And a good day to you, Terry, and you, sirs. Fnor said, saluting the two riders with airy amiability. Fnor, Canths rider, of Benden.
Bnaj, Sevenths rider of Fort, said the taller, grayer of the two riders. He obviously resented the interruption and kept slapping an elaborately jeweled belt knife into the palm of his hand.
Treb, Beths rider, also of Fort. And if Canths a bronze, warn him off Beth.
Canths no poacher, Fnor replied, grinning outwardly but marking Treb for a rider whose greens amours affected his own temper.
One never knows just what is taught at Benden Weyr, Treb said with thinly veiled contempt.
Manners, among other things, when addressing Wing-seconds, Fnor replied, still pleasant. But Treb gave him a sharp look, aware of a subtle difference in his manner. Good Master Terry, may I have a word with Fandarel?
Hes in his study . . .
And you told us he was not about, Treb interrupted, grabbing Terry by the front of his heavy wher-hide apron.
Fnor reacted instantly. His brown hand snapped about Trebs wrist, his fingers digging into the tendons so painfully that the green riders hand was temporarily numbed.
Released, Terry stood back, his eyes blazing, his jaw set.
Fort Weyr manners leave much to be desired, Fnor said, his teeth showing in a smile as hard as the grip with which he held Treb. But now the other Fort Weyr rider intervened.
Treb! Fnor! Bnaj thrust the two apart. His greens proddy, Fnor. He cant help it.
Then he should stay weyrbound.
Benden doesnt advise Fort, Treb cried, trying to step past his Weyrmate, his hand on his belt knife.
Fnor stepped back, forcing himself to cool down. The whole episode was ridiculous. Dragonriders did not quarrel in public. No one should use a Craftmasters second in such a fashion. Outside, dragons bellowed.
Ignoring Treb, Fnor said to Bnaj, Youd better get out of here. Shes too close to mating.
But the truculent Treb would not be silenced.
Dont tell me how to manage my dragon, you . . .
The insult was lost in a second volley from the dragons to which Canth now added his warble.
Dont be a fool, Treb, Bnaj said. Come! Now!
I wouldnt be here if you hadnt wanted that knife. Get it and come.
The knife Bnaj had been handling lay on the floor by Terrys foot. The Craftsman retrieved it in such a way that Fnor suddenly realized why there had been such tension in the Hall. The Dragonriders had been about to confiscate the knife, an action his entrance had forestalled. Hed heard too much lately of such extortions.
Youd better go, he told the Dragonriders, stepping in front of Terry.
We came for the knife. Well leave with it, Treb shouted and, feinting with unexpected speed, ducked past Fnor, grabbing the knife from Terrys hand, slicing the smiths thumb as he drew the blade.
Again Fnor caught Trebs hand and twisted it, forcing him to drop the knife.
Treb gave a gurgling cry of rage and, before Fnor could duck or Bnaj could intervene, the infuriated green rider had plunged his own belt knife into Fnors shoulder, viciously slicing downward until the point hit the shoulder bone.
Fnor staggered back, aware of nauseating pain, aware of Canths scream of protest, the greens wild bawl and the browns trumpeting.
Get him out of here, Fnor gasped to Bnaj, as Terry reached out to steady him.
Get out! the Smith repeated in a harsh voice. He signaled urgently to the other craftsmen who now moved decisively toward the dragonmen. But Bnaj yanked Treb savagely out of the Hall.
Fnor resisted as Terry tried to conduct him to the nearest bench. It was bad enough that dragonrider should attack dragonrider, but Fnor was even more shocked that a rider should ignore his beast for the sake of a coveted bauble.
There was real urgency in the greens shrill ululation now. Fnor willed Treb and Bnaj on their beasts and away. A shadow fell across the great portal of the Smithhall. It was Canth, crooning anxiously. The greens voice was suddenly still.
Are they gone? he asked the dragon.
Well gone, Canth replied, craning his neck to catch sight of his rider. You hurt.
Im all right. Im all right, Fnor lied, relaxing into Terrys urgent grip. In a blackening daze, he felt himself lifted, then the hard surface of bench under his back before the dizzying shock and pain overwhelmed him. His last conscious thought was that Manora would be annoyed that he had not seen Fandarel first.
CHAPTER II
Evening (Fort Weyr Time).
Meeting of the Weyrleaders at Fort Weyr
WHEN MNEMENTH burst out of between above Fort Weyr, he entered so high above the Weyr mountain that it was a barely discernible black point in the darkening land below. Flars exclamation of surprise was cut off by the thin cold air that burned his lungs.
You must be calm and cool, Mnementh said, doubling his riders astonishment. You must command at this meeting. And the bronze dragon began a long spiral glide down to the Weyr.
Flar knew that no admonitions could change Mnemenths mind when he used that firm tone. He wondered at the great beasts unexpected initiative. But the bronze dragon was right.
Flar could accomplish little if he stormed in on Tron and the other Weyrleaders, bent on extracting justice for his wounded Wing-second. Or if Flar was still seething from the subtle insult implicit in the timing of this meeting. As Weyrleader of the offending rider, Tron had delayed answering Flars courteously phrased request for a meeting of all Weyrleaders to discuss the untoward incident at the Craftmasterhall. When Trons reply finally arrived, it set the meeting for the first watch, Fort Weyr time; or high night, Benden time, a most inconsiderate hour for Flar and certainly inconvenient for the other easterly Weyrs, Igen, Ista and even Telgar. Dram of Ista Weyr and Rmart of Telgar, and probably Gnarish of Igen would have something sharp to say to Tron about such timing, though their lag was not as great as Benden Weyrs.
So Tron wanted Flar off balance and irritated. Therefore, Flar would appear all amiability. Hed apologize to Dram, Rmart and Gnarish for inconveniencing them, while making certain that they knew Tron was responsible.
The main issue, to Flars now calm mind, was not the attack on Fnor. The real issue was the abrogation of two of the strongest Weyr restrictions; restrictions that ought to be so ingrained in any dragonrider that their fracture was impossible.
It was an absolute that a dragonrider did not take a green dragon or a queen from her Weyr when she was due to rise for mating. It made no difference whatsoever that a green dragon was sterile because she chewed firestone. Her lust could affect even the most insensitive commoners with sexual cravings. A mating female dragon broadcast her emotions on a wide band. Some green-brown pairings were as loud as bronze-gold. Herdbeasts within range stampeded wildly and fowls, wherries and whers went into witless hysterics. Humans were susceptible, too, and innocent Hold youngsters often responded with embarrassing consequences. That particular aspect of dragon matings didnt bother weyrfolk who had long since disregarded sexual inhibitions. No, you did not take a dragon out of her Weyr in that state.
It was irrelevant to Flars thinking that the second violation stemmed from the first. From the moment riders could take their dragons between, they were abjured to avoid situations that might lead to a duel, particularly since dueling was an accepted custom among Craft and Hold. Any differences between riders were settled in unarmed bouts, closely refereed within the Weyr. Dragons suicided when their riders died. And occasionally a beast panicked if his rider was badly hurt or remained unconscious for long. A berserk dragon was almost impossible to manage and a dragons death severely upset his entire Weyr. So armed dueling, which might injure or kill a dragon, was the most absolute proscription.
Today, a Fort Weyr rider had deliberatelyjudging from the testimony Flar had from Terry and the other smithcrafters presentabrogated these two basic restrictions. Flar experienced no satisfaction that the offending rider came from Fort Weyr even if Tron, the major critic of Benden Weyrs relaxed attitudes toward some traditions, was in a very embarrassing position. Flar might argue that his innovations breached no fundamental Weyr precepts, but the five Old-time Weyrs categorically dismissed every suggestion originating from Benden Weyr. And Tron bleated the most about the deplorable manners of modern Holders and Crafters, so differentso less subservient, Flar amendedto the acquiescence of Holders and Crafters in their distant past Turn.
It would be interesting, Flar mused, to see how Tron the Traditionalist explained away the actions of his riders, now guilty of far worse offenses against Weyr traditions than anything Flar had suggested.
Common sense had dictated Flars policyeight Turns agoof throwing open Impressions to likely lads from Holds and Crafts; there hadnt been enough boys of the right age in Benden Weyr to match the number of dragon eggs. If the Oldtimers would throw open the mating flights of their junior queens to bronzes from other Weyrs, theyd soon have clutches as large as the ones at Benden, and undoubtedly queen eggs, too. However, Flar could appreciate how the Oldtimers felt. The bronze dragons at Benden and Southern Weyr were larger than most Oldtimer bronzes. Consequently, theyd fly the queens. But, by the Shell, Flar hadnt suggested that the senior queens be flown openly. He did not intend to challenge the Oldtimer Weyrleaders with modern bronzes. He did feel that theyd profit by new blood among their beasts. Wasnt an improvement in Dragonkind anywhere of benefit to all the Weyrs?
And it was practical diplomacy to invite Holders and Crafters to Impressions. There wasnt a man alive in Pern who hadnt secretly cherished the notion that he might be able to Impress a dragon. That he could be linked for life to the love and sustaining admiration of these gentle great beasts. That he could transverse Pern in a twinkling, astride a dragon. That he would never suffer the loneliness that was the condition of most mena dragonrider always had his dragon. So, whether the commoners had a relative on the Hatching Ground hoping to attach a dragonet or not, the spectators enjoyed the vicarious thrill of being present, at witnessing this mysterious, rite. Hed observed that they were also subtly reassured that such dazzling fortune was available to some lucky souls not bred in the Weyrs. And those bound to a Weyr should, Flar felt, get to know the riders since those riders were responsible for their lives and livelihoods.
To have assigned messenger dragons to every major Hold and Craft had been a very practical measure, too, when Benden had been Perns only dragonweyr. The northern continent was broad. It took days to get messages from One coast to the other. The Harpercrafts system of drums was a poor second when a dragon could transport himself, his rider and an ungarbled message instantly anywhere on the planet.
Flar, too, was exceedingly aware of the dangers of isolation. In the days before the first Thread had again fallen on Perncould it be only seven Turns ago?Benden Weyr had been vitiated by its isolation, and the entire planet all but lost. ·Where Flar earnestly felt that dragonmen should make themselves accessible and friendly, the Oldtimers were obsessed by a need for privacy. Which only fertilized the ground for such incidents as had just occurred. Treb on a disturbed green had swooped down on the Smithmastercrafthall and demandednot requestedthat a craftsman give up an artifact, which had been made by commission for a powerful Lord Holder.
With thoughts that were more disillusioned than vengeful Flar realized that Mnementh was gliding fast toward Fort Weyrs jagged rim. The Star Stones and the watchrider were silhouetted against the dying sunset. Beyond them were the forms of three other bronzes, one a good half-tail larger than the others. That would be Orth, so Tbor was already arrived from Southern Weyr. But only three bronzes? Who was yet to come to the meeting?
Salth from High Reaches and Branth with Rmart of Telgar Weyr are absent. Mnementh informed his rider.
High Reaches and Telgar Weyrs missing? Well, Tkul of High Reaches was likely late on purpose. Odd though; that caustic Oldtimer ought to enjoy tonight. Hed have a chance to snipe at both Flar and Tbor and hed thoroughly enjoy Trons discomfiture. Flar had never felt any friendliness for or from the dour, dark-complected High Reaches Weyrleader. He wondered if that was why Mnementh never used Tkuls name. Dragons ignored human names when they didnt like the bearer. But for a dragon not to name a Weyrleader was most unusual.
Flar hoped that Rmart of Telgar would come. Of the Oldtimers, Rmart and Gnarish of Igen were the youngest, the least set in their ways. Though they tended to side with their contemporaries in most affairs against the two modern Weyrleaders, Flar and Tbor, Flar had noticed lately that those two were sympathetic to some of his suggestions. Could he work on that to his advantage todaytonight! He wished that Lessa could have come with him for she was able to use deft mental pressures against dissenters and could often get the other dragons to answer her. She had to be careful, for Dragonriders were apt to suspect they were being manipulated.
Mnementh was now within the Bowl of Fort Weyr itself and veering toward the ledge of the senior queens weyr. Trons Fidranth was not there, guarding his queen Weyrmate as Mnementh would have been. Or perhaps Mardra, the senior Weyrwoman, was gone. She was as quick to find exception and slights as Tron, though once she hadnt been so touchy. In those first days after the Weyrs had come up, she and Lessa had been exceedingly close. But Mardras friendship had gradually turned into an active hatred. Mardra was a handsome woman, with a full, strong figure, and while she was nowhere near as promiscuous with her favors as Kylara of Southern Weyr, she was much sought after by bronze riders. By nature she was intensely possessive and not, Flar realized, particularly intelligent. Lessa, dainty, oddly beautiful, already a Weyr legend for that spectacular ride between time, had unconsciously attracted attention from Mardra. Mardra evidently didnt consider the fact that Lessa made no attempt to entice any favorite from Mardra, did not, indeed, dally with any man (for which Flar was immensely pleased). Add to that the ridiculous matter of their mutual Ruathan originMardra conceived a hatred for Lessa. She seemed to feel that Lessa, the only survivor of that Bloodline, had had no right to renounce her claim on Ruatha Hold to young Lord Jaxom. Not that a Weyrwoman could take Hold or would want to. The bases for Mardras hatred of Lessa were spurious. Lessa had no control over her beauty and had had no real choice about taking Hold at Ruatha.