Viarta

The waves crashed upon the shore and the sounds of avians, firelizards, and people echoed across the crystal blue water of the cove. The sound of footfalls resounded on the wooden planks of the dock as Viarta hurried to her lesson. The young woman was almost never late, but today had been an exception. A nightmare of Votarin had kept her awake at night, and subsequently she’d slept in today.

“Viarta, so kind of you to join us,” the journeyman called from the water. He had been in the middle of a demonstration showing the apprentices how to care for the dolphins they would partner when they walked the tables next spring.

Silently she slid into the medium depth water. At least it was medium depth for all the other apprentices. Viarta was petite, so the waist high water hit her at the chest instead. Luckily she was a very good swimmer, so when they did need to go into deeper water it wasn’t a problem for her.

The senior apprentice ran her fingers through her short dark hair. Her blue eyes were focused on the journeyman and she tried to listen, but her mind kept drifting back to the nightmare of her lost brother. Had it been 5 turns already since his ship had wrecked? The young woman shook her head. She couldn’t think about Votarin now. She had to focus on her lessons. The dolphins were the only way she could ever find him. She knew he was alive. Just knew it.

The journeyman continued for another candlemark, and Viarta could feel her pale skin burning. Despite all of her time here at the dolphin hall and back at Dalavin Seahold, the young woman had never managed to tan. Instead, she always burned. Luckily the healers kept her supply of burn salve full and she didn’t suffer too much so long as one of her fellow apprentices was willing to coat her back and shoulders.

Finally, she was able to get out of the water, but lunch would have to wait. Several dragons were heading in, and the apprentices were excited. Viarta felt her own heart rate increase as she surveyed the unfamiliar dragons. These weren’t Aneris dragons. They were… different.

The young woman scurried to stretch of beach where the beasts were landing. She had to see them close up. Her burn momentarily forgotten she followed the throng of apprentices. Being as small as she was it was easy for her to weave through the crowd until she was right next to the dragons.

These were some of the strangest dragons she’d ever seen. They almost didn’t look like Pern dragons at all. In fact, was that one…red? Viarta couldn’t believe what she was seeing and waited to see what the strangers wanted.

One man slid down from his dragon. “We have three clutches on our sands, and we need bonders. We’re from Ryslen, a place beyond here. Do not worry, should you choose to come with us, we will return you here after your training if you wish, or you may stay with us,” he informed everyone in his booming voice. Viarta was stunned. “A dragon,” she whispered to herself. “That would be even better to find Votarin than just a dolphin plus I wouldn’t get sunburned anymore.” Did she dare go with these strangers though and leave the only life she’d known? If it meant finding her brother, it was worth the risk. “I’ll go with you,” she announced and stepped forward. “If you’ll have me.”

“Anyone is welcome to come,” the rider said. “We need plenty of candidates for the eggs and there are more waiting to be laid. I’ll take you to Ryslen myself. Once you meet Jeyann, we’ll see how things go from there. Go get your things, lass. We can’t take you dressed like that.”

Blushing as she looked down at her blue bikini, the apprentice nodded. Quickly she dashed off to gather her things and wondered if she was doing the right thing. Mentally she chided herself. She was eighteen and quite capable of making these decisions.

Viarta hurried back to the riders. Then the waiting began. She ran her fingers through her damp curls in a nervous gesture and watched as a few others came forward. All too soon it was time to board the dragons and leave for this strange new world with new opportunities. She was going to Ryslen.