Romantasy

Writers: Halyonix, Heather
Date Posted: 3rd June 2026

Characters: A'ris, Meris, Imeryali
Description: A'ris visits his two sisters back home.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 1, day 18 of Turn 13

A'ris

“Dragon! Dragon! It’s Aedris!”

Meris’s head immediately popped up from her book. Her brother? Her brother was here! With his dragon! Book momentarily forgotten, Meris pelted out of the cothold. Her hand shielded her eyes as she searched to see where he was landing.

A’ris hadn’t been back to the farm where he’d grown up since the day he’d run away. For two decades it had been the only place he’d ever known, he’s entire world, and now, as he surveyed the area from atop the back of his dragon… it seemed so small. Worn, even.

Kyllavath, upon seeing Meris and Imeryali standing outside the little farmhouse, executed a series of dancing swirls as he came in for a smooth landing.

A’ris, on the other hand, now felt green around the gills thanks to his dragon’s cavorting. **Really, thank you for that,** he groaned inwardly as he undid his riding straps and slid to the ground.

Ignoring his rider, Kyllavath’s head snaked toward the two girls. }:Oh, hello,:{ he crooned to them directly. After all, his rider could hear all dragons, so why couldn’t he talk to whomever he wanted?

Meris’s hands flew to her face in delight. “That’s him?! Is that his voice?!” she squealed. She had never heard a dragon before but it was just like the harper tales!

“That’s him. He’s grown a lot since you saw him last,” A’ris said, receiving Imeryali’s excited hug before she dashed over to Kyllavath.

“He’s so big!” Meris said. She went over to give A’ris a squeezing hug. “I’ve missed you. Are you done with weyrlinghood now?”

“Yes,” he said, drawing himself up and squaring his shoulders proudly. “I’m a full wingrider, now.”

Imeryali pinched her brother’s cheek and cooed, “Awww, he’s all grown up.”

“Are you up there, fighting Thread now, too?” Meris asked. Her brother -- a hero! Risking his life for Pern!

“Of course I’m fighting Thread,” A’ris said, starting to huff a little. It had been a long time since he’d had to endure his sisters’ clucking.

“Is it…like the tales say?” Meris asked in a hushed voice. “Screams of the wounded? Daring dives to save comrades? Fire everywhere?” The way she asked about it was in the same incredulous tone that those who had never seen danger up close used.

“It’s… hot… and… sweaty.” That was one of the things he hadn’t expected about Threadfall. “And there _is_ a lot of noise. Dragons going /between/, orders being shouted, dragons grinding more firestone between their teeth, and yes, sometimes dragon or human shouts as they get scored by Threadfall.” A’ris became lost in his thoughts as he sank into the memories, etched in fire just as Meris had suggested. During Threadfall, flame was all around, not just your dragon, but those in the formations below, above, and beside you.

“Hot and sweaty?” Meris echoed, disappointed. “That doesn’t sound like the tales at all. That sucks.” She had obviously missed how her brother had fallen into reverie. Someone with a bit more empathy, with a bit more worldview would have caught it. That someone was not her.

She poked him rudely. “Well, at least you only have to do it once sevenday, right? And you give Kyllavath a good scrub afterwards, right? I bet he takes hours to clean.”

“He takes _forever_, but sometimes you can get Candidates to help.” He’d even once had a pretty girl help. Unfortunately for A’ris, it had only been in _hindsight_ that he’d realized she’d been flirting with him. “Are y’all going to feed me or what?”

Meris wrinkled her nose at him. “What? They don’t feed you in the Weyr?” she teased, but she had already grabbed his hand and was dragging him inside. “We’ve got cookies that Ma made yesterday. I didn’t eat them all. Yet.” But with A’ris here, she might finish off the batch. Her siblings might complain but they’d be quiet when they found out that their brother had been by.

A’ris hadn’t had one of their mother’s cookies in ages. It was perhaps the only thing, besides his sister, that he missed about the small farm. He certainly preferred the bustling hive of activity at Dragonsfall to the solitude of the rural countryside around Amber Hills.

“So, Meris,” he said, when they were the only two at the kitchen table, “what’s new? Marriage prospects? A good book?” Some of his siblings had no desire to see or do anything outside the farm, but he’d never thought that suited Meris.

“Ew, marriage, can we please not?” Meris answered. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. She tried to shove away her unease at his seemingly casual question but failed. Marriage had been the only thing on her parents’ mind lately and she really wished they would just wait another few Turns because the boys -- okay, technically men but thinking about that was weird -- they kept suggesting were just…boring. None of them liked to read! They were all farmers! How was Meris supposed to have a charming, harper-tale life if she was married to someone so dull?

The answer was she couldn’t and she didn’t want to talk about that just then so she focused on the other question. “Did you read ‘Feeling and Favoritism?’ It’s about these two people who hate each other to start but then fall in love and get married and it has some really good dialogue and the ending is really sweet and--”

“Okay, I get it, I get it,” A’ris cut in. He was suddenly glad he didn’t know how to read. “Why do the plots of all the books you read sound exactly the same?”

“They don’t!” she instantly argued. “Prestor and Katrana _definitely_ didn’t have the same plot. They both _died_ at the end!”

“Enemies become lovers and die together in a great climax of love confessions. Yeah, you’re right, sounds _completely_ different than all the other books you’ve told me about.” His voice was dry but teasing as he winked at Imeryali, who was pulling meatrolls out of the oven.

Meris rolled her eyes dramatically. “Ugh. You are _such_ a blockhead sometimes, Aed. For real. No imagination or fun. Is your dragon like that too?”

}:I am a lot of fun,:{ Kyllavath said with a touch of resentment as A’ris relayed the question.

“Maybe next time you can come to the Weyr and visit instead,” he suggested to Meris. “If nothing else, there’s a collection of books at the Weyr you can browse over.”

Her eyes immediately lit up. “Can I? When? Now?”

“I have evening drills,” A’ris said with a shake of his head. “But I have an open afternoon in a couple of days, if you want.”

Meris let out a girlish squeal that definitely was two octaves too high. “Yes! Come get me! I’ll finish all of my chores, _and_ my harper lessons, _and_ I’ll…I’ll…I’ll help with the babies too!” Anything to get even just an afternoon at the Weyr!

Her brother laughed, understanding her emotions completely. “It’s a deal.”

Last updated on the June 4th 2026

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Romantasy