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

Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall

Story Listing
Series Listing

Weyrling Training

Writers: Vix
Date Posted: 9th July 2008

Characters: I'ster
Description: I'ster and Tynnath rise to meet Threadfall and make a fatal mistake.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 5 of Turn 4

He could feel the familiar fear, the fear that he always felt at this point in time, as he waited for the Fall to begin. The emotion had lessened over time, still present during this waiting period but then dissipating as he and Tynnath found themselves caught in the rhythm of their duties.

For a little over two months they had been flying with this Wing, rising to meet the silvery strands of Thread with the other dragons of the Weyr, flaming them from the sky before they could reach the foliage below, before the deadly Fall could reach the ground and those who lived in this portion of the Southern continent. That first time, a little over two months earlier, he had been terrified, afraid that he would freeze, that he would forget all that he had been taught in his classes.

Of course, he had had good reason to be frightened. He had thought that it would be longer before he faced the menace, a full turn more before he joined the Wings as a full Thread-fighting member. Then the Weyrleader had made that decision, a decision that was not popular with everyone in the Weyr, but made for the good of the Weyr and the people its riders protected. The Weyrleader had decided that more capable riders were needed immediately and that those who had reached fifteen turns of age and who had mature dragons would join the wings in Threadfall.

At the time of the decision, I'ster was only days from his fifteenth birthingday. Instead of helping with the weyrling wing, helping to train those who had recently Impressed hatchlings, the boy had found himself in more active training, drilling more earnestly, assigned a spot in Cyclone Wing and preparing for that day at the end of the month when he would be expected to join that wing for the real thing, not ropes and dye but deadly Thread.

That first day, that first time when he had waited, waited in this same formation, he had been terrified, barely able to breathe past the lump in his throat, though Tynnath had kept up a steady conversation, reminding the boy that this was their duty, their purpose as dragon and rider, to protect those who were on the ground. They had waited – the dragon excited, the boy frightened so that he could not think past the event they were expecting – until the first smudges of darkness had appeared above them, and then had flown as if in drills, upward to meet those smudges, Tynnath flaming as they had been taught. Gradually he had numbed, his fear giving way to routine, until suddenly he was given the command to return to the Weyr, nothing but black ash remaining in the sky to tell of the battle they had waged.

On the ground, I'ster had been alright until he unbuckled his riding straps and slid to the ground. Then he had vomited, the contents of his stomach spilling to the sand as his knees gave out. Afterwards, he had cried, the fear of earlier catching up with him, the relief that he had survived the experience overwhelming him.

The next Fall had been easier – at least once he was in the air and they started to flame. After that each had been met with fear, but was starting to feel a part of the routine of being a dragonrider.

}:It comes!:{ Tynnath's voice was eager and urgent, his brown head turning to accept the firestone that I'ster offered.

This part was familiar, his hands offering as his eyes assessed the pattern of the approaching and the proximity of his wingmates. This part was routine, and in that routine he took his refuge, using it to shove the terror from his mind.

~*~*~

Swoop, flame, swoop, flame, call for more firestone, accept the bag thrown to him with aching arms. I'ster and Tynnath had operated as one, as a Thread-fighting machine, mechanical in their actions, saving any thoughts of hunger or fatigue for the end, for the time that they could return to the ground.

They followed a strand of Thread, turning with the air currents, following it, flame licking out to touch it and travel to the ends of the gray wad, killing the organism that sought to feed on all that was below them.

}:Loeth says we are out of formation.:{ I'ster accepted the information from Tyannath matter-of-factly, his command to return to their spot almost simultaneously obeyed.

They turned abruptly to rejoin the Wing. . .

And met with a long tangle of Thread, one they had not expected.

Almost as if in slow motion, I'ster saw it slap down, across Tynnath's side and neck ridges, following the line of the rider's leg, a large clump, and spreading to engulf that area of both of them and more. He saw it, glancing up, his mouth forming an "O" of surprise as his eyes sought those of his friend D'ren.

Then Tynnath shrieked in pain, a pain that overwhelmed both of them, and both dragon and rider winked out into the nothingness of /between/.

Last updated on the July 9th 2008