A Dragonrider’s Tale
An RPG by Weasel Overlord
(Based on the Pern Universe, by Anne McCaffrey)
Seas boil and mountains move,
Sands heat, dragons prove;
Stones pile and fires burn
Star Stone watch, scan sky.
Ready the weyrs, all riders fly;
But the Red Star has not passed in over two hundred turns, and common opinion is that Thread is no more. But if Thread is no more, then why is it that for turns now, dragon clutches have been growing steadily larger? What are the Star Stones for, if not to watch for the presence of the Red Star in the sky?
The answers to these many questions are not easily found, and we can but wait; outlast these dissenting Holds who scorn their dragonriders openly.
But can we stand against Weyr, at the same time? When Thread is in the sky, dragonmen must fly.
Only fighting amongst ourselves, dragonrider pitted against dragonrider in war that should never have come to pass.
But it is to the glory of Impression that we turn our eyes and hearts today, for golden Nemath has clutched at Benden once more, and there are fourteen mighty eggs on the hatching ground. Candidates from all over Pern gather, hope lighting their eyes at the thought of riding one of our mighty dragons.
The humming reverberates through every silent watcher, growing intense in pitch until, to a gasp of awe, the first egg begins to crack.
Gold: Tamanth, played by Weasel Overlord
Bronze: Larsith, played by Bulbasaur4
Brown: Lahlileth the Forgotten, played by Plantae
Brown: Myrreth, played by Emotional Faun Chiko-sai
Brown: Zorenth, played by Kuro Espeon
Blue: Kanaleth, played by River
Blue: Burganth, played by Mystic_Clown
Blue: Joseth, played by Zcade0
Green: Kraellath, played by Hyperness is a Good Thing
Green: Volath, played by Crystal Tears
Green: Kilnth, played by Crazy Elf Boy
Green: Kirenth, played by Dark-San
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Reuxus Arienifh the Alchemist, played by EngiMatikul
Inigo Enrique Falzon the Bandit, played by Prof. JB Wolf
-----*-----
My Sign-up
Rinna
Tamanth
*
The dragons hum was all that I could hear, almost all of the time. It pervaded my sleep and even my thoughts, until my teeth nearly chattered with the sound and the vibrations.
The Headwoman had told me not to worry, that the dragons were merely humming to welcome the hatchlings into our world, but her reassurances did nothing to soothe my restless spirit.
Happy though I was to have been brought to Benden on Search, I was already beginning to miss the bustle of the Harper Hall, and the roughness of the Drum Towers. I fingered the drum-sticks Rin gave me with a sigh, but an optimistic thought flashed through my mind.
The dragons noise wasn’t dissimilar to the booming of the big drums when a message was received, and by the first shell, I was definitely used to that sound.
I’d been at Benden Weyr for a week now, under the hospitality of Weyrwoman Tylana and her Weyrleader, R’nael. I’d only caught a glimpse of the two; this seemed to be such a busy time I had no other expectations, so I stayed in the little group of Queen candidates, as I was instructed, doing nothing to alienate myself from these stuffy-seeming girls.
Most of them, it seemed, had been Searched from various Holds across Pern, but none were involved in any sort of craft. If anything, they appeared to be merely awaiting the time when their fathers married them off, one by one, and this only lessened any urge I might have felt to engage them in conversation.
As it were, they kept together at all times; as if they felt themselves to be kindred spirits in their misery. Indeed the lack of people to wait upon them seemed to be taken as some sort of personal insult, and the leader of the group, Menala, took it upon herself to flounce around our amply-sized room making incredibly rude observations about the hospitality of Benden, the state of their wall-hangings, anything she could grasp upon to insult. She was under the firm impression, also, that she was the only worthy candidate for the Queen egg, so it was with these airs that she elected herself leader.
We had come to blows, once or twice, over her haughtiness, and it was to our latest quarrel, over some trifle or other, that the humming reached an unbearable crescendo, and the frantic Headwoman came to hustle us all down to the Hatching Sands, as we struggled to don our perfectly white tunics in time.
As we walked out from the Weyr, the heat of the sand blasted in my face. The air seemed to shimmer with the heat, and the thin sandals I was wearing did nothing to keep the heat from my feet.
With an ungainly hop-skip, shuffling walk, we made our way as quickly as we could to the largest egg of the clutch. It was separated out from the rest, and Nemath sat gazing at it proprietarily, turning her yellowed glare upon us as we arranged ourselves into a semi-circle about the egg.
I knew that there was an audience for the hatching, as always, and I knew also that there were at least thirty other candidates gathering around the other eggs, but I could think of nothing but the heat beneath my feet and the great golden egg which nestled in the sand in front of my eyes.
The Queen egg reached about to my thighs in height, and it shone in the pale morning sun, a vision of beauty like I had never seen, nor ever expected to see.
Suddenly, I was extremely glad that I’d always insisted on having my hair clipped short, as the girls to each side of me looked immensely uncomfortable in the sun, with their hair sheeting down their backs.
As I gazed at the Queen egg, lost in my own thoughts, I realised that the dragons surrounding the Hatching Ground had ceased their humming, and for a second, I knew silence. Blessed, sweet silence, before chaos began to reign.
A resounding “crack” sounded to a gasp from the audience, and I knew that it had begun. The cracking sound came from the other eggs, and our golden egg was deathly still. I held myself stiffly, filled with apprehension. What if the Queen never hatched? What if the Search was for nothing?
But my questions were instantly thrust out of my mind as the golden egg began to shake, noises coming from within.
I waited with bated breath. This was it.
The girl next to me, Lem, threw a hand to her mouth and shrieked as the egg cracked straight down the middle. One of the others pointed rather over-dramatically, and I couldn’t help but wonder why they were here if the sight of a hatching dragon filled them with such fear.
Myself, I watched with increasing interest as a dainty wing emerged from the crack. It was followed by a foot, a tail, a second wing, and finally the pieces of egg fell apart around the little Queen. And oh, what a Queen she was. She shone a rich gold in the sunlight, and as she raised her head imperiously, I breathed a sigh of awe.
This was something of the ballads, after all. But nothing had prepared me for how our little golden Queen would react. With but a seconds notice, she sprang from the remains of her egg at the closest girl to her; Menala.
Obviously our so-called leader expected that she had been chosen, for she let out a delighted whoop, but it was cut woefully short as the little gold collided with her, raking her vicious claws straight down the girls’ face and chest, leaving a ribbon of blood behind that blossomed through the white tunic like a flower.
The rest of the girls cried out in horror, and panic set in. The Queen leapt at one after another, glancing into their eyes and then discarding them with a snap of her jaws or a slash of her claws, leaving destruction in her golden wake.
Her wings fluttered in a mild breeze as it gusted across the sands, and then our eyes met across the fallen bodies of injured girls.
Her wings fluttered once, and then settled into place at her back as she stalked over to me imperiously.
I was aware of nothing else. My eyes, riveted to the swirling blues and greens of my Queen. For I felt her mind touch mine; but a whisper at first, and then stronger as we realised our bond.
I fell to my knees before her, holding her wedge-shaped head in my arms, tears running freely down my face for the first time since I could remember.
My name is Tamanth. And you are mine, Rinna.
“Tamanth.” I breathed into her neck. “Tamanth.”
I’m hungry, she spoke into my mind, a touch of petulance in her mind-voice. I ran a sand-encrusted sleeve across my face and smiled down at her.
What would you like to eat, dear Tamanth?
Anything! I laughed, and rubbed her head before attempting to get to my feet.
A tall man I didn’t know appeared next to me, grinning.
“So you’re the one our Queen chose, eh? What’s her name?”
“She’s Tamanth. Where can I get her some food?” His grin grew wider and he stepped aside with a flourish of his hand.
“Follow me, Queen rider.” He had laughter in his voice, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at his dramatics.
Stooping down, I helped Tamanth to her feet and we leaned against each other, tottering off the sands as if we had both hatched merely minutes ago.
I looked around at the others who were following our lead, brand new Dragonriders, all, and was surprised to see quite a few girls among them. I resolved to find out how Queen candidates were selected and then my reverie was broken by an insistent nudge from Tamanth.
Hurry up! I beamed at her, and increased our pace until we finally reached the feeding grounds.
Sinking down onto a welcome boulder, I watched blissfully as Tamanth ran clumsily at a Herdbeast, bringing it down with a well-timed leap.
Are you sure you can manage such a large beast Tamanth?
Of course I can. I am a Queen, she ruffled her wings haughtily and sank her muzzle into the flesh of the beast.
Watching my Queen messily cover herself in blood and gore, I realised that I had never felt so happy in my life.
I love you, I smiled, as she wobbled back over to me, appetite finally sated.
And I love you, but oh, I am tired. Where can I sleep?
Wherever you want to. You are a Queen. I felt her sleepy amusement as we tottered off once more. The strange man lead us to a Weyr and Tamanth collapsed onto a stone couch, her eyes closing almost instantly as I sank down into a waiting cot, equally exhausted.
A flash of concern lit my mind for a second about all the injured girls left on the sands, but I was far too sleepy to give it any further consideration, and I allowed the snores of my dragon to lull me into sleep.
Okay. Dragonriders, post your Impression. It's perfectly alright if you want the dragons to maul some NPCs. It happens. Maul away. XD
Non-Dragonriders, urm, post your impression of the Hatching, perhaps? Talk to me if you're unsure, but you two can basically post what you want.
A note: Each dragon can only speak into its riders mind, and those of other dragons. No dragon can speak to another rider, nor can any rider hear any other dragon but their own. The ability to hear all dragons is a rare one, and I decided not to have it in this RPG.
EDIT: Also, the tall NPC who guided Rinna is miiiiine. *grabs him protectively* More will be said next post, but no-one use him please! ^_^
Pern: A Dragonrider's Tale [lé beginning]
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