[dkstories] The Rider's Pride

[Graeme]

I thought D'Kov made perfect sense, for a first flight anyway. He's well known and respected enough for J'shon to be comfortable with, and been a rider long enough to be able to guide him through it as gently as possible.

I guessed D'kov as a possibility early on -- especially when Liliath made her comments to his dragon. It also made sense since he was the one that 'searched' J'shon in the first place.

 

Just for those who are curious, the "moved north to shield" refers to the geological term "shield" as a tectonically stable area. The first settlers didn't want to worry about earthquakes at the same time as Thread -- and the proximity of the Red Star had increased earthquake activity. The Southern continent didn't have sufficient tectonically stable areas -- hence they "moved north to shield". Dan's given the explanation of why it was completely abandoned, even between passes of the Red Star.

[B1ue]

You know, with the talk of how easily riders switch partners, and the obvious level of comfort between D'kov and J'shon, this pairing might have more consequences than I first thought about. Having D'kov as J'shon's first makes sense from a story standpoint, since not too many other riders with dragons old enough to fly Liliath have been introduced, but what if Aliarth and D'kov had been thinking about this for some time? Actually, scratch that. It's obvious they have been, if you re-read the chapters. The real question is going to be what the morning after will bring.

 

Also, I want to know what D'kov whispered to J'shon in the afterglow.

[Graeme]

A very good chapter -- indeed, I thought it would have been a great ending to the story, even though Dan's said there are still four chapters to go.

 

The aftermath of the mating flight was handled very well, with J'shon receiving some more education on the realities of Weyr life. I thought it was great the way S'flin, D'kov, B'rell and K'mer all showed how much they love J'shon in their own way. I'm guessing it will be Ojeth that flies Liliath the next time, though.

 

Thanks, Dan!

[C James]

A very good chapter -- indeed, I thought it would have been a great ending to the story, even though Dan's said there are still four chapters to go.

 

The aftermath of the mating flight was handled very well, with J'shon receiving some more education on the realities of Weyr life. I thought it was great the way S'flin, D'kov, B'rell and K'mer all showed how much they love J'shon in their own way. I'm guessing it will be Ojeth that flies Liliath the next time, though.

 

Thanks, Dan!

I really liked this one too!

 

Okay, confession time: In the last chapter, I was both shocked and surprised that it was D'Kov. I didn't like that pairing, probably becuase I like B'rell? I don't remember the Pern books all that well, so the whole "Green riders" thing is new to me.

 

BUT, I was wrong, and this chapter explains the situation in such a way that I now think it was just right, fits perfectly, and just plain works.

 

Thread fall will be very interesting indeed! Unless, of course, Kaplan was right all along.

[Graeme]

Ooo.... I wonder what the reaction from the Holders is going to be now?

 

As soon as Kapian made his announcement, the ending was one of two that I expected. The other will probably be the start of chapter 13.

 

I wonder how long it will take J'shon to do what B'rrel plainly wants? I can understand J'shon's fears, but at sixteen he's still to learn the difference between love and passion. A mating flight promotes passion, but not love.

 

Thanks, Dan, for another wonderful chapter!

 

PS: Milk-brothers -- two boys who had the same wet-nurse (usually the natural mother of one of the two boys -- the other boy is often an orphan or fosterling).

[C James]

Ooo.... I wonder what the reaction from the Holders is going to be now?

 

As soon as Kapian made his announcement, the ending was one of two that I expected. The other will probably be the start of chapter 13.

 

I wonder how long it will take J'shon to do what B'rrel plainly wants? I can understand J'shon's fears, but at sixteen he's still to learn the difference between love and passion. A mating flight promotes passion, but not love.

 

Thanks, Dan, for another wonderful chapter!

 

PS: Milk-brothers -- two boys who had the same wet-nurse (usually the natural mother of one of the two boys -- the other boy is often an orphan or fosterling).

I'm wondering what will happen regarding the threadfall, too. Sounds like it will come in unexpected ways.

 

My curiosity was tweaked by the playing cards, which were described in detail. Are they significant from one of the Pern books?

 

As for J'Shon, I'm betting that he's nearly there...

 

Great chapter!

[dkstories]

This chapter had a few more 'nuggets' than usual as far as Pern history and/or culture. PLaying cards are referenced a few times in some of the books, and a few of the 'guides' have a little more detail. The particular set the boys were playing with come from that, and a little Dragonrider history. Sean Connel and Sorka Connel were two of the first dragonriders in the history of Pern. They were both children who made the trip to Pern in deep sleep, and were the first two to bond with fire-lizards, the Pern-native creatures from which dragons were bio-engineered.

 

"By the First Egg!" "By Faranth's Egg!" and similar curses are common Pern curses. Golden Faranth was NOT the first queen dragon (although many later assume she was), nor was she the first queen dragon to mate and produce eggs. She WAS however the dragon of the first Weyrwoman. Her rider, Sorka Connel, wife of Sean Connel was the first woman to be acknowledged as the 'female leader' of the Weyr while her husband Sean was the first leader of the new dragonriders. Together they 'wrote the book' on caring for dragons, and for using them to fight Thread. (Sorka's father, Red Hanrahan was also the man who founded Ruatha Hold, one of the central Holds in the dragonrider books of Anne McCaffrey).

 

The card deck the boys were playing with held the images of Sean Connel and Sorka, and their initials. The boys don't know that, many readers don't know that, but that's why they were put in there that way. A few Pern fans might have caught it...

 

Another 'fun' thing for me in this chapter was the inclusion of the term 'milk brother'. In the White Dragon, and a few other books by Anne McCaffrey, we see a character named Dorse who was the 'milk-brother' of Lord Jaxom of Ruatha. Certainly it's a term that was in somewhat common use in our own history, but I thought it made a neat 'connection' between those stories and this one. Unlike Dorse and Jaxom, H'mal and his milk-brother DID get along, though...

 

As for what's happening with thread...I would have thought that some Pern fan would have already been jumping up and down screaming that OF COURSE there was something wrong because it was the wrong SEASON for the Red Star to be bracketed in the eye rock. Well, no one did...but of course there's a reason for it...and I've tried to make that reason fit in with the mythology of past, and future, Pern.

 

[Graeme]

I completely missed the season. From memory, Thread starts falling in late Winter, Spring (at least it did in Dragonflight). I didn't spot what season it is at the moment in the story. I did realise that orbital mechanics altered the normal path of the Red Star -- Dragonquest has an example of the pattern of threadfall changing, so relying on past records isn't 100% perfect.

 

I spotted the S.C = Sean Connel reference, but I had forgotten that Sorka was the name of his wife.

 

As for Eye Rock -- I thought the Red Star was supposed to be bracketed when the rising sun rose over Finger Rock -- it wasn't the bracketing by itself. The bit about Eye Rock being used to determine the length of the Fall was also new to me, but I haven't read any of the 'guides'.

 

Thanks for the update, Dan!

[C James]

This chapter had a few more 'nuggets' than usual as far as Pern history and/or culture. PLaying cards are referenced a few times in some of the books, and a few of the 'guides' have a little more detail. The particular set the boys were playing with come from that, and a little Dragonrider history. Sean Connel and Sorka Connel were two of the first dragonriders in the history of Pern. They were both children who made the trip to Pern in deep sleep, and were the first two to bond with fire-lizards, the Pern-native creatures from which dragons were bio-engineered.

Ahh, thanks!

And BTW, would anyone know, from the Perm books, why Fire lizards died out?

 

As for what's happening with thread...I would have thought that some Pern fan would have already been jumping up and down screaming that OF COURSE there was something wrong because it was the wrong SEASON for the Red Star to be bracketed in the eye rock. Well, no one did...but of course there's a reason for it...and I've tried to make that reason fit in with the mythology of past, and future, Pern.

Thanks Dan! I didn't catch that, but it has been forever since I've read one of the Pern books. For me, the clue that there was something amiss was the unusual motion of said star as it approached being bracketed. BTW, I assume that it is only bracketed at a certain time of day? I think it would have to be, unless it was crossing a polar axis. That would fit with the Dragons noticing it first, when it finally lined up during the night.

 

Looking forward to the next chapter, and I've very glad that you found your jump drive.

[Graeme]

And BTW, would anyone know, from the Perm books, why Fire lizards died out?

From the recent couple of books, there was a disease that they caught, which was transmittable to the dragons. For self-presevation, firelizards were banned from the Weyrs, but the firelizard deaths reduced the number on the Northern continent anyway. Because of plagues from the Southern continent (eg. the one in the Ballad of Moreta's Ride), the Southern continent was shunned for a LONG time....

[Graeme]

I just LOVED the scene at the end of chapter 13. I had to smile -- it was so much fun. I think I'm more like J'shon's brother in that respect.

 

Thanks, Dan!

[Lugh]

OMG!

 

I'm still rolling!

 

That was just too funny!

 

kudos dk!

[C James]

That was hilarious, but poor B'rell!

 

I liked the explanation on the starstones and the fall, too.

[Camy]

Brilliant, Dan, Brilliant. I hung back from this as I hate unfinished episodics, but read it all in one sitting yesterday. I'd only read one McCaffrey before: 'Pegasus in Flight', which I loved (no idea why I never read more). Now I'm going to go and buy some Pern books, and wait for the next chapter of 'Rider's Pride'.

 

Thanks for sharing,

 

Camy

ps Thanks for 'Dreams of Humanity' too.

[C James]

Wow. Ch 14 is up, and all I can say is, Wow.

 

I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll use a spoiler space, just make sure you read the chapter first...

 

 

This kept me guessing all along. First, B'rell confirmed what many suspected, he wanted J'Shon. J'shon was convinced that he just wanted to be freinds, as he was deep in denial.

 

The scene of the flight was superbly done. First, the queens holding Lilleth back. There were reasons given, but, I think the allusion to "a good flight" made it clear that they were holding her back, at least in part, for the arrival of specific bronze dragon (B'rell's Ojeth).

 

The omission of names for the flight itself kept an air of mystery, though it was so well done that you basically knew who was who.

 

I loved the scene with B'rell and J'shon waking up.

 

One huge mystery: what was Kaplan referring to with his reason for his attitude to wyer life?

 

And of course, threadfall.

 

 

Superb chapter!

[canundra]

 

 

One huge mystery: what was Kaplan referring to with his reason for his attitude to wyer life?

 

 

Well, I think it was mentioned in the story a bit. Crivan, upon the death of his wife, entered into a short relationship with a green rider. Kapian saw this as a betrayal to his mother. This could be the reason for Kapian's attitude ^^

[canundra]

Oh, and great chapter!

[Camy]

FANTASTIC CHAPTER! :D

 

Thank you so much, Dan.

[Graeme]

Great chapter -- a wonderful depiction of the mating flight.

 

I've noticed in the mating flights in the published stories that during it the dragon often doesn't refer to the other dragons by name -- sometimes yes, but often no. It certainly added to the suspense in this chapter

 

I was surprised by A'toly, but the Weyrleader gave a good explanation of that. J'shon has shown that he's a popular and well-liked person in the Weyr. There were hints on that before the first mating flight, too -- with the other riders not being happy that they were denied access to J'shon before the flight (when the other green riders closed ranks around J'shon so no one else could sit with him).

 

I appreciate J'shon's nervousness and worries beforehand, but I'm glad Liliath helped him sort those out (in her own special way ).

 

Thanks Dan! I'm looking forward to the concluding chapter.

[canundra]

[C James]

That was a very poignant ending... Spoiler spaces below.

 

 

I had a hunch one of the main carachters was going to die in the first threadfall. I was thinking it was either J'shon, or B'rell, or both.

However, when you mentioned K'mer having a child, I thought "uhoh".

 

The threadfall was very well done, and to me the only thing that rattled me a little was B'rell saying "we survived" when he knew K'mer didn't. That struck me as slightly incongruous, but there is likely a "book explanation" for it of which I'm unaware.

 

This was NOT a happy ending, but IMHO it was an excellent ending. Sad, but very illustrative and moving IMHO.

 

 

 

I've really enjoyed "Rider's pride", superbly done. I will, however, opine that mentioning an epilogue is just cruel if you won't post it.

Any chance you might change your mind on that? Would some judicious cajoling be in order?

[dkstories]

The epilogue...it left me in more tears than the last chapter did.

 

 

Maybe it's a kindness not to post it. Actually, real reason is that one of my list of 'possible' stories to work on when I get the chance is another Pern fanfic set in the same timeframe. If I DO ever write that fanfic, I won't want the epilogue to have been read. If I decide to never work on the second story, well, someday I'll post the epilogue...

[Camy]

I read the last chapter in trepidation.

On the one hand I was mortified that K'mer had to die, and on the other I was glad it was him and not J'shon/Liliath or B'rell/Ojeth .

 

 

Rider's Pride was wonderful.

 

Thanks in heaps!

[Graeme]

As soon as I read the description of the winds, I guessed what would happen -- it was just the detail that I had to wait for.

 

To me, this is a more true ending than most of the published books. Fighting thread is a dangerous occupation and I think many of the stories glamourise it too much.

 

Thank you, Dan -- I still feel it is a very, very true Pern story in the tradition of all the published novels.

[Julieqt2]

To me, this is a more true ending than most of the published books. Fighting thread is a dangerous occupation and I think many of the stories glamourise it too much.

Agree totally and something that's always bugged me with the originals. Thanks Dan Rider's Pride is Sensational