Jalor
Male, 21
Tall, about 6’4, fair skinned with some freckles, burns in the sun. Very narrow build, with a long body and skinny legs. Has a long, narrow face as well, everything about him seems stretched up and down. VERY very red hair, that is long and almost entirely straight, usually kept back with a black leather headband. Has a rust red gotee which is finally growing in fully. He has green eyes. Wears orangish-tan clothing of leathers, usually work style.
Jalor was weyrborn, but hold bred. Fostered because both his parents were dragonriders, Jalor learned politics quickly, and the sword even quicker. He is an excellent shot with a crossbow, and loves to hunt. He also excells at steed-care, and often is found in stables tending to any given horse. He does own two of his own, one is a very strudry work beast, but the other is a racer.
After his 15th birthday, Jalor realized that his work with the records-keepers of Dawnlight was teaching him more than the lords liked. In fact, when he was up for a guarding job for one of them, they openly turned him down because they said, "you know too much". Mystefied, but not discouraged, Jalor decided to try again with another Lord. This time, too, the lord gave him a suspicious glance and simply turned him away.
When Jalor met his future wife Jan, she was still in training as a teacher. However -- she was having the same troubles as he had. Her time spent deep in the records-chambers of Dawnlight had only served to make the higher-ups suspicious of them both. Soon enough, they were 'transfered' out.
Out? Of a hold? That's right, they were simply tossed out. Outcast. Jan and Jalor both knew of the small community nearby, calling itself Eden's Gate. In it, they found poor folk who desperately needed both the pairs' expertise. Jalor began his guardianship with a smile, and Jan took on the responsibility of teaching the few young children their lessons.
Shard visits Eden's Gate frequently, and on one visit his blue Jeremoth managed to sniff out Jalor while he was working on his sword techniques. Searched, Jalor will ride proudly. Jan, while not entirely happy with this situation, will follow her husband wherever he goes -- though she is not pleased that the children of Eden's Gate will be needing another teacher soon.
Jalor is somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of having a strong, healthy bronze as a lifemate. He thinks he is better suited to a brown, but he will ride and fly with as much bravery as it takes. He prefers to have someone else be a wing leader.
Jalor rubbed down his steed with a careful hand. The charcoal-black horse nickered and tossed his head, and Jalor snorted.
"Patatt, you're going to love it there. Just relax. We've got to get you in shape to walk all the way to the Weyr. Since you won't be picked up by a dragon..." Jalor spoke to the horse -- and what was more interesting was that the horse listened.
Jalor's ability to soothe and speak with animals was known, at least around Eden's Gate, as the sign of a strong mind. The beasts would always listen to his commands, unless they were so headstrong and wild. Like Patatt. He didn't want any big dragon picking him up and carrying him!
It seemed that Jan was similarly put off. Their draught horse Bonnie was just fine with it, she'd been taken to Firestone long ago. Their stalls in the weyr were ready, and the dens for the two humans had been assigned. Only Jalor had seen the rooms, and assured his wife they were fine.
Jan stood clutching her hands around a threadbare satchel, with her clothing in it. Her big golden eyes switched from Jalor to the horse, and back, until he noticed her standing in the doorway.
"Jan, it'll be fine. You trust Jere, don't you?" Jalor said of the big blue dragon that Shard rode.
"I'd trust him more if Shard had a harness on that dragon... Promise me you'll use a harness?" Jan squeeked. Her knuckles were white from holding the bag tightly. Jalor noticed this all, and stood. He brushed off the hairs and dust from his hands, ineffectually on his pants which were already covered with both.
"Jan, I'll ride safely. You remember when I made that glider?"
The expression on Jan's beautiful face indicated she did in fact remember the "hang glider" incident.
"But I didn't fall, I didn't get hurt, and I'm still here in one piece. Right?" The man's eyebrows crept up under his mop of red hair. "Right?"
Finally Jan smiled and nodded. Jalor took her satchel and placed it with the other parts of the load. Jalor would be riding Patatt, it was a long ride but he would make it with ease on the race-runner. Jan and their things would be going on dragon-back. The horses in the small grazing field nearby began to run around distressed, and Jalor calmed them with a deep soothing command. His mind was clear: there was a dragon coming.
"Of course there's a dragon coming," he assured the herd. "And he'll be going soon too, so you don't have to worry. He won't eat you. He knows better."
He glared up at the blue dragon, and thought hard, you better know better than not to eat these steeds. Jalor heard Shard laughing from Jere's back, so he knew the dragon had heard him.
It is why I like him, he has such a clear mind, my rider. He will do fine on a dragon.
"Then let's get him to the weyr, right?" Shard said, patting Jeremoth and jumping to the ground. To Jan's pleasant surprise, he'd strapped a new harness to Jeremoth's neck, so she'd have a place to sit. Shard would be behind her, keeping the baggage steady though it too would be strapped down.
Jalor and Shard loaded up the blue's back with their belongings, few though they were. Then, Jalor and Jan embraced. She held on to him like it would be the last time she'd see him. He tried sending a calming thought to her, but his mind could never quite break through to a human brain. Instead, he kissed her and brushed away the tears on her face.
"I'll be there, soon enough. And you'll be there so fast you won't even know the distance. It'll all be fine."
"I just want you to be with me... I'm afraid, Jalor..." She whispered.
"I know, but there's no need. Shard is the leader of our Protectorate, Jan. He'd never allow anyone to fall, or be lost. You know that. I'll see you in a few days, all right?"
Jan reluctantly climbed onto Jeremoth's back, and they flew into the air. She managed to subdue her shriek, muffling it in her hands before they teleported away. Jalor watched the sky, as if he could see them arriving, a world away...
"Well, let's get you and me going..." Jalor said, and grumbled to himself, "couldn't have been Bonnie, no, she's got all the pack-space in the world on her wide rear end... You can't barely even hold me and a bottle of water..." Jalor exaggerated of course, he had several days worth of food, water and clothing on the horse's back.
They walked a distance into the scrubland, along a road which was infrequently traveled. Jalor could feel three dragons somewhere -- not near, not far, merely present -- and those three dragons worked their extremely interesting magic on the landscape.
Of course, Eden's Gate and the rest of the Protectorate had already been moved away from the world where Jalor would be a candidate. So while Jeremoth took the easy route, they also had a far bigger task -- to teleport between spaces was one thing. Times, another. But this was something else entirely. They had to transport his wife, his things, and their pack beast to a whole nother world...
The trio of 'transport duty' dragons remained vigilant for those like Jalor, in need of moving between worlds but not with the ease of being on their own dragon's back. They altered the world, lined the paths up. And while Jalor knew what had happened, Patatt didn't, and hardly suspected a thing.
The horse was a bit skittish when their inter-world transport had come to an end. The worlds were far apart, and the horse could somehow sense that distance. But with a soft word and a touch of Jalor's mental voice, the steed calmed and continued their walking. It was another two days to Firestone.
***
The first day went without incident. The second however... Jalor spotted the steeds before Patatt even smelled them. Three of them, with roguish-looking sorts on their narrow backs. The horses looked underfed, angry. So did their riders.
Jalor would not kick Patatt's sides to get speed out of him, instead he urged the beast to a halt. Make the riders come to him, instead of wearing out the racer who hadn't much liked the full day's traveling he'd been doing. Patatt couldn't outrun them now, even if he tried. He was exhausted. Not at all used to this hard work! He was a racing horse! Short distances were his friend...
Jalor smiled at the horse's inner diatribe about legs aching and feet throbbing. He dismounted and told the steed to remain at a distance until he called him back. Jalor removed his pack and sword from the horse's back, first, then smacked his behind and the charcoal beast trotted away.
The three rogues pulled their horses up to within spitting distance of Jalor. His sword was already out of its sheath, so they knew he wasn't fooling with them. The oldest of the trio sized him up, and then snickered.
"You think that little pig poker will stop us from taking your life?"
"Why would you want it?" Jalor retorted, keeping the three in his vision with ease. His training was good, far better than theirs, but they had desperation and experience on their side.
"Your horse'll be worth a lot on the market, and your sword too. That'll take a nice price." The other two thieves laughed.
"I'm expected at Firestone Weyr, tomorrow. If I don't make it by then, they'll send dragons out to look for me. Are you willing to go up against dragons?"
"They don't frighten me," said one. "So let's get this going!" He shouted and the others waved their weapons in the air. It was a show of force, then? Fine. Jalor stood ready to swing, watching the club in one thief's hand, and the spear in the other's, while he ignored for the moment the leader who seemed to have a longish sword. Both the spear and club were more dangerous, especially on horseback. The swordsman would have to dismount to properly fight.
It seemed, however, that the thief didn't know that. Perhaps he was unused to swinging a long edged weapon. He looked to Jalor to have more experience with the long spear that his friend had. Jalor swung his arm up, blocking an attack from the club-bearer, one which knocked the club from the thief's hands and scared the horse he was on by being flung over its head.
Then Jalor cut low under the spearman's arms, the spear missing his head by more than a foot. Jalor kicked up, making the spear jerk in the rider's hands, and causing him to lose his balance and fall from the horse. Rolling in the dust, the man tried to get up, but the first horse was in his way of a good shot. He began yelling.
But Jalor didn't see the leader, who had the sword in his hand and had already swung down. The tip of the blade cut through Jalor's travel jacket, but he was wearing a thick vest below it and the blade didn't penetrate.
Instead, the sword blade continued with the strong force that the thief used to heft it, and it slammed hard into the horse he was riding! The blade cut into the shoulder muscles, and the horse tumbled screaming on the ground. The thief pulled free barely, as the horse rolled onto the ground kicking and violently bellowing.
The other two horses bolted away, the moment they could. Their riders were confused, angry... Panicking.
Jalor glared at the leader. "You've never used a sword before, have you. You wouldn't know how to fight me anyway. Get away from here. Leave your poor horse to me." To make sure that they knew he meant his words, and was just as threatening on the ground as he had been while they were mounted, the trio grabbed each other, found their other two horses, and vanished into the scrub.
Jalor stood panting, the effort of blocking and swinging against mounted foes was more than for an even fight partner. His back stung where the blade had grazed it, and his shoulders ached. Patatt came trotting near, though he didn't seem to want to get too close to the other horse. No wonder, either. The beast's shoulder was bleeding freely and exposed muscles twitched with every movement. The runner would have to be put down, there was no way this horse would make it.
"I'm sorry..." Jalor said, and concentrated hard on the steed's mind. He tried to ease the pain, tried to get the memories of the abuse he'd been suffering to go away... It was hard work. Several long minutes went by as the horse still screamed, but slowly it lowered its head down to the dirt, and lay panting. Jalor made one last futile attempt to asess the damage to the leg, but it was far too much for him to even consider patching up. It was a deep wound, in addition to being a long score. Though he couldn't see the joint below the muscles, it was almost sheared through, and would never heal. It would be infected with all this dirt and sweat and ...
Jalor used his sword to gently slice the horse's throat, while he concentrated on masking the pain and fear. His mind was filled with the pain and sorrow that the horse held, and for an hour or more after the beast had quietly bled to death, Jalor cried.
***
Patatt and Jalor arrived to the weyr dirty and somber. Jan knew that something had happened but of course even if nothing had, she'd be worried. He explained to the headwoman at the weyr that there were three rogues running about, minus one of their horses. He said nothing more than their direction and descriptions, and then allowed Jan to take him to their den.
It was a long trip. But he hoped it would be worth coming here.
What went before was not forgotten, when the hatching at Firestone weyr started.
Jalor was comfortable there, as was his lover. But they both knew that he was meant to stand on the sands, and she for the education of their children. At dawn, or perhaps just before, the humming of the great gathering of dragons in the sands started.
Jalor had been awake for half an hour. The whole place was just brimming with energy - and because of his strange ability to sense animals, he knew before the humans did that the hatching was imminent.
Perhaps not before the riders of the dragons whose eggs rested on the sands, but there was always that chance.
Eventually, with their robes on and warmed better than they would have been otherwise in the chilly air, the candidates gathered. An egg snapped open, showing off a pretty blue.
Dawn came into the cavern, shining light everywhere. As the eggs hatched they would also be warmed by its rays. Another couple eggs hatched, a dark brown leaping from the shell. He wandered around, stopping at an egg. A blue broke out, and when the little brown got too close, the blue bit him on the snout! The brown wasn't all that happy about this, obviously!
Jalor felt it all. Suddenly, it was like his senses toward animals grew to include dragons - at least, one dragon. Hissing and spitting like an angry cat, the brown chastised the blue and glared.
Gotcha! Ha ha! The blue said.
That wasn't funny! The brown grumbled in response. He wasn't all somber, rather annoyed! He went out to the candidates at last.
Yes it was... The blue replied, but Jalor wasn't paying attention to him any more. Because the brown had come (nose up in the air the whole time) right to his side.
Hello J'or. That totally wasn't necessary.
So J'or was named, and Wirdnith his brown was a bit snooty. He could handle that. He could handle anything, now. He'd impressed a beautiful brown!
Wirdnith grew quickly, and before he had fully mastered flight - or teleportation - Shard and two other riders came to pick up J'or and his wife Jan, Wirdnith and all. The indignity of being carried by another dragon when he could just as easily fly along was high in Wirdnith's mind as they went between worlds.
It was shortly replaced with a glowing wonder at their new home.
Eden's Gate was on the northern side of Kshau Isle, which was in turn off the western coast of Paniya on Alskyr. A more perfect, sub-tropical locale could never be imagined. The dirt and scrub desert that had been their home before, was replaced with a thickly grown and easily fertile land. Jan was tremendously happy to be home, even if it wasn't quite the same as before.
Wirdnith would learn to fly and fight, but he'd be of tremendous use killing the strange huge ants that swarmed across islands, or tearing up the Rampage plant which did more harm to the ground than fire or flood. All this, he did with a grace and style - and attitude.
"At last," Jan sighed, happily nursing their little boy Jerritt. Their friends had helped deliver him, since Bayat had managed to get herself Searched and was off tending her own young dragon - their healer would be a rider! And perhaps, this little boy would some day too be a strong rider like his father.
J'or and Wirdnith patrolled the clear, bright skies of Paniya, enjoying the warm updrafts and the spray of the sea near the coast. They returned, it was only a few hours after Jan had birthed Jerritt, happy to see them.
"Why wouldn't they let me come back for this?" J'or said, holding the bright-faced and clearly red-headed boy in his arms. "I wanted to be here."
"There were already four others in the den, love," Jan chuckled, "you wouldn't have fit!"
Though Jerritt had been squirmy and noisome while J'or held him, he quieted and tried focusing his eyes - impossible at this young moment in his life - on the big brown who J'or rode proudly. "Look at that," one of the attending friends said, "he's already interested in the dragons!"
"I wonder if he has your skill, J'or," Jan said, "after all, if riding runs in the blood, shouldn't animal-speaking too?"
"Perhaps," J'or said, returning his son to Jan's bosom, "we'll see when he's old enough to tell us!"
