Vinosec looked down into the valley from astride his old gray mare. It was a pretty sight, yet another grand scene from Pern's Southern landscape. He brushed his shortly cut natural white hair out of his stern, yet some how soft, brown eyes. He looked about the land below him ignoring its entire splendor, as if he might see her even from this distance. Vinosec was on a search! A searched for a runaway, or so his parents had called his sister.
Vinosec was from the eastern part of the Northern Continent, a fair sized fishing and dolphineer hold by the name of Raku Sea Hold. He'd lived there for almost his whole life, until two turns back. Two turns ago Vinosec and his younger sister had been at the Turns End Gather at their hold. They danced, bartered, played pranks, and generally had fun. At one point during the Gather, Vinosec lost sight of Lusec. Near the end of the night though his younger, 16 turn old, sister was found; caught red handed trying to steal an expensive set of jewelry. Had things been any different Lusec would have been kept under guard for a while or even given just a warning. Unfortunately for Lusec, though, the jewels were to go to the Lady Holder, Naranak, at the end of the night.
Being the prissy thing that she was, Lady Naranak demanded that her husband, Lord Tecnado, throw the girl out of the hold. Lord Tecnado was not one to stand in the way of his wife's demands yet still some how felt sorry for Lusec. The guilt was what caused him to give her the night to pack and then she was to go in the morning. Lusec was outraged and Vinosec felt deeply for her.
"You shouldn't have tried to steal those jewel's, Lu," he told her that night as his sister huffly packed her bags. "'S not my fault that Naranak wanted those jewels," she growled, "I asked the journeyman at the stands to hold that piece for me early on in the night. I come back and what do I find, pray tell?" she asked her brother turning on him with angry eyes, "That the shardin' Lady of our hold gave the Journeyman more marks so I wouldn't get something so pretty. I tell ya' that woman's a wherry in human skin, she's been out to get me ever since I out did her son and the Harper Jilta commended me!"
"That was five turns ago," Vinosec argued back in a calming voice. "Tell that to Lady Naranak!" Lusec stated with a growl tying the last bow into her sack. Vinosec started to say something again but his younger sister stopped him, "Don't even try to tell me Tecnado would change his mind if he listened to my side of the story, he even said that because of this thievery it wouldn't be right to give me the fire lizard egg that the hold was going to give me for my good work. By Faranth, Harper Jilta said that she might have sent me to Harper Hall had this not come up! I could have been a Harper, Vin," she ended in a whimper. As Vinosec walked over to comfort his sister she put up a hand and stopped him with only two words. "Just go."
Vinosec sighed and started to walk towards the door. He turned just before he left to whisper a few more reassuring words. "I'll always be on your side, Lusec," he told her, "I'll talked to you tomorrow… goodnight." Lusec didn't even seem to acknowledge his words as he closed the door. The next day he woke up to hear scorn in his parents voices.
"She ran off I tell ya'," his father repeated, "Only guilty thieves do that; don't want to face those they've done wrong to so they leave."
"Lusec's not a thief!" Vinosec growled at his father startling both his parents, "I can't believe that my own parents have turned on their only daughter! She was only taking something she rightfully paid for earlier that night, before Lady Naranak came over and offered more for the jewelry." A knock came from the door at that moment, one of the guards from the main hold stood behind it.
"The Lord and Lady Holders wish for Lusec to come to the main Hold, for an apology," he stated flatly.
"My sister stole nothing, if anything she stole what she'd already paid for earlier in the night," Vinosec stated once more on the defensive for his sister, "Besides, she left already!"
"Well that's a sad thing," the guard replied, "but then that might explain while the fire lizard egg is gone from the hearth. Lord Tecnado and the Journeyman miner were going to apologies to her, before Tecnado would show his wife and the now former Journeyman the door. Seems the Journeyman is Naranak's cousin and when Lusec bought the items in question her perchance were told to the former Lady Holder herself. Naranak gave orders for Lusec not to get it. In fact he was going to give your sister her fire lizard egg, her marks, and her jewels back."
The whole family was dumbfounded by the statement, all except for Vinosec. Instead of standing around like a fool he flew back into his room and packed only necessary things quickly into one bag. Breezing past his parents and the guard, Vinosec ran outside and mounted a already tacked runnerbeast. Kicking the gelding in the sides they shot off to find any signs of his sister.
For two turns Vinosec had searched out his sister, finding leads here and there but never Lusec. He'd found that Lusec, instead of trying to live out a normal life in another hold and become the thief that Naranak had wanted her to be known as. By rumor, and by many encounters with former associates of her sister he found that she was very good at what she now did. He also found out that she still had a heart. Only a month before he'd run into another one of his sister's former associates now enemy. He'd tried to get her caught but ended up being framed for her work.
Vinosec had chuckled at this. That was his sister all right, she'd play pranks like that a lot when they were kids. Vinosec sighed sadly at the missed memories. The runnerbeast under him snorted and he patted her neck unconsciously. The rumors had said she'd gone south by dragon and so he'd followed. Though Lusec was younger than himself by one turn he still admired her. Some how she'd convinced a rider to convey her south… either that or she managed to smuggle aboard some large supplies heading for a weyr in the South. Either way it was amazing.
Kicking his runner into a slow gallop they quickly came to the bottom of tall hill. According to a traveler he'd meet a few days ago, there was supposed to be a hold near by, at the base of Talor Cliff Weyr. How near he'd never gotten out of the old man but still it was a start. As the mare galloped along the fairly even turf, Vinosec looked to the skies. He stated to notice dragons flying about just over the crest of the next hill almost 10 clicks away. He watched them in awed wonderment; they were the only things that ever diverted him from his journey to find his sister.
"By the first shell," he commented as he watched the creatures dive and climb, turn and dive again, "they still are one of Pern's most wonderful beasts." We are not beasts, we are dragons. a voice came in Vinosec's head. "I know you're dragons, I just have a bad habit of sometimes calling you beasts. Sorry about that," he replied as he watched a blue dragon spiral over head. Vinosec did a double take at the dragon who was too far away for even his rider to say a word to him. Oh, that's going to hurt if he doesn't turn soon. It wasn't a dream Vinosec had heard… TWACK!
"Nora! Eh Nora," a voice called out as Vinosec started to regain consciousness, "The kid's wakin' up." As Vinosec opened his eyes he found his vision blurred slightly. Slowly he started to recall what had happened to him. He'd been riding along and realized that he could hear the dragons without them trying to talk to him. He'd been startled by the fact then turned at one of the dragon's statements and… he looked up, a limb of a tree was well and truly cracked and no doubt from his head colliding with it. He could smell numbweed and felt a cold compress on his forhead, that is what he could feel through the numbness of the numbweed.
"So he is," a woman's voice comment, "What's your name lad? How old are ya'?"
"M'name's Vinosec of Raku Sea Hold, I'm 19," he replied in a wince, They must have just applied the numbweed. He talks better in his mind right now… I like his mind Nora. Mitanth's right, I like him too N'tron, I think Mekoth would like him to stand. "What do you mean some Mekoth would like me to stand? I'm too dizzy to stand right now; lying on my back right now's fine to me."
"You heard my Zhantrenth?" the one who was obviously N'tron asked. "That's a rare thing, a male who can hear dragons when they haven't impressed anything dragonic," Nora commented. Vinosec turned his vision to the two riders and spotted the blue behind them. His vision must have been messed up still though, he could see two blues… but then why did he not see doubles of the riders.
"You ride blue?" he asked Nora groggily. Nora chuckled, "Yes in fact I'm the Head Searchrider at Talor Cliff Weyr. I was about to take Mitanth out on search for the current clutch when N'tron here had Zhantrenth call me over. One because he'd seen you get hurt and two because his blue had felt something about you." Vinosec blinked, so it had been Zhantrenth he'd heard as he sat pondering this he noticed he could hear other dragons far off. When he'd been younger Vinosec had always imagined that he could hear all dragons… had it only been his imagination or had he really heard them when he was a kid and now was hearing them again.
You heard them, and I think you're hearing them again, Mitanth stated and beside him the smaller blue nodded in agreement. Can we ask him, please? Zhantrenth's voice came again into the 19 turn old teen. "Well Nora and Mitanth agree with you don't they, Zhan?" the blue's rider asked him and both blues nodded. N'tron shrugged his shoulders and smiled at the other bluerider. "I'm not a searchrider so it's your duty," he smiled.
"Well, Vinosec of Raku Sea Hold," Nora smiled gently helping him up, "You're a far way from home, but perhaps for the better. How would you like to stand on the sands of Talor Cliff Weyr for Gold Mekoth's first clutch?"
"I must have gotten knocked on the head harder than I thought," Vinosec chuckled, "I thought you just offered me a chance to impress a dragon." She did, the two blues' voices came into his head once more. Vinosec was over joyed with the prospect of impressing, but then thoughts of his lost sister entered his mind, "I've gotta search for my sister. I haven't seen her for two turns now. I need to at least tell her of Lord Tecnado's apology and what happened to Naranak and that cousin of her's. I…"
"We get the idea," Nora smiled sadly, "You know what, Mekoth's clutch shouldn't hatch for a few days yet and with that bump on your head you're in no condition to travel. Why don't you stay at the Weyr and stand for the clutch. Meanwhile I'll ask around the holds and weyrs I visit in the next few days; I could have swore I heard something about a candidate at Aden Weyr with hair your color. I'll check there first if you agree."
"What have I got to loose," Vinosec smiled. N'tron clapped him on the back and quickly had to steady the white haired teen, "That's the way, whoa, stead there. You can ride with me. Zhan'll keep ya' from bouncin' around." "And you think Mitanth won't do the same, N'tron!" Nora mock-scowled. N'tron shook his head his bangs moving just enough to show the burn marks around his eyes from when he worked with his father at Ganatek Hold.
Carefuly the two riders placed Vinosec astride Zhantrenth with little to no trouble at all. After N'tron had strapped himself and Vinosec in they turned to Nora who was mounted her own blue. She waved to them with a smile.
"I'm going to Aden Weyr to start checking for you, Vinosec," Nora called over, Mitanth launched himself into the air seconds later, "I hope to bring you back good news tonight."
Vinosec sat in the healer's office at Talor Cliff Weyr, having his large bump attended to. During the time the Weyr Healer, Belifarion, and been wrapping his fire lizard egg sized bump he'd made several jokes about it. After laying off the jokes he told of his reasons for traveling so far from home.
"You're pretty loyal to your sister, eh Vinosec," Belifarion replied after the story.
"She always made the day interesting," he smiled, "I guess she still does considering the stories of heard from those she found she couldn't trust. I hope she's alright. I wonder what she'd say if she saw me right now."
"Ah, don't be such an old wherry," a female voice greated his back. Vinosec turned quickly towards the voice and found a teen of 18 turns behind him, a bronze, crafty looking, fire lizard sat on her shoulder, "That's what I'd tell ya', Vin."
"Lusec!" Vinosec cried out. Forgetting his pain, he ran up to her and, picking Lusec up by the waist, he spun his little sister around. The two laughed happly as Lusec's bronze squaked and flew about them having been "thrown" from his perch.
"I see you found your 'crippled' brother, Lusec" Nora smiled from the doorway. "That I did, bluerider," Lusec smirked. "Well, you to better make the best of this visit now, I promised Weyrwoman Bretta that I'd return you tonight. Those eggs at Aden are about as close as Mekoth's to hatching." The two siblings smiled at the blue rider.
"Thank you, Nora," Vinosec smiled, "I almost though you would never find her and I would have lost her forever."
"Have more faith, lad," Nora chided, "The dragon's might not like you with that attitude." Vinosec blushed at this while the blue rider and his sister chuckled. Lusec and Vinosec talked for hours on end about their travels that night and a tearful good-bye was said with promises to see one another whether they impressed or not. Now Vinosec had a new goal, to stand on the sands of Talor Cliff Weyr's hatching grounds, and perhaps impress one of the great dragons he admired as much as his sister.
| Vinosec | |
| Male | |
| 19 | |
| White(natural) | |
| brown | |
| 6'6" | |
| Journeyer | |
| N/A | |
| N/A | |
| Raku Sea Hold | |
| Resec | |
| Vinolu | |
| Lusec(sister/younger) | |
| N/A | |
| N/A | |
| Talor Cliff Weyr |