Mawgrim

There may well be volcanos in the south - the original colonists moved north to because of volcanic activity! Only about another 5 chapters to go on this one. Sorry. But there may well be a sequel.

It was my re-read of the Pern series last year that prompted me to write this story. The seven Turn gap between the end of 'Dragonflight' and the start of ‘Dragonquest' needed filling in.

He's being cautious and trying to keep his promises. F'lar came up with a sensible solution to the problem of Rioth rising while in the South. Let's hope everything goes as planned...

He definitely should. But he's tried warning people about F'drun in the past and nothing's been done. He also made a promise to S'fyn that he'd rather not break.

D’gar sat on his usual bench overlooking the feeding grounds, watching as Herebeth took down his second ovine of the morning. H’rek was off helping fill firestone sacks for the next Fall. He’d need to work out the shifts for that one later. His Wing was scheduled for clean-up duty, so he also had to decide which of his Wingseconds and riders would be working on that. It should be fairly easy; pasture rather than forest, so good visibility and no problems moving around to help the ground crews de

Glad you are enjoying the story. To have my style compared to Anne McCaffrey herself is a great compliment. Before I started writing the story, I re-read all of my Dragonriders of Pern books both to refresh my memory of events and to get a feel for the style. When I am writing scenes or dialogue for the canon characters, I always ask myself 'would Anne have written it this way?' I've not read the Wild Talents/Tower and Hive series. Maybe I should try to get some copies. I've enjoyed reading some of Anne's other books such as the Crystal Singer books, Decision at Doona and The Ship Who Sang. I need to make more time for reading now that I'm almost at the end of this epic (which has ended uo far longer than I anticipated when I began writing it). It's always sad when you are getting near to the end of a story, although even when Gone Away, Gone Ahead is done I still have the rest of Threadfall to finish.

It's never easy to move on. Transferring to Benden would be the best solution to staying with H'rek and D'gar would do the job well. Once he's had the time to think through everything, then he'll make a decision. Worrying about S'fyn's safety is going to be on D'gar's mind quite a bit over the next few sevendays.

Good point. I haven’t put any Harpers into this story yet because I didn't need one as a character and I already have a mile long spreadsheet with all the rider and dragon names! If the boys are old enough and a Search dragon reckons they have a good chance, they may very well be allowed to stand at the next hatching.

Yes, that's right. In 'Dragonquest' the whole of the leadership of Southern and High Reaches swap around, as all of the disaffected 'Oldtimers' are exiled to the southern continent. However, as you said, the Weyrs are meant to be autonomous and although there are occasional meetings between the leaders, they don’t interfere with what goes on at each individual Weyr. Benden and Southern are a little bit different as Southern is still, at this stage, fairly reliant on Benden and T'bor is new to the job (plus having to cope with Kylara). The only reason I've not mentioned Robinton or Fandarel is that D'gar, up until now, hasn't been involved sufficiently with the Benden leadership to have met either of them. As a Benden rider and Weyrlingmaster, should he accept the job, he'd be more likely to attend Craft/Weyr meetings.

I love all of the carefully observed detail in this story. It makes it so easy to visualise the characters and landscape they inhabit.

Strangely enough, the Southern Weyr has been doing some surveying of the area and have recently discovered some volcanic activity...

Both characters are interesting. I like the way that you have described Ben, as a partially -sighted person, using other senses such as taste and smell much more than the average person.

Unfortunately that's not something that can happen with Pernese dragons. Once they have Impressed with a human, it's for life. The Long Interval changed the way ordinary people looked on dragons, once they were no longer relying on them the protect themselves and their crops from Thread. Even though the threat is now present again, they won't change overnight. In fact, some may even resent having to rely on the Weyrs again. Since F'lar took over as Weyrleader, Benden has had much stronger leadership than previously, but he's still new to it and has to overcome resistance both within and outside the Weyr. F'drun is pushing it too far now and D'gar is reaching a position where he can start to influence what happens to a greater extent. I'd better not say any more than that...

D’gar decided to visit Fort the following day. He’d already checked to make sure there was no Threadfall forecast either there, or in Southern. It gave him most of the morning and early afternoon at Benden, due to the time difference. If he left Fort before lunch, a hop to Southern on the return journey would mean he arrived there during the hottest part of the day, when everyone rested and S’fyn could slip away. ‘Sure you don’t want me to come along?’ H’rek asked. It was tempting, but t

I've never worked night shifts as such, but in the cinema business we often used to finish at midnight or around 3am if we were running late night shows, so I get your rant about things not being open or not selling the food you crave because your time clock is slightly out of sync with the way the world works. I used to get annoyed that a lot of cafes stop selling breakfast at ten or eleven am, because I often didn't get up or out until after then. What I loved about shift work was being able to go to places like the shops, swimming pool or gym when they weren’t packed with all the 9-5 workers. It's also great not to have to join the commuter queues to and from work at the regular times.

A great start. Looking forward to reading these tales. I used to work front of house in a cinema and got sick of the number of times some customer thought they were being witty in front of their friends by saying in a loud voice, 'Hey, I just paid £5 for that and he ripped it in half,' after handing me their ticket.

I have just written the last chapter of 'Gone Away, Gone Ahead'. I've still got several thousand words to go before I reach that ending, and I know that the way I write means there could be a few twists, turns and alterations before I finally get there. I'm not one of those writers who carefully plots every single detail. Most of the stories I write, whatever length they turn out to be, start from a single idea; a concept or a character. 'Gone Away, Gone Ahead' began like that, too. Just over a year ago, in those heady days when you used to be able to invite people around for a party (imagine that!) a friend was looking though my bookshelves and spotted Anne McCaffrey's Dragonrider books. 'Wow,' she said. 'I've never met anyone else who likes these.' So, as it was the middle of winter, I decided to take a short holiday to the world of Pern and re-read those classics all over again, starting with 'Dragonflight', which I first took out of the library aged 13. Anne McCaffrey spins a good tale; her characters are memorable and her world building full of colourful description. Having read all of the books, I found myself wanting more and began a search for fan fiction online. There's quite a lot of it out there, of varying quality, but I soon found a couple of stories that grabbed me as being very close in tone to the originals. Once I'd finished those, an idea began to germinate. Fanfiction springs up from the parts the author didn't bother to fill in. There's a seven year gap between the end of 'Dragonflight' and the beginning of 'Dragonquest' during which quite a few changes have occurred to Pern and the Dragonriders and that was where I decided I wanted to place my story. The first scene I thought up takes place off stage, way before 'Gone Away, Gone Ahead' begins. I visualised a young man whose weyrmate has just died, kneeling on the bloody stone floor of the infirmary and wondering if his own life can carry on without the man he loved. From there, the structure began to form. I knew fairly quickly where my story was going to begin - at the stirring moment when Lessa persuades the five Weyrs to journey with her into an unknown future - and I knew (more or less) where it was going to end, although the precise scene wasn't in focus at that point. I knew that it would include romance and adventure, as D'gar, my hero, has to cope with grief and adapting to life in a place that is both similar and changed from what he knew before. I wrote short sketches - mini-stories - for many of the characters so that I knew their backstories. Then I started writing the main narrative. Usually, I find that writing longhand on an A4 pad is the best way to begin. On a laptop, there's the temptation to delete and edit too much, at least until the thing takes on life of its own. Quite a few stories that have started off on the screen die and wither there as I get bogged down in detail and indecision. Once I'm well underway, I can then take to the keyboard and keep it going (although difficult scenes often get worked out longhand first, then edited as I type them out). With fifteen or so chapters written and a rough outline of what was going to happen in the rest of it, I started posting on a couple of different fan fiction sites, then was asked if I'd like to start posting on this site. One of the best things about writing a story is getting feedback from readers; knowing that they are waiting eagerly for another chapter is a very good way of motivating you to sit down and write, especially when you may be getting stuck on a storyline or unsure of which route to take from where you are currently to where you want to be at the end of the chapter. GA has motivated me more than any other site, with its dedicated readers who comment far more freely than anywhere else. I know I'm as guilty as many people of reading a good story and not always taking the time to write - even a couple of words - at the end of each chapter. Sometimes, if I'm reading something that was completed a while ago, this is because it seems a bit pointless now that the 'ride' is over. In many cases it's because I don't want to interrupt the flow of reading as I eagerly wait to devour the next chapter. I do try to leave a review or comments after I've finished though, because I know what it's like to hear that 'ding' and to rush to see what someone has thought of your latest creation. Getting chapter comments has definitely improved my writing. People have pointed out mistakes I've overlooked (despite reading it over several times and getting someone else to check, this can be easily done) and come up with theories or plot ideas that had never occurred to me. Posting a chapter each week makes me sit down and work regularly, which I personally find to be the best way to keep my creativity ticking over. If I stop writing a story for a few days, I find I have to read back over a few chapters to get myself into it again, whereas doing even a couple of hundred words a day keeps it fresh in my mind. I started writing this story in February 2020 and it's been a part of my life for a long time. The characters are real people in my head and often when i'm out for my daily walk I find myself wrangling over a bit of dialogue, or having fresh ideas for a scene. I've not reached the end yet, but I know (roughly) where I have to go to get there. And having finished a few long stories before, I know that when it's finally done I'll feel a little bit sad at leaving those characters behind. I'm trying to keep several chapters ahead of posting right now as I have a house move coming up in around a month and I'm well aware that there will be less time to sit and write (although the possibility of another lockdown due to Covid-19 looms in real life). I'll carry on posting to this blog, too, as I muse over ideas for this story and the ones I am planning for the future. Any comments or suggestions are always welcome.

D’gar got back to the barracks later than most of the other weyrlings. Support duties finished well after Fall ended, as you were expected to help clean up the infirmary and pack away unused supplies. He knew that he’d be asked about the incident; no-one could have failed to see the remains of the brown dragon on the Bowl floor and Weyr gossip would already be filling in details, true or imagined. He spent a few minutes with Herebeth first. His dragon’s colour had dulled in response to the d

If there had been any doubts about Heinrich Sr being a mean old git, they are now confirmed by his refusal to let his poor wife have a vacation. Rita seems to be getting involved with everything. I wonder if she is making a fast buck where she can and will then be moving on? You'd given hints that SexyHunk might be bad news, but the end of the chapter just confirmed it. And now we have to wait a week to see what happens next!

That’s his main reason for bullying people, but he’s also ambitious (hence sabotaging the flame thrower to kill his former Wingleader at High Reaches) and doesn’t really care about anyone except himself (well, maybe Kylara, a bit).

If a rider dies the dragon goes between immediately. The only exception to this is if a queen is guarding her eggs, when she will wait until they hatch. If a rider is merely incapacitated, even to the extent of being unable to ride their dragon, the dragon won’t suicide. However, given the lack of medical technology at this point in Pern's history, it's unlikely a rider would survive a really severe injury.

Kylara is a bad influence on a lot of people in Southern and she’s deeply resentful at having been sent back there. F'drun is ambitious. The pair of them together will definitely stir up some strife.

One of the reasons it’s always a good idea to accept a promotion, even if you have doubts about your abilities. D'gar has more experience than anyone at Benden and he’s got more of a 'modern' attitude than many of the others who came forward. F'lar recognises this and wants to keep him at Benden.

This is a dark story, but the darkness makes the lighter moments shine more brightly. The world of underground racing is well-depicted and exciting. Once you start reading, you won’t want to stop.

High over the Benden mountain range, D’gar was putting the youngsters through their paces. It wasn’t as enjoyable with this half of Prideth’s clutch due to the attitude of a few, although it was good to be flying with H’rek and Rioth. To be honest, the bronzes hadn’t been too bad. It was really only three of them - M’shol, L’cal and As’gal - who still had issues with him. Today, he’d had all of the clutch catching sacks full of rocks mid-air; good practice for when they finally joined a Wing