Eighth Month of 1,266
- We had a fairly hearty breakfast the next morning. L’nos initiated a discussion with some of the Wing about what they thought of the previous day and our new alliance. There were a few voices that questioned why we needed to make an alliance, any alliance. There was also talk of our willingness to learn dragon combat. M’din was a firm “no” and ‘Zana was also unsure. ‘Mala was willing and so was I, though Selenath had already made her dislike of that prospect well known.
- B’dir showed up after N’lan and said that he noticed many folks talking quietly about something, to do with us most likely, as he was on his way to where the Wing was staying.
- There was no sign of K’brin yet. I asked Selenath if she knew anything about where he might be, and she reported that she saw Valenth go out to relieve himself after “his queen” flew out somewhere.
- Eventually, K’brin did show up and said he was with Princess Siri. She had come to him with two ladies in waiting and two guards to ask him questions, such as expectations he might have and if she would be going back to Pern with him.
- She found out that he played music, which sounds like a very unexpected skill set for riders in Thusdo at least.
- She told him that in Carindas and Terenmor, skiutes on golds is not a good thing, but in Galatia, they are expected to have them, as well as here in Kirengar, where it’s expected because of Satakam.
- Princess and Queen were not hereditary titles, they came from among the Shian. This was similar to the Zai dynasty, where we were told gold egg candidates were chosen from the Shian.
- Princess Siri wanted to help Valenth get his skiutes because it’s an embarrassment that her dragon was flown by a brown without them.
- Details were hammered out on exactly what would be expected from both sides of this new alliance. In exchange for teaching the Chingfa how to travel through “the Dark” and the applications of it (like formation riding), we were to receive the following:
- 3 batches of fire pearls (9 total).
- 3 batches of Saiyena feathers from Terenmor (18 total).
- Material aid of some sort for the budding rebellion. We’d need to find and talk to Findmar. Perhaps the known “heretics” could be sent to live on one of the Kirengari islands?
- Instruction in the Fasa Kia language.
- Instruction about Satakam.
- Dragon combat training for some riders in Faranth’s Wing.
- Books on alchemy.
- Complete maps of the dominions.
- History lessons of Kirengar, especially their take on the history of other parts of Sakaria and the Ambion Rebellion.
- Books on music and sheet music.
- Phrenium stones in large numbers.
- Seed stock.
- Hynavaeth stones.
- Usara stones.
- Dragon healing books.
- We planned the training to be at least 10 sevendays, trying to cram in what should be roughly 14 sevendays worth of work. Three sevendays for training to go between, 3 sevendays for ground drills, 5 sevendays for formation flying, and 3 with wings traveling between. Our time would be extremely limited for anything else.
- Ultimately, it was decided to split the Wing into those who would train the Chingfa to go between and those who would learn dragon combat. Myself, V’dos, ‘Mala and T’grim (who agreed to do so mostly for K’brin, so he could teach him later) would learn dragon combat.
- A purification ritual was held just before the start of training.
- The 12 riders (3 bronzes, 3 browns, 3 blues and 3 greens) that would be learning how to go between properly participated in order to “get right with Shia”. They offered material sacrifices and walked on a path of hot coals, with burning incense on both sides. They didn’t seem to feel any pain as they walked barefoot, which fascinates me.
- K’brin, L’nos, V’dos, B’dir, and myself also walked on the coals. I admit, it was mostly out of curiosity, but somewhat out of respect for their ways. It did not feel at all like I expected, which was to burn the hell out of my feet, even after seeing others walk across just fine. I could feel almost a layer of damp cold between my feet and the coals. Was it Shia? I honestly couldn’t say it wasn’t.
- The next morning, we exhibited formation flying in three-vee’s.
Ninth Month of 1,266
- Combat training for the four of us was… not what I expected. At first, there were injuries taken by both ‘Mala’s and V’dos’ dragons, which we were told was to be expected, but having our dragons injured from something other than Thread was going to take some getting used to. I thought I was ready to face every aspect of what would come from learning combat, but I was wrong. Not for the first time, either. I got the chance to further observe the dragon healers, which I was applying myself to as much as I could. I felt if we were learning to fight, I should know how to heal the wounds we might get.