A History Lesson

Writers: Eimi, Estelle
Date Posted: 12th May 2018

Characters: R'fal, Rhela
Description: R'fal learns history from Rhela
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 4, day 18 of Turn 9

R'fal arrived at the classroom out of breath, having had to run all the
way from the barracks. Weyrling training was getting more intense by the
day, and the previous evening he'd been so tired that he'd fallen asleep
over the work he'd been set at his previous lesson, and had woken up
late with his face in a pile of crumpled hides and ink on his nose. That
had meant having to finish it in stolen moments between Marlath's
feedings, drills and weyrling classes, and he'd only just managed it in
time.

He knocked on the door, hoping firstly that he wasn't late, and secondly
that the lesson wouldn't be on punctuation again. That was even worse
than spelling.

Journeywoman Rhela was standing at the slate chalk board carefully
copying a map as the young man entered the room. "Ah, R'fal. Take a
seat, I'm almost done here."

He sat and watched as the harper completed her drawing, both intrigued
and pleased to see that it wasn't a list of words this time. The outline
was familiar, but it took a few moments for him to remember where he'd
seen it before. One of the visiting harpers back at his home had shown
them a similar map while trying to teach them the locations of the major
Southern Holds, which his cousins had found ridiculous as it wasn't
likely any of them would ever travel further than the Hold at Emerald
Falls. It had been one of the few times that R'fal had actually felt a
bit sorry for teasing the harper. He'd always dreamed of travelling to
other Holds, even after the return of Thread had made than an unlikely
prospect.

"Is that a map of the South, ma'am?" he asked.

"Yes, it is," she said, turning around and dusting off her hands.
"So, R'fal, do you know where we are now on this map?"

He frowned, trying to recall that long-ago class. The Weyrs were easier
to remember, even if the prospect of visiting one had seemed even more
remote than the Holds. "Well, I think we're over on the right-hand
side...and I know we're by the sea. Maybe about there?" He pointed.

"Close," Rhela nodded. "Move your finger just a little further to the
north and you'd have it." She put a little mark at the actual
location on the map, but gave him a smile of approval. "Now, do you
remember anything about Thayan Peak?"

"My Ma said it was a Weyrhold, but it was destroyed in an earthquake
when I was a baby." R'fal tried not to look too pleased at knowing the
answer to that question. For all he knew, the journeywoman had lived
through it.

"That's right. It was here on this map," she said, putting on dot in
what was now the current Weyr's territory. "It was destroyed in 1195
of the Long Interval, only 7 turns before the current Pass. When it
was destroyed, they moved here to Dolphin Cove. Now, do you remember
which other Weyrs were open during the Long Interval other than Thayan
Peak?"

"Um...Dragonsfall is old, and Far Island." He chewed his lower lip,
thinking hard. He'd always loved stories about dragonriders, but the
most exciting tales took place in a Pass, either the current one or in
the ancient times. There weren't so many about the Interval. It couldn't
be any of the Northern ones; they had only been re-opened recently.
"Vista Point? Oh - and River Bluff, except there was an earthquake
there, too."

"Very good, R'fal," she said, rewarding him with a smile. "The five
remaining Weyrs were Dragonsfall, Far Island, Vista Point, River Bluff
and Thayan Peak." As she named them, she wrote the Weyr initials in
the spot where each was located. "Now, Thayan Peak was destroyed, and
Dolphin Cove opened in 1195. There had already been strong signs Thread
would return, and one of those signs was a population boom in the open
Weyrs. They even went up North to Search for candidates, which they
hadn't done during the Interval. The Weyrs were getting full. They
needed more. So which was the next to open in 1196 do you think?"

That was more difficult. He knew it was one of the Southern ones, but it
had all happened when he was too young to pay attention and he'd never
been that good at dates. He considered guessing, since the odds weren't
bad, but decided against it. Better to be honest. "I'm sorry...I'm not
sure, Journeywoman. It would be one of the other Southern Weyrs, Dream's
End, Windswept Islands or Rising Moons, but I don't know which order
they opened in."

"That's all right, R'fal. If you already knew everything, this would
be a complete waste of both our time," she said with an understanding
smile. "Right in between Dolphin Cove and River Bluff, they opened
Dreams End to relieve some of the overcrowding. But with so many
young golds producing new weyrlings at a surprising pace, even that
wasn't enough, so a Turn later Windswept Islands Weyr was opened up
here to the North. Then Rising Moons not long after. In 1199, Igen
became the first Northern Weyr to reopen. Within a Turn, all the old
Northern Weyrs were once again reopened and teaming with dragons."

"And then, a few Turns later, Thread returned!" It was one of R'fal's
favourite stories, since not only did it tell of heroic dragonriders,
but he could just about remember it happening. They had heard it from
a trader first, and then he'd asked his mother and other adults to
repeat it as often as they could be persuaded to. "The Weyrs fought
over Emerald Falls, and then they came to the Hold with the scores on
their dragons' hides to prove it."

"That's right. And it was then that the Emerald Fall's Lord agreed to
sign a tithe agreement to the Weyr. But it didn't end there. Scored
dragons and their riders still able to fly escorted Weyrwomen across
Pern to prove to all the Lord Holders that Thread had indeed returned.
Soon all the Holds were bound to their Weyrs once more with tithe
agreements, and Pern was united in meeting the old foe once more."
Rhela had to admit that she felt a great deal of pride that she had
been born at a time to see such a historical event unfold with her own
eyes.

"Were you here at the Weyr for that first Fall, Journeywoman?" R'fal
was filled with curiosity, but since the Hatching he hadn't dared ask
any of the older riders what it had been like. Maybe asking a crafter
would be safer.

"I was," she nodded, her smile fading into a look of far off
remembrance as images from that time invariably flashed through her
mind.

"Did you see the Wings, leaving to fight Thread?" the weyrling asked
eagerly. Watching the dragons form up in their Wings was a magnificent
sight on any Threadfall day, but he wished he'd been there to see them
do it for the first time in hundreds of Turns. Also, like any reluctant
student, he knew that keeping the teacher distracted with reminiscences
of the past was an excellent way of passing the time in lessons.

"I saw them leave. I am still waiting to see them come back." His
eagerness was not lost on her. It was natural for a young person fed
on stories of dragonrider courage and glory to feel the excitement.
They had felt the same that day. "You see, R'fal, I was raised with
those men and women. They were my teachers, my neighbors, my
classmates, my friends... People I had known my whole life and had
seen every single day. I watched them lift off into the skies. Some
of them came back in tatters. Too many did not come back at all. And
those who came back whole in body were never the same again. You have
to keep in mind that every drill you do, every lecture you sit
through, they are all designed to help you survive. They are the
lessons that were learned through both triumph and tragedy, and the
universal sacrifice that was made by those brave riders that day, and
all the ones that came after. That is why history is important, and
should never be forgotten."

"Yes, ma'am." R'fal was a little awed by the solemnity of her words. He
thought of what would happen when he and his classmates took to the
skies with a Wing. Would some of them suffer horrible injuries, or not
come back at all? What if it was O'len, or Lydela...or him? He tried not
to think about it, but every time Thread fell he was faced with the
reality of the duty he'd accepted when he'd stepped on to the Hatching
Sands. "I'll try to remember."

She was silent a moment while she let the memory of the words they had
just shared sink in before turning back to the board. "Right, so,
where would Emerald Falls be?"

Last updated on the August 26th 2018

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