Tony - written around 2000

Though clean cut and quiet, Talony has been considered a threat to the Lord Holders of Dawnlight for years. His ability to leave hints with the right people about the wrong things have had him in Deon's office under strong discipline more than once. Talony takes this with the same quiet grace that he gives out.

He's waiting.

He is yearning for the days when he will ride a dragon into Thread, and prove to the Holders that sometimes their ways are as foolish as he told them they were.

His home life at the Hold consisted of strong guard training, and he excelled at it. He is actually a high ranking Dawnlight hold guard, if usually sent somewhere on the edges of the hold lands to keep him out of Deon's hair. What little hair he has.

Talony is typical of Shard's Hold-born friends. He usually associates himself with ranking people, but Talony doesn't act in the slightest like the others of his rank. He greatly respects T'ver and loves that she has been a rider after her training with him.

Talony wants very much to ride a blue or green dragon. He feels they are the backbone of any Wing, and has heard that there is in fact at least one full wing at the Protectorate which consists entirely of blues and greens. He will shorten his name to T'ony which he likes quite a bit.

Talony drifted from the Hold's supply cavern to the teaching area rather listlessly. He'd been yelled at again and knew that he'd be marching out near the scrub land again soon.

Something strange nagged at his mind. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make him turn. When he did, he saw a smallish blue dragon, swooping down to the ground near him.

"Talony?" The rider said, as he got down. There was a dark-skinned woman behind him, who remained on the dragon's back, near a bunch of wherhide satchels.

"That's me... Hey! A'rd! You're --"

"On Search, my friend," A'rd said, smiling. It only took a few seconds for Talony to realize what that meant.

He laughed, loudly, and then A'rd slapped him on the shoulder, "look, you go tell that rat-bastard Deon that you're not working for him any more. I'll be back here to pick you up tomorrow."

"Where are we headed?" Talony asked, almost as an afterthought.

"Aneris Weyr, Trelerth's birthplace. His nose is on today!" A'rd indicated the woman on the dragon's back, and Talony thought she looked familiar. They'd crossed paths while she was hunting, somewhat frequently. He knew that she would probably make as strong a rider as any!

A'rd got back onto the blue's back, and they flew up a bit, before going between to Aneris.

Talony stalked into the Lord Holders office with a half-grin half-tunnel snake expression on his face...

"Talony, to what do I owe this--" The fat balding man in the stressed chair asked him, but Talony abruptly cut him off.

"I've been Searched for Aneris Weyr, Lord Holder," he spat the words out, "so I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to 'defend Dawnlight's soil from those dirty rogues' any longer. In fact," Talony turned with a grin, "I'm going to be standing on the Sands with one of those rogues. Thought you should know."

Deon's jaw dropped open, and his eyes were wide with anger. But he couldn't even manage a response before Talony had shut the heavy door behind him on his way out.

***

Talony met up with Kyree and had a great time with her comparing notes about their experiences with the Dawnlight Lords. He was somewhat more forgiving about what ought to be done about them, however.

"They should be exiled," Kyree would mutter.

"They should be forced to change, and remain the Lords Holding. It would be ... a better learning experience for them." He smiled, and the dark skinned woman laughed at him.

But to Talony, when he met up with the gypsy Norai, things began to change. The tribe's lands had been used, Talony knew that, for he had been on patrol on them. As they shoveled firestone into sacks and became closer friends, they too discussed it with each other, but Talony and Norai didn't have all the time in the world to do so, and they were under the watchful gaze of Aneris weyr's weyrling master.

Then, after a long day and a longer night of laughing and songs, the call went out that signaled the hatching! They dragged themselves out of bed, and Talony put on his white robe with a smirk. "This is it," he said to himself. "Time to prove those idiots in Dawnlight wrong..."

They made it to the hatching sands with little time to spare. The first and second eggs were blue, though that was perhaps expected from a small clutch. Another hatched bronze, a fine dragon indeed! Then two dragons, a green and a brown, hatch. Norai found himself impressing, and Talony and Kyree look on in pleased silence.

Then another blue broke open, and Kyree found her lifemate in him. Talony was very happy for her... Though there were ever fewer eggs on the sands now... A white came from the tiniest shell of all. Then, A green impressed, and after her, a blue came from his shell. The blue paraded himself about before the two last boys. But it is Talony who he bumps into and then heads off toward the feeding tables outside.

I'm hungry. Hurry! The blue bespoke him, and T'ony suddenly knew what hunger really was!

"I'm coming, Heranth," he said, following along behind until his strong legs got him caught up. "Now we can show the Lords what respect really means..."

***

Look what I found, T'ony! I found a fish!

"Heranth, we don't have time for that now! We're supposed to be on our way to the flight grounds!"

But ... It is a good fish!

T'ony sighed.

And I remember -- it is hard, but I remember -- when you told me to slow down and enjoy things. I am enjoying the fish!

T'ony could only laugh.

***

We are the last ones out! Should we get in with the other blues?

No, stay until your stomach is empty. There are still little bits hitting the ground! Look! Over there, N'ai missed that bunch.

Did you see him save those greens!? He was so brave! I could not have done that!

"Sure you could, Heranth, but you don't have to. That's why we HAVE browns!"

Heranth belched out the last of his firestone breath, and then they headed back to the Weyr, to watch the bigger bronzes and browns continue the fight.