Emergency Management
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Noli, Suzee
Date Posted: 15th June 2017
Characters: Y'gel, N'tur
Description: Y'gel and N'tur begin treating the various wounded dragons.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 12, day 20 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: N'vanik, D'arvin (not by name), Sefanya
The collapse of the big Dragonhealing cavern had almost been a forgone conclusion after the final shock and the tidal wave tore through the lower caverns. He'd made sure that all dragons who could went between to the location Aug had given them. That was far better than leaving them to be battered by debris in the water.
"N'tur," Y'gel called as he ran from the edge of the bluff where Aughashyth had dropped him. "How much of the supplies did we get out?"
The apprentice dragonhealer was already striding towards the place his Master had landed. Without speaking, he hoisted two sacks above his head in reply. They felt pitifully light in his hands; although their contents were not the only ones salvaged from the healing tunnel, they were representative of the enormous loss the Weyr had sufferred. N'tur took a practiced breath as the distance between the two men narrowed and finally closed. Now was not the time to lose his head.
Matter-of-factly, he relayed the salvaged inventory: "Fourteen large jars of redwort. As many of oil. This bag here is mostly thread as there happened to be several dragonslength in the main cavern. It was a new delivery that hadn't been processed yet. All the emergency field kits; one of the riders of the injured must have moved them to the door when word of the tsunami reached us. A hide sack full of everything in the triage cabinet." He held the other sack aloft to demonstrate.
Then he wilted a bit, knowing the effect his next words would have. "The biggest loss was numbweed. We have the bit from the kits of course. But most of it was in storage, of course..." He trailed off. Numbweed, and plenty of it, was always the primary need of a healer--especially during an incident involving multiple patients, like the one they were in now. But the large vats that it was kept in didn't lend well to a single man moving them, and Graileth had been occupied assisting the wounded cavern residents to safety. By the time N'tur may have rallied some help, he had gotten distracted with the 100 other things that needed doing. And so the numbweed had vanished in the rubble when the cavern came crumbling down. Retrieving it now intact was unlikely.
Slightly defeated, N'tur waited for instructions.
"Good Job," Y'gel started. "We'll see how the Healers are faring for supplies, they may have some we can use." He was still reeling from the loss of Vilarth and her clutch. But he didn't have time to indulge the need to grieve like the dragons were. "Over there," he pointed to a large patch of ground as yet unclaimed by refugees. "We're going to need lots of water. See if you can find some buckets."
N'tur nodded firmly, approving of his Master's self-control and clear head in the midst of the tragedy. Then he set off at a brisk pace.
Half a candlemark later he deposited the last of his finds in the empty grass. Then he summoned some of the older weyr children and instructed them how to fill them using a sort of line, to minimize the walking needed between the water source and the work area. Taking a half dozen of the largest buckets himself, he called Graileth and rode to the lake, filling each one and steadying them on the smaller neck ridges for transport. When the last bucket was placed gently on the
grassy patch, he turned to Y'gel once more.
In the meantime Y'gel had been moving the injured dragons and had a Journeyman doing triage.
"Go check on that weyrling to make sure his ichoring is stopped. If it hasn't put pressure on the wound and make sure his rider keeps it there. Then get him water. He'll need it." Y'gel turned back to the repairs on Xemroth.
N'tur took just a moment to stare at the big bronze dragon, such a powerful creature, being patched and mended like an article of clothing. His heart ached for Xemroth's lost mate, and Graileth let out a mournful keening as in their entwined minds they clearly saw the glorious golden Queen as she was before the cavern collapsed. N'tur knew they couldn't afford the distraction, but at seventeen Turns he hadn't quite mastered the skill in compartmentalizing that he needed to completely delay the mourning.
But he did gather himself eventually, and his training kicked in as he approached the blue weyrling that Y'gel had indicated. Crooning reassurance, he called upon Graileth to steady the youngling before he began his probing inspection.
Satisfied that the ichor had indeed stopped flowing, he nodded encouragement to the blue's young rider and smiled. "You're doing great. Just keep him resting. I'll fetch water." The boy's vacant stare went right past him.
He distributed water to other injured dragons and their riders, and spent a good deal of time running to and fro with supplies for the Master and the Journeyman Dragonhealer. When at last all of the injured were accounted for and treatment plans were verbalized, he approached Y'gel to receive his assignments for the evening. With tired, saddened eyes he observed the practiced ways the older man's hands moved and wondered if the riders would ever recover from the losses. It was one thing to lose wingmates fighting Thread, that old enemy. But to lose the young queen and her clutch so senselessly was bound to have an even deeper effect on the riders who remained.
Y'gel was tired, that much was sure. But it didn't stop his mind from going over and over everything that had happened. His one relief was that N'vanik and Loseth had been on the spot to rescue his weyrmate and the children. He'd have to go there to see they were settled and come back after a few hours rest.
He finished with the blue he'd been working on and turned to the young apprentice. "Can you and Graileth watch Falzeth for a few hours while I take a little break? If you need me I'll be back as soon as I can."
N'tur nodded gravely, relieved that the Dragonhealer was finally going to rest. The responsibility for the health of every dragon in the Weyr ultimately lay with Y'gel; they all needed him to stay performing at his best.
Calling Graileth to him, N'tur asked the wiry brown to settle on an empty patch of ground near Falzeth. Then he joined his dragon, placing his body so that he had an unobstructed view of the little blue while simultaneously using his lifemate's body heat to combat the falling night's chill. Falzeth appeared to be resting easily after Y'gel's ministrations. He made a mental note to push more water in a few candlemarks.
He let his mind wandering to his family, whom he hadn't seen since the disaster started. His mother and three of his siblings were here. He would have to locate them soon. But first, the dragons. N'tur took comfort in the fact that if something HAD happened, one of Sefanya's flits would have sought out Graileth. He hoped so, anyways.
Last updated on the July 4th 2017