Like You Believe (1/2)
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Corrin, Estelle
Date Posted: 15th March 2026
Characters: K'valdran, V'karel
Description: V’karel and K’valdran meet again and discuss important matters.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 13, day 12 of Turn 12
}:He's here.:{ Karcalanth’s booming mindvoice cut through the monotony of reviewing sweep reports and K'valdran shot to his feet, striding at once for the door.
Valkarel. He had been raised to despise him.
~~~ Flashback ~~~
“What are _you_ doing here?” drawled Korvaldran, all of thirteen but already tall and brash and bold. There was a clutch hardening on the sands, the first in over a Turn, and every able-bodied youth with a bloodclaim was descending on the Weyr-- but Kor took exception to seeing Valkarel stride into the dormitory.
He knew the other boy, more accurately, he knew his family. They held Brackenridge Hold, which neighbored Kor’s own Dragonsrest. They were also weyrblooded, they also had dragons to ease their labors-- but that was where the similarities ended. Dragonsrest ran like a miniature weyr, keeping to the old traditions, tracking the stars, learning the fight songs. Meanwhile, Brackenridge was in Kor’s father’s opinion--the only opinion that mattered--practically indistinguishable from a holdfolk holding. A waste of dragons.
Korvaldran pushed off his bunk and went to block Valkarel’s way down the aisle. “Why come for a dragon if you think their Duty is done? Go get another draybeast to work your fields, holderboy. Leave dragons for those of us that keep up the Old Ways.”
"Why, hello there, Korvaldran." Though it was his first time in the Weyr, Valkarel faced up to his old childhood enemy with easy confidence. He glanced around the candidate's dormitory as if it was as familiar as his family hold, then turned back with what could fairly be called a smirk. "But who says I'm after a dragon? Maybe I'm here for the pleasure of seeing your face when you don't Impress." He mimed brushing away a tear.
“Then you could be disappointed from the Stands,” Kor pointed out with a sneer. Privately he was keenly aware he might not Impress in the clutch of fourteen, but one look at Valkarel's smug face and he became determined to defy the odds. “You’re here for a dragon-- same as the rest of us. Only _you_ keep acting like nothing matters, like _they_ don't matter.”
"I don't think they don't matter," Valkarel retorted, a little too quickly. "Our dragons contribute to the hold, same as the rest of us." And he couldn't help, in secret, imagining how magnificent it would be to fly, to leave his home far below and go anywhere on Pern in a handful of breaths, to be one of those chosen...but he'd go /between/ before he told anyone that, least of all Korvaldran. He raised his voice a little, so the rest of the dorm would hear. "I just don't expect to be fighting man-eating sky worms, like you believe in."
“They’re real!” Kor snapped back, raising his voice as well. “They’re not just a legend, and--”
“Real?” someone barked from the far end of the dormitory. “My grandsire’s grandsire never saw Thread!”
“That’s because riders burned it out of the sky,” another candidate shot back, shoving to her feet. “Harper ballads say--”
“Oh, here we go,” groaned someone else. “More Weyrbrat stories.”
Valkarel had set off a chain reaction. Candidates gathered, voices overlapping, some jeering, some arguing, some just eager for a fight. It was impossible to say who threw the first pillow, but soon feathers were flying as much as words.
It was 1182 and the Red Star was still far away.
~~~ Flashback End ~~~
(cont.)
Last updated on the April 1st 2026