The Three Ways (Nwalme, Riki)

[Bacchante]

The Ways of Skrull are Three,
And these are Them:

First is the Way of Courage.
Only those who are armoured in life may stand on the sands.
Second is the Way of Will.
The dragons know that mindless herdbeasts are food, not riders.
Third is the Way of Mind.
Knowledge is the dominion of the gods, upon which we gladly encroach.

Together these form the Way of Honor.
Skrull is above, Skrull is beyond. We stand apart from the world and judge it in good faith.

Let no Wrong go Unpunished.
Let no Right go Unrewarded.
For the Ways of Skrull are Three and One.

And you shall follow them.

B'ach, the last Weyrleader of Skrull, stared at the writing on the wall. It had sat there for years, forming the cornerstone of the Weyr's culture. Whole generations arose with different interpretations and definitions, leading to constant heated debates. Beside them, in massively ancient lettering, were the Laws. B'ach stared at those too.

He was a man with a plan. Not a very good plan, but a plan nevertheless. Soon the class would be arriving. Among them, two very special students. This class was for them, and perhaps a few select others. Although other young people of varying ages were part of it, they were not the main focus.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." B'ach turned to see his father, reading something on the Weyrleader's desk. The young man, younger than he seemed, strode forwards. The contrast was amusing. One an elderly man with grey hair, remarkably smooth skin and thick leather clothing. The other a younger man with plain features, a massive scar across his face and a simple white robe with a purple collar.

"It's part of a book, father. A very old book, in the Vault. Rather damaged. We've been translating what we can. Apparently it's called the Ible, or some similar name. The scholars have yet to tell me its meaning." The Guard Captain nodded slowly. "Very well, son. I just came to inform you that my riders have picked up all the children. They're on the way." B'ach wiped his brow nervously. Hopefully this idea worked.

<You worry far too much. Your brilliance will easily shine into their malleable young minds and create a race of superhumans with intelligence to rival dragons.> Any other person would have considered that encouragement. The scarred rider, however, detected the amused tone in the 'voice' of his dragon.

"I'm already nervous enough as it is, Zen! You just be quiet." The fact that he was snapping at a dragon longer than any on the planet was not lost on B'rac. The giant creature stretched its neck forward and poked her rider with her nose.<Lighten up. You'll do fine. And, if you don't, they're young. Not much damage done.>The Weyrleader glared at her, then sighed and rubbed the massive jaw.

"Thanks, I suppose. Oh shards, I think I hear them. Back up." The behemoth queen slid back into the chamber, purposely carved to hold her ponderous bulk. Lying down on her side she displayed the intricate carving pattern of that day: Flowers on a length of vines. B'ach went and sat at his stone desk, carved out of the floor. In front of it a number of cushions were arranged on the floor. "Enter, and be seated. Class is in session."

[pandoraMisfit]

For the love of Faranth it was early to be up! Or so it seemed anyway. Pacing crossly about her room, trying desperately to stop yawning, Nwalme was puzzled. She always woke up the same time. Always. Without fail. So why so early today? She pondered and yawned some more. Looking out from her window proved the answer – she wasn’t awake early at all! She was spot on like always. It still irked her that she was so tired though. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, the girl proceeded to pick up her comb, dragging it through her hair, trying to achieve some semblance of neatness. It failed. A snarl of sorts curled her lips, before it quickly vanished. There was no use in getting annoyed, after all she had been awake late. Aha! That would explain why it felt early. The time she had spent with the weyrleader had cut into her usually sleeping pattern.

Fumbling around in the small chest at the bottom of her bed, she found a comfortable pair of wher-hide trousers and a long baggy tunic. To be completely fair, the fit did not suit her at all when she put it on, being cut for a man rather than a woman, but this was the way she preferred it. Luckily, she colour matched that of her night-sky eyes, so not all was lost. Not bothering with a belt to bring the excess material in, she let the lid close with a loud bang. This was followed by a loud knocking on the wall joining her room to the next. Nwalme always rose earlier than most people, so as to be out of the way, before the ‘rush’ of people started. She started for the door, before backtracking for the scroll tube on her desk. She had read what she needed of it, and was determined to return in before she forgot.

Her first destination however, was the hall on the same floor. As always, there was a hot pot of klah steaming over the hearth, and a neat selection of fruits and breads for her to choose her breakfast from. A sigh of relief escaped her damask lips. The smell of the klah was instantly perking her up, and would be just what she needed to combat the day. Even though she’d have dark circles under her eyes telling of a short night’s sleep, at least her demeanour would be bright and alert. Well, as much as it could be whilst she was keeping as unnoticed as possible. Picking a plump looking redfruit, she chose the nearest table to the hearth – they were all virtually empty, so why not have a choice position for a change? The sweet tanginess of the fruit exploded in her mouth, causing the juice to dribble down her chin a little. Giggling to herself, she licked it back up, grateful that the couple of people in the room with her were too deep in conversation to notice. How unladylike! Then again, since when had she ever been ladylike?

Taking a deep pull of her klah, she grimaced slightly at the bitterness of it’s taste, but swiftly drew another draught from the mug. People thought her bizarre not to sweeten the drink, or to indeed add anything to it, but Nwalme was a girl that liked her food simple and refreshing. After all, it was just as much the taste as the compounds in the drink that revitalised a person.

Savouring the taste, she finished off her fruit and drained her mug before setting off for the library. Handing in the scroll was easy enough, but the temptation to browse for new ones, only now available to her was too much. Fumbling around for her pass, she dug deep in the pockets of her top, and then her trousers in turn. Realisation dawned on her that she had picked up neither it, nor attached her new badge. Running back through the corridors was harder than she had thought it would be, getting scarped in the places where it had narrowed. Making it worse, she kept bumping into the people who had just started to rise and get on with their day. Apologies flying from her lips, she made it back to her room much more slowly than she had thought, given the speed with which she had sped off from the library.

When she tried to grab the tarnished badge from the desk, the girl lost her footing and went flying over the desk itself, managing to bash her head off the wall. All in all, this wasn’t turning out to be the best of mornings. Righting herself, she rubbed her head with one hand, feeling where the wall had connected with her skull, whilst attaching the piece of embossed metal to her clothing. Well, no fractures, but there was going to be one hell of a lump there when it decided to come out. Nwale took a few deep breathes to compose herself. Judging by the commotion in the corridor, it was about time for lessons to begin. Hers were now on the fifth level, leaving her wondering how on Pern she was to get there.

Her answer came with a sharp knock on her door. Opening it she was met with a Ghostrider, who explained that was here to assist the students in getting to the highest tier. She nodded, not speaking, nor looking directly at him. Allowing him to assist her onto the beast that waited, she continued her silence as they ascended, she for the second time in less than 12 hours. She uttered a perfunctory ‘thank you’ as she dismounted, entering the Weyrleaders rooms with a trickle of people in time to hear B’ach ask them to be seated. Doing so, Nwalme placed herself to the left of the room, distancing herself slightly from the main group by tugging her cushion along with her. It wasn’t enough to be distinctly noticeable, but enough to keep herself separate from the throng of bodies that was accumulating.

Looking about, she saw a gorgeous carving in the wall, beautiful flowers with vine work connecting them. She gazed upon it slightly, until the whole design moved! It wasn’t a wall at all! Thinking, she realised it must be Zenith, and blushed to her roots to think that she had imagined the great creature to be a wall. Turning back to the Weyrleader, she sat in anticipation of the lesson – would it be any different to the lesson structure with the Weyrhealer? She checked to her right, to make sure no-one had decided to try and keep her coming, hands gripping the underside of her cushion, ready to shuffle along if they did.

[Lyrikitty]

A soft sigh passed lips which were struggling between smile and frown, a delicate, willowy figure lay curled on the bed. She was fighting back the inevitable, trying to look at the good points of this new place. She was, in truth, eager to be here, yes, but she missed her home.

So what if her father had been a hard man? He did, in his own way, love her after all. Her brow furrowed, and she covered her face with a small hand. He'd been livid when it was annouced by B'ach she was leaving with him, and she'd been terribly brave about the whole thing. Even when it came to stepping onto Zenith's great paw and then straddling the behemoth Queen behind her bonded, Riki had not trembled in fear as she might have liked, nor did she sob or make a sound. She'd shed a few tears silently, it was her nature, and she had wondered if the man who was her supposed savior even knew.

On that topic... A mild distress took the form of a knot in her stomache. The same man who'd taken her away wanted to show her to the Wraithking, one of the highest ranking dragons in the Weyr. He'd not told her the ret of the implications behind that, but she'd learned them quickly enough once she was here.

Riki had badgered a few riders about the dragons here, wanting to know as much about them as possible. She had -once- tried to make her way to the library and gotten lost, scolded by a Ghsotrider when he stumbled across her for being out alone when she really shouldn't be. What she got from the riders was that the Wraithqueen, Zenith, was the only of her color. So long as she lived she would be the only female Wraith to live. There was a Wraithking egg on the sands. The person who it hatched for would become Weyrwoman, and the behemoth king would become the mate of Zenith, his rider mate to B'ach. This was exactly the source of her distress.

She was Hold born, and still shy of many things which were common in the Weyr as of yet. Also, from what she'd learned of most Weyrs there were many kings, all competing to win the right to twine with the Senior Queen. Also, that the kings Impressed -she thought that was the word- to males, not girls. Then again, weren't the Queen dragons supposed to Impress to females?

She rolled over, not caring for the time. She'd been brought in only days ago, and had kept herself mostly secluded. Her sleeping had been fair, perhaps not so well as she might have liked but she wasn't spending every night entirely sleepless.

A soft knock came at the door, and her head snapped in that direction, dark eyes widened slightly. Who could be knocking at her door so early in the morning? She was thankfully a very early riser, in order to get out of Rleson's grasps and find a way to occupy her day she'd had to be, so the knock didn't wake her, but still... Gingerly she swung her leggs from the bed and rose, padding across the stone floor to open the door a crack and peer out. A Ghostrider, one of the men she'd questioned earlier about the dragons in fact, looked back at her. "I'm here to take you to your lessons." For a moment she had not clue what he was talking about, then she remembered.

B'ach was giving lessons to her and a few others. She nodded quickly and held up a finger, asking him silently to wait for just a moment as she closed the door and dashed to the chest at the foot of the bed, digging through to find something suitable.

Unfortunately she hadn't had time yet to change the content of a majority of her wardrobe. Most of her garments were dresses or skirts, as was common in the Hold, and she kicked herself for not having grabbed more of her other clothes. Those were hidden though, and very few kept inside the Hold proper.

She grabbed a pair of black leggings, pulling them on and topping it with a dark blue tunic made of a fine matierial, soft and almost gauzy to the touch, with long, loose sleeves that were bunched at the wrist, the hem falling mid-thigh. A black belt was added quickly, and her hair was left loose, dancing around her soft features as she opened the door, a blush staining her cheek as she murmered an apology for the wait.

She was strapped to him, and his Ghost carried them up the long climb. A wave of naseua tried to take over her when she peered over her shoulder and down -a poor idea in hindsight- accompanied by fear, but they were both fought back down, her face remaining entirely smooth as she waited for the climb to end.

As she was untied and dismounted from teh Ghost, she smiled a thanks to the pair before she turned and entered the large weyr of B'ach. She paused for only a moment as she took the sight in, identifying a large mass as Zenith. Admittedly, Riki was interesting in the dragons, for she'd never seen anything like it. Even Dharth, who she'd met at a Gather, wasn't so large. She eyed the others in the room, not many at all. Were these the others who would be shown to the Wraithking? She wasn't sure.

There were cushions strewn on the floor in front of a large desk, and she moved to sit on one, her attention moving from Zenith and the beautiful carving on her side, to B'ach. He was an intimidating man, but she knew better than to let that alone rule hr judgement of him. She'd seen him show a moment of tenderness to a runner, and she hoped that same kindness could be extended to her, if she were to Impress the Wraithking.

[/color]

[Bacchante]

So many had come. All these children. No... Young adults, in truth. Did they know that only three of the people in this room, including himself, really mattered? That the others were merely tools? Tests? Iron to sharpen iron? The, heh, irony was staggering. Sitting in the detested desk, in the hated role of teacher. What would he teach them today? What would he show them. More specifically, what could he show those two about his home?

”Behind me, writ upon the wall long before my time, are the Ways of Skrull. Most of you know them already. They are within every facet of our lives, our existence. They are all we stand for.” Zenith’s ponderous bulk shifted idly, causing many students to start. The dragon-mountain was often not seen by people, attributed to her size as much as it was in spite of it. Often she was taken to be a wall. <I am Zenith.> She announced, her powerful mind carrying into all of their heads.

<My name means ‘Highest Point’ in the language of old. It is fortuitous that this is so. Many of you may have, in earlier times, gone through your whole lives without ever seeing a Wraith. Now I am before you. My dominion is the Trial of Courage: A test most insidious. B’ach shall explain.>[/i] The Weyrleader stood, gesturing to the wall. The massive carved letters carried little meaning for many of the crowd. Only the learned would understand the older script, or those who had served in noble households. Namely, two of his most important guests.

”Only those who are armoured in life may stand on the sands.” With one hand, surprisingly ungloved at this time and delicate for such a fearsome man, he pointed at a child. ”What does that mean?” The young boy looked to be on the verge of wetting himself. “We, uh, have to... Be... Brave? And stand up for ourselves?” His voice was weak. Understandable. B’ach selected another child, a girl. ”We must have experienced life to be able to understand ourselves and our dragons.” She was stronger, surer of herself. There was a loud clap. It came from the hands of the Weyrleader. ”Correct in every way and yet fundamentally wrong! I Impressed when I was five. Does that mean I am unfit to bear Zenith? One man thought so, and just look at my face now! Do you wish to know his fate? Ask any person. His dragon was killed in an instant, for his insanity had tortured it to madness. He himself was bathed in acid then abandoned for his crimes.”

Perhaps amazingly for the few foreigners in the group, the Skrullborn children simply nodded approvingly. It was second nature to them. Crime begot punishment, and punishment must be as heinous as the crime. ”When Black Sands, an evil Weyr, forcibly sterilized Queens elsewhere I sterilized them. My Wing led a deadly attack to obliterate one of their holds from the face of this planet. We succeeded in destroying it, and then salting the earth in some places as well as acidifying it in others. Nothing shall grow there for many generations, as barren as the Queens claimed by their crimes.”

He knelt, withdrawing from a desk a scale. On one side he placed a small black weight. ”This is sin. Crime, if you wish. When one side sins against another, the scales are imbalanced. Logic dictates that we must balance them with an appropriate punishment. That is a falsity. Balance only creates more imbalance, as they feel the need to push down the scale again.” To demonstrate, he placed a white weight to perfectly balance the other side and then a second, larger black weight. The scales were once more out of sync. ”So we must pay them in kind, then with interest.” A truly massive white block brought down the punishment side of the scale to the bottom of the desk. The Skrull children nodded eagerly.

”You believe this is right. So let me tell you something. What you say in this hall, will never leave it. Within it, we are all as equals and you may speak to me as you will. So, with that in mind... What say you on this?” His gaze shifted across the class, lingering on two individuals. Nwalme, to the far side... And RIki, on the other.

[pandoraMisfit]

Looking about her, Nwalme let out the breath that she had unconsciously been holding; no-one had deigned to come and sit right next to her in the name of ‘friendliness’. She was aware that her slight separation from the group could very likely be construed as antisocialism... but most of the people in this room knew what she was like. She kept out of the way on a regular basis.

B’ach had started talking, and the girl looked to the wall he was talking about. She paid it little heed, as a voice sounded in her head. She looked to the behemoth behind the weyrleader. It was so bizarre to hear this majestic voice inside her skull! It wasn’t something she was at all used to, and the voice rung around the corners of her mind long after it had gone. She nodded to herself as the WraithQueen spoke. For what reason she did not know, but she nodded slightly nonetheless.

“Only those who are armoured in life may stand on the sands.” This sentence took her back to the berating she had received not a full day ago, bringing back the stinging blush to her cheeks once more. How could she have dared presume that it was her right to set foot upon the sands? Idly paying attention to the little lad that B’ach had called upon, Nwalme thought about the scrolls she had been handed last night, along with the other various items she had taken back to her rooms. The three scrolls contained the knowledge to allow her to pass the test of mind. And she would devote herself to learning them by heart, she knew. Not having had the chance to look just yet, she was itching to get back to her rooms to read to her heart’s content until she was called upon in the afternoon. But for now, she thought, she must turn her mind away from those rolled pieces of hide, back to the lesson at hand.

This lesson was of courage. Despite having heard it before, Nwalme listened intently to the tale of the man who had tried to destroy their Weyrleader. She did not cringe away from the facts as she had previously. Hearing them again helped it make sense in her mind. A wrong was committed and so a punishment was given, harsh in the eyes of some, but all the better to dissuade others from committing the act again. B’ach was demonstrating this with weights, and she listened avidly, her keen eyes. The children of the island were nodding all around her, but she did not. The understanding was writ in her face. It did not horrify her as much as it would others, and she could see the sense in it. Of course her soul shrank back from the thought of obliterating an entire Hold. But at the same time her mind rationalised that it was the same people that had been providing Black Sands with the resources to carry out their heinous act. Now one supporting Hold down, they would perhaps struggle more with their next endeavour.

The weyrleader’s eyes flicked between her and another girl, on the opposite side of the room. It was clear he wanted either of them to speak more than any others in the class. She shifted on her cushion uncomfortably. So many of the children in the room accepted this as fact, and a part of her did as well. Of course it made sense. But her heart, so used to helping others quailed at the thought of such destruction.

Cautiously, softly, she began to speak. “Sir, whilst I do believe...” she tapered off a little, looking at the many faces now locked onto hers as she spoke. “Whilst I do believe in the need for justice to be done, and yes I even agree with the need for deterrence, there is a part of me that rails against such destruction of life, in the example of Black Sands that you have given to us.” She breathed deeply before continuing. Spots of high colour dotted her cheeks, fully aware that her soft voice was being heard by all. “Being a healer, I naturally abhor needless killing. And a part of me indeed says that it was needless – why not just ruin the earth they had to work on? Why not destroy their livestock? Why not just demolish their homes?” Another pause. “Yet another part fully understands the need for such a high toll. These people served an evil Weyr, helping them flourish whilst knowing their unwholesome designs... Does this make them evil too?” She stopped for the final time before finishing her speech. “One can believe that knowingly furthering evil goals is evil in itself. I know I do. So as much as my heart hates death, it can understand the actions that took place and why. ” She held her head high, her own gaze directed at the wall behind the man in front of the class, so as to avoid meeting the eyes of any in the crowd. She didn’t know why she had come out with that tirade, nor what it had actually achieved, but speaking it out loud rather than debating it in her mind had helped to solidify her stance a little. Yes it was harsh, but she could see why such severity was needed. Her fingers fiddled with the hem of her shirt, as they had been all the while she had been speaking. She now desperately wanted someone else to start speaking, to take the attention away. To stop her fingers from twiddling, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear absently, all the while still looking at the writing on the wall.

[Lyrikitty]

Riki watched in silence as B'ach spoke, pointing to the wall behind him. Her haunted eyes flickered momentarily there, scanning the words carefully and commiting them to memory, before the voice of Zenith entered her mind.

Unlike many she did not jump or even faulter. She'd heard several dragons before, and the sensation was not entirely unknown to her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a couple of youths start slightly, dismissing them and returning her attention to reading and memorizing the wall while she had the time to.

As B'ach spoke of justice and retribution, of the man who had tried to kill him and then of his acts against Black Sands, Riki's heart sank. She'd watched the man's actions first hand in dealing with her father, and as he asked his audience a question, first a boy and a girl answered, both apparently wrong. Mild confusion fluttered to mind as the Weyrleader seemed to focus on herself and one other girl. Why? Were they special, or did he merely want to know what their thoughts were? The other girl answered first, a good answer in Riki's mind, but perhaps not exactly right. Silence was considered, and would have been acted on had she still been in her home, but even the short time she'd been separated had eased her fear to allow her better nature to peer from the dark depths.

As the other drew to a close Riki lifted her chin in something akin to defiance. "I disagree." She saw a few pairs of eyes turn disapprovingly to her, and ignored them. "I do not agrue that justice should be served, but it need not be so heavy a blow that the innocent suffer as well as the sinful. A strong blow, which is only mildly greater than the wrong which has been wrought is an effective detterent to most. At times mercy can be used for an even better justice. Humiliation as well, perhaps as the most effective of all. It takes more courage to do the right thing, than the easy thing. You say we are equals in this room, in this moment, then I willspeak to you as an equal. Each act taken should be fair, if it is to be truly just. To kill numerous people who, for all the reputation Black Sands has accumulated, could have been forced to tithe on threat of that which they hold dear is senseless and cruel, and it ranks you no higher than that very Weyr. You act without thought, Weyrleader. In this instance I perhaps am more able to speak than you, for I understand clearly what ahppened and have a close friendship to one who was affected by Black Sands and their violations." She would not outright say she was personally attached the the Gold Daisyth of Crystal Cavers, and the hurt of the Queen losing her rank hit the girl just as hard as it hit the Gold's rider. That was not information required.

"Is it not wiser in the long run to teach a lesson without ruining all potential of an alliance, than to outright destroy with blind rage?" For a moment her dark eyes lost the haunted stain which marked them, replaced by a scarcely controlled fire. Said fire faded swiftly though, her piece said in calm tones, even and unwavering despite the fact she was bound to be getting ill looks from those native to this Weyr, those who knew he Weyrleader well and had a deep respect for him.

She held him in respect, however he'd bid them speak as equals. In any other setting she would have bit her tongue and remained silent, not daring to stand up and challenge him so blatently. It was possible her opinions would get her removed, despite the promises of the Weyrleader she was being given a home. The girl had come to accept such fates. Life was not easy, and few lived up to their words. Little did B'ach know the being he'd found when stumbling across her in her native home, sent by the suggestion of a mourning Gold who cared for the girl as if she were her own.

Her emboldened state settled though, and she dropped her gaze away from where it had settled as she spoke -meeting those intimidating eyes of the Weyrleader- and found a safer place to look. Her hands, folded in her lap with the fingers loosely curled around the hem of her tunic.

She was, in truth, awaiting punishment of some kind. Perhaps sharp words, more likely a physica act against her, his hand connecting with her face for such impudence. Silently she steeled herself for just that, and hide herself behind her veil of hair. Already she berated herself for opening her mouth and taking him for his word. Did she truly think for a second that she was to be his equal, or that the opinion of a single girl -told that she was useless so many times by her very father- would be welcomed? No. She deserved whatever she received and then some, most likely. Resolve born of familiarity glided onto her features as they hardened in place, setting her expression so that when her punishment came she would not flinch or cry out, but accept it silently as she had done for turns.

[Bacchante]

”And thus I clothe my naked villainy, in old odd ends stolen forth from holy writ, and seem a saint when most I play the devil.”

There was menace in that voice. It oozed from every pore of the Weyrleader. He did menace very well. Menace and rage. Currently he was leaning on the desk at the front, his hands steepled in front of him. And then, ”That’s from a book in the library. In the Vault, where we keep the ancient tomes. There are many interesting stories there. Let me tell you a little one now...”

Once upon a time there was a girl. This girl was the daughter of a noble. She had no mother, no siblings. Both were dead. All she had was her father, the Lord of her home Hold. That Lord was a cruel and vicious man, but also quite mad. He would crush her whenever the whim took him, breaking her spirit as easily as he did so her body. The whole Hold knew, but said nothing. Who would stand up to one in power?

Then, one day, a great man came from the sky astride a mighty dragon. This man saw the pain of the girl, and he was wrathful indeed. That false Lord was beaten down and left in the mud while the man took the girl to the sky. She was given many wonderful things, kept well and taught of all things. Then, one day, the man awoke to find that she had usurped him in her sleep. When he asked the meaning of this treachery the girl said to him, “I betrayed my father to you. What did you expect?”

The man smiled at the girl, for that is exactly what he had expected.

”Of course, the story ends with him executing her for treason.” All around Riki, the children shuffled out of her reach like little rats fleeing the sinking ship. Some looked maliciously happy, others afraid that the wroth of their Weyrleader would spread. As they watched, B’ach raised his hand slowly and...

Began to clap?

Yes, that was indeed it. He smiled at Riki as he clapped. ”You are correct. Courage is a many splendored thing. It takes a great person to stand up when you may be endangered for doing so, a greater one to stay silent to keep others safe. But the greatest courage is to do something you know is wrong because, unfortunately, it is right.” B’ach reached for the scale again, pushing the white block off it nonchalantly. ”I am rageful. I am violent. I am intelligent. I am cunning. I am also in complete control of this Weyr. This is both a brilliant and a terrible combination. Certainly, it gets things done that need to be done but, in the same vein, there is nobody who can stop things from being done. There is imbalance.”

<Consider Black Sands’ Hold. Weakened as Skrull is, it cannot destroy the Weyr itself quite yet but it needs to show that these attacks will not be tolerated. So the Hold must be a target. Now what to do? Simply destroy the boats, the fields? The moment it lost its use, Black Sands would have crushed the Hold itself or at the least simply moved its people to the others and then all would be for naught. Capture them, maybe? Have to feed, and clothe, and save until the end of the war? No, better a swift and merciful end. Wrong as it is, it still had to be done. Black Sands cannot win.>[/color]

That was truly a speech from Zenith, who shifted back into a comfortable spot with her eyes closed to hide her freewheeling emotions. ”Next question, children. The leadership of this Weyr is imbalanced. What do we do about that?” A child raised his hand. He was now right beside Riki, as were many others. Opportunists, to a T. "Sir, we need a Weyrwoman sir." B'ach nodded. "No sirs, though. But yes, you are correct. Two must rule, not one. That is why two genders exist. Balance. That is why the Wraiths select the opposite gender. Balance. It's all about balance. So now, the explanation of the Test of Courage."

The Weyrleader pointed to the Shaft. "There is a room filled with rope, material and sticks in that wall. In one hour, you will jump into the Shaft with naught but what you create supporting you. We'll see who succeeds then. Feel free to ask me for advice during the process, but for things directly pertaining to the trial I can only say yes or no. You'll be paired for construction, but you don't necessarily need to work together." Two by two he picked children, making sure to put his two stars together, Riki and Nwalme.

Let's see what they make of it.

[pandoraMisfit]

Sitting awkwardly, Nwalme showed no emotion as B’ach spoke to the group again. The stories he was apparently delighting in telling only held her interest by tenuous threads. They were malicious, daunting tales and such did not make for a cosy atmosphere. The girl disliked violence as she had already stated and the words of execution and punishment made her feel like there were snakes writhing in her belly. B’ach’s voice was insidious as he described himself. Nwalme could not deny any of it from what she had learned of him already. He was certainly a whirlwind of all this and more. Such depth of character, with no-one to moderate it. Yes, he was right, balance was needed.

There was a slight shuffling, almost imperceptible, but it was still happening. So, most of the other kids were eager to shift their alliances quicker than a blink, all just to please the weyrleader? Pah. First, they moved away from the girl on the girl on the opposite side of the room, then after Zenith spoke, they all scurried back, like suddenly she was their saviour. Her own segregation from the group, now no longer self imposed, made her feel slightly uneasy. Was she out of place? Was she even meant to be here? Well, of course she was, she had been instructed so. But at the same time, she wondered why still. Evidently she knew very little about what was going on, her answers insufficient. This was the line of her thinking at any rate.

Lost in self deprecating thoughts, Nwalme heard little of the speech about balance, but instantly perked up when she caught on to the words “trial of courage”. So soon? Of course she had had forewarning, but extremely little time to prepare. What did it entail? Ah, she needn’t have wondered, for as soon as the thought came into existence, it was answered. Jump into the Shaft? If her skin wasn’t already alabaster in the light of the room, then she would have blanched. She had no skills in construction, and the whole prospect was more than a little daunting. But surely whatever she made would work. Shards, wouldn’t even a plaited piece of rope secured to the lip of the ledge be strong enough? With no more time to contemplate, she stood obediently when the pairings began and walked over to the girl who had spoken earlier when the weyleader motioned for them to group together. The supposed favourite of the group. She could see some scowls directed her way, so she simply scowled back.

Turning her gaze on the girl in front of her, she found herself staring into eyes that were the inverted version of her own. This startled her for a moment, before she gathered her wits and introduced herself. Motioning to the room that had been indicated, she said that she was going to see what they had to work with. “That is, if you want to work with me? If you don’t, I understand.” She added, before heading towards the supplies. It wasn’t a challenge, merely an honest statement. But looking at Riki’s demeanour, she could see the girl was just as uncertain as she was herself. Stealing a glance at the bits and pieces they had to construct their support with before she backtracked, Nwalme wondered if they could fashion some sort of parachute making a frame with sticks and using a large bolt of material to catch the air. She held out her hand for Riki to take, so they could go together, apprehensive of the response – would it be taken, or just slapped away? “I have a vague idea, but I don’t know if it would work.” Explaining the rough outlines in a small, unsteady voice, with her hand suspended in midair, she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that this girl would for some reason or another reject her. “What do you think? Would you help?”

[Lyrikitty]

She recieved a shock when she was not struck or reprimanded, but... Praised? His story made her shudder, for she had a feeling that she was supposed to play the role of the traitorous girl in it. She was half-way there... Wasn't she? It was a bitter thought. At the time she hadn't let herself think of it as treachory, she'd thought of it as escape. She'd had to though, she supposed. The cold truth though... She had betrayed her father, her home, and her life by turning her back on it all. She'd not physically moved to protect the man who had raised her, only lifted a voice to pleade on his behalf. She'd had the gall to look the Weyrleader in the eye and give her mind to him, when she was being a pathetic hypocryte. Why had he told that story? Did he want to warn her what her ultimate fate was? Had she just escaped from one evil only to deliver herself into the hands of another, far worse?

She hadn't even noticed the chldren who had flocked back to her side, closer now than they'd been originally. She did, however, snap out of her thoughts when he told them they were to take the trial of courage, and then went on to say what it was.

They were to jump into the shaft?

Well... That could be interesting...

She watched the group as they were paired off, finding herself paired with a girl she'd never met. Then again she hadn't really met anyone at the Weyr. It was strange though, for Nwalme seemed to have a lot in common with herself. Enough to send a small shiver down her spine before she silently nodded, too late for the other to see as she'd moved to inspect the materials available. She almost, almost, flinched when the other returned and held out a hand, however she swallowed back that urge, reminding herself she was not going to be struck by people in fits of rage here.

Instead, she smiled faintly, only the barest ghost of an expression, and took the other's hand, nodding a bit. The presented idea gave her an idea, one which stemmed from watching the dragons of Crystal Caverns fly, or more accurately watching them glide for what seemed ages before having to flap. She'd always wondered what it would be like to just float through the air in such a manner. Of course it was likely her idea would be stupid in an extreme, but it seemed her partner had a similar idea, so why not try?

"I like the idea... I think I know a good shape for it." She frowned, moving away from her partner and breaking the contact they had for a moment to snatch a bit of coal and a scrap of fabric. On it she started to draw a rough image of an elongated wing, of sorts. It was slightly pointed near the front, and curved back to two points at the back. It was very similar to the wings of the Magmas of the Weyr she had been closest too, a color which had a span that allowed them to stay in the air for however long they so pleased, and when they found even the smallest of thermals they could glide for ages. "We could make the frame from something strong, but a little flexible, and use a heavy material that won't let the air pass through easily. A harness could be suspended underneath to carry-"[/color] She stopped short, returning to the scrap of fabric and sketching more. A side image, and one from what would essentially be below.

The design was a glider of sorts, and she was confident if in nothing else than the fact she could make a sturdy enough harness. She'd worked with the runners back home, and on occasion she'd had to fashion make-shift things for them which would hold up under use from the animals. None had failed her. She returned her gaze to the other girl patiently, nibbling her lower lip as she waited to see what her partner would think.[/size][/color]

[Bacchante]

An impossible task had been set before them. Little did they understand that, to succeed, they would need to think of the unthinkable. But, as was often paraphrased by his father, sometimes the courageous thing to do was also the most idiotic. ”There is only one way to succeed in this trial.” B’ach’s voice broke the busy silence. It had been perhaps five minutes since the groups had started working. ”By the Laws, I’m bound to give you one hint. It can be as cryptic or devious as I like, but it must be relevant. So I will merely repeat a phrase that you all hear every week.”

<Courage is one third bravery, one third stupidity and one third faith. > The Weyrleader rolled his eyes. ”Yes. That.” Hint given, he wandered forward to examine the devices that the students were devising. Gliders, ropes, ways of catching air. So very wrong, all of them. He paused beside Riki and Nwalme to examine their efforts. It was rather hard not to comment.

He gave them the rest of their time in silence, sitting on his desk and shuffling papers. Then, in no particular order, he selected groups. The chosen ones, so to speak, were to go last. ”You will stand side by side and walk in time. From the moment I say go, you will stride forward and step out into the air together. If you falter, then you fail. Pray that you reach the bottom intact.

”Go.”

One by one, students strode out of the door to B’ach’s chambers. He watched along the corridor, watching them step out and reporting back one by one. ”Fail. Fail. Fail. Extreme fail. Falter. Fail.” The prognosis wasn’t good. Finally, it was time for the last two. The Weyrleader glanced at them once, and then strode up to the edge of the shaft, kneeling to look over it. Then he turned his head back to them. ”Go.”

[pandoraMisfit]

When the girl before her actually grasped her hand, it seemed almost cautiously. This puzzled the dark haired girl – she had offered naught but kindness, or so she thought. There wasn’t any reason for this girl to be cautious about her contact. Then again, she surmised, she was again much the same, for the past still rang strong in her memories. A ghost-smile of her own flickered into existence as her idea was seemingly accepted. They had moved towards the supplies almost unconsciously, and before she knew it, the brief contact between the two girls was broken, leaving Nwalme feeling oddly bereft. She had enjoyed feeling human again, she realised. It had been so long since she had willingly participated in any form of human touch, even so little as a hug without flinching away. It was probably time to change that, she thought with a sigh. And then the girl was back, with some cloth and a piece of coal. Why coal? What use was that going to have?

Finding out soon enough, she nodded as the designs were sketched before her eyes; Nwalme was happy with the idea. She was glad that Riki had thought it useable, and was eager to get the thing done. For the first time in years, a broad smile gleamed across her face. “I think it could work...” She regarded the design once more. To her mind, it was as sound a design as any, more so than anything she could have come up with on her own. Collaboration was the key in this then. She had seen several of the Skrull children snort disdainfully at their partnering and decide to work alone. Suit themselves, she thought. When Riki had finished detailing the design, she pronounced that she was amazed at the other girl’s ingenuity and then proceeded to gather materials.

Bringing back enough for two of the proposed gliders, she set them down in a pile. Wooden canes, lengths of wood, twine to bind the joints, a sort of canvas material for the sail and various other oddments that she thought they’d need. “If we each work on our own glider, we can get them done in time – but I’m pretty sure I’m going to need some help with certain parts... So I was thinking to work alone, but at the same time together? If that makes any sense...” She trailed off as she noted B’ach starting to skulk about the groups, inspecting the work. Offering a smile to Riki, she set about laying the canes in the shape the other girl had sketched out. Lashing them together was easy enough as was cutting the material to the right length. She stretched it taught over the frame, trying to hold it in place at the same time as securing it. Which failed miserably. Thankfully though she had Riki on hand to help her secure the blasted thing and she in return helped with the other girls. All the way through, she was asking Riki if she knew of any better ways to do this or that, where best to secure the straps and such. She wasn’t ashamed either – those too proud to ask for help deserved failure.

It didn’t seem like long before the weyrleader pronounced that the time was up. Nwalme had on subconsciously heard the words spoken by him and his dragon, so absorbed in her work as she had been. Looking at the supposedly finished piece, she regarded it with a sickening feeling in her stomach. Sure it looked somewhat like Riki had drawn, but nowhere near strong enough to hold her weight. Testing the supporting frame, it bent slightly under the pressure of her hand. She winced slightly. It would have to do.

Picking the device off the floor, she walked hesitatingly towards the edge of the abyss. She watched as the other students approached. No-one looked especially eager to jump now. Fumbling for Riki’s hand again, she squeezed it tightly as she spoke. The action wasn’t obvious to anyone else, especially since she kept her eyes forward. “I’m terrified... Every bit of me is saying not to jump off that edge... yet I know I still will. Surely he can’t let...” She didn’t have the time to finish her sentence as they were called up. This was it. Looking about her she was puzzled – she could have sworn most of the others had been called, but yet they remained here.

Looking fearfully back at the group, she started towards the edge, lifting her glider into position. She had created on it a cross piece to hold on to, with rough straps for her wrists in case her grip loosened. It wasn’t the strongest of things on Pern. But she prayed it would support her. Her walking sped up, turning into first a jog and then a run. Her heart began to pound wildly, every nerve, every fibre screaming at her to stop! But still she carried on. She would not fail – she was determined not to! Her legs wanted to seize up, but it was too late!

There was definitely no going back now. She was falling, her legs snapped behind her as the force of the wind buffeted her body. A scream loosed from her lips, half from fear, half from exhilaration. The supports of the glider shook with effort as the almost flimsy contraption valiantly bore her weight. She was free falling, tumbling down with just the air to stop her fall. Suddenly, the heavy canvas caught the updraft , jolting her body upwards quite painfully. Yet she still continued to fall at a terrifying rate, the glider doing very little to actually slow her speeding body down. Had she known more about physics, Nwalme would have realised that even once she reached her terminal velocity, it was probably going to be fast enough to smash her to the lowest levels in a second. Not feeling herself slowing, Nwalme’s scream was now of pure terror, the adrenaline taking over her body as she realised that she wasn’t going to fall gracefully to the bottom of the shaft, that she wasn’t going to come out of it whole. The wind ripped her screams away from her lips so fast that she didn’t hear them, didn’t even register that she was making any noise at all – all she could do now was screw her eyes shut and wait for the inevitable, all the while praying that she would somehow slow down.

[Lyrikitty]

Working with Nwalme was enjoyable in more ways than Riki had anticipated. She was already feeling a bond toward the girl that she was unfamiliar with. Then again most of those she had considered friends for her entire life had been animals of some sort. How was she supposed to know that same feelings could be put to a person as well? B'ach walked around, eyeing their work, and Zenith gave a hint to what they were supposed to do. Something clicked in the very back of her mind, in a place she never used or even knew existed. She was fairly proud of her work. Of course it looked better in drawing and she was already feeling the inevitable pangs of concern at what they were about to do, but she didn't let i show. Not even as Nwalme grabbed her hand as they stood, preparing to go, her face was calm. It was only a display though, the same sort she put on when she wanted to cry, to scream or run or any of countless actions which would be frowned on.

She squeezed the other girl's hand in return, only in time for them to be called and for Nwalme to let go. As Nwalme prepared, Riki worked at fastening her harness. Or tried to at least. She was near the edge, not intending to get a running start she had walked ahead a bit to ready herself. As she fussed with the straps, trying to get them into place, one caught on a necklace which hung around her neck.

A thin golden chain, with a pendant that seemed both simple and complex at the same time. The pendant was cast in gold with a small blue saphire set in it, the designs around it swirling in a dizzying dance. It had been her mothers, and as the chain snapped, Nwalme passed her and went over the edge, the stir of air caused by her passing and then displaced by the glider sent the necklace sailing over the edge of the shaft... And down.

She froze, dark eyes wide as she watched the bobble, her body coming to life not slowly, but in a flash. She didn't stop and thin for even a second that she wasn't attached to her glider, in fact as she fell into motion it dropped uselessly to the ground. Her mind registered nothing in that instant other than the necklace, and she flung herself after it, clawing at the air as she held her breath. Somewhere her mind told her she would be fine. B'ach had not saved her only to let her die here and now, of that she was certain. Somewhere her mind told her she was a fool for this as well, and that she was destined to be dashed to bits at the bottom of the shaft. A third part told her none of that mattered, just as long as she got the necklace back. As she fell her fingers curled around the necklace, snatching it back and pulling it to her chest with a sigh of relief, only to finally realize what she had done.

She was catching up with Nwalme now, only a little behind the girl, and she watched in horror as the glider finally caught air and lifted her partner hastily back up, slowling her fall a bit. No such thing would come for her, and she closed her eyes, bringing her hands -still cluthing to the necklace- to her face and prepared herself for a sudden death. She felt vaguely guilty, for B'ach had said he wanted to show her to the egg of the dragon which would one day be mated to his. He had been considering putting the future of him Weyr, his home, in her hands. If she died she was failing him, after he'd been kind enough to save her from her past. Her eyes snapped open as she passed Nwalme, terror and regret fighting for dominance in her expression. Her mouth finally opened, sound determined to come out although it would likely go unheard. At first she though she was going to scream, finally. But it didn't happen. Then she wondered if she might ask for help or some other ridiculous thing from the other girl. But no... Not that either. Instead, her lips formed the words I'm sorry. She was apologizing to the girl she had wanted to befriend as she fell, faster now, and steeled herself for the eventual end. Hopefully it wouldn't hurt.
[/color]

[Bacchante]

Faith.

He had been fearful that none would succeed. It had seemed that way, as each in kind stumbled off the edge and slowly fell. Pathetic, all of them. Then came the last two, his last hope. His only hope, in truth, given how badly the others had done. At first it looked like they too had missed the entire point but then.

Someone fell.

<One third bravery.>[/color]

Someone leapt.

<One third stupidity.>[/color]

Someone was caught.

<One third faith.>[/color]

So much heavier than her, and with his legs propelling him off the edge, B’ach’s swan-dive took him rapidly into the shaft. He accelerated past Nwalme, registering the shocked expression on her face, all the while making calculations in his head. Five seconds, maybe six. Five seconds until they both died.

He said both, because at that moment his arms wrapped around Riki. Looking up, Ghostrider after Ghostrider spurred their beasts into action, making flying leaps from the third and fourth shelves. One arm around her waist, one arm outstretched, B’ach fell with her. A passing Ghost sailed overhead, massive claws wrapping delicately around them as it spun in the air, moving them to its chest. Its rider pushed off, hurtling in a full circle around them with a rope, wrapping it around the pair before landing himself on the belly of his beast and pulling both sides taught.

There was a flicker, and the Ghost was at the ground floor. It skidded along the sands, back-down, with the girl and Weyrleader and Rider all tethered neatly to bony stomach. The rider slid off, the rope loosening enough for B’ach to slip down himself, silently helping RIki down. Above them, the last of the gliders sailed to safety. The Weyrleader leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "That was incredibly stupid, Riki."

A pause.

"You passed."

[pandoraMisfit]

Blue eyes snapped open as Nwalme felt a rush of air pass her, sending her glider off in a see-saw motion as it fell. They widened in horror her mind slowly registered that it was Riki who fell past with no support at all. As fast as she was going, Nwalme’s own speed had levelled out to as slow as she was going to get, and that in itself was a terrifying velocity. She couldn’t stop herself from calling out for the girl, her voice ragged and high pitched as it echoed around the shaft. And then, B’ach passed her too.

All notion of her own fall quickly escaped her head as she watched the scene unfold below her, the weyrleader catching the girl, in turn being caught by a strong Ghost and his rider. Numb, she watched it all, regard for her own descent lost in the relief that the girl she would call friend had been saved. Her gaze was fixed on the group below her, watching the exchange with interest. If only she could hear what was said! Only the sight of the approaching ground shook her out of it, and boy, was it coming up fast.

Most of the Ghosts and their riders had landed at the bottom of the shaft, their concentration on the pair that had just been escorted to safety. One of the remaining pairs had spotted Nwalme’s proximity to the earth, and drove his beast onwards into the shaft to catch her. Leaping from his beast with the rope, his timing seemed perfect and he looked set to catch the girl. But the shift in the air current caught hold of the material construct that was attached to the raven haired girl, pulling her just out of his reach - frustratingly only just so far away that his fingertips still managed to brush against hers. Swinging back up to the topside of his dragon, he urged the beast on, but it was too late.

Nwalme, her mind finally engaging once more, realised that she wasn’t going to be caught. As quickly as she could, she slipped her dainty wrists out of the cuffs that attached her to the glider, letting the whole contraption fly away from her. As fell away from her body, she curled herself in as small as she could, allowing her to roll as she hit the earth. Thudding to the ground, she hit it awkwardly, a snap resounded through the cavern, followed swiftly by a muffled cry as she rolled several times before coming to a stop. Raising her head, it was plain to see the tears streaming down her face, though she made little noise. Holding her left arm close to her chest, she used her right to help her stand, and then transferred it to support the other. Covered in dust and dirt, she made her way over to B’ach, ignoring the healer as she ran over to try and check the girl’s arm. Her voice cracked when she spoke, and the tone was low, almost so quiet that only the closest people could hear. “Yes, it is broken.” She directed at her mentor as the woman continued to fuss and fluster. Then she turned to B’ach. “Weyrleader, I request permission to take my leave and go to the infirmary so that I may have my arm examined.” She let little emotion into her tone, and kept her eyes fixed on the ground as she spoke, ashamed of herself, for being so stupid as to break bones for this test.

[Lyrikitty]

Was it... Was it possible that as the ground approached at such a dangerous speed she was seeing what she thought? A figure dove off the ledge above, gracefully arcing down and speeding into the shaft, passing Nwalme. It couldn't be, that he had thrown himself after her just as carelessly as she'd jumped. Of course she'd had hope he would save her, but that hope came with the attachment of living. How was he supposed to keep the fall from killing her if he too was to be shattered on the ground?

Her question of the reality of what she saw was answered as B'ach's arms wrapped around her, holding tightly to the girl. They were going to die together. She was surprised by how human he felt, and how warm his body was. Perhaps facing death like this made you think strangely, but she could almost say she was sad she was going to die like this without getting to know him a little better. Such thoughts didn't get long to live though, for a Ghost caught them, handling the pair with such care Rikki might have thought herself glass. The rest happened in a blur, a rope tied them to the dragon, they impacted with the ground, the world shook and turned itself all wrong and then grew still. She was alive.

As the Ghost slid to a stop and first the rider then B'ach got off, she took a moment to look at the bobble she still clutched in one hand. She was helped down and she didn't even know who was helping her, only as B'ach leaned in close to whisper in her ear did she snap back to the moment. She passed? How-

Nwalme. Forget the test, what had come of her new-found friend? Her heart all but stopped as the other girl freed herself from the glider and curled into a ball, hitting the ground and rolling with a sickening snap of bone. Rikki had no training in healing but she couldn't imagine anything else making such a terrible noise. Her stomach turned and she felt ill as she held her breath, waiting to see if the other girl was going to move after she came to a stop. Finally Nwalme stirred and rose, brushing past a Healer and walking directly to where she and B'ach were. Eyes darted from friend to Weyrleader as Nwalme asked for pardon to tend to her arm, and it baffled the girl as to why. Should not Nwalme simply seek aide immediately? Why force herself to endure pain and possible damage by asking permission to be helped? Her brow furrowed deeply at these questions, and she bit her lip to keep them silent.

Oh how she wanted to open her mouth and speak, at least to ask Nwalme how bad it was and to apologize to the other girl. This was her fault, for she'd been the one who suggested the faulty design. She kept it bottled up, instead turning her eyes to her feet as she'd done many a time before to keep her peace and wait something out. Better this way anyhow. Right?