She wondered if they had a purpose; and if so, what was it? Could she, the daughter of a renowned Harper, have a purpose? She hoped, at least, it did not involve swimming, as she was not the best of swimmers. Aerwyn's mind wandered aimlessly; the bright flashes of sun on the silver scales of the fish dancing across her vision. One fish stopped, seemingly to gasp for 'breath', his sucking lips opening and closing many times. He started again, but he was too slow, and was stuck in the current, the water beating him back, his defenses and strength failing. Aerwyn watched him, and stroked his glistening back with a finger. He was a wondefully colored fish, a rusty red and dull black, like armor that had sat in the rain for too long. Nestled amongst these colors were scales of gold. Aerwyn thought he looked like a knight, brave and strong, but dying, beaten by his foes. She lifted him suddenly out of the water and ran, carrying him further upstream, the fish's lips sucking, his tail slapping feebly against her. She reached a calm spot in the water, and dropped him in. The fish swam in a full circle, as if unsure that he was truly safe, and then gave a little fishy leap of joy. Aerwyn laughed aloud, the stormy, brooding look gone from her eyes for a moment. After the fish had gathered his strength, he looked up above the surface of the water, and started swimming once again toward his goal, whatever and wherever it was.
--When I am stranded in the current--Aerwyn thought to herself--who will fish me out?--
Aerwyn stood again, brushing herself off. She turned about, and shuffled toward her Keep, Crinos. Along the way she sang a song she had made up, about her fish:
Brave sparkling warrior,
Mighty, and strong,
Admirers crowd you,
In a delighted throng.
But battle will claim you,
You must go to fight,
So you mount your steed,
And ride off in the night.
What shimmering maiden cries for you?
Your ears are deaf to all sound,
'Cept the thundering of oncoming hooves,
Echoing against the stark ground.
The clashing of swords are heard from afar,
One strikes home, and you cry out,
Your foe, your slayer, disappears like the stars,
Leaving you to deal with your bout--
Of pain.
Lying in a blood filled river,
Many pass and turn their heads,
Their goals are more important than a lone stranger,
And you might as well be dead.
But your shimmering maiden comes once more,
In a dream, or a hallucination,
She lifts you from your nightmares,
And promises you'll never venture back again.
--Needs work--she thought--but I think Father will like it--
Aerwyn neared the door of Crinos Keep; she stepped across the threshhold. Her father was sitting in the midst of many onlookers, dazzled by his deep voice and fancy fingers, flitting across his gitar. He was nearing the end of an old song that he had sung to Aerwyn as a young girl, and the last words were:
When the sunlight touches the shadowed lands,
And the dragon wingbeats are stilled,
We will work and live by the skill of our hands,
And our hearts will be thawed, when once chilled.
But to those who would wish the great gods of the sky,
To fall in ruins and dust,
Their evil hearts will shrivel and die,
As all things evil sometime must.
But sweetling, cry not, I will always be here,
For because of your birth I am blessed,
You young innocents should have nothing to fear,
So now close your eyes, and take rest.
Wild applause greeted this last line, and Aerwyn's father, Aedoan, stood and bowed several times. Afterward, the young ones of the Hold where put to bed, and the adults made merry, danced, and Aedoan came once again to the stage. But this time, he did not sing. Instead, he spoke loudly, calling for the dancers to quiet themselves.
"Fellow people of Danach," he said,"it is my great pleasure to present to you my young apprentice, and daughter, Aerwyn, to sing for your Gather of the Golden Wings!"
The audience applauded, and Aerwyn, speechless and nervous, legs shaking, took the stage. Her father handed her a flute, and he took his gitar, beckoning Aerwyn's mother, Lerwyn, to join them. Lerwyn smiled bashfully, and took her harp. She embraced her daughter, and kissed her cheek.
"You'll do well," she whispered,"just sing your best."
Aerwyn nodded and swallowed a few times.
She thought back to the lazy day she had spent by the river, and recalled her fish song. She started by explaining:
"This first song, ladies and gentlemen, comes from my imagination, and a fish. I was sitting by the Corenas river this afternoon, where the fish are migrating upstream, and I came upon a beautifully colored fish, caught in the current.."
She finished her explanation and began the song. Her mother and father soon got the gist of the melody and harmony, and they backed her up with harp and gitar. In the middle and end of the song, Aerwyn did a bit of a dance and played vigorously on her flute. In a matter of time she had the audience clapping to the rhythm, laughing and dancing. After the song she danced some more, jewelry jingling, red hair whipping around her face. She ended with an elaborate set of leaps, finished with a roll. She landed on her hands and knees and bowed her head. The audience loved it. They called and smiled, guffawed and chuckled. Some people climbed up on stage and started dancing themselves. Aerwyn was lifted up by her father, and Lerwyn stood smiling by his side.
"The wonderful Lady Aerwyn!"
Although the Gather lasted long into the morning, Aerwyn was in her bed soon after her performance. She hummed herself to sleep, and as her eyes closed, she recalled the Sleep Song her father had sung to her..
But sweetling, cry not, I will always be here,
Because of your birth I am blessed,
You young innocents should have nothing to fear,
So now, close your eyes, and take rest.
Aerwyn awakened to a knock at her door.
"Come in!" she yelled, and jumped out of bed.
The door opened, and a young woman walked in.
"Hello, Aerwyn. My name is Rubiae."
"Oh. Good morning, Rubiae. May I ask what you are doing here?"
Rubiae smiled.
"Well, Aerwyn, I wanted to congratulate you on your astounding performance last night. You did quite well!"
"Thank you, very much I'm sure." Aerwyn replied, smiling.
"But that's not what I've woken you up early in the morning for. I'm sure you know what a dragon is--"
Aerwyn's heart lept--dragon? Of course!
"--and I know that you understand that there is a clutch at Vella Crean, and that they must have candidates. My dragon, green Maoith, has decided, after hearing you sing, that you are Sands-worthy!"
Aerwyn caught her breath, and put a hand to her mouth. She stepped back, wonder and excitement, and disbelief, registering in her eyes.
"M-me?" she managed to squeak.
--Now--she thought to herself--that's hardly a proper voice for a Harper!--
"Me?" she asked again.
"Well, yes,"said Rubiae, in a puzzled voice, "but after your reaction, are you sure you want to?"
Aerwyn shook her head, but then quickly corrected herself with a brisk nod.
"Why..why, yes! Of course!" Aerwyn stammered.
"Then get yourself packed and say good-bye to your parents."
Aerwyn nodded, and flew to her sack. She threw all her clothing and a few bottles of this and that inside, as well as boots, sandals, paper and writing tools, and a few other knicknacks inside. She skipped down the stairs and shouted to her parents--
"I've been Found!"
Aedoan and Lerwyn hugged her tightly, and they both kissed her cheeks.
"Farewell, darling," said Lerwyn.
"Keep singing!" advised Aedoan.
Then Aedoan fished inside his pack that lay on the floor, and withdrew a small painted carving of a flit.
"To remind you of us," he added,"And don't forget your old parents, now, sweetie."
"I won't!" she cried, and kissed them again. Then she was out the door, and Rubiae was helping her mount the green Maoith. The trio launched into the sky, and they vanished parallel.
Another egg had hatched, revealing another white. The white had been busy, letting out little melodious croons. At the sound, Aerwyn started to whisper a soft song she created. At the sound, the white tilted her head.
~That was wonderful, my rider. Come, will you sing songs about me? Mulgoith?~
Aerwyn smiled.
"Of course I will," she whispered, happy tears of rapture running down her face.
It is a nice day. I think I am quite hungry now. Make a song for me, my one.
Aerwyn groggily looked up from her writing, and blinked away the smoke from her candle. She'd been busy jotting down notes about Dragonhope and how cold it was - but there was something quite different about the way her white was acting. She was not hungry. She was ravenous. Simply outrageously so.
"... Mul?" Aerwyn said quietly, "I think you're rising, actually."
Nonsense! I am merely thirsty a bit. Oooh - there are some beasts in that pen. I will get-
"You must- you must blood them," Aerwyn said shaking. She stood and rushed to the ledge where she and her white had been put up for the duration of her stay. They needed a harper, and she was quite good. It so happened, though, that the white was in need of suitors for her first flight, since Aerwyn knew that she would eventually rise. It was a good thing that they'd prepared for that, and had allowed a signup sheet to be placed at the entrance to the Sands.
One of the local riders appeared at Aerwyn's door, clapped once and let himself in. "The other riders are wondering if you will need the greens and queen to leave? Or is she all right with them there?"
"I - I don't know, she doesn't seem to notice them, so, maybe it's all right." Aerwyn was trembling, "I've never done this before."
"Well I heard you tell her to blood the beasts, that's the right thing to do." He was a kind man, Aerwyn had completely forgotten his name. She'd fallen into the white's wingbeats, as she soared down to the feeding pen on the terrace below.
Blood it, Aerwyn thought hard, Don't be like one of those silly greens who lose their clutches, or arrogant golds who think they can do whatever they want. You will have a fine clutch, if only you just drink the beasts blood.
All right... I will do that. Is that important? Well, you said so. I will do that. The dragoness nodded and snatched at one of the terrified herdbeasts, the others scrabbling to the other side of the pen. The one she'd chosen kicked violently but its motion ceased as Mulgoith drained it with a big slash to its neck. The beasts' blood stained her snowy white muzzle, and fueled her hide to glow with a bright shine. Not like a light, not like glows did, but ... shine, glossy and powerful. An aura of health.
"You stay here," Aerwyn heard as if from a distance, as the blue rider left her side. "I'm going to alert the other riders and the suitors signed up." She nodded, sort of, and watched through Mulgoith's eyes as everything in the world turned on its side. The pleasant chirping of birds was like noise, and the green dragoness who sat watch suddenly looked at her with those whirly eyes.
Get away from my males! Mulgoith yelled, and Aerwyn gasped - she'd said it aloud too, it was lucky that no one was in her weyr with her! The green flapped quickly and rose to the sky, trumpeted once, and along with the blue rider's warning, the scattering of female dragons left the weyr half-empty. Spectators began to come to their own weyr ledges, and shade their eyes against the light. How would they see a white dragon against the brilliant sky?
Mulgoith took a second, much smaller beast and blooded it thoroughly, this time taking her time and making sure she'd finished. Her wings sharply up, she turned, and looked at the field below. Several of the males had arrived, and among them were her suitors. They were a mix of dark and light blue, sharp and soft. She loved them. But not enough to just dive in among them.
You are all going to have to chase me, are you strong enough? Mulgoith said, Aerwyn mouthing the words. She was trying to regain some kind of control over herself, when she realized that the riders of those five blues were up behind her in her weyr now. Brought by their instincts, and the fact that some of them had memorized where her dragon lived.
They remained behind, though, as Mulgoith took to the air. Her wings filled with the cold wind, and Aerwyn saw her through her real eyes as well as the ground flashing by. It was confusing, but it was magical. It was so much like when they first paired up, a lovely day indeed.
The first to leap into the air was Ditith, the oldest of the blues. His vintner rider Denver had carried up a bottle of wine for whoever won - he placed it near the ledge and backed away again, just because his dragon was following the white, didn't mean he had any right to approach her rider!
The other blues followed shortly, each vying for a position behind the quick winged white. She was hard to chase, anyway, because of her coloration. Against the snowcapped mountains, the brilliant sparkling sea and the bleached sky, the white from Vella Crean was a challenge for anyone.
Delth was a strong flier, but his mind was elsewhere. The queen Daekith had gone somewhere, she was flying next. But he was a blue.
Your mind is not on me, if you want to chase her, then chase her - but don't expect her to like it! Or me! Mulgoith snapped. She switched her direction in mid-beat, common for small dragons to do, and challenged the local-born dragon out of the sky. He snorted and backed down, and his rider B'jar stood in the doorway of Aerwyn's weyr disappointed. The other riders knew that he'd been looking forward to the flight, but not his dragon.
While the one blue went from the sky to his weyr, the other four scattered as Mulgoith came right at them. Without a pause, Jishinth swept after her. He was larger than she, and bipedal, so his upper limbs seemed to have an advantage. But as Jishinth was reaching for Mulgoith, the rider remembered - Saell? Well, she's a pretty lady and all but she's not my type.
Giving off a HARRUMPH! loudly enough to be heard from the ground, Mulgoith dipped below Jishinth cleverly, whipping her tail into his face and causing his wings to catch each other. He fell for a few hundred feet, but caught himself before landing on his back. Saell chuckled to herself - this was how it was, when you bonded cross-gender.
The white dragoness had concentrated on her switching-crossing flight, but then changed her tactics. She was getting a bit tired of seeing blue at every turn, so she shot into the sky, and then began an endurance race around the weyrbowl. Kjoreth, Ditith and Dabath all sought to keep up with her. Kjoreth was the closest, and he gave a trumpet.
You will be mine, because I think I love you! Isn't that enough? It's good for humans, is it good for you?
I like you, Mulgoith announced, suddenly doing a roll and loop down below and to the right of the overeager blue, but love is for humans and mine has no great love for yours. Sorry - she dove away and down again, zigzagging to avoid trees. Sullenly, Kjoreth flew back to the weyr and C'mas joined Saell and B'jar in the corridor. It seemed like Saell was interested in something, but Aerwyn wasn't going to turn and find out what it was. As long as her own weyr wasn't the locale for some bizarre joining, that was fine.
The vintner and fisherman riders were the ones left in the weyr, their impressively different dragons still chasing the elusive white.
"I'll just open this," Denver said, "and leave it out. You never know when you're not going to be in your right mind, to enjoy something like wine."
D'ton chuckled, "it's not over yet," and pointed to the sky.
Mulgoith was tiring in her wings, and Aerwyn felt it in her own shoulders somehow. She wanted to urge her dragon on, to find the best male she could. Ditith approached and swung his speckled wing around the white, tried wrapping his tail around hers, but she balked.
Not yet!
There are still suitors other than you, Ditith! Called Dabath, the horned Vella Crean dragon. The pair of blues sandwiched the white with a scant amount of air between them. She could barely fly, but she was also thrilled. They were challenging to one another - and to her - this was what a flight was all about!
When it came down to it though, Mulgoith thought that a dragon that spent his time playing in the vines was a little less exciting than one who tossed his rider in the lake habitually - that, and Dabath's horns matched her own.
Perhaps next time, Ditith said, still wanting to butt the other blue out of the sky. But he'd taken that massive tail of his and wrapped it around hers - and there was no struggling coming from the white.
Denver smiled at the other rider, and indicated the bottle of wine he'd brought. "It's yours," he said.
D'ton was a bit nervous, but his head swam with the pleasure of the dragons joining above. He offered Aerwyn the bottle, and she tackled him on the way back into her weyr. "I'll write a song about it later." She said, and they tumbled as their dragons fell from the sky.
PARTICIPATING MALES
Blue Ditith/Denver/H-Sapphire/L-Blackstone
Blue Dabath/D'ton/H-Vella Crean/L-Darkling Dawn <---WINNER
Teal-Blue Jishinth*/Saell/H-HealingDen/L-VellaCrean
Blue Delth/B'jar/H-Dragonhope/L-DarklingDawn
Blue Kjoreth/C'mas/H-Dragonhope/L-DarklingDawn