The sun rose, and he kept going. He was making good time, and wasn't about to stop for food or sleep. He crossed a river and walked over several hills. He came finally to a large stoney mountain. And that was where he rested. He needed to be rested for the trek over the mountain- and into the valley beyond.
He lit a small fire and roasted some meat over it. He pulled out some bread, and had a small meal. His first in days. He fed some to the firelizard, who ate quietly, almost thoughtfully. And then, he put the fire out and fell asleep leaning against the cold stone.
He woke to see the sun setting. He stood, and stretched his back. He cracked his knuckles, and then turned to the mountain. He flexed his arms behind his back, cracked his neck, and started off.
It was dark again by the time he got to the top of the mountain. He peered over, at the tiny Hold in the Valley. It consisted mostly of miners and herders. And there was one are in the side of the mountain, overlooking the entire valley. It was where he was headed. That was where he was going. To meet with his brother, Kateem.
By the time he arrived at the foort of the mountain, it was bright and warm, and children were playing in the fields. He walked straight past them, aknowledging the children with a slight nod and a smile. A small boy with tousled blonde hair and penetrating brown eyes stood on a rock, barefooted and wearing brown breeches rolled to the knees and a cream coloured shirt with the sleeves rolled up, slightly muddy from playing, and watched him as he went. He was only six turns, maybe more, maybe less. He watched as the man walked straight into the Hold.
"Kateem." The voice was deep and thick, friendly sounding but full of controlled anger. Kateem turned slowly. His tousled, slightly clurly blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and deep, penetrating eyes looked up.
"Drake."
Drake turned, and quietly shut the door. Kateem rose from his seat behind a desk covered in scrolls.
"Have some klah. Its been freshly brewed this morning." Drake shook his head, and remained standing. Kateem looked curiously at him.
"Well, little brother. What brings you here? I haven't seen you in turns. How old are you now? Twenty?"
"Twenty-one," replied Drake. He took a step forward. He towered over his older brother, even if he was several turns the younger. Kateem was a poor excuse of a leader. He was small and thin. Not very intimidating at all. And he was conniving, scheming. Greedy and self-centered, not caring for anyone but himself. But he was smart, oh yes. Sharp as a tack, that one. All this Drake knew.
"Twenty, twenty-one. No matter. What matters is why you are here. I disinctly remember telling you never to come back here. That you were not welcome. And we have lived happily here without you. And now, out of the blue, you show up? What for, I ask. What is your reason?" Drake smiled. It showed off his dimples. But it was not a happy smile. It was sad, and angry at the same time. His eyes reflected his weariness, and his sadness.
"What now, I need a reason to come visit my favourite brother? And my nephew, whom nobody felt the need to tell me about." Kateem, for the first time, seemed setback. He was not ready for that.
"Well, yes, I assume that child out front is your son? I've never seen a greater likeness. He's got the same hair as you."
"Yes, but it is his shape which reminds me of you. He's not thin and wiry like I, but sturdy and thick. Muscular, and only six turns. And do not forget, brother, the eyes. He has the same eyes as us, my brother. Dark brown. Eyes that can peer into your very soul." Drake stood, not saying anything.
"So you've seen my son. But you still have not answered my question. What is your purpose here? Why have you come?" Drake plopped down into a chair, and propped his heavy black boots onto Kateem's desk. Kateem made a face of disgust, but Drake ignored it.
"I come because of the things I have been told. Bijan has returned countless times to me with news of the horribly treated people. I have come to ask you to change. You are ruining our family name. The Hold that our father ran, this great place, full of happiness, and hard work, beauty and riches... You are destroying it all with your greed." Kateem's face hardened. He leaned forward. The blue flitter on Drake's shoulder stirred, and shifted its weight from one foot to the other. He put up a hand and stroked its eyeridge gently, lovingly.
"I assume this... lizard here is Bijan? And who has been sending these notes? I demand to know. Everything is fine here- just look around you! Everyone is perfectly happy." Drake shook his head slowly.
"On the outside, Kateem. But underneath that outer coating, you find the truth. Your people here are starving. All of their profits that they make, everything they find in the mines is given to you. Children are going hungry. Your son, my nephew down there, he plays with children his own age. But have you looked at those children? Really looked at them? They are dirty, Kateem."
"Dirty from play, Drake. Children are always dirty." Kateem was nearly pleading. His eyes glittered with greed- Drake could only imagine the riches that he had hiding in his quarters.
"No, Kateem. Not from play. And I hear word that your son down there, the same one, was not born of your wife. I hear tell that his mother was a servant girl, or a maid of some sort- what, a weaver? I hear that your wife could not bear you a son- I also hear tell that you have several daughters. How I never heard about my nieces before, I do not know. So you have been hiding this from me for so long. You have raised a family, and caused our father's hard work and strict, fair rulings to mean nothing. You have destroyed it all. And for what?" He reached into a pocket of his weyr-hide pants and pulled out a small gold coin. He placed it gently on the desk. "For this." Kateem's eyes met Drake's. Brown met brown, the two brothers stared at each other. Kateem's gaze faltered at last, and he looked down.
"You say that I disgrace our father's good name?"
"That is exactly what I say. When he died, the first thing you did was to force me away. Why, I do not know. Perhaps because the people liked me more." He shrugged with one shoulder. Kateem looked at Drake for a long, long while. Drake sat patiently, his large hands clasped in his lap.
"I do not believe you. You come here, out of nowhere, and confront me like this. With no warning. I should have you killed. I told you never to come back here!" Kateem rose to his feet. Drake did the same.
"Fine. I cannot argue with you. But I believe that I should be entitled to take over as lord-Holder." Kateem was once again speechless.
"You? But... why? I am doing a perfectly fine job, thank you! And I am entitled, not you! I am the oldest!"
"I should not think that age matters when it comes to other peoples' lives. I think it should matter who is the better leader. Or who they want more." He gestured a hand towards the outside, at the people working below.
"No. I want you out of here. Leave now, and don't you ever come back, Drake. Ever." Drake shrugged.
"When this whole Hold collapses beneath you, do not come crying and begging with me." He knew he could not fight his brother. Even if he was stubborn and greedy, they were still brothers. He turned on his heel and made his way to the door. Bijan hovered in the air, chirping furiously at Kateem. Drake opened the door and called to the firelizard without turning around. And then, he was gone. And Bijan fought to catch up.
Drake walked across the rocks, anger welling up inside him. The changes were not visable on the outside yet, but he knew that they would be. Kateem would notice soon enough. It was a shame though, that all of their father's work was going to waste.
Drake sat, perched on a rock. Bijan had just blinked back from between, and brought news from the Hold. It was handwritten this time, and sealed with his brother's mark. It told of hard times, and an apology from Kateem. He begged Drake to come back, and to make everything better. Drake held the paper in his hand, and then crimpled it up, and threw it to the side. He rose, and Bijan chirruped. He turned, and began the long trek, once again, back to the Hold.
"Okay, I'm here. But I do not know what you expect me to do." Kateem was sitting at the same desk, with his hands on his forehead.
"I don't know Drake! All I know is that you were right. And that I was too stubborn to realize it. But I understand now. Please, help us. Please." Drake looked at his brother for a long while, and then finally nodded.
"It will be a long process," he said. Kateem looked up, and nodded.
Drake stood back, leaning on a large pick. He had taken up residence in the Hold, and worked as a miner. His shirtless back glistened with sweat, and was a healthy bronze from the sun. He was watching Colden, his nephew. He and the child had become very close in the past turn. Colden was playing with a rock.
"What do you have there, Cold?" The boy looked up.
"It's a rock, Drake. And it is shiny! Look!" He brought the stone to Drake, and held it up to him. Drake took it, and rotated it slowly in the sunlight.
"You found something, Colden. I don't know exactly what it is, but it is definately something. You should go ask one of the experts." The boy turned, and raced away, holding the stone in his hand. Drake straightened, and smiled.
"You've done wonders here." Drake turned, to see a girl standing there. She had black hair, straight and to her shoulders. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald green. She was wearing a tunic and leggings, and boots. She was also glistening with sweat. She stuck out a hand, looked to see that it was covered in dirt, and wiped it across the side of her pants. And then, she stuck it out again, grinning.
"Sorry about that. I'm Jazmyn." He shook her hand, and grinned back at her. She had a strong grip, and hands callused from working.
"Well, thank you Jazmyn. I'm Drake. You... mine?" She smiled, and nodded.
"I have been for a very long time. How did you do it?" He looked up.
"Do what?"
"Fix this place up so quickly! Kateem, now I thought he had wrecked this Hold forever. But you go tit back on its feet. And two times better than it was! How did you do it?" Drake looked around. Children were laughing. They were no longer dirty and unhealthy, but happy and clean. People had jobs. They were happy.
"I really don't know. I don't know how I did it. But it worked, didn't it?" He smiled a crooked smile. Jazmyn looked at him with her head cocked, and a slight smile at the corners of her lips.
"You know, you should be the Holder here. Not that arrogant wherry Kateem." She noticed the smile on Drake's face.
"What?"
"Kateem is my brother," he said with a smile. His hand rubbed his neck, and he looked down at the ground. Jazmyn stared, and then laughed out loud.
"Oh well, I feel stupid now! Why didn't you tell me before?" He shrugged, and grinned.
"Anyway. I sEe you have a firelizard. They are the greatset! What's his name?" Bijan was nuzzling her hand affectionately, and she scratched his eye ridge. Drake stared, jaw dropped.
"Bijan. And he usually isn't this friendly with new people." Jazmyn smiled.
"I have a way with animals. So, you have an interest in dragons? Do you want to be a Rider someday?" He looked up at the sky and put his hands in his pockets.
"A rider. Yes, I've always wanted to be a Rider. But I have other responsibilities."
"Have you ever been Searched?" They were walking along now.
"No." They were going over a hill now.
"Well. I hear there are Searchriders around. You should try your luck." She smiled as she waved a hand towards the valley below. There, in the valley, was a large blue dragon and its rider. Bijan fluttered off, chirping and squealing at the dragon. Drake looked at Jazmyn.
"How did you know?" She shrugged.
"I told you. I have a way with animals." He walked down to the dragon. The rider stepped forward. They shook hands.
"Hello. I am D'run. This here is Okserth. You are the first people that we have seen around here! Where is everyone?" The rider's eyes seemed to gaze off. He didn't wait for any answer, but looked at Drake, who was trying to catch Bijan.
"Come here you little wherry!" He lept into the air, black ponytail coming loose and strands of black hair falling into his eyes. He finally grabbed the flitter by its back leg, and pulled it down.
"Ahem. Excuse me." Drake looked up.
"Yes?" He began to pull his hair back into its ponytail.
"Okserth here tells me that we need not look any farther for a candidate." Drake looked back at Jazmyn. She shrugged. He turned back to D'run.
"Yes, you. What's your name?"
"Drake, sir."
"Drake, eh? And you need not call me sir. Would you like to Stand at Ryslen Weyr? There's a Queen's clutch on the Sands. Gold Arosambyth's, to be exact. Will you come?" Drake was astonished.
"Well... Yes, I would love to go. But what if things fall apart here? Its been such work just to get this Hold back on its feet...Figuratively speaking." Jazmyn finally stepped in.
"That's what Bijan can be used for. Well, that and helping you with any new Hatchling that you may Impress. He can bring instructions and stuff through to us. It'll be just like you're here." Drake smiled then, a full smile that lit up his face. He turned bvack to D'run.
"I would love to go. When to we leave?"
