Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

The Mystery of Master Unknown
A scandalous new gossip pamphlet is circulating around Emerald Falls.
Who is this Master Unknown?

   

Forgotten Password? | Join Triad Weyrs | Club Forum | Search | Credits

The Price of Gold (1/2)

Writers: Corrin, Sia
Date Posted: 28th October 2024

Characters: Sybana, Dorix
Description: With her marriage plans in ruins, Sybana contemplates risking everything for a chance at power on the Sands, heedless of her uncle’s cautions.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 2, day 23 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Corofel, Faldrimme, Dalgarian


Sybana

Sybana

The plan to marry Corofel was burnt all to ashes now. He had that Amber Hills hussy, and Sybana had-- nothing. Just the memory of a dance and a smattering of pleasantries. It wasn’t _fair_. She had done everything right. She was by all accounts accomplished, beautiful, and obscenely wealthy. At least, she’d heard that all her life. Where had it all gone wrong? What else _mattered_?

She had lingered in Emerald Falls even after Corofel’s preference had become clear. It wouldn’t do to just tuck tail and run. It wasn’t proper to be so transparently after a match. Sybana found some honest interest in her voice lessons and that gave her some distraction, but it still smarted to be so near the site of her failure. She was relieved when her brothers called her home again, though she was floored when she found out why.

“Uncle Dorix! Uncle Dorix, have you heard?” Skirts flying, Sybana ran into her uncle’s workshop, breathless with excitement. “There’s a gold egg on the sands of Dragonsfall!”

Dorix's back popped as he straightened in his seat. He wasn't sure how long he'd been curled over his desk, sketching out the latest glassware commission. "I heard." He said quietly. What he didn't say was that he'd overheard gossiping Searchriders at their last pass-over. "Been a long time. Nearly five turns since the last one."

Sybana’s excitement faltered in the face of Dorix’s subdued reaction, his distant expression. Of all her uncles, she knew him least. He had been D’norix and only an irregular visitor for most of her life. He only came back to live in the Vale as Dorix after she had left for Opal Cove. She didn’t really know the particulars of how he lost his dragon, but she _should_ have known to approach this more delicately. She ventured a gentle hand on his shoulder, expression contrite. “I’m sorry, is it hard to speak about the weyr? I wouldn’t ask, only-- only Dalgarian says I’m to be Searched and I wanted to talk to _someone_.”

Dorix gently took the hand from his shoulder. His brow knit in confusion as he tried to make sense of what she said. "Dalgarian said _what_?" He asked, "You could be Searched, if a dragon deemed you acceptable. There's enough riders in the family for it to be possible, but one would need to get a good look at you first." He remembered when he had been Searched; sternly nudged before the green dragon that ferried him away to the Weyr. Luckily he'd Impressed a male dragon and his family never addressed the color, for the sake of appearances.

Contrite, Sybana clasped her hands demurely in front of her to better resist reaching out again. She was a toucher. Dorix was not. It was hard to remember that. “You’re right, of course. We’ll have to see what the dragon says, but Dalgarian seemed very sure it will happen-- I supposed because of you. Because it’s in the blood.”

Dorix frowned. "That's a thought." He relented. Dalgarian was a tricky, ambitious man, and he suspected he had more of a plan than the reputation of a dragonriding uncle. "It's a lot of work, being a dragonrider. Are you prepared for that?"

“...I think so? What does it entail, really? I had heard goldriders are much like the lady of a hold. They manage things to keep the weyr running smoothly. I'm sure I can do that.”

"They do." Dorix said. "I don't know much about the details, but it is similar. They do fly Threadfall though, with flamethrowers instead of chewing firestone. Sometimes they catch the smaller dragons if they're falling from the sky." He paused. He was elsewhere, his eyes momentarily blank as dragonriders do when conferring with their dragon. He remembered the feeling of Saeruth careening downwards…

Last updated on the October 29th 2024


View Complete Copyright Info | Visit Anne McCaffrey's Website
All references to worlds and characters based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are © Anne McCaffrey 1967, 2013, all rights reserved, and used by permission of the author. The Dragonriders of Pern© is registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Anne McCaffrey, used here with permission. Use or reproduction without a license is strictly prohibited.