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i_read_whatSo last time, F'nor was a rapist, Canth was useless, and Brekke almost had a character. Yay.
God knows what will happen this time.
So we start with Robinton who is adjusting his tunic and for some reason shouts "Belt knives!" after looking at his reflection. I'm not sure why, and the text doesn't seem inclined to explain it. Maybe he prefers shoulder scabbards? Anyway, we're told that he's wearing deep green tunic, wherhide (...what hide?) pants and boots. We're told that the craftsman and dyer who made the outfit weren't happy with the color as there's a superstition about the color green.
This actually intrigues me a bit. Pern's had thousands of years to develop as a culture so it makes sense that their superstitions would be different than hours. I suspect that green is unlucky for the same reason that greenery isn't meant to be growing in a lot of places in the Hold.
So anyway Robinton is getting ready for the wedding. We're told T'ron "grudgingly" acceded to his request for transport. Okay, I really don't get that. Admittedly, Robinton's annoying when he gets all F'lar cheerleadery, but he's also been pretty fucking useful in general. Also the Harpers are very important sources of information and news. Why would T'ron not want to get Robinton to owe him a favor? Except that McCaffrey refuses to give her adversaries any nuance.
Robinton is bringing four other musicians: two apprentices and two journeymen: Sebell, Talmor, Brudegan, and Tagetarl. Those names are terrible. I vaguely remember Sebell being in the Menolly books, so I'm predisposed to pay attention to him at least. (Mostly I remember that the illustration for Sebell in one of those People of Pern books looked a little feminine, and I thought that the story would be so much more interesting if Sebell were a trans man.) Anyway, there will also be three Harpers at Telgar, the only one named is Chad.
Sebell, Talmor, Brudegan, Tagetarl and Chad. Hm.
Anyway, apparently there are extra dragons. Fort sent a green dragon, Telgar sent a blue dragon, and Benden sent a bronze dragon to pick Robinton up. Robinton considers just taking the one that lands first, but the bronze lands last which "canceled that method of impartial choice".
Why does that cancel? Except that Robinton clearly prefers the bronze, it is the biggest honor. (Which still annoys me. All dragons are important, the book tells us, except when they're clearly not.)
The oft mentioned N'ton is the bronze rider, and he suggests that they listen to Robinton about who should actually carry them. Robinton points out that he has four Harpers, so this works out very well. What would he have done if only one dragon showed? Make multiple trips?
Robinton uses the fact that the Fort and Telgar riders were quarreling to choose to go with N'ton. Which is basically an excuse for what he already wanted to do. But then, I suppose, it would be odd for the master to be on the less prestigious dragon.
So anyway, they all board. We're told that Harpers fear few men, because "[a]ny one deliberately antagonizing them for no cause found himself the butt of a satirical tune which would be played around the land" Maybe I'm weird, but I don't really feel like that that's much of a threat.
We get one of those panoramic descriptions of Telgar Hold as they land. It's a pretty nice description actually. Telgar sounds like a nice place. They have bronze shutters that mark Telgar Hold as being wealthy. There's lots of pennants and flowers and so on.
There's another point where a dragon talks to Robinton and he doesn't realize it: N'ton and Lioth wish him goodbye, and Lioth says that Robinton has only to ask for their service.
We get a description of the wedding party and their colors. Larad's in yellow. Hi Larad! I like you! His sister, Famira, is the bride and wearing shades of red. All other Telgar women are in white. Asgenar, the groom, is in blue. The Master Craftsmen are all present, as are a lot of lords, and we get brief descriptions on what they're doing.
Larad's the most notable because there is a hearty cheerfulness which masked a deep inner anxiety. He doesn't look much like Kylara, we're told, though he's handsome. Kylara is the one who inherited their dad's "appetites". Yay, more slut shaming Kylara.
Kylara is terrible sure, but not because she has lots of sex. And it still annoys me how the Weyr is supposed to be so enlightened when it comes to sex, but McCaffrey goes out of her way to give us a virgin-whore dichotomy with all of the promiscuous women as evil.
There's some interesting world building here:
The girl blushed prettily, glancing shyly at Lord Asgenar. Her eyes were as blue as her half-brother’s. She had her hand on Asgenar’s arm, having known him a long time. Larad and Asgenar had been fosterlings at the Hold of Lord Corman of Keroon, though Larad had been elected earlier to his dignities than Asgenar. There’d be no problem with this wedding, although it remained for the Conclave of Lord Holders to ratify it, since the progeny of this marriage might one day Hold either Telgar or Lemos. A man cast his seed widely if he was a Lord Holder. He had many sons in the hope that one male of his Blood would train up strong enough to be acceptable to the Conclave, when the question of Succession arose. Not that that ancient custom, was as scrupulously observed as it had been. The wise Lord extended fosterage to the Blooded children of other Lords, to gain support in Conclave as well as to insure his own progeny being well-fostered.
I like this, it makes a certain sense. With the population being so low, legitimacy probably wouldn't be a huge priority. Though now I really want to see a woman Lord Holder.
So Robinton mingles. He realizes he hasn't seen Fanderal and wonders if they're going to demonstrate the thingy what's its soon. He ends up running into Jaxom and Lytol and gets the gossip of Meron and his fire lizard. I guess his second one died, but he did save one of them.
There's a kind of funny moment where Lytol grumbles about attracting confidences. Apparently people just tell him stuff. Robinton has the same thoughts we've seen before: people dream of Impressing dragons and getting fire lizards would be a coup.
Yes, Ms. McCaffrey, you had others tell us this already. I believe you. Tiny dragons are awesome. You really don't have to work this hard to sell me on it. (The only character that I think is obsessively hyperfocused enough to need a justification for a fire lizard beyond "ooo, pretty" is F'lar.)
Robinton and Lytol worry that this could be an embarrassment or disruption for F'lar. I don't know, that dickhead is generally pretty shameless.
Later, Brudegan comes to find Robinton and shares some observations: everyone's very determined to have a good time. They talk a lot about the Weyrs, but with different connotations. For example: "that Weyrleader" is their own. "The Weyrleader" is always F'lar. "She" means Lessa, while "Her" means their own Weyrwoman".
I get the first, but not really the second. F'lar always seems the sort for a "the", but does that mean Lessa is only ever the subject of a sentence. I mean, maybe so, since she seems like the only Weyrwoman that actually gets to do anything.
Robinton then talks to D'ram an Gnarish for a bit. There's some interesting resentment on D'ram's part that the Lord Holder of Crom came, when R'mart of Telgar had been badly injured defending Crom Hold. G'narish fills Robinton in on how they've been helping fill Telgar Weyr's ranks with so many injured. This is interesting because it's possibly the only time that we ever see a Oldtimer express a gripe with the Lord Holders that feels somewhat understandable or legitimate. The dragonriders are taking the bulk of the physical risk protecting the Holds, after all. It probably would grate to see the guy that R'mart nearly got himself killed protecting, just enjoying the festivities like nothing happened.
It's not really fair to the Lord Holder, of course. He's got a job to do, and this wedding is a political gathering as much as it is a party, but I get where D'ram is coming from here. It's hard to be rational when your friends are hurt.
Really, I'd like to see more of D'ram in this book, since he's the only Oldtimer portrayed with any sort of nuance. G'narish is the token young radical, who tends to sympathize more with F'lar than not. R'mart is implied to be similar, though we don't see him. T'ron and T'kul are cartoon characters (not that we ever actually SEE T'kul). But D'ram is caught between. He does side with T'ron a lot, but he's intelligent and rational enough to be uncomfortable with some of the things T'ron does and says. I feel like more focus on D'ram might have given us an opportunity to appreciate the more legitimate sides of the Oldtimer's conflict (even if it's just: "we came four hundred years into the future, and gave up our entire lives for you people, while you act like we just held your coat at a dinner party.")
Sadly this never really plays out. Once the T'ron-F'lar conflict is resolved, D'ram becomes just another cheerleader for F'lar. Which is a shame.
Anyway, Robinton brings up the fire lizards, since D'ram and G'narish's holds are apparently places where fire lizards are seen more often. The Weyrleaders aren't up to date but the conversation is interrupted by F'lar and Lessa's entrance.
Interestingly, and unsubtly, the dragons move aside to give Mnementh and Ramoth room. This surprises G'narish. Anyway, F'lar and Lessa dramatically enter, wearing green.
But even as they enter, Kylara shows up with Meron, wearing red, fire lizards in hand. We're told Meron's tunic is slightly too orange to really blend with her dress. (Because god forbid we have nuance. Meron isn't even allowed to be well-dressed.) But the tiny dragons are the real stars. Even Robinton feels a little envious.
But let it be known that as awful as he is, F'lar is a magnificent bastard. One of the passing things he said in his last chapter was that if T'bor had found another clutch, he'd like to have some of the eggs. As it turns out, they weren't for F'lar or Lessa. He brought the eggs to Asgenar and Famira as a wedding present. Kylara and Meron have been elegantly transformed from spotlight stealers to walking exhibits of F'lar and Lessa's gift.
Kylara does get one moment of drama though. When Lessa starts to make conversation about Kylara's "little pet", Kylara snaps that her queen ate Thread. But really, Kylara and Meron's moment has died since Meron won't be the only Lord with a mini dragon. Robinton also urges D'ram and G'narish to pretend they knew about the fire lizards, just in time.
Anyway, Robinton is summoned by dragon and man to see F'lar. Mnementh is pretty shameless about the whole thing. I love Mnementh, he clearly doesn't give a fuck. Robinton also spares some sympathy for Fanderal. His invention is incredible and useful, but totally overshadowed by tiny mostly-useless dragons.
Anyway, Kylara is now complaining that she saw Thread in the High Reaches, but T'kul refused to believe her. We also get a gross bit where Robinton calls Kylara a fine-looking female but notes there was a hard ruthlessness about her that repelled him. Fuck you, Rob.
F'lar asks if the Weyr turned out in time, Kylara says yes, but only because SHE called the alarm. Queen dragons can't lie and they had to listen. F'lar admits that Kylara's actions were justified, but is annoyed by her lack of diplomacy. But then, he acknowledges, T'Kul was a lost cause. Apparently, D'ram and G'narish look strained though. F'lar praises Kylara, and she demands to know what he plans to do about T'kul.
F'lar says they should call their own conclave. Kylara insists more needs to be done, and I don't blame her. T'kul not acting is putting the entire world at risk. Also that's literally the only job the parasite Weyrs have. Even D'ram and G'narish seem to be wavering their way, though D'ram wants to wait for T'ron.
Fandarel shows up, and Robinton cleverly distracts Kylara to keep her from making a scene by pointing out that the crowd might scare her lizard, and he has one of the apprentices come in with snacks to entertain her.
More things happen: T'ron and Mardra show up, and the distance writer gets demonstrated: promptly alerting them that there's Thread fall in Igen. The dragons echo the alert just after. F'lar starts off to help G'narish, who is grateful, but T'ron decides to block the way.
We get yet another instance of McCaffrey making the adversaries unreasonable. It's very hard to imagine that someone who'd been fighting Thread his entire fucking life, working WITH other Weyrs (We SAW that in Dragonflight), suddenly thinks that they should just leave Ista and Igen to fend for themselves.
T'ron also has his hand on his belt knife? WHY? How does this remotely make sense. It'd be one thing if each Weyr were busy, but they're not busy. They're at a fucking wedding. Are they supposed to just party while their fellows are fighting to save Pern? D'ram tries to calm T'ron down, but T'ron decides instead to attack F'lar with a knife!
That fucking escalated quickly! I've hated F'lar too, T'ron, but this is stupid!
So anyway, the guys fight. We're told that T'ron has a longer knife, the advantage of reach, and is wearing wherhide as opposed to F'lar's flimsy cloth. F'lar is on the defensive, and trying to figure out why the hell T'ron was pushing the fight now. Especially when D'ram and G'narish were relieved that he offered to help. Then he realizes of course that it has to do with T'kul. Since T'kul outright ignored his responsibility, F'lar can insist he step down. T'ron loses his best ally. If he kills F'lar, then the Lord Holders have no sympathetic Weyrleader.
Makes some sense. T'bor's pretty useless when it comes to politics, and the other bronze riders lack F'lar's clout. Anyway, the Fight continues. We get a brief note about C'gan of all people. He was the blue rider who died first in Dragonflight, apparently he was the instructor who taught F'lar how to fight.
T'ron gets a lucky slash in, but F'lar's still going, and he starts taunting T'ron:
'Yes, Oldtimer,' he said, forcing himself to breathe easily, keeping his words light, mocking. 'Benden Weyr concerns itself with Ista and Igen. And the Holds of Nabol, and Crom, and Telgar, because Benden dragonmen have not forgotten that Thread burns anything and anyone it touches, Weyr and commoner alike. And if Benden Weyr has to stand alone against the fall of Thread, it will.'"
That's a pretty great speech. F'lar also taunts T'ron's age, which makes me think McCaffrey forgot her timeline again. He says T'ron is four hundred and forty five. Thing is, that only makes him three or four years older than F'lar. (F'lar is ten years older than Lessa, and we got a pretty clear time frame in Dragonflight when he went back fifteen years to see himself as a nineteen year old. This is seven years later. F'lar SHOULD be 41.)
I am pretty sure McCaffrey meant the age difference between F'lar and T'ron to be more than three years. I feel like their similar ages would have been mentioned. I think she probably is inching F'lar's age downward.
Anyway, F'lar ends up winning. He stabs T'ron good, then announces that there's Thread at Igen and they have to go. Then he starts pulling T'ron's jerkin off of him. He didn't actually kill the man, a fact that makes him feel stronger to know, but he wants the tunic to fight Thread in. (It's too big, but he belts it down.)
Not for the first time, I'm a little annoyed that there seems to be a lot more between F'lar and T'ron than McCaffrey seems interested in exploring. All along, there's been a personal element to F'lar's reactions to T'ron. F'lar notes that T'ron taught him everything about Thread fighting at first. And T'ron is one of the few characters that F'lar is actually willing or able to be empathetic for. He actually thinks about how difficult it must be for T'ron. Even when he started planning his takeover, F'lar had noted that he'd much rather have the Oldtimers join willingly.
I feel like I can extrapolate a little here. It's implied, though not directly stated, that a lot of F'lar's hyperfocus on the return of Thread had been because of his father. His father and grandfather had apparently been the only people to believe that Thread would return. F'lar followed in their footsteps with an obsessive goal oriented focus. And we know, for all his faults, that he was working basically day and night to be ready.
One of the few moments of humility in Dragonflight was an offscreen incident where apparently he tried to resign in favor of the Oldtimers.
I feel like maybe during the seven years between Dragonflight and Dragonquest, T'ron may have been like a surrogate father. But this is just a guess. Unfortunately Dragonquest is more interested in F'nor and Brekke's awful romance than it is in fleshing out this dynamic further. ARGH.
So anyway. F'lar uses the moment to ask the crowd if they support Benden. And of course, they all do. (There's a cute moment where Larad says that the Lord Holders who don't better hide deep in their holds.) Even the Weyrs do. D'ram's is a fierce, almost defiant hiss in particular. It's a very satisfying moment.
F'lar asks Lessa to assist Mardra, and then announces that anyone who won't follow Benden's lead is basically banished to Southern, where there isn't as much Thread, and their indifference to it can't endanger anyone else.
There's also a good moment where Lessa and Mnementh team up on F'lar and force some numbweed on him for that slash that T'ron got. Lessa knows her idiot husband will go into battle injured, but she intends to see he lives through it. Hah.
We jump ahead to the post battle. F'lar is contemplating the parallels of the two times all of the Weyrs fought thread together. He's also suppressing the pain of his wound so Mnementh doesn't catch it and tattle to Lessa. "Fine thing when a man's dragon acted nursy"
Mnementh is still the best character in the book.
This chapter is very long. I feel like some of this aftermath stuff would have done better after a break. But anyway, Lessa appears, fusses over F'lar's injury and fills him in.
Mardra apparently protested F'lar exiling them, but had no support from her own Weyr. Apparently her "arrogance and shrewishness" had isolated her. The Southern Weyr is taking over High Reaches, since most of those riders are going South with T'kul. Most of Fort is staying. There's a new Weyrleader in place already. F'lar suggests that N'ton be made Wing-Second there, and Lessa's already on it. She'd asked the new dude if he minded, and he doesn't, so it's done.
I really do like that while she isn't center stage in this book (WHY???), Lessa is still very clearly involved in the leadership of the Weyr and is an equal partner.
We're also told that all of the dragons know about F'lar's injury and are over protective. Aw. Even the Oldtimer dragons appreciate him. And more of the riders than they thought. Lessa is concerned that the renegade Oldtimers will make trouble, but F'lar is unconcerned, as the only Queens that went South are older an past their prime. I feel like Lessa is probably right, but not necessarily in this book.
There are more concerns, of course, such as the distance viewer that T'ron had found some time at the beginning of the chapter which I forgot to mention, and the possibility of a trip to the Red Star, but the characters are happy to celebrate a temporary victory.
So, there exits T'ron and Mardra. And there we get the big issue with McCaffrey's writing: namely her inability to write any kind of nuance. T'ron was a great guy, a wise leader, a personable, patient, good humored man in Dragonflight. Mardra was warm, nurturing, maternal and kind to Lessa in Dragonflight. Both of these characters went out of their way to help this young girl from the future, and led a charge to give up everything and come forward without hesitation.
Seven years later, they're unrecognizable. They're selfish, shrewish, disagreeable and stupid. They went from being impressed by F'lar's innovations to treating every one of them like an insult to their way of life. Despite having lead a Queen's wing for decades, and in fact teaching the concept to the modern riders, suddenly Mardra doesn't know the right distance to fly without injuring the wing protecting her? Despite having been the senior Weyrleader for how long, T'ron suddenly is unwilling to work with anyone, and refuses to call his cronies out on destructive behavior?
It's annoying and frustrating. The ultimate issues of the Oldtimers: the culture shock, the change in power dynamics, an environment where society changed drastically in 400 years without Thread, those are worth exploring. They're interesting!
And it would have been a much more interesting story if we'd gotten to see the Mardra and T'ton from Dragonflight as adversaries, while retaining their original personalities.
We could have had a Mardra devastated at how her family is all but wiped out, leaving only a conqueror's child on the throne, without having her be a shrewish witch who makes Lytol twitch. We could have had a T'ton frustrated at the way the Holds and Crafts have expanded their forests and lands, increasing the Weyr's workload without any willingness to shoulder some of the burden, without having him become a knee jerk fanatic.
If nothing else, we could at least have gotten something from their point of view, to see how these attitudes actually make sense to THEM.
But no. Mardra and T'ron are adversaries, which means they have to be awful, grotesque people. That's a damn shame.
I tip my hat to you, Dragonflight-era Mardra and T'ton. You were once the only likable dragonriders. Now at least we won't have to deal with these awful bastardized versions of you anymore.
God knows what will happen this time.
So we start with Robinton who is adjusting his tunic and for some reason shouts "Belt knives!" after looking at his reflection. I'm not sure why, and the text doesn't seem inclined to explain it. Maybe he prefers shoulder scabbards? Anyway, we're told that he's wearing deep green tunic, wherhide (...what hide?) pants and boots. We're told that the craftsman and dyer who made the outfit weren't happy with the color as there's a superstition about the color green.
This actually intrigues me a bit. Pern's had thousands of years to develop as a culture so it makes sense that their superstitions would be different than hours. I suspect that green is unlucky for the same reason that greenery isn't meant to be growing in a lot of places in the Hold.
So anyway Robinton is getting ready for the wedding. We're told T'ron "grudgingly" acceded to his request for transport. Okay, I really don't get that. Admittedly, Robinton's annoying when he gets all F'lar cheerleadery, but he's also been pretty fucking useful in general. Also the Harpers are very important sources of information and news. Why would T'ron not want to get Robinton to owe him a favor? Except that McCaffrey refuses to give her adversaries any nuance.
Robinton is bringing four other musicians: two apprentices and two journeymen: Sebell, Talmor, Brudegan, and Tagetarl. Those names are terrible. I vaguely remember Sebell being in the Menolly books, so I'm predisposed to pay attention to him at least. (Mostly I remember that the illustration for Sebell in one of those People of Pern books looked a little feminine, and I thought that the story would be so much more interesting if Sebell were a trans man.) Anyway, there will also be three Harpers at Telgar, the only one named is Chad.
Sebell, Talmor, Brudegan, Tagetarl and Chad. Hm.
Anyway, apparently there are extra dragons. Fort sent a green dragon, Telgar sent a blue dragon, and Benden sent a bronze dragon to pick Robinton up. Robinton considers just taking the one that lands first, but the bronze lands last which "canceled that method of impartial choice".
Why does that cancel? Except that Robinton clearly prefers the bronze, it is the biggest honor. (Which still annoys me. All dragons are important, the book tells us, except when they're clearly not.)
The oft mentioned N'ton is the bronze rider, and he suggests that they listen to Robinton about who should actually carry them. Robinton points out that he has four Harpers, so this works out very well. What would he have done if only one dragon showed? Make multiple trips?
Robinton uses the fact that the Fort and Telgar riders were quarreling to choose to go with N'ton. Which is basically an excuse for what he already wanted to do. But then, I suppose, it would be odd for the master to be on the less prestigious dragon.
So anyway, they all board. We're told that Harpers fear few men, because "[a]ny one deliberately antagonizing them for no cause found himself the butt of a satirical tune which would be played around the land" Maybe I'm weird, but I don't really feel like that that's much of a threat.
We get one of those panoramic descriptions of Telgar Hold as they land. It's a pretty nice description actually. Telgar sounds like a nice place. They have bronze shutters that mark Telgar Hold as being wealthy. There's lots of pennants and flowers and so on.
There's another point where a dragon talks to Robinton and he doesn't realize it: N'ton and Lioth wish him goodbye, and Lioth says that Robinton has only to ask for their service.
We get a description of the wedding party and their colors. Larad's in yellow. Hi Larad! I like you! His sister, Famira, is the bride and wearing shades of red. All other Telgar women are in white. Asgenar, the groom, is in blue. The Master Craftsmen are all present, as are a lot of lords, and we get brief descriptions on what they're doing.
Larad's the most notable because there is a hearty cheerfulness which masked a deep inner anxiety. He doesn't look much like Kylara, we're told, though he's handsome. Kylara is the one who inherited their dad's "appetites". Yay, more slut shaming Kylara.
Kylara is terrible sure, but not because she has lots of sex. And it still annoys me how the Weyr is supposed to be so enlightened when it comes to sex, but McCaffrey goes out of her way to give us a virgin-whore dichotomy with all of the promiscuous women as evil.
There's some interesting world building here:
The girl blushed prettily, glancing shyly at Lord Asgenar. Her eyes were as blue as her half-brother’s. She had her hand on Asgenar’s arm, having known him a long time. Larad and Asgenar had been fosterlings at the Hold of Lord Corman of Keroon, though Larad had been elected earlier to his dignities than Asgenar. There’d be no problem with this wedding, although it remained for the Conclave of Lord Holders to ratify it, since the progeny of this marriage might one day Hold either Telgar or Lemos. A man cast his seed widely if he was a Lord Holder. He had many sons in the hope that one male of his Blood would train up strong enough to be acceptable to the Conclave, when the question of Succession arose. Not that that ancient custom, was as scrupulously observed as it had been. The wise Lord extended fosterage to the Blooded children of other Lords, to gain support in Conclave as well as to insure his own progeny being well-fostered.
I like this, it makes a certain sense. With the population being so low, legitimacy probably wouldn't be a huge priority. Though now I really want to see a woman Lord Holder.
So Robinton mingles. He realizes he hasn't seen Fanderal and wonders if they're going to demonstrate the thingy what's its soon. He ends up running into Jaxom and Lytol and gets the gossip of Meron and his fire lizard. I guess his second one died, but he did save one of them.
There's a kind of funny moment where Lytol grumbles about attracting confidences. Apparently people just tell him stuff. Robinton has the same thoughts we've seen before: people dream of Impressing dragons and getting fire lizards would be a coup.
Yes, Ms. McCaffrey, you had others tell us this already. I believe you. Tiny dragons are awesome. You really don't have to work this hard to sell me on it. (The only character that I think is obsessively hyperfocused enough to need a justification for a fire lizard beyond "ooo, pretty" is F'lar.)
Robinton and Lytol worry that this could be an embarrassment or disruption for F'lar. I don't know, that dickhead is generally pretty shameless.
Later, Brudegan comes to find Robinton and shares some observations: everyone's very determined to have a good time. They talk a lot about the Weyrs, but with different connotations. For example: "that Weyrleader" is their own. "The Weyrleader" is always F'lar. "She" means Lessa, while "Her" means their own Weyrwoman".
I get the first, but not really the second. F'lar always seems the sort for a "the", but does that mean Lessa is only ever the subject of a sentence. I mean, maybe so, since she seems like the only Weyrwoman that actually gets to do anything.
Robinton then talks to D'ram an Gnarish for a bit. There's some interesting resentment on D'ram's part that the Lord Holder of Crom came, when R'mart of Telgar had been badly injured defending Crom Hold. G'narish fills Robinton in on how they've been helping fill Telgar Weyr's ranks with so many injured. This is interesting because it's possibly the only time that we ever see a Oldtimer express a gripe with the Lord Holders that feels somewhat understandable or legitimate. The dragonriders are taking the bulk of the physical risk protecting the Holds, after all. It probably would grate to see the guy that R'mart nearly got himself killed protecting, just enjoying the festivities like nothing happened.
It's not really fair to the Lord Holder, of course. He's got a job to do, and this wedding is a political gathering as much as it is a party, but I get where D'ram is coming from here. It's hard to be rational when your friends are hurt.
Really, I'd like to see more of D'ram in this book, since he's the only Oldtimer portrayed with any sort of nuance. G'narish is the token young radical, who tends to sympathize more with F'lar than not. R'mart is implied to be similar, though we don't see him. T'ron and T'kul are cartoon characters (not that we ever actually SEE T'kul). But D'ram is caught between. He does side with T'ron a lot, but he's intelligent and rational enough to be uncomfortable with some of the things T'ron does and says. I feel like more focus on D'ram might have given us an opportunity to appreciate the more legitimate sides of the Oldtimer's conflict (even if it's just: "we came four hundred years into the future, and gave up our entire lives for you people, while you act like we just held your coat at a dinner party.")
Sadly this never really plays out. Once the T'ron-F'lar conflict is resolved, D'ram becomes just another cheerleader for F'lar. Which is a shame.
Anyway, Robinton brings up the fire lizards, since D'ram and G'narish's holds are apparently places where fire lizards are seen more often. The Weyrleaders aren't up to date but the conversation is interrupted by F'lar and Lessa's entrance.
Interestingly, and unsubtly, the dragons move aside to give Mnementh and Ramoth room. This surprises G'narish. Anyway, F'lar and Lessa dramatically enter, wearing green.
But even as they enter, Kylara shows up with Meron, wearing red, fire lizards in hand. We're told Meron's tunic is slightly too orange to really blend with her dress. (Because god forbid we have nuance. Meron isn't even allowed to be well-dressed.) But the tiny dragons are the real stars. Even Robinton feels a little envious.
But let it be known that as awful as he is, F'lar is a magnificent bastard. One of the passing things he said in his last chapter was that if T'bor had found another clutch, he'd like to have some of the eggs. As it turns out, they weren't for F'lar or Lessa. He brought the eggs to Asgenar and Famira as a wedding present. Kylara and Meron have been elegantly transformed from spotlight stealers to walking exhibits of F'lar and Lessa's gift.
Kylara does get one moment of drama though. When Lessa starts to make conversation about Kylara's "little pet", Kylara snaps that her queen ate Thread. But really, Kylara and Meron's moment has died since Meron won't be the only Lord with a mini dragon. Robinton also urges D'ram and G'narish to pretend they knew about the fire lizards, just in time.
Anyway, Robinton is summoned by dragon and man to see F'lar. Mnementh is pretty shameless about the whole thing. I love Mnementh, he clearly doesn't give a fuck. Robinton also spares some sympathy for Fanderal. His invention is incredible and useful, but totally overshadowed by tiny mostly-useless dragons.
Anyway, Kylara is now complaining that she saw Thread in the High Reaches, but T'kul refused to believe her. We also get a gross bit where Robinton calls Kylara a fine-looking female but notes there was a hard ruthlessness about her that repelled him. Fuck you, Rob.
F'lar asks if the Weyr turned out in time, Kylara says yes, but only because SHE called the alarm. Queen dragons can't lie and they had to listen. F'lar admits that Kylara's actions were justified, but is annoyed by her lack of diplomacy. But then, he acknowledges, T'Kul was a lost cause. Apparently, D'ram and G'narish look strained though. F'lar praises Kylara, and she demands to know what he plans to do about T'kul.
F'lar says they should call their own conclave. Kylara insists more needs to be done, and I don't blame her. T'kul not acting is putting the entire world at risk. Also that's literally the only job the parasite Weyrs have. Even D'ram and G'narish seem to be wavering their way, though D'ram wants to wait for T'ron.
Fandarel shows up, and Robinton cleverly distracts Kylara to keep her from making a scene by pointing out that the crowd might scare her lizard, and he has one of the apprentices come in with snacks to entertain her.
More things happen: T'ron and Mardra show up, and the distance writer gets demonstrated: promptly alerting them that there's Thread fall in Igen. The dragons echo the alert just after. F'lar starts off to help G'narish, who is grateful, but T'ron decides to block the way.
We get yet another instance of McCaffrey making the adversaries unreasonable. It's very hard to imagine that someone who'd been fighting Thread his entire fucking life, working WITH other Weyrs (We SAW that in Dragonflight), suddenly thinks that they should just leave Ista and Igen to fend for themselves.
T'ron also has his hand on his belt knife? WHY? How does this remotely make sense. It'd be one thing if each Weyr were busy, but they're not busy. They're at a fucking wedding. Are they supposed to just party while their fellows are fighting to save Pern? D'ram tries to calm T'ron down, but T'ron decides instead to attack F'lar with a knife!
That fucking escalated quickly! I've hated F'lar too, T'ron, but this is stupid!
So anyway, the guys fight. We're told that T'ron has a longer knife, the advantage of reach, and is wearing wherhide as opposed to F'lar's flimsy cloth. F'lar is on the defensive, and trying to figure out why the hell T'ron was pushing the fight now. Especially when D'ram and G'narish were relieved that he offered to help. Then he realizes of course that it has to do with T'kul. Since T'kul outright ignored his responsibility, F'lar can insist he step down. T'ron loses his best ally. If he kills F'lar, then the Lord Holders have no sympathetic Weyrleader.
Makes some sense. T'bor's pretty useless when it comes to politics, and the other bronze riders lack F'lar's clout. Anyway, the Fight continues. We get a brief note about C'gan of all people. He was the blue rider who died first in Dragonflight, apparently he was the instructor who taught F'lar how to fight.
T'ron gets a lucky slash in, but F'lar's still going, and he starts taunting T'ron:
'Yes, Oldtimer,' he said, forcing himself to breathe easily, keeping his words light, mocking. 'Benden Weyr concerns itself with Ista and Igen. And the Holds of Nabol, and Crom, and Telgar, because Benden dragonmen have not forgotten that Thread burns anything and anyone it touches, Weyr and commoner alike. And if Benden Weyr has to stand alone against the fall of Thread, it will.'"
That's a pretty great speech. F'lar also taunts T'ron's age, which makes me think McCaffrey forgot her timeline again. He says T'ron is four hundred and forty five. Thing is, that only makes him three or four years older than F'lar. (F'lar is ten years older than Lessa, and we got a pretty clear time frame in Dragonflight when he went back fifteen years to see himself as a nineteen year old. This is seven years later. F'lar SHOULD be 41.)
I am pretty sure McCaffrey meant the age difference between F'lar and T'ron to be more than three years. I feel like their similar ages would have been mentioned. I think she probably is inching F'lar's age downward.
Anyway, F'lar ends up winning. He stabs T'ron good, then announces that there's Thread at Igen and they have to go. Then he starts pulling T'ron's jerkin off of him. He didn't actually kill the man, a fact that makes him feel stronger to know, but he wants the tunic to fight Thread in. (It's too big, but he belts it down.)
Not for the first time, I'm a little annoyed that there seems to be a lot more between F'lar and T'ron than McCaffrey seems interested in exploring. All along, there's been a personal element to F'lar's reactions to T'ron. F'lar notes that T'ron taught him everything about Thread fighting at first. And T'ron is one of the few characters that F'lar is actually willing or able to be empathetic for. He actually thinks about how difficult it must be for T'ron. Even when he started planning his takeover, F'lar had noted that he'd much rather have the Oldtimers join willingly.
I feel like I can extrapolate a little here. It's implied, though not directly stated, that a lot of F'lar's hyperfocus on the return of Thread had been because of his father. His father and grandfather had apparently been the only people to believe that Thread would return. F'lar followed in their footsteps with an obsessive goal oriented focus. And we know, for all his faults, that he was working basically day and night to be ready.
One of the few moments of humility in Dragonflight was an offscreen incident where apparently he tried to resign in favor of the Oldtimers.
I feel like maybe during the seven years between Dragonflight and Dragonquest, T'ron may have been like a surrogate father. But this is just a guess. Unfortunately Dragonquest is more interested in F'nor and Brekke's awful romance than it is in fleshing out this dynamic further. ARGH.
So anyway. F'lar uses the moment to ask the crowd if they support Benden. And of course, they all do. (There's a cute moment where Larad says that the Lord Holders who don't better hide deep in their holds.) Even the Weyrs do. D'ram's is a fierce, almost defiant hiss in particular. It's a very satisfying moment.
F'lar asks Lessa to assist Mardra, and then announces that anyone who won't follow Benden's lead is basically banished to Southern, where there isn't as much Thread, and their indifference to it can't endanger anyone else.
There's also a good moment where Lessa and Mnementh team up on F'lar and force some numbweed on him for that slash that T'ron got. Lessa knows her idiot husband will go into battle injured, but she intends to see he lives through it. Hah.
We jump ahead to the post battle. F'lar is contemplating the parallels of the two times all of the Weyrs fought thread together. He's also suppressing the pain of his wound so Mnementh doesn't catch it and tattle to Lessa. "Fine thing when a man's dragon acted nursy"
Mnementh is still the best character in the book.
This chapter is very long. I feel like some of this aftermath stuff would have done better after a break. But anyway, Lessa appears, fusses over F'lar's injury and fills him in.
Mardra apparently protested F'lar exiling them, but had no support from her own Weyr. Apparently her "arrogance and shrewishness" had isolated her. The Southern Weyr is taking over High Reaches, since most of those riders are going South with T'kul. Most of Fort is staying. There's a new Weyrleader in place already. F'lar suggests that N'ton be made Wing-Second there, and Lessa's already on it. She'd asked the new dude if he minded, and he doesn't, so it's done.
I really do like that while she isn't center stage in this book (WHY???), Lessa is still very clearly involved in the leadership of the Weyr and is an equal partner.
We're also told that all of the dragons know about F'lar's injury and are over protective. Aw. Even the Oldtimer dragons appreciate him. And more of the riders than they thought. Lessa is concerned that the renegade Oldtimers will make trouble, but F'lar is unconcerned, as the only Queens that went South are older an past their prime. I feel like Lessa is probably right, but not necessarily in this book.
There are more concerns, of course, such as the distance viewer that T'ron had found some time at the beginning of the chapter which I forgot to mention, and the possibility of a trip to the Red Star, but the characters are happy to celebrate a temporary victory.
So, there exits T'ron and Mardra. And there we get the big issue with McCaffrey's writing: namely her inability to write any kind of nuance. T'ron was a great guy, a wise leader, a personable, patient, good humored man in Dragonflight. Mardra was warm, nurturing, maternal and kind to Lessa in Dragonflight. Both of these characters went out of their way to help this young girl from the future, and led a charge to give up everything and come forward without hesitation.
Seven years later, they're unrecognizable. They're selfish, shrewish, disagreeable and stupid. They went from being impressed by F'lar's innovations to treating every one of them like an insult to their way of life. Despite having lead a Queen's wing for decades, and in fact teaching the concept to the modern riders, suddenly Mardra doesn't know the right distance to fly without injuring the wing protecting her? Despite having been the senior Weyrleader for how long, T'ron suddenly is unwilling to work with anyone, and refuses to call his cronies out on destructive behavior?
It's annoying and frustrating. The ultimate issues of the Oldtimers: the culture shock, the change in power dynamics, an environment where society changed drastically in 400 years without Thread, those are worth exploring. They're interesting!
And it would have been a much more interesting story if we'd gotten to see the Mardra and T'ton from Dragonflight as adversaries, while retaining their original personalities.
We could have had a Mardra devastated at how her family is all but wiped out, leaving only a conqueror's child on the throne, without having her be a shrewish witch who makes Lytol twitch. We could have had a T'ton frustrated at the way the Holds and Crafts have expanded their forests and lands, increasing the Weyr's workload without any willingness to shoulder some of the burden, without having him become a knee jerk fanatic.
If nothing else, we could at least have gotten something from their point of view, to see how these attitudes actually make sense to THEM.
But no. Mardra and T'ron are adversaries, which means they have to be awful, grotesque people. That's a damn shame.
I tip my hat to you, Dragonflight-era Mardra and T'ton. You were once the only likable dragonriders. Now at least we won't have to deal with these awful bastardized versions of you anymore.