Tenth Month of 1,266
- It wasn’t long after our return that G’mar asked Faranth’s Wing to lunch in order to debrief us on the events that transpired on Varlada. He had concerns and I couldn’t blame him at all. I was grateful he had waited long enough for us to get our feet back somewhat under us.
- After a long meeting that went into considerable detail, K’brin and I were asked to stay behind to explain why ‘Mala, T’grim, and V’dos been allowed to stay behind. G’mar was disappointed to lose their collective experience, even if it was just for a Turn, but said he understood the reasoning.
- K’brin told me to start looking into ways to introduce alchemy to Pern. It would have to be done with care, given the source of our knowledge, but it was something he felt would be beneficial to start us down that path.
- After a few days, it became apparent I had a problem. Selenath was being aggressive and bullying other dragons. There were rumors of her being proddy, but that wouldn’t last for long. L’nos suggested that we get away for a few days and enjoy a brief vacation.
- I had to spend some time reasserting control over Selenath, so there wouldn’t be a serious incident. K’brin had experience doing this with Valenth and we talked about what I needed to do while I was away.
- L’nos and I left to camp out near one of the many Istan beaches, and it was nice to mostly forget about the rest of the world and focus on relaxing, enjoying each other’s company, and reminding Selenath who was the brains of the pair.
- We came back to find the Wing packing up to fly to Syfrin Valley. I also heard there had been an incident involving Valenth and Generoth, with N’sel and K’brin nearly coming to blows, after which Daena suggested Valenth spend some time outside the Weyr.
- While the rest of the Wing was checking out the new defenses, and plans for catapults and ballistas, I was dispatched to Mountain View to begin prep work for crafting the Elixir of Two Moons. I would be staying there until springtime, when Selenath would have long forgotten her time in Varlada.
- Also, I learned B’dir was being transferred to T’vin’s Baynos Wing, and that he was not all all pleased with this. K’brin likely wasn’t either, but it didn’t sound like anything could be done about it for now.
- Before the Wing left, ‘Zana asked for a furlough to return to Benden Weyr for 18 months or so. K’brin had agreed to have a child with her, as she had family obligations to further the line. I did not envy K’brin at times. I knew that he would do anything he had to for Ista Weyr and without complaint. I just hoped that he was okay with all that was being asked of him.
- Healer Hall sent over a new posting for the Weyr, because of the population growth we had seen: Senior Journeyman Akamar, a young islander lad of 18 Turns, with a lean body and shaggy hair.
- I had started the process of getting things prepared on Mountain View when the opportunity arose to accompany L’nos and K’brin on a trip to Harper Hall. K’brin had a report to give personally to Masterharper Cameron, and he planned to spend a few days at Fort Hold.
- While there, a message arrived from G’din. It was an invite for K’brin and N’lan to the mating flight of High Reaches Junior Queen Shyvath, who’s rider was Reveka.
- Returning to Mountain View, I worked on storing the excess Elixir ingredients properly. I had to take care with the Silfium plants so they would stay viable. I made a note to meet with Farmcraft Hall about the possibility of germinating the seeds later. It might not be feasible, but it was worth looking into.
- K’brin and N’lan left to attend the mating flight in High Reaches. From what I heard, Reveka was a young and once bratty rider. K’brin later told me that Valenth and N’lan’s Torenth were the last dragons in the flight, and Valenth more or less let Torenth win. N’lan had sought advice beforehand from K’brin since it was his first gold mating flight. Because Torenth had flown Shyvath, N’lan would be staying at High Reaches until the eggs hatched.
- Faranth’s Wing was looking very light suddenly. ‘Mala, T’grim ,and V’dos were on another world, ‘Zana was at Benden Weyr, and now N’lan was in High Reaches.
- One day, G’mar informed K’brin and myself that there was a Weyrcouncil meeting at Ista the following afternoon. We would be expected to attend. G’mar urged K’brin to be nice.
- Afterwards, I talked with K’brin about the meeting and what to expect from it. I was sure it had to do with our agreement with the Chingfa and/or the Elixir, possibly more. We also talked about my desire for children some day. While I didn’t long for a gaggle of little ones as he always had, I did feel like a child or two was something I wanted. It just seemed like poor timing to contemplate it at the moment, given that Faranth’s Wing, for all intents and purposes, was down to K’brin, L’nos, myself, and M’din.
- When the time came for the meeting, I stuck with K’brin, staying towards the back of the meeting room with Masterharper Cameron.
- I was called up to the front to talk about my expertise with the Elixir and why we should risk a queen’s life on such a thing, a prickly issue among Istans after the tainted herdbeast conspiracy.
- I testified that the recipe worked at least once before; we knew this thanks to the shared vision and talking to people in Varlada.
- I was asked about the possibility of dud eggs, and assured them that thanks to information we had learned from the Kinatori, we could find that out before Hatching. Also, Princess Siri had shared with us that using sunlight and mirrors to see a hatchling’s silhouette, we could better predict the color of an egg once a certain amount of time had passed. In the event of a malformation, I argued that it would be kinder to euthanize the hatchling in the egg before Impression. I would do it myself. Better one life than two, in my opinion.
- The Council deliberated for four full hours. K’brin and I waited with Masterharper Cameron. Finally, we were summoned back in, where it was announced that the next time Maranath rose to mate, she would use the Elixir. The Search would be done in all the Holdings, a departure from tradition, and those who Impressed would be riders of Ista afterwards.
- We finally knew what rough timeframe we were working with and it was frankly a relief that after all our hard work, we wouldn’t then be denied by those too afraid to take a leap of faith.