Vaya and Grendel, written late 2000
Vaya (female) and her half-brother Grendel (on the right) are both sad reminders that even among the Eden's Gate population, there is strife. Their mother, Genevieve, has other children by different fathers. Their own fathers managed to get themselves killed together, fighting one another. Genevieve tells their story only grudgingly, and never to strangers.
Vaya was born first, and is a sedate girl who puts her mind to her work. Consistant, although rather dour, Vaya is an expert with gutting and skinning kills, hunting and the like. Her brother Grendel is quite good at the hunting itself, tracking and spotting prey.
Vaya's right eye is neither missing nor lazy, by the way. She keeps her hair from her face but usually lets her little headband fall into it.
When Vaya was two turns old, Grendel was born. Shortly after that, when Grendel was only around one, their fathers fought to the death and unfortunately left Genevieve with absolutely nothing in their stead. As outlaws themselves, their fathers were not exactly welcome in most Holds or Weyrs. But in Eden's Gate, they ought to have behaved themselves a bit more. (So says Genevieve bitterly!)
Grendel is a little more outgoing than his sister, yet is still not a friendly sort. They learned bitterness and anger from their mother, and would pass it along if they had half a chance. However, when Vaya has just turned sixteen, and Grendel fourteen...
"I won't have my babies taken from me," growled Genevieve. She clutched on to her latest young child, a seven month old girl bawling her head off because Genevieve wouldn't put her down.
"I don't want your baby, Gen, I want to see your oldest. Vaya, isn't it?" Shard pleaded with the frantic mother of nine, in as soft a voice as he could get and still be heard over the tiny babe's shrieking.
"No! She works in the cothold! She does her chores! She's a good girl!"
Shard blinked and sighed. This wouldn't be easy. Telling Vaya that she was to be Searched would be difficult enough, the girl spoke barely two words to the Protectorate's leader the entire time they were around one another. She'd been born just shy of the same time that Jeremoth hatched, and he often used that fact to try and coax another couple sentences out of her, to little avail.
"Gen, Gen, please just put poor little Jengi down, and listen for a minute, will you?" Shard finally said, placing his hands out, for her to hopefully hand over the child. The much taller presence of the man -- the presence of a MAN -- Genevieve finally responded to. She handed the baby over, and sat hard on a high-backed chair. Shard soothed the baby as only he could, somehow overcoming the child's distrust immediately, if he couldn't do the same for her mother.
Cooing, then, the baby was returned to Gen's arms where she fussed.
"Gen, Vaya and Grendel are of a good age to Impress. There are many clutches around Pern right now, and one of them is in need. It's a good clutch, and they would be returned directly if they didn't impress. We don't want to burden your cothold with fewer hunters... I did grow up around here, you know..."
Genevieve nodded. Then, she gave a shrill whistle through clenched teeth. "Vaya! Bring your brother!"
Mutterings around the largish cothold room went to 'which one?' but no one voiced it completely, lest they get a sound smacking.
Moments later, the black haired pair came around the corner of the building, and looked into the room through the wide, open kitchen window. "Yes mother." Said Vaya, less than thrilled.
"Do you know him?" Her mother asked, nodding at Shard, who bowed slightly and had a hopeful look on his face.
Vaya nodded.
"He's to send you away. Both of you." Genevieve said, and Shard reacted.
"Gen, that is NOT what I --"
"It is what you will do!" Protested the woman, again. Shard rolled his blue eyes and looked at the young pair.
"Vaya, Grendel, my blue Jeremoth has decided that you two are good to stand at a clutch. You can refuse, if you really wish to. It will mean heading to the Weyr for a while."
"Which one?" Asked Grendel, "where is it?"
Slightly encouraged, Shard replied, "Falas Weyr. It's..." he chuckled, "it's in the future. And actually as to where it is, it's exactly where the Protectorate is now. Only, 'then'."
"To. The. Future." Genevieve said, spitting the words out hard. "You want to take my babies to the FUTURE to go get themselves killed riding some beastly dragon?"
"Actually, two dragons," said Shard, dripping with sarcasm. "Gen, this is no longer in your hands. It is between me and these two. ONLY." His tone turned quite serious, and Gen backed away into the chair, almost hiding behind her baby.
"So, it's ... well, isn't that dangerous?" Asked Vaya, the longest sentence that Shard had ever heard the girl speak.
"Yes, but since we know exactly where to go, it's not really so bad. It IS tiring, though. But Jeremoth is good at it. And," he said leaning in to the pair, "I might add that he's never once been wrong about a candidate."
Except when the eggs disappear, commented the blue, directly into the children's minds. Though startled, neither Vaya or Grendel flinched.
"What does that mean?" Asked Vaya, echoed by her brother.
"It's a long story... But look. You could get your things together, and we can go. Or, you can stay here. I WILL be back you know. If you don't stand there at Falas, at either of their clutches, then you'll be at another weyr until you DO impress. Until you're too old for a dragon to choose." Shard explained how they would travel, and to when, and watched their faces change into thought.
Vaya was still in her own thoughtful pose when Grendel said, "I'll go, sure. Is the hunting good?"
"It is," Shard said, "Vaya?"
She blinked, and turned her yellow eyes at the tall man. "I will stand. I hope to impress," she said, looking at her mother with a half-accusatory glare, "and I hope that my beastly dragon is the best beastly dragon ever born."
"That'd be MY dragon," Grendel said, huffily.
"It will not," Vaya spat, and they disappeared into their smaller bedroom to gather their things. Genevieve said nothing.
The droning of the dragons as they crooned shook the walls. Well, not quite, but it could have been the thundering of the candidate's feet along the corridors as they ran down to the hatching sands.
The queen seemed reluctant to move away from her precious golden egg, while the hatching started. A copper dragon hatched -- copper, not bronze -- and then a bronze as if to compare! Two greens hatched, one more but with whitish wings, and then a white struggled with her shell. Two browns hatched, and impressed. The white at last came out from her shell and impressed. A bronze came out, and while he impressed a blue and a green came out from their shells.
They ran right for Grendel and Vaya!
I'm Palantirith, called the blue to Grendel. It means seeing stones, in some words, I have heard!
I'm Isilth, creeled the green, to Vaya. And my name is the name of the moon. They were both so happy to have even impressed, that the pair giggled like children, as they led their beautiful dragons off the sands.
"We'll be able to hunt so much better from the air," commented Grendel.
"And if we catch something big, we can haul it back with no trouble at all!" Vaya actually looked happy for once!
Palantirith bellowed as his sister shuffled into the den.
You did not find him?
I am beginning to think this beautiful blue I saw does not exist...
Perhaps he was only an illusion?
No! Isilth blasted a wave of anger at her clutch mate. NO! He was real! I remember Vaya saw him, and so did Grendel!
"Don't be dragging us into something," Vaya muttered from her den's desk. She could tell something was wrong in the den, something her dragon wasn't talking about.
Then where is he!? He was pale like the sky, and had sharp spines on his neck. He was lovely. I should like him to be near me when I rise.
Vaya sat slowly up in her wooden chair. Ever since the Protectorate had wormed its way away from its old home, things had been strange. What was Isilth talking about? It almost sounded as if...
"Isi, are you... talking about Jeremoth? And Shard?"
JEREMOTH! That is his name? You DO remember him! You see, Palan, she does know what I'm talking about! The green dragoness paced about the den, upsetting her dark blue brother.
Isilth, just calm down. You aren't even ready to rise yet. So calm. Go soak in the baths.
I will not. I want to find him, and tell him how much--
"You'll do nothing of the sort," Vaya shouted, waking her brother who had been exhausted by their days' hunting. "You're not going up to the Protectorate's leader -- Shard is SO not -- He's too OLD for -- Argh!"
Grendel blinked open his eyes, and then rolled them when he realized what she was moaning about. "He's handsome, and he's taken, too." Grendel added during a moment of lull in her fuming.
"You SEE what it'll do? Rue -- her green would chase you off. She'd better..." Vaya continued to stomp about until late in the evening...
Isilth promptly forgot all about Jeremoth. Or whoever. Of course, she was apt to promptly forget nearly anything, and it was a good thing her blue brother was there to occasionally provide her with a base of operations. A longer term memory.
Both of them were rather confounded when the Protectorate lept from Pern to Alskyr. But also, both dragons were fairly young, and didn't seem to suffer the odd psycological effects that some of the older dragons and riders did, when they moved. They enjoyed leaping from the Kshau Isle and winging it over to Blackstone Caer. Their lives would be changed forever, as they flew. They seemed to become one with the land...
I like those furry-feathery things. What are they called? Isilth asked.
"Gryphons?" Vaya supplied, and laughed. They could no longer teleport -- and that was a blessing. This dragon of hers barely had a grip on her own weyr-- caer, whatever, and would probably have blipped them somewhere 'else' entirely. They swooped over the Blackstone area, and buzzed some of the silkworm farms below.
Palantirith and Grendel laughed as their sisters caused a ruckus below them. Just like her, Palan thought, but we should be getting back. It is a long flight, and since we can no longer move between, we will be tired and needing a bath...
