Debates on Impression

Writers: Avery, Sia
Date Posted: 6th February 2026

Characters: Yvase, Jevikas, Sevhiran, Tesarik, Glariel
Description: Yvase and Jevikas complain about the holdless candidates
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 11, day 19 of Turn 12
Notes: Delayed due to slow writing

“Are you bored? I’m bored.” Yvase complained to the nearest people when they were finally allowed to file out the door of the lesson room. “I feel like I already know what I need to know because my father’s a rider. I can name Weyrs and Holds and Halls and ranks and how to care for dragons. I don’t know how the people who are older than like 16 and weyrbred still have to come to these can stand it.”

“That’s why we skip class, bubble pie,” said Tesarik. “But they pay more attention to if we’re skipping when we have eggs on the Sands.”

“No eggs yet, so why are they paying so much attention to us now?” complained Glariel.

“Because of them,” Sevhiran said quietly, tilting his head to indicate some of the Holdless Candidates who were already walking down the hall. “We’re supposed to be setting a good example, and that means showing up to everything and appearing interested and responsible.”

“And you’ve been responsible every day of your whole life, haven’t you?” muttered Tesarik, who had known Sevhiran when they had both been at River Bluff and remembered how serious the older boy was.

“Some of us know that this is important to know, even if we’ve heard it several times.”

“But it’s _boring_ to have to hear about the responsibilities of the wings again,” Yvase insisted, looking at the person next to her to back her up.

"It _is_ boring." Jevikas agreed with an exaggerated huff. "Two of my parents were in the Wings. My Dad's the Weyrleader's Wingsecond. It's not fair that we're expected to sit in the same stupid classes as some twenty-turn-old morons that haven't seen a dragon before. And then if _they_ Impress they get thrown right into Threadfall while we'd get to run errands for the weyrlings."

“Yeah, that’s not fair _either_. It’s like we’re only good for packing firestone and teaching lessons, even when we’d know more than they would about it.” She sighed at the unfairness of it.

"If any of us Impress with them, we should really mess around. Tell them that they can get wingsail wax that makes their dragon faster. Or something." Jevikas said.

Yvase put a hand to her mouth to cover a laugh. “Have it be something harmless from the healers that just makes the hide smell better but has no real benefits beyond that?”

“No, it should be something that makes them stinky _and_ doesn’t do anything,” Tesarik said.

"Yeah the stink is a side effect, that's how you know it's working." Jevikas agreed with a nod and a grin towards Tesarik. "Have them show up to classes smelling like fish liver oil."

“As long as we’re not giving them anything _harmful_. We can’t hurt the dragons just because their riders are unworthy,” Yvase said.

“You can’t call them unworthy,” chided Sevhiran. “The dragons have Searched them, and that gives them just as much a right to be here as us.”

Glariel whirled to face the older boy and crossed her arms. “You better not be about to say what I think you’re gonna say.”

Sevhiran, in fact, was. “Those of us who are weyrbred and standing because we asked, not because we’re Searched, haven’t proved anything to the dragons. ”

“Don’t you _dare_ say we’re less worthy than a Holdless to Stand just because a dragon didn’t Search us,” Tesarik snapped.

“I’m saying the ones who are Searched did something to prove themselves worthy to the dragons. I’m not saying the ones who aren’t Searched are worthy. Please pay attention.”

Tesarik got up in Sevhiran’s face and grabbed the other Candidate’s shirt collar. “The ones who got Searched are probably lying about it, no matter what precautions the Weyrleaders have in place. None of those sharding Holdless should be here, in our Weyr, at all. Not in front of our dragons. It’s not _right_.”

“Shards, Tesarik, if you two get into a fight, the Weyrlingstaff is going to show up and suspend people from Standing!” hissed Glariel.

Yvase looked at Jevikas. “Do you think we would get suspended if we watch them beat each other up?”

"By T'lonas and M'thos? No way." Jevikas said with more confidence than he felt. It wouldn't do to look weak in front of his buddies. "Holdless didn't do anything to be 'worthy', they haven't done shit. Search doesn't work like that. Just because a green thinks they might be able to Impress doesn't mean they _should_ Impress."

“Are you saying you really want a Holdless person on a dragon next to you? You won’t be staring at your backs constantly, waiting for the knife to fall in it? That they won’t duck away from Thread to save themselves and leave you to burn?” Tesarik asked.

“I think if they Impress a dragon, they’re not that kind of person. The ones who are like that won’t Impress.”

“So Sevhiran thinks that dragons won’t choose a bad person, and Tesarik thinks they can. Is that it?” Yvase asked.

“Dragons aren’t smart enough to stop their riders from falling arse-deep into whershit. Our Weyrleader is a great example. He was stupid enough to get a bunch of wingriders maimed and killed because he couldn’t pay attention. And now he’s putting us precious future weyrlings in danger by putting these thieves and murderers in with us,” Glariel snapped, her indignation about being forced to tolerate holdless overriding her concerns about this argument drawing too much attention.

Jevikas hesitated a moment. His dad talked well of I'serin, but his dad seemed to talk well about everyone. They grew up together in River Bluff Weyrhold. The self-reflection didn't win out. "Dragons aren't humans, they don't have any way of really _knowing_ what a bad person is any more than a runner or herdbeast can." He pointed out, perhaps a little uncharitably. "Giving a holdless a dragon is like handing someone a flamethrower and letting them do whatever they want with it."

“Ooh, I like that analogy,” Yvase said, feeling proud of using the word. Jevikas beamed from the praise.

“Then why do we always say they know what’s best? That they choose right?” Sevhiran asked.

“Because we have to say that so holders don’t question us, you dimglow.” Tesarik threw up his hands, frustrated.

"Yeah, and we gotta have a reason for taking someone away from their home." Jevikas said with a shrug. "I betcha if people could, they'd hand-pick dragonpairs. They can't, and they don't know what makes one, but that don't mean we gotta let _everyone_ that's Searched go out there. That's not fair."

“Who isn’t it fair to? What about the dragons, who need every choice they can get?” Sevhiran asked Jevikas.

Tesarik looked unimpressed by that argument. “If you’re saying dragonets might die because there aren’t enough people Standing, I think that’s whershite. They’ll just pick someone else.” He couldn’t quite bring himself to say that it would be better for a dragon to die than Impress to a Holdless…not out loud. But a part of him thought that any dragonet who Impressed to one was wrong in the head.

**Not every dragon picks someone else,** Yvase thought, but wasn’t bold enough to say. She’d seen a dragonet die without Impressing before. Surely anything would be better than the cry of a partnerless dragonet. Even Holdess Impressing.

“You know, we probably are going to get in trouble if we stay here longer,” she said instead. “We should get going before people see what the commotion is.”

Jevikas could have argued about it all day. He opened his mouth to protest, then closed it again. He knew Yvase was right, even if it was stupid. T'lonas and M'thos wouldn't stand for the conversation, and he couldn't have either of them tattling to his dad about it. "Fine." He grumbled. "C'mon, let's go out and complain where they can't hear us."

Last updated on the February 8th 2026

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Debates on Impression