Author: ueoai

Chap. 146  Rescue They were on the sweep’s last leg before they would return to the Weyr. This area was heavily vegetated, with thick stands of semi-tropical trees forming an impenetrable canopy that rolled on like a giant green carpet. K’ndar hadn’t spent much time in the jungle, finding it too sultry for his liking—although…

Chap. 145  Lunch Break “THIS is where you grew up?” F’mart said, looking at the vast steppe spreading from the edge of the cothold. K’ndar nodded, his heart swelling with pride. He loved the steppe, now, more than ever, as he’d been from this end all the way to the southern edge of the continent.…

Chap. 144 Life Lesson “Hi, K’ndar. Some klah? Hungry?” Shirae, his sister’s foster mother, asked. He nodded, only half paying attention. She poured two mugs and had him sit at the ancient wooden table in her kitchen. He told her about Greta leaving without notice. “I’m pissed, if you can imagine,” he said. The girls..his…

Chap. 143 Cheated “You’re not the first rider to report  increased criminal activity, K’ndar,” M’rvin said, “and I am afraid your trader acquaintance is right. We HAVE let things like sweeps slide. I would never have believed it, before the end of Thread, but we are busier, now, than we’ve ever been.” The Weyrleader had…

Chap. 142 The Wanderer Chap. 142 The Wanderer The day was beautiful. They had the meadow to themselves. Lizard was especially at ease because of the solitude. “So, K’ndar, what do you have planned for these pretty rocks?” “They’ve been bothering me. I like them because they’re beautiful, but I’m so …so paranoid that someone…

Chap. 141  Arson “By the egg, K’ndar, these are gorgeous,” Lizard said, hefting two of the rough opals. His caravan was parked in a small meadow ten kilometers from the weyr. His horses, unharnessed, were taking advantage of the thigh high grass.  Raventh landed a good ways from them, not wanting to spook them. The…

Chap. 140 Two Geologists He’d been so busy, the last several months, that he’d forgotten what a rest day was. After breakfast, he wondered what to do with himself. His notebooks were all caught up, tomorrow he’d go to Landing to turn them in. But for now? He exited the dining hall to see Greta…

Chap. 139  The Apology K’ndar was relaxing by the fire in the center of the pavilion. D’nis had had it built after the hurricane. From his spot, he could see the night sky, the stars on the horizon clear and bright. Far out to sea, he could see torchlights on a fishing ship. The flames…

Chap. 138  The Klah Collectors After a few  ‘betweens‘ and flying at a reasonable altitude, Billek the healer had given K’ndar permission to fly. “Now don’t be too bold, K’ndar…if your nose begins to bleed, it means you’re not ready to fly yet,” he’d said, “and I want you to avoid dusty work, if you…

Chap. 137 Confined to quarters I never realized how boring it can be when no one is here, he thought. He was amazed at how empty the weyr seemed. Not that it was totally unpeopled. The operations of everyday life remained: the cooks were still at work, livestock still needed feeding and mucking out, small…