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i_read_whatHuh, we've made it to the second to last short story in the book. Short stories make an interesting reviewing experience, I think, because I'm really not sure how to pace them.
The Dolphins' Bell, for example, felt pretty long and I kind of thing I rushed through it just to be done. I may not have given it as fair a shake as I could have.
And I always want to be cautious with excerpts. It's one thing when you're going chapter-by-chapter (and even then, I suspect I abuse it), but when it's a short story, I feel like I run the risk of including far more than I should.
But it is an interesting experiment!
But now, "the Second Weyr"...
So we start the story with Sorka talking to Torene, which appeals to my sense of symmetry. Sean had a fairly good sized role in the last story, so I'd like if Sorka got the role here.
The main character though appears to be a girl named Torene, and she definitely seems to have a personality:
Sorka had to grin at the girl’s insouciance. Torene hovered on the edge of impudence but never quite offended. Of course that would have given both Sorka and Sean reasons to reprimand her, but she seemed instinctively to know the limits. Sorka would have been particularly loath to bring her up sharp because she, who had been a reserved child in the restricted society she had been born into on Earth, admired Torene’s candid charismatic manner and her irrepressible gaiety. Sean found those traits less easy to deal with, but then, he was obsessed with the responsibilities of the Weyr and the nurture and care of the dragons, and he had never been very lighthearted to begin with.
I'll be honest with you, I didn't find Sorka Hanrahan to be particularly reserved. If anything, her family seemed very loudly made up of Irish stereotypes. But I do think this is pretty evocative. Torene makes a splash right away, and I think I enjoy the idea of her trolling uptight Sean.
We get some Sean-shilling, as we're told he generally knows everything in the Weyr sooner or later. But he might not be aware that quite a few dragonriders are scoping out the East Coast.
I'm not sure yet how old Sorka and Sean are supposed to be here. They definitely feel older than Torene though.
Anyway, Fort's pretty overcrowded, and they've been sending their clutching and mating queens to the "Big Island" (Ista I presume?). Apparently they almost lost three queens in a mating battle. We've read Dragonquest, and we know how that kind of thing can end, and back then they definitely need all the dragons they can get.
We get more details. Tarrie Chernoff is traumatized by nightmares of her Porth going between without her, while Evenath (who's rider is unnamed) and "Catherine's Siglath" were wounded to the point that they won't ever fly in the queens' wing again.
They're still able to do low flying with flamethrowers which they do with, ugh, green riders.
Actually, interestingly, it looks like green riders here are assumed to be female. Or equal opportunity, as the riders who take this role are usually in their first or third trimesters, where going Between risks miscarriage.
Sean, we're told, is delaying. Possibly because he can't delegate. Sorka's pretty generous in her assessment, saying it's about the responsibility and blame. Apparently, he's done a lot of consulting with pilots, researching military history, and making plans to combat Threadfall.
I definitely see the F'lar in him. Good and bad traits.
Well, not the abusive rapist we got in Dragonflight. So good and irritating but not evil traits.
We learn a bit about the structure of wings: 33 dragons, one wingleader and two "wingseconds" in case the leader has to drop out. They have to be alert especially to green and blue riders who are determined to prove their partners as good as any other dragon. Gosh, I can't imagine why. And tend to ride past endurance.
Sorka takes Sean to task when he gets too hard on them, so I guess it's a good, if irritatingly stereotypically gendered balance. I'd probably grimace less if the end result thousands of years down the line was lest blatantly sexist, but there we go.
We get an update on the Holds. Boll and Ruatha are going strong. Tarvi Telgar has taken his folk into the mountains and founded Telgar Hold.
And aw, a sad note. After five years of thought, Zi Ongola named his Hold "Tillek", "in memory of the man who had brought a gaggle of pleasure yachts along the entire coastline of the southern continent and, despite storm and other difficulties, led them north to Fort's docks".
So I guess Jim Tillek has died since then. That actually makes me pretty sad.
Sorka, by the way, can still hear all dragons, which means she knows Torene is up to something. Ugh. And it's irrational for me to be annoyed at that. The talent had to come from somewhere, but honestly, except for Lessa and Aramina, it has no real storyline significance. And even Aramina pretty much loses hers when McCaffrey loses interest in her adventures. It basically just seems to be a "this character is Special" sign.
More foundational info: apparently folks are talking about establishing the tithe system.
Anyway, Torene wants Sorka to push Sean to agree to a second Weyr. And part of it is because she thinks someone else should get a chance to run a Weyr. She's quick to say that Sean is the best possible leader they could have but...
Sorka gets it though, there are other riders who would make good Weyrleaders. And I'm annoyed anew at the implication that the Weyrleader must be male. Emily Boll is barely dead in her grave and I can already tell she's rolling in it.
Sorka has a strange little bisexual moment here as she admires Torene's features:
It was slightly unfair, Sorka thought, for a girl to have such long eyelashes as well as a beautiful face, an elegant—Sean said “sexy”—figure, and personality and brains, as well. Even her short hair, close-cropped to be more comfortable under the skull-fitting helmets they wore, formed exquisite curls that framed her high-cheeked and distinctive countenance.
Okay, we get it, Torene's hot. Not sure what the relevance is. Though I do like that she and Sean are apparently secure enough in their relationship that she's not bothered by him remarking on the attractiveness of another woman.
Torene gushes about the cave system. Apparently it's awesome. And time sensitive, because they'll need to set up a hypocaust, but the stonecutters are almost out of juice. She doesn't really want to chisel out individual weyrs by hand. Fair enough.
Anyway, Torene wants to design "our Weyr" and that slip makes it very clear that she wants to go. She's got ambitions to be Weyrwoman, and her Gold is the biggest yet. And ugh. Why is this so gendered already?
“And have you planned who’s to be Weyrleader?” Sorka asked gently.
Why can't Torene be Weyrleader? Why have you already decided on this stupid mating structure just because Sorka and Sean divided duties this way?!
I mean, I like the implication that it IS ultimately Torene's call, but still!
Oh, more gushing about Torene. And the obvious love story here:
Torene blushed furiously. She had the uncomfortable feeling sometimes that it was wrong of Alaranth to be a full hand taller in the shoulder than her dam, Faranth, although Sorka had always appeared delighted by the improvement. The young queen was nearly mature enough to make her first mating flight. But Torene discounted her own physical attractiveness whenever someone complimented her, and she played no favorites among the male riders who were constantly in her company. The only exception was Michael, the bronze-rider son of Sorka and Sean. He never seemed interested in her at all, though he seemed interested in every other attractive woman. Well, maybe she just wasn’t attractive to him. She certainly wouldn’t have objected to his company—might even have welcomed it—but she was too level-headed to feel more than surprise and, perhaps, a little chagrin at his disinterest.
Mihall, as he was generally called, was as dedicated a dragonrider as his father. Sometimes more so. Since coming to maturity three years ago, Mihall’s bronze Brianth had sired sufficient clutches that Sean had grounded the randy bronze during queen mating flights. One of Sorka’s duties was to keep very precise records of which clutch was sired by which bronze or brown, so that any queens resulting from that pairing would not be rematched with their own sires. Mihall had shrugged and remarked that that was fine by him; there were plenty of greens who liked Brianth enough to twine necks with him anytime.
I mean, I do appreciate the concern for inbreeding. I remember Kylara suggesting Prideth bang Mnementh in the future, after all.
And we get grossness too, when she suggests Sean would make the appointment.
“Probably,” Sorka replied discreetly. Sean, she knew, had a notion on the best way to decide that. “Surely you’ve some preference as to which dragon mates with Alaranth?” she asked gently.
WHY IS THAT A FACTOR?
Look, I understood it in the 9th Pass, because thousands of years pass and traditions get muddled into a weird sexual monarchy, fine. But you're telling me these supposedly sensible people STARTED this way? They haven't realized that leadership ability has nothing to do with who fucks whom?
Alexander the Great allegedly fucked men and he was fucking Alexander the Great! In this universe, he'd be a Blue or Green rider (depending on if you think he topped, I guess. Apparently there are debates about this! Top/bottom discourse is eternal.)
Sorka agrees that moving in makes sense, though she points out a flaw: they have to fly to enter it. But Torene's got an idea for an access tunnel. (Torene, we're told belatedly, is the daughter of the Ostrovskys - a family of mining engineers).
Torene shares the names of others who want to go. And we see the origin of the name contractions at work. Only they're really stupid examples.
“Oh, hadn’t you heard them?” Torene seemed surprised, then added quite casually, “No, I guess you wouldn’t have. I hear them all the time during Fall, because it’s what the dragons call other riders when they’re warning their dragons to be careful. They’re speaking so fast they sort of, well, compress names. So Day-vid has become D’vid, Nicholas Gomez is N’klas, and Fulmar is F’mar.”
“Are you T’rene?” Sorka asked, diverted.
The girl thought a moment. “No, but Sevya’ll be Sev and Jenette, Jen. They’re sort of fast names anyway. I mentioned it one day after Fall and—” She gave a helpless shrug. “—everyone wanted to know their dragonish name.”
The idea makes sense, of course. But David to D'vid doesn't actually shorten. The letters don't mesh like that. Nicholas to N'klas is a bit better, if you flatten the N, I guess. And even without, three syllables to two is something I guess. Fulmar to F'mar is the only one that actually works, IMO.
It'd make MORE sense to just go "Dave", "Nick" and "Ful" but then it wouldn't fit the pattern of thousands of years later, I guess.
We DO see that work with the girls though. Sevya will be Sev and Jenette will be Jen. So why the boys have to be stupid is beyond me.
I suppose this is kind of the same thing we see in Mercedes Lackey's Founding of Valdemar series. It's too tempting to start establishing everything all at once. Here, it just seems silly. Right now, the apostrophe names don't really help much. It would make more sense if they became fashionable later, once the combined Renesmee style name meshing catches on.
After all, Fallarnon and Famanoran becoming F'lar and F'nor makes a lot more sense than turning David to D'vid.
No one shortens Sean's name though. He's the Leader. Also, it's one fucking syllable.
Sorka is always Sorka, too. Which I guess is flattering, but why doesn't she get to be a Leader too?
(Sorka also thinks something about how there's no one quite like Torene, who is so "refreshingly herself, without guile and yet exceedingly clever in her directness". Holy crap, Sorka, I think YOU want to fuck this girl.)
So there are three queens in the bunch. And more stupid shortened names that don't actually shorten, like R'bert and P'ter. Seriously, McCaffrey, are you doing this on purpose?!
You could at least pick names with soft smooshable consonants! Or more than two syllables. I'd be less annoyed at N'than if it shortened Nathaniel, but McCaffrey would probably just name him Nathan to begin with.
But anyway, the younger dragonfolk are getting restless and want more space and out from under the old fogeys and fair enough.
And, while they're talking, Sean turns up. Some time has definitely passed, we're told, since his hair is silvering. As it turns out, Sean seems to be pretty okay with the idea. Oh, and Torene ALSO Hears All Dragons for some reason. She hears Carenath reassure Sean about something.
Okay, fine. Whatever. It'd actually be kind of interesting if this were an ability everyone shared in the early days, but no, it's just the special girls. (Actually, interestingly, there's something that implies Sorka can't hear what Torene does. I feel like that's a contradiction to Dragonsdawn, but I also remember going back and forth with Multi-Facets about it. You might be right after all!)
So anyway, there's no real tension here. I suppose I shouldn't have thought there would be. Sean, much as I like him, is a McCaffrey favorite, so of course he already sees the logic in what Torene wants to do. Only the characters we aren't supposed to like are stubborn and need convincing.
Torene ends up leaving so we get some cute married couple interaction between Sean and Sorka. We also hear more of Sean's plans, which is not just ONE new Weyr but several. Of course.
It's not that I wanted Sean to be rejected and rebelled against, but it would have been INTERESTING if he was resistant to the idea for exactly the reasons the ladies had thought he might be. But no. He's already got a few choices in mind and thinks they've got enough dragons to populate three or even four Weyrs.
The stonecutters are an issue, but they've got some plans to extend them long enough to carve out what they need.
More updates: Benden's dead. (good riddance!) Joel Liliankamp is now the manager of Fort Hold. I still wonder how HIS name ended up getting to the Travelers instead of Connell. But okay, fine. He's a little more difficult than Benden, apparently, but Sean's been hammering things out with him.
There is an interesting bit of potential conflict that I'm sure McCaffrey will never explore when Sorka realizes that the reason Sean wants three new Weyrs is because he wants to avoid accusations of favoritism. Apparently Mihall is ambitious and wants to be a Weyrleader, though he's sensible enough not to be too loud or obnoxious about it.
(Mihall was apparently the youngest to ever Impress at twelve. Which raises interesting questions about how long it takes them to mature, as earlier, they'd said something about his bronze being old enough to fly queens for three years. I'll have to find out how old he actually is before I get too skeeved.)
Anyway, I appreciate that ambition isn't treated as inherently bad here. He wants to be a Weyrleader, but he's careful about not taking advantage of his position as Sean and Sorka's son.
And this bit annoys me:
“We’ve got twenty mating queens—discounting you, because no one flies Faranth but Carenath—” He cocked a stern finger at her, provoking her to grin smugly. “And the three injured . . .”
“Porth can fly,” Sorka objected on Tarrie’s behalf.
“But she doesn’t fly long enough to have a good clutch.”
“Tarrie’s got experience managing Weyr problems,” Sorka said staunchly, knowing how often she’d relied on her friend during her pregnancies or when the children were too ill for her to cope with all that went to running a Weyr.
“All perfectly true, but I mean to start the new Weyrs with young leaders who’ll see their group through the rest of the Fall: who can pass on what we had to learn the hard way.”
Why again is ability to lead or manage connected to stupid mating flights?! Who the fuck cares about clutches?! Let her do her damn job and let one of the other queens breed up the next generation! They don't HAVE to be connected!!!
ARGH!!!
Three Weyrs? My word, she thought with relief and a certain amount of awe. Jays, when Sean let go, he let go with a vengeance. Young leaders! That made excellent sense, and there were enough. Any one of those who were currently Wingleaders could manage a Weyr: they’d been thoroughly indoctrinated by Sean, with emphasis on safety and tactics. Even the Wingseconds would make good leaders. Too bad the blues simply hadn’t the stamina to keep up with a queen. At that, there were only two Wingseconds. And she didn’t see either Frank Bonneau or Ashok Kung as Weyrleaders. Nice enough young men, but better as subordinates than leaders.
If there are blue riders who can lead, why does it matter if they can fly a queen?! What does dragon stamina have to do with the rider's mind?!
ARGH!!!
But anyway, Sorka's happy Mihall has a chance, especially as he's popular with the ladies. She does note that she'll have to have a word with him about fidelity.
...why? Why does that matter? Why can't he fly a queen in mating season and fuck other people again? Why can't the women do the same? WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE SO WEIRD ABOUT THIS?!
So back to Torene, who is excited again about the possibility of the new Weyr. Her Weyr. I can dig it. They're setting up gear and she's making sure everything's a-ok, especially if Sean's going to inspect. But it sounds like she's thorough anyway.
We meet F'mar here. Fulmar Stone Junior. He rides Tallith and he clearly has an eye for Torene. We're told he's eight years older (having been five when the family landed) and he'd Impressed at 19.
Okay, that's kind of interesting. So Torene's a lot older than I thought, if she was born three years after Landing. Sean and Sorka were only, what, twelve at the time of Landing? (A quick glance at my Dragonsdawn reviews indicate I couldn't actually figure out how old they were. Hah. It does seem like Mihall/Michael was born in part two though, so eight years in. Torene then would be about five years older than Michael. Which isn't bad, but surprising for McCaffrey.)
Anyway, F'mar doesn't seem that bad yet. Though there is a note about him not enjoying "the additional duties that the riders assumed inside the Weyr" so I may be speaking too soon.
Torene, we're told, doesn't favor many men. She knows them too well to see them in a sexual way, except Mihall of course, but only because she doesn't know him well. She actually likes F'mar best of them - he's got good humor and pleasant good looks, but she doesn't give him any encouragement.
Hm, have you considered girls? Given her description of you earlier, I think Sorka might be into it.
So there's a meal. Dragonriders eat very well, we're told, and it's one of the enticements to becoming one. (Apparently very early on Sean and Sorka had to "act rather autocratically" in demanding enough candidates, but eventually it became a mark of honor.)
Fire lizards are still in demand, but there are fewer and fewer, apparently the colder climate is less appealing. But Ierne Island apparently has a lot of them still, so they've been able to withstand without coming to Fort.
...I don't know how I feel about this...
No, Sean asked Carenath his opinion of some of the candidates. It would be good for Dagmath’s rider to have some of his own persuasion.
Torene considered that. The blue rider preferred boys to girls. And Sean would prefer to have fewer of the speedy little green dragons out of action because their riders were taking maternity leave.
I...feel like we shouldn't be picking rider candidates to pimp out to a gay rider? And the sexism of denying a rider based on possible maternity leave...
What the fuck, McCaffrey?!
F'mar comes by to hit on Torene and gossip. He's apparently heard that Sean was scheming instead of hunting and he thinks this might lead to a new Weyr. She's delighted, but also ditches F'mar at first opportunity.
We skip ahead to Fall day, which means some neat info about tactics but nothing too notable. And more to support Multi-Facet's read and contradict mine, Torene reflects on her confession to Sorka and Sean about her ability to hear all dragons. The description of it as a unique talent definitely seems to support the idea that Sorka didn't have it. Mea culpa.
So thread fighting. Fun to read, but less fun to recap. P'ter's Siwith is injured and I can't help but feel it's because of both of their stupid names. Cursed by stupid names. Sorry guys.
They are able to get them back to Fort Weyr for recovery though. Later we learn they'll be out for months, to regrow the membrane, but not permanently.
And we get to see Torene's skill as a leader and in dealing with other riders. Honestly, I'm still annoyed that SHE doesn't get to be Weyrleader.
F'mar by the way is grinning, which creeps Torene out. And we get an interesting side note about how, to Alaranth, Bronze dragons are much the same in a mating flight. I guess that explains why the rider preferences are so influential.
(Though I'd like to believe Ramoth and Mnementh have true love.)
Sean gets to give a speech about the formation of new Weyrs, yay. And Torene's site is going to be first. There's some politicking involved with settlements coming north, but I've been neglecting that aspect in this recap. They're going to help set up Weyrs though and they think Sean's doing them the favor instead. Which is clever.
So ultimately, there will be four Weyrs. Everyone gets to draw straws for the Weyrs they're going to. The gold dragons will be divided, except Faranth/Sorka who are, naturally, staying with Sean and Carenath.
Some of this does make sense though. Pre-established wings will go with their Wingleader, wherever he draws. So folks won't have to relearn formations and the like. And eggs will be divvied up too.
Torene is torn because she really wants her favorite cave system. Telgar would be nearer to her parents. And staying at Fort would be good, as she's one of the youngest, with much to learn.
But happily, she does draw the east coast. So yay. N'klas, who has had some speaking lines, got east coast as well. F'mar got Telgar, but she's not unhappy about that.
...ugh. Sean does say that instead of choosing Weyrleaders, the fairest way is to let the queens decide. Fuck off Sean. This system is bullshit.
Basically, whichever queen rises first will decide the Weyrleader. Which is even stupider, because Torene realizes that her Amaranth is next in line. (That could be intentional though, since Sean did say something earlier about wanting young leadership.)
There's a weird moment here:
She was startled out of her reverie when F’mar leaned down, lips to her ear.
“I would have liked to have you as my Weyrwoman, ’Rene,” he murmured. Before she could remark on his arrogance, being so sure that he would end up Telgar’s Weyrleader, he had moved to the center tables.
“Sour grapes?” N’klas asked, jerking his thumb at F’mar’s retreating back.
“No, no sour grapes,” she said, with a not too saccharine smile. “He’s got as good a chance as anyone to make Weyrleader at Telgar. See—” She pointed at Arna, Nya, and Sigurd already seated at the head of one of the Telgar tables.
We were just told, not too long ago, that Mihall's desire to be Weyrleader is fine. So why is F'mar's comment here "arrogant"? Torene even SAID she liked him best, albeit with lukewarm praise, earlier.
We find out David Caterel, one of the original seventeen riders, is joining them. And there's a weird moment where he gives Torene a look that makes her blush. "HE knew" we're told. But what he knows is not clear.
Anyway, of course, Mihall is here too. Apparently Torene has decided she resents him being in her Weyr. Which is weird. But okay.
David might not be too bad though, since, when the youngsters offer to let him lead the informal meeting out of respect, he is happy enough to let the others continue.
Oh, and hey, Dagmath's rider, Martin is here. Hi random gay dude. I hope you appreciate Sean's attempt to pimp for you.
They make plans to see the new Weyr the next day, but happily Torene's got some "plasfilm" they can look at. David fills them in on the whole tithing scheme, since their old hunting techniques might be less useful soon. They're going to be planting Ted Tubberman's grubs and it'll be hundreds of years for them to spread.
Aw, Ted is actually getting credit for once?
Torene ends up naming the place Benden, though why, I have no idea, as we've never heard her say anything about Paul Benden before now. Everyone thinks that's a great idea though.
Honestly, David Caterel seems to hit it off pretty well with Torene. He seems like a sensible guy, interested in her opinions, and not creepy. But then Mihall shows up.
“It’ll be your Weyr, ’Rene,” said a soft, amused tenor voice. She looked down into Mihall Connell’s slightly mocking gray-blue eyes. She’d never been close enough to see their color before. “Come the time. Alaranth flies,” he went on. “She’ll fly soon—but you know that, don’t you?”
There was no mockery in his tone, and he’d made more of a statement than a question.
“Well, if you intend to be Weyrleader, why aren’t you in there, mapping your space?” The moment the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them and bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Mihall.”
“Why?” His very regular eyebrows quirked briefly, and his gray-blue eyes, not a trace of mockery in them, met hers once more, his head tilted up at her. “I should like to be Weyrleader. I intend to be Weyrleader. Everyone knows that.” The mockery was back. “The question is, how does Alaranth feel about Brianth?”
“Isn’t it more how I feel about you?” The words tumbled out before she could stop them, and she shook her head and stamped her foot in annoyance: That wasn’t at all what she had intended to say.
Mihall rose slowly until he was looking down at her, an intense expression on his face. “No, it’s ultimately the dragons who decide: the one who decides how to fly this queen, and the one who decides who she’ll let catch her.”
...ick. Can we keep David Caterel instead?
But sadly, Torene seems kind of into him. Or at least, she's horrified by her social blunders. And ugh. Mihall's Brianth just says not to worry.
Then we get a cute scene of Torene with her parents, before she goes to Benden Weyr. There's nothing really notable here, but it's sweet.
And of course, Mihall shows up. Admittedly, he doesn't seem quite as much like a dick, but he doesn't have a speaking line for a while. Torene continues to be conflicted. And the others show up. Amusingly, D'vid is here too. But David Caterel continues to be the superior David.
So they get to explore the new Weyr. Many, including Torene, bring supplies to stay overnight. Mihall actually is pretty useful as he apparently led riders south to pick up chickens and other livestock that had been sheltering in the Catherine Caves.
He also gets some numbweed for Torene's shoulders and gives her a massage. He works fast.
So more set up. More livestock, digging of hypocausts. Fun to read, boring to recap. At one point they take their only break to attend the new Hatching. Most of the new hatchlings are assigned to Benden. Apparently F'mar complains, even though Telgar hasn't been dug out yet. Apparently, Telgar will have the next batch.
And yep, F'mar is the guy we don't like for some reason because he's been antagonizing Sean.
The Benden folk kind of informally elect David Caterel, figuring that his experience gives him the right. Torene is on board, noting that he listens to objections. She notes that people have given her deference as she's pretty much set to be primary Weyrwoman.
She ends up contemplating the riders. The younger ones, all with very stupid apostrophe names (N'klas, L'ren, T'mas, D'vid, seriously??) all hang around a lot. David Caterel is courteous, but apparently treats all women the same way, even the lady he'd last flown with.
Mihall shows up, of course, when she's in trouble. He doesn't linger though. And then at some point he barges in yelling at them to get the other queens away, as it's time for mating flight. Torene hadn't noticed her heat.
He is of course kind of bossy. But to be fair, this was kind of her dropping the ball. She knows how this works, but hates the whole audience part of this. Especially knowing whoever wins will be the leader. I hate this fucking system. Just give it to David, he's doing fine!
But of course we get a long, admittedly quite viscerally passionate version of the dragons mating. We eventually shift back to Torene, who is naked in a bronze rider's arms. Because that's how it goes.
And of course, it's Mihall. Who apparently was not all that deft, controlled or polite. AND resented her virginity. Fuck you, dude. Torene's just happy her dragon got to choose instead of her, which seems unhealthy. And maybe asexual? I'm sorry if you're asexual in this gross system. Or a lesbian.
I think I'm just annoyed because there was plenty of time in this story to show that M'hall would be a good leader, if they wanted to. Sean and David Caterel had their moments. TORENE had moments. But Mihall really hasn't stood out. Which is annoying.
But Torene apparently is into Mihall after all, and has decided she likes his body and the way it made her feel. Honey, that's an orgasm. I'm sure someone knows how to make you a dildo.
And I suppose, Mihall kind of makes up for his whole "it's all about the dragons" earlier here:
“Alaranth hadn’t a chance against that technique,” she said.
“I didn’t intend that she should, ’Rene,” he said with a slow smile, and stroked her cheek again. It was the warm smile she liked so much. “I couldn’t let any other rider have you.”
She looked up at him quizzically: not “dragon,” but “rider” and “you.” He meant her, not just what she brought to this union, her dragon and the Weyrleadership.
I mean, it might have been nice if he showed that at any point earlier. Now of course, he talks about how he's wanted her since he saw her Impress. But his dad had already warned him away from the queen riders, so he had to shadow Admiral Benden to get near her.
That apparently was a long time ago. I feel like if I went back in Dragonsdawn I could probably find where Torene got picked. But I'm a little too lazy. Also, depending on age, that could be creepy. None of this explains why Mihall was so annoying earlier. OR why he was angry at her virginity. OR...
Well, whatever. Everyone's content and happy and the story ends here. #JusticeForDavidCaterel.
The Dolphins' Bell, for example, felt pretty long and I kind of thing I rushed through it just to be done. I may not have given it as fair a shake as I could have.
And I always want to be cautious with excerpts. It's one thing when you're going chapter-by-chapter (and even then, I suspect I abuse it), but when it's a short story, I feel like I run the risk of including far more than I should.
But it is an interesting experiment!
But now, "the Second Weyr"...
So we start the story with Sorka talking to Torene, which appeals to my sense of symmetry. Sean had a fairly good sized role in the last story, so I'd like if Sorka got the role here.
The main character though appears to be a girl named Torene, and she definitely seems to have a personality:
Sorka had to grin at the girl’s insouciance. Torene hovered on the edge of impudence but never quite offended. Of course that would have given both Sorka and Sean reasons to reprimand her, but she seemed instinctively to know the limits. Sorka would have been particularly loath to bring her up sharp because she, who had been a reserved child in the restricted society she had been born into on Earth, admired Torene’s candid charismatic manner and her irrepressible gaiety. Sean found those traits less easy to deal with, but then, he was obsessed with the responsibilities of the Weyr and the nurture and care of the dragons, and he had never been very lighthearted to begin with.
I'll be honest with you, I didn't find Sorka Hanrahan to be particularly reserved. If anything, her family seemed very loudly made up of Irish stereotypes. But I do think this is pretty evocative. Torene makes a splash right away, and I think I enjoy the idea of her trolling uptight Sean.
We get some Sean-shilling, as we're told he generally knows everything in the Weyr sooner or later. But he might not be aware that quite a few dragonriders are scoping out the East Coast.
I'm not sure yet how old Sorka and Sean are supposed to be here. They definitely feel older than Torene though.
Anyway, Fort's pretty overcrowded, and they've been sending their clutching and mating queens to the "Big Island" (Ista I presume?). Apparently they almost lost three queens in a mating battle. We've read Dragonquest, and we know how that kind of thing can end, and back then they definitely need all the dragons they can get.
We get more details. Tarrie Chernoff is traumatized by nightmares of her Porth going between without her, while Evenath (who's rider is unnamed) and "Catherine's Siglath" were wounded to the point that they won't ever fly in the queens' wing again.
They're still able to do low flying with flamethrowers which they do with, ugh, green riders.
Actually, interestingly, it looks like green riders here are assumed to be female. Or equal opportunity, as the riders who take this role are usually in their first or third trimesters, where going Between risks miscarriage.
Sean, we're told, is delaying. Possibly because he can't delegate. Sorka's pretty generous in her assessment, saying it's about the responsibility and blame. Apparently, he's done a lot of consulting with pilots, researching military history, and making plans to combat Threadfall.
I definitely see the F'lar in him. Good and bad traits.
Well, not the abusive rapist we got in Dragonflight. So good and irritating but not evil traits.
We learn a bit about the structure of wings: 33 dragons, one wingleader and two "wingseconds" in case the leader has to drop out. They have to be alert especially to green and blue riders who are determined to prove their partners as good as any other dragon. Gosh, I can't imagine why. And tend to ride past endurance.
Sorka takes Sean to task when he gets too hard on them, so I guess it's a good, if irritatingly stereotypically gendered balance. I'd probably grimace less if the end result thousands of years down the line was lest blatantly sexist, but there we go.
We get an update on the Holds. Boll and Ruatha are going strong. Tarvi Telgar has taken his folk into the mountains and founded Telgar Hold.
And aw, a sad note. After five years of thought, Zi Ongola named his Hold "Tillek", "in memory of the man who had brought a gaggle of pleasure yachts along the entire coastline of the southern continent and, despite storm and other difficulties, led them north to Fort's docks".
So I guess Jim Tillek has died since then. That actually makes me pretty sad.
Sorka, by the way, can still hear all dragons, which means she knows Torene is up to something. Ugh. And it's irrational for me to be annoyed at that. The talent had to come from somewhere, but honestly, except for Lessa and Aramina, it has no real storyline significance. And even Aramina pretty much loses hers when McCaffrey loses interest in her adventures. It basically just seems to be a "this character is Special" sign.
More foundational info: apparently folks are talking about establishing the tithe system.
Anyway, Torene wants Sorka to push Sean to agree to a second Weyr. And part of it is because she thinks someone else should get a chance to run a Weyr. She's quick to say that Sean is the best possible leader they could have but...
Sorka gets it though, there are other riders who would make good Weyrleaders. And I'm annoyed anew at the implication that the Weyrleader must be male. Emily Boll is barely dead in her grave and I can already tell she's rolling in it.
Sorka has a strange little bisexual moment here as she admires Torene's features:
It was slightly unfair, Sorka thought, for a girl to have such long eyelashes as well as a beautiful face, an elegant—Sean said “sexy”—figure, and personality and brains, as well. Even her short hair, close-cropped to be more comfortable under the skull-fitting helmets they wore, formed exquisite curls that framed her high-cheeked and distinctive countenance.
Okay, we get it, Torene's hot. Not sure what the relevance is. Though I do like that she and Sean are apparently secure enough in their relationship that she's not bothered by him remarking on the attractiveness of another woman.
Torene gushes about the cave system. Apparently it's awesome. And time sensitive, because they'll need to set up a hypocaust, but the stonecutters are almost out of juice. She doesn't really want to chisel out individual weyrs by hand. Fair enough.
Anyway, Torene wants to design "our Weyr" and that slip makes it very clear that she wants to go. She's got ambitions to be Weyrwoman, and her Gold is the biggest yet. And ugh. Why is this so gendered already?
“And have you planned who’s to be Weyrleader?” Sorka asked gently.
Why can't Torene be Weyrleader? Why have you already decided on this stupid mating structure just because Sorka and Sean divided duties this way?!
I mean, I like the implication that it IS ultimately Torene's call, but still!
Oh, more gushing about Torene. And the obvious love story here:
Torene blushed furiously. She had the uncomfortable feeling sometimes that it was wrong of Alaranth to be a full hand taller in the shoulder than her dam, Faranth, although Sorka had always appeared delighted by the improvement. The young queen was nearly mature enough to make her first mating flight. But Torene discounted her own physical attractiveness whenever someone complimented her, and she played no favorites among the male riders who were constantly in her company. The only exception was Michael, the bronze-rider son of Sorka and Sean. He never seemed interested in her at all, though he seemed interested in every other attractive woman. Well, maybe she just wasn’t attractive to him. She certainly wouldn’t have objected to his company—might even have welcomed it—but she was too level-headed to feel more than surprise and, perhaps, a little chagrin at his disinterest.
Mihall, as he was generally called, was as dedicated a dragonrider as his father. Sometimes more so. Since coming to maturity three years ago, Mihall’s bronze Brianth had sired sufficient clutches that Sean had grounded the randy bronze during queen mating flights. One of Sorka’s duties was to keep very precise records of which clutch was sired by which bronze or brown, so that any queens resulting from that pairing would not be rematched with their own sires. Mihall had shrugged and remarked that that was fine by him; there were plenty of greens who liked Brianth enough to twine necks with him anytime.
I mean, I do appreciate the concern for inbreeding. I remember Kylara suggesting Prideth bang Mnementh in the future, after all.
And we get grossness too, when she suggests Sean would make the appointment.
“Probably,” Sorka replied discreetly. Sean, she knew, had a notion on the best way to decide that. “Surely you’ve some preference as to which dragon mates with Alaranth?” she asked gently.
WHY IS THAT A FACTOR?
Look, I understood it in the 9th Pass, because thousands of years pass and traditions get muddled into a weird sexual monarchy, fine. But you're telling me these supposedly sensible people STARTED this way? They haven't realized that leadership ability has nothing to do with who fucks whom?
Alexander the Great allegedly fucked men and he was fucking Alexander the Great! In this universe, he'd be a Blue or Green rider (depending on if you think he topped, I guess. Apparently there are debates about this! Top/bottom discourse is eternal.)
Sorka agrees that moving in makes sense, though she points out a flaw: they have to fly to enter it. But Torene's got an idea for an access tunnel. (Torene, we're told belatedly, is the daughter of the Ostrovskys - a family of mining engineers).
Torene shares the names of others who want to go. And we see the origin of the name contractions at work. Only they're really stupid examples.
“Oh, hadn’t you heard them?” Torene seemed surprised, then added quite casually, “No, I guess you wouldn’t have. I hear them all the time during Fall, because it’s what the dragons call other riders when they’re warning their dragons to be careful. They’re speaking so fast they sort of, well, compress names. So Day-vid has become D’vid, Nicholas Gomez is N’klas, and Fulmar is F’mar.”
“Are you T’rene?” Sorka asked, diverted.
The girl thought a moment. “No, but Sevya’ll be Sev and Jenette, Jen. They’re sort of fast names anyway. I mentioned it one day after Fall and—” She gave a helpless shrug. “—everyone wanted to know their dragonish name.”
The idea makes sense, of course. But David to D'vid doesn't actually shorten. The letters don't mesh like that. Nicholas to N'klas is a bit better, if you flatten the N, I guess. And even without, three syllables to two is something I guess. Fulmar to F'mar is the only one that actually works, IMO.
It'd make MORE sense to just go "Dave", "Nick" and "Ful" but then it wouldn't fit the pattern of thousands of years later, I guess.
We DO see that work with the girls though. Sevya will be Sev and Jenette will be Jen. So why the boys have to be stupid is beyond me.
I suppose this is kind of the same thing we see in Mercedes Lackey's Founding of Valdemar series. It's too tempting to start establishing everything all at once. Here, it just seems silly. Right now, the apostrophe names don't really help much. It would make more sense if they became fashionable later, once the combined Renesmee style name meshing catches on.
After all, Fallarnon and Famanoran becoming F'lar and F'nor makes a lot more sense than turning David to D'vid.
No one shortens Sean's name though. He's the Leader. Also, it's one fucking syllable.
Sorka is always Sorka, too. Which I guess is flattering, but why doesn't she get to be a Leader too?
(Sorka also thinks something about how there's no one quite like Torene, who is so "refreshingly herself, without guile and yet exceedingly clever in her directness". Holy crap, Sorka, I think YOU want to fuck this girl.)
So there are three queens in the bunch. And more stupid shortened names that don't actually shorten, like R'bert and P'ter. Seriously, McCaffrey, are you doing this on purpose?!
You could at least pick names with soft smooshable consonants! Or more than two syllables. I'd be less annoyed at N'than if it shortened Nathaniel, but McCaffrey would probably just name him Nathan to begin with.
But anyway, the younger dragonfolk are getting restless and want more space and out from under the old fogeys and fair enough.
And, while they're talking, Sean turns up. Some time has definitely passed, we're told, since his hair is silvering. As it turns out, Sean seems to be pretty okay with the idea. Oh, and Torene ALSO Hears All Dragons for some reason. She hears Carenath reassure Sean about something.
Okay, fine. Whatever. It'd actually be kind of interesting if this were an ability everyone shared in the early days, but no, it's just the special girls. (Actually, interestingly, there's something that implies Sorka can't hear what Torene does. I feel like that's a contradiction to Dragonsdawn, but I also remember going back and forth with Multi-Facets about it. You might be right after all!)
So anyway, there's no real tension here. I suppose I shouldn't have thought there would be. Sean, much as I like him, is a McCaffrey favorite, so of course he already sees the logic in what Torene wants to do. Only the characters we aren't supposed to like are stubborn and need convincing.
Torene ends up leaving so we get some cute married couple interaction between Sean and Sorka. We also hear more of Sean's plans, which is not just ONE new Weyr but several. Of course.
It's not that I wanted Sean to be rejected and rebelled against, but it would have been INTERESTING if he was resistant to the idea for exactly the reasons the ladies had thought he might be. But no. He's already got a few choices in mind and thinks they've got enough dragons to populate three or even four Weyrs.
The stonecutters are an issue, but they've got some plans to extend them long enough to carve out what they need.
More updates: Benden's dead. (good riddance!) Joel Liliankamp is now the manager of Fort Hold. I still wonder how HIS name ended up getting to the Travelers instead of Connell. But okay, fine. He's a little more difficult than Benden, apparently, but Sean's been hammering things out with him.
There is an interesting bit of potential conflict that I'm sure McCaffrey will never explore when Sorka realizes that the reason Sean wants three new Weyrs is because he wants to avoid accusations of favoritism. Apparently Mihall is ambitious and wants to be a Weyrleader, though he's sensible enough not to be too loud or obnoxious about it.
(Mihall was apparently the youngest to ever Impress at twelve. Which raises interesting questions about how long it takes them to mature, as earlier, they'd said something about his bronze being old enough to fly queens for three years. I'll have to find out how old he actually is before I get too skeeved.)
Anyway, I appreciate that ambition isn't treated as inherently bad here. He wants to be a Weyrleader, but he's careful about not taking advantage of his position as Sean and Sorka's son.
And this bit annoys me:
“We’ve got twenty mating queens—discounting you, because no one flies Faranth but Carenath—” He cocked a stern finger at her, provoking her to grin smugly. “And the three injured . . .”
“Porth can fly,” Sorka objected on Tarrie’s behalf.
“But she doesn’t fly long enough to have a good clutch.”
“Tarrie’s got experience managing Weyr problems,” Sorka said staunchly, knowing how often she’d relied on her friend during her pregnancies or when the children were too ill for her to cope with all that went to running a Weyr.
“All perfectly true, but I mean to start the new Weyrs with young leaders who’ll see their group through the rest of the Fall: who can pass on what we had to learn the hard way.”
Why again is ability to lead or manage connected to stupid mating flights?! Who the fuck cares about clutches?! Let her do her damn job and let one of the other queens breed up the next generation! They don't HAVE to be connected!!!
ARGH!!!
Three Weyrs? My word, she thought with relief and a certain amount of awe. Jays, when Sean let go, he let go with a vengeance. Young leaders! That made excellent sense, and there were enough. Any one of those who were currently Wingleaders could manage a Weyr: they’d been thoroughly indoctrinated by Sean, with emphasis on safety and tactics. Even the Wingseconds would make good leaders. Too bad the blues simply hadn’t the stamina to keep up with a queen. At that, there were only two Wingseconds. And she didn’t see either Frank Bonneau or Ashok Kung as Weyrleaders. Nice enough young men, but better as subordinates than leaders.
If there are blue riders who can lead, why does it matter if they can fly a queen?! What does dragon stamina have to do with the rider's mind?!
ARGH!!!
But anyway, Sorka's happy Mihall has a chance, especially as he's popular with the ladies. She does note that she'll have to have a word with him about fidelity.
...why? Why does that matter? Why can't he fly a queen in mating season and fuck other people again? Why can't the women do the same? WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE SO WEIRD ABOUT THIS?!
So back to Torene, who is excited again about the possibility of the new Weyr. Her Weyr. I can dig it. They're setting up gear and she's making sure everything's a-ok, especially if Sean's going to inspect. But it sounds like she's thorough anyway.
We meet F'mar here. Fulmar Stone Junior. He rides Tallith and he clearly has an eye for Torene. We're told he's eight years older (having been five when the family landed) and he'd Impressed at 19.
Okay, that's kind of interesting. So Torene's a lot older than I thought, if she was born three years after Landing. Sean and Sorka were only, what, twelve at the time of Landing? (A quick glance at my Dragonsdawn reviews indicate I couldn't actually figure out how old they were. Hah. It does seem like Mihall/Michael was born in part two though, so eight years in. Torene then would be about five years older than Michael. Which isn't bad, but surprising for McCaffrey.)
Anyway, F'mar doesn't seem that bad yet. Though there is a note about him not enjoying "the additional duties that the riders assumed inside the Weyr" so I may be speaking too soon.
Torene, we're told, doesn't favor many men. She knows them too well to see them in a sexual way, except Mihall of course, but only because she doesn't know him well. She actually likes F'mar best of them - he's got good humor and pleasant good looks, but she doesn't give him any encouragement.
Hm, have you considered girls? Given her description of you earlier, I think Sorka might be into it.
So there's a meal. Dragonriders eat very well, we're told, and it's one of the enticements to becoming one. (Apparently very early on Sean and Sorka had to "act rather autocratically" in demanding enough candidates, but eventually it became a mark of honor.)
Fire lizards are still in demand, but there are fewer and fewer, apparently the colder climate is less appealing. But Ierne Island apparently has a lot of them still, so they've been able to withstand without coming to Fort.
...I don't know how I feel about this...
No, Sean asked Carenath his opinion of some of the candidates. It would be good for Dagmath’s rider to have some of his own persuasion.
Torene considered that. The blue rider preferred boys to girls. And Sean would prefer to have fewer of the speedy little green dragons out of action because their riders were taking maternity leave.
I...feel like we shouldn't be picking rider candidates to pimp out to a gay rider? And the sexism of denying a rider based on possible maternity leave...
What the fuck, McCaffrey?!
F'mar comes by to hit on Torene and gossip. He's apparently heard that Sean was scheming instead of hunting and he thinks this might lead to a new Weyr. She's delighted, but also ditches F'mar at first opportunity.
We skip ahead to Fall day, which means some neat info about tactics but nothing too notable. And more to support Multi-Facet's read and contradict mine, Torene reflects on her confession to Sorka and Sean about her ability to hear all dragons. The description of it as a unique talent definitely seems to support the idea that Sorka didn't have it. Mea culpa.
So thread fighting. Fun to read, but less fun to recap. P'ter's Siwith is injured and I can't help but feel it's because of both of their stupid names. Cursed by stupid names. Sorry guys.
They are able to get them back to Fort Weyr for recovery though. Later we learn they'll be out for months, to regrow the membrane, but not permanently.
And we get to see Torene's skill as a leader and in dealing with other riders. Honestly, I'm still annoyed that SHE doesn't get to be Weyrleader.
F'mar by the way is grinning, which creeps Torene out. And we get an interesting side note about how, to Alaranth, Bronze dragons are much the same in a mating flight. I guess that explains why the rider preferences are so influential.
(Though I'd like to believe Ramoth and Mnementh have true love.)
Sean gets to give a speech about the formation of new Weyrs, yay. And Torene's site is going to be first. There's some politicking involved with settlements coming north, but I've been neglecting that aspect in this recap. They're going to help set up Weyrs though and they think Sean's doing them the favor instead. Which is clever.
So ultimately, there will be four Weyrs. Everyone gets to draw straws for the Weyrs they're going to. The gold dragons will be divided, except Faranth/Sorka who are, naturally, staying with Sean and Carenath.
Some of this does make sense though. Pre-established wings will go with their Wingleader, wherever he draws. So folks won't have to relearn formations and the like. And eggs will be divvied up too.
Torene is torn because she really wants her favorite cave system. Telgar would be nearer to her parents. And staying at Fort would be good, as she's one of the youngest, with much to learn.
But happily, she does draw the east coast. So yay. N'klas, who has had some speaking lines, got east coast as well. F'mar got Telgar, but she's not unhappy about that.
...ugh. Sean does say that instead of choosing Weyrleaders, the fairest way is to let the queens decide. Fuck off Sean. This system is bullshit.
Basically, whichever queen rises first will decide the Weyrleader. Which is even stupider, because Torene realizes that her Amaranth is next in line. (That could be intentional though, since Sean did say something earlier about wanting young leadership.)
There's a weird moment here:
She was startled out of her reverie when F’mar leaned down, lips to her ear.
“I would have liked to have you as my Weyrwoman, ’Rene,” he murmured. Before she could remark on his arrogance, being so sure that he would end up Telgar’s Weyrleader, he had moved to the center tables.
“Sour grapes?” N’klas asked, jerking his thumb at F’mar’s retreating back.
“No, no sour grapes,” she said, with a not too saccharine smile. “He’s got as good a chance as anyone to make Weyrleader at Telgar. See—” She pointed at Arna, Nya, and Sigurd already seated at the head of one of the Telgar tables.
We were just told, not too long ago, that Mihall's desire to be Weyrleader is fine. So why is F'mar's comment here "arrogant"? Torene even SAID she liked him best, albeit with lukewarm praise, earlier.
We find out David Caterel, one of the original seventeen riders, is joining them. And there's a weird moment where he gives Torene a look that makes her blush. "HE knew" we're told. But what he knows is not clear.
Anyway, of course, Mihall is here too. Apparently Torene has decided she resents him being in her Weyr. Which is weird. But okay.
David might not be too bad though, since, when the youngsters offer to let him lead the informal meeting out of respect, he is happy enough to let the others continue.
Oh, and hey, Dagmath's rider, Martin is here. Hi random gay dude. I hope you appreciate Sean's attempt to pimp for you.
They make plans to see the new Weyr the next day, but happily Torene's got some "plasfilm" they can look at. David fills them in on the whole tithing scheme, since their old hunting techniques might be less useful soon. They're going to be planting Ted Tubberman's grubs and it'll be hundreds of years for them to spread.
Aw, Ted is actually getting credit for once?
Torene ends up naming the place Benden, though why, I have no idea, as we've never heard her say anything about Paul Benden before now. Everyone thinks that's a great idea though.
Honestly, David Caterel seems to hit it off pretty well with Torene. He seems like a sensible guy, interested in her opinions, and not creepy. But then Mihall shows up.
“It’ll be your Weyr, ’Rene,” said a soft, amused tenor voice. She looked down into Mihall Connell’s slightly mocking gray-blue eyes. She’d never been close enough to see their color before. “Come the time. Alaranth flies,” he went on. “She’ll fly soon—but you know that, don’t you?”
There was no mockery in his tone, and he’d made more of a statement than a question.
“Well, if you intend to be Weyrleader, why aren’t you in there, mapping your space?” The moment the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them and bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Mihall.”
“Why?” His very regular eyebrows quirked briefly, and his gray-blue eyes, not a trace of mockery in them, met hers once more, his head tilted up at her. “I should like to be Weyrleader. I intend to be Weyrleader. Everyone knows that.” The mockery was back. “The question is, how does Alaranth feel about Brianth?”
“Isn’t it more how I feel about you?” The words tumbled out before she could stop them, and she shook her head and stamped her foot in annoyance: That wasn’t at all what she had intended to say.
Mihall rose slowly until he was looking down at her, an intense expression on his face. “No, it’s ultimately the dragons who decide: the one who decides how to fly this queen, and the one who decides who she’ll let catch her.”
...ick. Can we keep David Caterel instead?
But sadly, Torene seems kind of into him. Or at least, she's horrified by her social blunders. And ugh. Mihall's Brianth just says not to worry.
Then we get a cute scene of Torene with her parents, before she goes to Benden Weyr. There's nothing really notable here, but it's sweet.
And of course, Mihall shows up. Admittedly, he doesn't seem quite as much like a dick, but he doesn't have a speaking line for a while. Torene continues to be conflicted. And the others show up. Amusingly, D'vid is here too. But David Caterel continues to be the superior David.
So they get to explore the new Weyr. Many, including Torene, bring supplies to stay overnight. Mihall actually is pretty useful as he apparently led riders south to pick up chickens and other livestock that had been sheltering in the Catherine Caves.
He also gets some numbweed for Torene's shoulders and gives her a massage. He works fast.
So more set up. More livestock, digging of hypocausts. Fun to read, boring to recap. At one point they take their only break to attend the new Hatching. Most of the new hatchlings are assigned to Benden. Apparently F'mar complains, even though Telgar hasn't been dug out yet. Apparently, Telgar will have the next batch.
And yep, F'mar is the guy we don't like for some reason because he's been antagonizing Sean.
The Benden folk kind of informally elect David Caterel, figuring that his experience gives him the right. Torene is on board, noting that he listens to objections. She notes that people have given her deference as she's pretty much set to be primary Weyrwoman.
She ends up contemplating the riders. The younger ones, all with very stupid apostrophe names (N'klas, L'ren, T'mas, D'vid, seriously??) all hang around a lot. David Caterel is courteous, but apparently treats all women the same way, even the lady he'd last flown with.
Mihall shows up, of course, when she's in trouble. He doesn't linger though. And then at some point he barges in yelling at them to get the other queens away, as it's time for mating flight. Torene hadn't noticed her heat.
He is of course kind of bossy. But to be fair, this was kind of her dropping the ball. She knows how this works, but hates the whole audience part of this. Especially knowing whoever wins will be the leader. I hate this fucking system. Just give it to David, he's doing fine!
But of course we get a long, admittedly quite viscerally passionate version of the dragons mating. We eventually shift back to Torene, who is naked in a bronze rider's arms. Because that's how it goes.
And of course, it's Mihall. Who apparently was not all that deft, controlled or polite. AND resented her virginity. Fuck you, dude. Torene's just happy her dragon got to choose instead of her, which seems unhealthy. And maybe asexual? I'm sorry if you're asexual in this gross system. Or a lesbian.
I think I'm just annoyed because there was plenty of time in this story to show that M'hall would be a good leader, if they wanted to. Sean and David Caterel had their moments. TORENE had moments. But Mihall really hasn't stood out. Which is annoying.
But Torene apparently is into Mihall after all, and has decided she likes his body and the way it made her feel. Honey, that's an orgasm. I'm sure someone knows how to make you a dildo.
And I suppose, Mihall kind of makes up for his whole "it's all about the dragons" earlier here:
“Alaranth hadn’t a chance against that technique,” she said.
“I didn’t intend that she should, ’Rene,” he said with a slow smile, and stroked her cheek again. It was the warm smile she liked so much. “I couldn’t let any other rider have you.”
She looked up at him quizzically: not “dragon,” but “rider” and “you.” He meant her, not just what she brought to this union, her dragon and the Weyrleadership.
I mean, it might have been nice if he showed that at any point earlier. Now of course, he talks about how he's wanted her since he saw her Impress. But his dad had already warned him away from the queen riders, so he had to shadow Admiral Benden to get near her.
That apparently was a long time ago. I feel like if I went back in Dragonsdawn I could probably find where Torene got picked. But I'm a little too lazy. Also, depending on age, that could be creepy. None of this explains why Mihall was so annoying earlier. OR why he was angry at her virginity. OR...
Well, whatever. Everyone's content and happy and the story ends here. #JusticeForDavidCaterel.
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Date: 2026-05-20 11:06 am (UTC)If I remember correctly, in Dragonflight, F'lar lists those who heard all dragons as Moreta and Torene when talking to Lessa about the Ballad of Moreta's Ride and timing it, but I could be misremembering the context.
I've always felt that this story was basically a lot of "here's how we get to all that stuff and all those locations later" tale. It also feels a bit like an excerpt or a bunch of scenes from a book Anne never fully plotted out because she just wasn't interested in it. A whole lot of things get tossed into the short stories here and then we jump to the second, or is it third pass, in Red Star Rising.
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Date: 2026-05-20 06:39 pm (UTC)Once we have a few more Ezramils, in place of Ryans, then I can see the apostrophes being useful.
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Date: 2026-06-01 12:58 am (UTC)Anyway, this summary is bringing to mind a question. We know the Crossing to the northern continent had its hazards. Now I'm wondering if Anne just didn't go into detail about possible loss of life that might have contributed to Pernese society getting so gendered in a hurry. We saw a ton of that in the First Fall -which probably also contributed-, but did the Crossing have a similar effect?
And Kitti Ping was mentioned to be old-fashioned, but she may have believed there was a method to it, to protect the rarest dragons. (Wonder if anyone's written a 'fic from her perspective about that. We know the green dragons were made sterile to prevent overpopulation, but we never heard what Kitti was thinking from Mrs. McCaffrey.)
no subject
Date: 2026-06-01 03:12 am (UTC)It would be interesting to see Kitti's perspective, but the one I'd much rather see is Wind Blossom, mostly because I feel like there's a really compelling story buried there that McCaffrey's just not interested in.