Mawgrim

Kemi sat at the end of the bench and told her story while Jevikel ate. ‘When I arrived, I was overwhelmed by the Weyr. i didn’t know where I’d fit in, but as soon as I told them I had beast handling skills, that was it. They never have enough folk volunteering to work with the herdbeasts. After being cooped up in that cheese room for so long, being outdoors was a breath of fresh air. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.’ Jevikel nodded, in between mouthfuls. It was good to know Kemi

Cynthia's no fool.

It's from a poem by Andrew Marvell - To His Coy Mistress. There are several poignant lines in the poem.

Hopefully you didn't go up to those builders and say, 'Look, if I wanted to bury a body on a construction site, what's the best way to go about it without anyone finding out.' Only a few chapters left now 🥲

Lots of good speculation here.

Find out next week😉

How spooky.

Sylvia may be repeating something she heard from someone else. It's clear she's afraid, so whoever the perpetrator/s are, they have done a good job of making sure no one speaks out. After what happened to Maurice, it's evident the threats must be taken seriously.

Sylvia is doing her best to warn him, although she is clearly fearful of what 'they' will do if they find out. Terry has had way too much stress for one day.

We hugged each other for a long while. I hadn’t realised I was so tense until then. ‘Poor Maurice,’ I said. Dan wiped away a tear. ‘I’m partly to blame. I told him to go home. If he’d stopped for a cup of tea, it might not have happened.’ ‘You don’t know that. If those people were waiting for him, they’d have stayed until he did come out, no matter how long it took.’ ‘Then that text you got…’ he shook his head. ‘Aren’t you scared?’ ‘I’ll be extra careful crossing the road ton

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. There is a sequel here:

Ultimately it's because that's how Anne needed it to be for her plot! Once AIVAS is rediscovered, the technological advances take off at the speed of a flying dragon. Humans are always experimenting and inventing things. Given the expertise of the Smithcraft I’m sure they could have rediscovered steam power at least. I suppose the main issues on Pern are a relatively small population who don’t seem to travel much (understandable during a Pass, but what about the two hundred Turns in between. Even in our medieval era, people travelled on pilgrimage. The only people on Pern who seem to travel freely are the Traders. So even if something is discovered in one place, the idea or invention is unlikely to be disseminated widely. Plus there are all the plagues Anne and Todd have written about, reducing numbers still further. The nearest thing Pern has to universities are the Crafthalls, but they don't seem to share much information between them, either. Maybe I should write a story about a Craftbred dragonrider who keeps inventing things, but everyone just thinks he's crazy, building strange devices they can't see any practical use for?

The more people mix with others who are different from themselves, generally the more accepting they become. It's a lot harder to stereotype when you know a person as a friend.

Laura will be going back home soon, but will Giacomo pine for her. It feels as if something haS changed in the relationship between Dani and Giacomo. The awkwardness of the date with Emilia was well portrayed. Dani doesn't want to hurt her - or lose another friend - but he knows he can't be the boyfriend she obviously wants. And she is clearly interested in him, so it would be bound to end in tears.

In a large Hold, or a Weyr, everyone wears shoulder knots so their status can be easily identified, even by someone who doesn't know them. It also makes it obvious who are Benden folk and who is from another Weyr. With plenty of good food, the boys will soon fill out and grow taller (although Jevikel is already fairly tall, but with the build of a beanpole).

They are going to have to get used to living in a very different environment than they've been used to.

That describes pretty well how it was at Pinnacle Hold. Even when they had some good years, Vikkel didn't allow his people any 'luxuries', just in case. And Jemina ensured no one got new clothes until the ones they wore everyday were totally worn out or, in the case of youngsters, grown out of. Hence most of the Hold youngsters going about barefoot in the summer to save wear and tear on boots.

This is very true. The Weyrbred candidates are more likely to have relatives among dragonriders (dads and brothers) so probably socialise with them more. Another way in which they differ from Hold and Craftbred lads.

Both Fort and Benden Weyrs were designed to house up to 500 dragons. I think the other Weyrs had a slightly smaller capacity. Riders are a minority of the Weyr's population compared to all the support workers in different specialties and the children, of course. Eating in shifts makes it possible to have a smaller dining hall and is probably easier on the kitchen staff. I actually based this on my mum's experience when she was in the WRENS (Women's Royal Naval Service). The larger dragons could carry more people (and some would be children or teens) and even a smallish green could take around three including the rider. Many of the smaller Holds would have already been living close to the breadline even before Thread's impact on crops and livestock.

Thanks for the clarification.

T'rai has already given them reason not to believe all the prejudice, plus they will meet a few more of the five Weyrs riders along the way.

Not everyone in the Weyr will become friends. I always got the feeling there may be a certain amount of friction between Weyr and Holdbred candidates, especially as the Hatching gets nearer.

I thought I should put in some of the Benden weyrfolk's reservations about the 'Oldtimers'. The lake incident and F'drun's bad behaviour has reflected badly on them at this point. Lukodan is just giving them information, even though it is biased, but both boys will make up their own minds, given time.

Don't worry too much about the comment. It was just a reply to @JohnnyCwho wanted to go between to read the next chapter right away. It has been a hectic day indeed. They will sleep well.

They'll probably not remember half of it. Manora probably chose Lukodan to show them around as he's very chatty. Having Kemi around will definitely help them to settle in, although there will be plenty of misunderstandings and surprises along the way. The Holder rumour of orgies at the Weyr had to have a basis in truth. Gold and green flights have to be the origin of the stories.