The Last Voyage of Hibashira

Writers: Sengra
Date Posted: 8th February 2010

Characters: A'ton
Description: A'ton and Vardamith find the shipwreck they were looking for.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 14 of Turn 5

The wind was calling him.

A'ton woke up, a mixed feeling of excitement and uncertainty
slowly taking over him. Vardamith was already waking up too, sensing his
rider's mixed emotions. Most of the residents of Dolphin Cove Weyr were
still asleep, except for some of the women in the lower caverns already
awake preparing the morning food. Everything was still calm and silent in
the wee hours of morning.

This was the day A'ton has long waited for. Fall was still days
away and he had some time to spare. Yes, this was the perfect day, he
thought.

During his weyrling days, what free time he had from taking care
of the growing Vardamith to weyrling duties was spent reading the old
records. Stories of the past fascinated him. Among all of these fascinating
histories he read, one obscure legend caught his interest. In a dusty old
book, he saw an entry that would be a start of a great hunt, one that A'ton
hoped would end this day.

"The Last Voyage of Hibashira," A'ton said when he saw Vardamith
looking at him inquisitively, "will be cleared today." A'ton often talked
aloud with his dragon, especially when it's just the two of them.

}:So the pretty thing wasn't in the deep sea after all?:{ the great brown
asked.

"No she wasn't. She was somehow washed up to the shore and
became lost somewhere near here," A'ton answered. "We will find her today."

For the past seven days during their free time, both rider and
dragon have explored the sea off the coast of Dolphin Cove Weyr, hoping to
find clues to clear the mystery bugging both of them since they were
weyrlings. Vardamith has shown as much enthusiasm as his rider in seeing
this mystery cleared.

}:Then we better get started. A dragon can't go /between/ to a
place he doesn't know.:{ Vardamith said in matter-of-factly manner that his
rider could only grin. "Right you are my friend, right you are," A'ton said
while checking his riding straps on Vardamith. He secured the books he
brought with him and checked the provisions for the day's journey. "This
time, I'm sure we'll find her."

A'ton comfortably positioned himself on top Vardamith, and with
a pat, signaled his dragon to start. Both dragon and rider preferred
straight flights over trips /between/. It was the feeling of freedom and
serenity one can feel in the air that the pair treasured. They also practice
one of their favorite hobbies during straight flights- aerial maneuvers.

"T'kob would chew us if he sees us this way, but I don't care.
Embereth might be slightly bigger than you and more experienced, but we've
far surpassed them as dragon and rider in skill." A'ton said.

}:Of course. That is fact.:{ Vardamith replied, and with a
single breath, did an aerial summersault.

"Yoooohooo! I'll never get tired of that!" A'ton shouted,
adrenaline pumping in his body. It was both dangerous and reckless, and
A'ton knew it. Danger was but part of the training. He believed that
dragonriders face danger everytime they fly Fall. The two biggest mistakes a
dragonrider could make during Fall is getting too overconfident and giving
in to their fears. Facing danger head on everyday is a method he believed
would enable him to conquer even the greatest of fears. It was like drinking
poison a little bit everyday.

"What is our goal again my friend?" he asked Vardamith.

}:To be more agile than a green, stronger than a blue and more
powerful than a bronze!:{ Vardamith said effortlessly. This has been their
secret creed since they were a weyrling pair.

"Yes. We will see if one dragon and rider can transcend the
limits of dragon color through hard work and perseverance." A'ton said,
knowing full well that the dragon colors had their share of strengths and
weaknesses. It was drilled into them since they were weyrlings. But he
wasn't a man who would readily take the words of others as truth. He would
see for himself.

}:But we we're always tired when we're in the weyr.:{ Vardamith
answered. }:People might notice this and become suspicious. Though not
everyone is as smart as you, but still a lot of them aren't exactly stupid,
especially the Weyrleader. :{

It was already midday when A'ton noticed an unusual mound
formation under the clear blue waters of the sea. It wasn't that far off the
coast, so he told Vardamith to land on the shore. He quickly got off and
undressed, and ran towards the open sea. He was able to reach the mound
formation and the water was only waist deep. There were no dolphins around.

Vardamith was already swimming and quickly joined him.

}:This is it then?:{ the brown asked.

"Yes, this is it. Let's start digging." A'ton replied.

With Vardamith's help, the pair was able to haul from the ocean
a strange assortment of metal, wood and other impliments.

"I guess we've found her. Hibashira. She sailed from this region
sometime before the great earthquake. Records indicated that she never
reached her destination and was believed to have sunk somewhere in the deep
sea. With the chaos of the earthquake's aftermath, nobody bothered to
investigate and Hibashira was pressumed lost. I however have a theory,"
A'ton said, examining the pieces of metal and wood they got from the ocean.

"This must be parts of the lost ship," he said, more to himself
than to his brown companion who was looking at the things with great
interest.

Sensing his dragon's curiousity, A'ton grinned in reply. "She
never got far. She probably got caught in a storm and was forced towards
those rocks over there," he said pointing at some big rocks just off the
coast due west.

}:Pretty interesting indeed.:{ Vardamith said.

"Yep, we've just solved the mystery of the last voyage of
Hibashira. Good job my firned." he said looking at the wide open space
before him. "There are things that we just can't control, like nature. We
can however master it's elements. That's why we train."

}:And so we shall. We have a few manuevers to practice and
perfect today.:{ Vardamith said, a hint of determination in his voice.

"Then we shall start now," A'ton said, feeling adrenaline
pumping again. "The wind is calling us.

Last updated on the February 15th 2010

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The Last Voyage of Hibashira