't tell me there are other riders who’d do the same. Cowardice and self-interest are not the same as resentment and spite.”
“Taken a bronze?” Somehow, out of all of it, that was what hit the hardest. “You make it sound like I snuck in here under cover of night, hid in a pile of sand, and snatched a baby dragon when no one was looking. I realize it doesn’t fit your narrative, but what _actually_ happened is that a _dragon_ decided I was worthy of Standing, and then a _bronze_ dragon decided that he wanted _me_. If you think that was a mistake, I guess you can take it up with Malzyveth. But honestly, I don’t think he’d be very impressed with you.”
“No one forced you to Stand.” Sybana said, doubling down. “You thrust yourself forward and took a dragon from a more suitable man-- because if you think that bronze could only Impress to you, then it’s you who are naive--” She broke off, falling sharply silent as E’kirim neared, two glasses of punch in hand.
“And I’m sure you enjoy the idea of Galgaith Impressing someone else--” he snapped, belatedly noticing E’kirim.
If E'kirim noticed that the vibes were off, it certainly didn't show on his face. "I don't know about Galgaith, but a blue gave me a good looksee before Norrianth." He said brightly, holding out one of the glasses to Sybana. "Sorry I left you like that. K'aur found me near the punch line."
“_Thank you_.“ Stepping away from N’dhavi and all that unpleasantness, Sybana took the glass with a brilliant smile. “Shall we find a seat? Weyrling--” She glanced back over her shoulder. “I won't keep you. I know you have a curfew.”
“For now,” he reminded her, trying to keep his face and tone pleasant, but it was hard when he was seething. He hated aborted conversations… unless he was the one deciding where it ended.
Fine, though. It was fine. He still had Malzyveth, sleeping somewhere in the back of his mind. And that was something she couldn’t take away, no matter how much she might want to.
Last updated on the April 1st 2026