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i_read_whatSo last time, we got a glimpse of the Pernese situation seven years after Dragonflight and I mourned the ruination of the only likable characters in that entire book (except Lytol, who remains my favorite).
This time is more of that as we follow F'lar (fuck you, F'lar!) to a meeting of Weyrleaders to discuss what just happened.
Actually, I lied about the Oldtimers being the only likable characters in Dragonflight, because Mnementh was and remains completely awesome. We see this when Mnementh materializes so high above Fort Weyr that it's barely a speck on the land below. He does this so he can remind F'lar that he must be calm, cool and commanding at this meeting.
F'lar is already a bit out of sorts because, even though he'd sent a message requesting a meeting of all of the Weyrs to deal with what happened to F'nor at a decent hour, T'ron replied and set the time at "first watch, Fort Weyr time", which is a "most inconsiderate hour" for F'lar and inconvenient for a number of other Weyrleaders as well.
F'lar realizes that T'ron wants him irritated, so he intends to appear amiable and plans to apologize to D'ram, R'mart, and G'narish, the other inconvenienced Weyrleaders and push the blame onto T'ron.
From F'lar, we learn that it's an absolute rule that dragonriders do not take green dragons or queen dragons from the Weyrs when they're due to mate. Apparently female dragons broadcast their emotions on a wide band, causing reactions among "even the most insensitive commoners" - and I really think it's telling that F'lar uses that word for non-dragonriders - and even animals. We're told that even young Hold folk respond with "embarrassing consequences".
Oh god, this gets better and more rapey as we go. Anyway, this doesn't bother weyrfolk, because they "long since disregarded sexual inhibitions". Reminder: the Weyrs recruit dragonriders as CHILDREN.
We also learn that dueling between dragonriders is a complete prohibition. Any difficulties were meant to be settled in unarmed bouts that are carefully refereed. This is because dragons suicide when their riders die, and they can panic if their rider is hurt or remains unconscious for long. So dueling is prohibited, if only because of the risk to the dragon.
So anyway, F'lar has already gotten testimony from Terry and the other smithcrafters and has determined that a Fort Weyr rider violated both restrictions, which is ironic because T'ron is the biggest critic of Benden Weyr's relaxed customs.
As mentioned before, there was nothing about T'TON in Dragonflight that showed any such rigidity or hidebound thinking. Again, he was willing to lead the entire world's dragons four hundred years into the future on a wing and a prayer and was very open and welcoming to F'lar when he got here. But Ms. McCaffrey wants a villain to make F'lar and company look good, even though F'lar and company were demanding parasites to the Lord Holders for four hundred years.
It's very frustrating to me. I suppose I'm intended to look at this and see how much F'lar has matured as a person, but there's never a point that acknowledges that in the not so distant past, Benden Weyr was as bad, if not worse, to the Holds as the Oldtimers are now. Four HUNDRED years of seizing tithes and taking women and children without doing ANYTHING. At least the dragons are legitimately saving the world now.
We're again told how the Oldtimers dismiss any and all of F'lar's innovations, and I admit, a lot can change in eight years, but I wish Ms. McCaffrey bothered to explain what's changed. The Oldtimers were initially delighted by F'lar's charts, Fandarel's sprayers and other innovations. What's changed? Is it just that some of F'lar's other changes simply hit closer to home? Is it because they feel like Benden has lost its cultural identity and these changes are a part of that?
I feel like that might be the implication, but the book doesn't directly tell us, so this all feels very abrupt and strange. It might help if we ever got to see a section from one of the more conservative Oldtimers' point of view. But I don't think we do. I feel like Ms. McCaffrey is just happy with the logic that these people are old, therefore they are conservative, ignoring that they're only here because of an act of remarkable radicalism. But I've grown repetitive, so I'll move on.
Anyway, F'lar expands on the conflict from his point of view. He defends his choice to open Impressions to the lads from Holds and Crafts, though, as we'd seen that wasn't entirely F'lar's doing. They had actually recruited some Hold and Craft boys before F'lar took over (N'ton, for example, or the Harper C'gan), but to be fair to F'lar, he did make it more of a priority.
F'lar had also offended the Oldtimers by suggesting they open the mating flights of junior queens to bronzes from other Weyrs, so they'd soon have clutches as large as Benden's. I'm still not sure how that works biologically, but okay. F'lar defends himself by saying he hadn't suggested they throw open the SENIOR queens' flights, and therefore challenge the Weyrleaders openly. But I think F'lar is being less than honest here. He is absolutely smart enough to realize that eventually the senior queens will age out, and that the new larger generation of bronzes will supplant the Weyrleaders naturally. F'lar is attempting to stack the deck (like he did with Lytol and Jaxom).
He points out the diplomatic advantages of inviting Holders and Crafters to Impressions too, that there isn't a man in Pern who hasn't once fantasized about riding a dragon, and this was a way to get them emotionally invested, and both make the Weyrs seem less like a privileged over class as well as put a human face on the riders who the Weyrfolk are bound to.
There's another innovation that F'lar apparently had done while Benden was the only Weyr that we're just hearing about now: namely, he'd assigned messenger dragons to every Hold and Craft. I don't think this is something Ms. McCaffrey pulled out of her ass this time, since as I recall there was mention of Lytol arriving via messenger dragon last book. But she had not elaborated on the system. It makes a lot of sense, and honestly, I think if Benden had that kind of thing in place at some point in the last four hundred years, maybe the Holds wouldn't have gotten quite so frustrated. Everyone likes a communication system.
As much as I hate F'lar, and believe you me, I really do hate F'lar, I have to admit that Benden would probably have benefited by having some folk with his ideas much earlier. (He's also managed not to piss me off in the last three pages, but we haven't seen him interact with Lessa or think about women, so he's still got time.)
Anyway, we get to the meeting and not everyone has arrived. One of the missing people, T'kul of High Reaches, is apparently so obnoxious that Mnementh won't even use his name. F'lar regrets the absence of R'mart of Telgar though, because he and G'narish of Igen are apparently the youngest and least set in their ways. F'lar has noticed that they've been sympathetic to some of his suggestions. F'lar also regrets that Lessa couldn't come and...tweak things along or talk to other dragons behind their riders back.
F'lar, you're letting your supervillain tendencies show again. I'm not sure what it says about me that I actually kind of enjoy that. If only you weren't like completely horrible in so many other ways.
F'lar also tells us about the falling out between Mardra and Lessa. Apparently in the first days they were as close as we saw, but things soured.
Oh, good. Here we go: "Mardra was a handsome woman, with a full, strong figure, and while she was nowhere near as promiscuous with her favors as Kylara of Southern Weyr, she was much sought after by bronze riders. By nature she was intensely possessive and not, F’lar realized, particularly intelligent. Lessa, dainty, oddly beautiful, already a Weyr legend for that spectacular ride between time, had unconsciously attracted attention from Mardra. Mardra evidently didn’t consider the fact that Lessa made no attempt to entice any favorite from Mardra, did not, indeed, dally with any man (for which F’lar was immensely pleased)."
Hoo boy. Let's look at this mess. Let's set aside yet another unnecessary and unprovoked criticism of Kylara for being sexually promiscuous. Let's set aside the completely uncalled for comparison of the women's looks. Or F'lar's dismissal of Mardra as "not very intelligent", though he offers nothing to support that claim. (But of course Mardra's appearance is relevant...)
Fuck you, F'lar.
F'lar does give us a more tangible reason for Mardra's hatred of Lessa: namely, Mardra feels that Lessa, as the only survivor of Ruatha's bloodline, had no right to give up the Hold to Jaxom. This makes more sense to me than the rest of the Oldtimer characterizations. While I still think Mardra had already known about this issue when they left the past, I can buy that it felt a lot different once she came to the future and saw her home in ruins. As usual, Lessa's conflicts feel the most true to life of any of the nonsense in this book. That's because Lessa is awesome.
Oh, hey: "So it was as well the Weyrwomen had not been included in this meeting. Put Mardra in the same room with Lessa and there’d be problems. Add Kylara of the Southern Weyr who was apt to make trouble for the pure joy of getting attention by disrupting others, and nothing would be accomplished. Nadira of Igen Weyr liked Lessa but in a passive way. Bedella of Telgar Weyr was stupid and Fauna of Ista, taciturn. Merika of the High Reaches was as much a sour sort as her Weyrleader T’kul.
This was a matter for men to settle."
Fuck you, F'lar.
But hey, look at this:
"Lessa would never resort to such mean-spirited strategies. F’lar knew how often the impulsive Lessa had bitten back quick answers when Mardra had patronized her. In fact, Lessa’s forbearance with the haughty Fort Weyrwoman was miraculous, considering Lessa’s temper. F’lar supposed that his Weyrmate felt responsible for uprooting the Oldtimers. But the final decision to go forward in time had been theirs.
Well, if Lessa could endure Mardra’s condescension out of gratitude, F’lar could try to put up with T’ron. The man did know how to fight Thread effectively and F’lar had learned a great deal from him at first. So, in a determinedly pleasant frame of mind, F’lar walked down the short passage to the Fort Weyr Council Room."
Wait a second here, are we actually seeing F'lar praise Lessa? Are we seeing him admire her, not just for the way that she makes things more convenient to him? Is he actually acknowledging that her behavior is inspiring him to try to be better as well. Is he actually acknowledging that he and Lessa DO owe Mardra and T'ron a fair bit?
Is this...growth? I'll be damned.
This next bit is surprising too:
"T’ron, seated in the big stone chair at the head of the Table, acknowledged F’lar’s entry with a stiff nod. The light of the glows on the wall cast unflattering shadows on the Oldtimer’s heavy, lined face. It struck F’lar forcibly that the man, had never known anything but fighting Thread. He must have been born when the Red Star began that last fifty-Turn-long Pass around Pern, and he’d fought Thread until the Star had finished its circuit. Then followed Lessa forward. A man could get mighty tired of fighting Thread in just seven short Turns. F’lar halted that line of thought."
Holy crap. Is F'lar of Benden Weyr, OUR F'lar of "Fuck you, F'lar" fame, is he actually showing EMPATHY for someone? And not the offensive backhanded empathy he showed Lytol last book, but a genuine realization of how the other man might be feeling?
My god. I don't really know how to react to this. Might F'lar be actually growing into a salvageable human being???
F'lar isn't alone among the Oldtimers though, as T'bor of Southern Weyr is also present. T'ron is annoyed that F'lar messaged everyone instead of coming directly to him first, but surprisingly G'narish backs F'lar up, insisting that any Weyrleader can call a joint meeting if the circumstances warrant.
D'ram also backs F'lar up, since the Fort rider had been the aggressor in the conflict. We're told that G'narish is the youngest Oldtime Weyrleader, and is, in fact, a few years younger than F'lar himself.
T'bor is a bit less helpful, taking little snipes at T'ron via small talk about wine. F'lar shifts the topic into congratulating D'ram for his Weyr's recent clutch: twenty five with probably six bronzes, which isn't too bad really. While doing this, he asks Mnementh to ask T'bor's Orth to tell T'bor to think before he speaks. F'lar also starts to suggest a possible candidate if D'ram needs a green rider, but is cut off by D'ram.
I'm side-eyeing Ms. McCaffrey a bit at the idea that F'lar might eyeball a boy and know he'd be specifically suited for a green dragon, given the "interesting" ideas she's expressed about sexuality in the past. Of course, given that greens mate with browns, and the latter are men as well, it might just mean that F'lar has a good gaydar.
This section is interesting because it establishes F'lar's heretofore unknown diplomatic ability. He never really had to be diplomatic in Dragonflight. Then, there was only Benden Weyr, and well, we know how the dragonriders see themselves as superior to pretty much everyone. Even in the council of Lords, there was no one who could really challenge him. Not when Thread was here.
But now, F'lar is just one of many Weyrleaders, and he's considerably outnumbered by the Oldtimers. He can't just dictate to them, he has to play politics. And he seems to be fairly good at it, so far.
T'ron finally loses patience and calls the meeting. He tells the others that the offending Fort riders couldn't be there because their dragons only just got back from the mating flight, and they're "in no condition to attend the meeting.
*cough* IfYouKnowWhatIMean.
The others are less than impressed by this, or by T'ron's attempts to foist the blame on F'lar. But T'bor doesn't help matters by being very confrontational about whether or not T'reb should have realized that Beth was in heat. T'ron points out that heat can come on very suddenly, which F'lar acknowledges.
The circumstances of the knife come up: T'ron is at first aghast that F'lar would accept the word of a "commoner" over a dragonrider, which makes me hate the Weyrs all over again. Then T'ron tries to blame Terry for not giving the knife as some kind of tithe.
F'lar makes a mistake by defending Terry: the knife was meant as a wedding gift from Lord Larad of Telgar and wasn't his to give, but that turns the discussion into a Lord Holder vs. dragonfolk issue, and he's not going to win that with this crowd. It might have been different if R'mart, as Telgar Weyrleader were present to defend his Lord Holder's interests, but he's not.
Ultimately, D'ram is the one who conducts the meeting, getting them back on track and reining in T'ron. He seems to be a reasonable person and at least tacitly admits that this is a very serious issue. But he wants to find for T'ron, and he does so with the argument that Terry should have given the knife to T'reb, as the craftsmen would have in the past. Pern is more productive now than it was in the past, and that's not reflected in the tithes, and there is a much higher population and amount of cultivated land, so the burden on the Weyrs is heavier. D'ram also points out that if Terry had given over the knife, T'reb and B'naj would have left before Beth hit full heat.
It's utter nonsense of course and I resent Ms. McCaffrey for making me side with F'lar and company here. To his credit, D'ram doesn't seem completely happy with his own verdict.
D'ram is about to address the "dueling" (or, as T'bor correctly points out, the attack), but T'bor manages to enrage T'ron who insists that the meeting is over.
G'narish is the one to protest: nothing's been done. He's also the one to point out that F'nor had been injured, and when F'lar elaborates on F'nor's condition (not serious: won't lose the use of his arm), he's notably upset on F'nor's behalf.
This does at least get D'ram to ask T'ron to "speak to T'reb" but that's about it.
After the meeting, F'lar and T'bor talk: T'bor is frustrated while F'lar is more perturbed at what he believes T'ron's goal was: he thinks T'ron was trying to get him mad enough to attack him.
There's a kind of cute bit where T'bor makes a rude noise about T'ron's chances in that fight and F'lar grins. But, F'lar points out, that for all their advantages, the modern dragonriders need the Oldtimers more than the Oldtimers need them.
As contrived and annoying as I find this entire situation, I have to admit that I like the way it allows F'lar to show that he's grown as a person. F'lar knows that he's right and T'ron is wrong, but he also knows there's no real point in making T'ron say it outloud. Unlike the F'lar of Dragonflight, who got mad when Lessa stole his thunder, this F'lar recognizes that pride is less important than results.
We get a little more insight into T'bor's dynamic with F'lar, with some gratuitous Kylara bashing: namely T'bor's great in the sky, not so skilled on land, but with "subtle guidance", had built Southern Weyr into a true establishment. He looks to F'lar for direction and companionship, which F'lar attributes at least in part to Kylara's difficult and disturbing temperament.
F'lar also wonders what tie existed between the two riders, since Orth consistently outflew everyone to mate with Prideth (spelling apparently changed from Dragonflight where she was Pridith). Even though Kylara sleeps with many men.
This is something I wish Ms. McCaffrey had bothered to elaborate on: exactly how much the queen rider's choice influences her dragon's. It doesn't magically fix all of the consent issues inherent in this set up, but it does at least make it a little more palatable to think that there is some measure of choice. Though "none of you idiots" is clearly not an option.
Anyway, I resent that Kylara is expected to bend over backward to accommodate this dude simply because his dragon is the best at banging hers. Even if he's the best of bad options, why does she have to pretend to like him? Why shouldn't she have lovers that she actually likes?
God, I hate the dragonriders.
F'lar thinks that Lessa isn't going to like his report of the meeting. But he does note that G'narish, of all of them, might have seen past the obvious. And maybe next time, he might side with the modern dragonriders.
Okay, this IS an improvement. F'lar's thought of Lessa multiple times this past chapter, and I haven't wanted to skewer him with a rusty pole during any of those times. He expresses respect for her, his fondness for her, and indicates multiple times how involved Lessa is in co-running the Weyr. (I like the thought that he reports to her, for example). This is a drastic improvement over Dragonflight.
I won't be able to forget what came before, but it will make their dynamic a lot more palatable if this continues.
This time is more of that as we follow F'lar (fuck you, F'lar!) to a meeting of Weyrleaders to discuss what just happened.
Actually, I lied about the Oldtimers being the only likable characters in Dragonflight, because Mnementh was and remains completely awesome. We see this when Mnementh materializes so high above Fort Weyr that it's barely a speck on the land below. He does this so he can remind F'lar that he must be calm, cool and commanding at this meeting.
F'lar is already a bit out of sorts because, even though he'd sent a message requesting a meeting of all of the Weyrs to deal with what happened to F'nor at a decent hour, T'ron replied and set the time at "first watch, Fort Weyr time", which is a "most inconsiderate hour" for F'lar and inconvenient for a number of other Weyrleaders as well.
F'lar realizes that T'ron wants him irritated, so he intends to appear amiable and plans to apologize to D'ram, R'mart, and G'narish, the other inconvenienced Weyrleaders and push the blame onto T'ron.
From F'lar, we learn that it's an absolute rule that dragonriders do not take green dragons or queen dragons from the Weyrs when they're due to mate. Apparently female dragons broadcast their emotions on a wide band, causing reactions among "even the most insensitive commoners" - and I really think it's telling that F'lar uses that word for non-dragonriders - and even animals. We're told that even young Hold folk respond with "embarrassing consequences".
Oh god, this gets better and more rapey as we go. Anyway, this doesn't bother weyrfolk, because they "long since disregarded sexual inhibitions". Reminder: the Weyrs recruit dragonriders as CHILDREN.
We also learn that dueling between dragonriders is a complete prohibition. Any difficulties were meant to be settled in unarmed bouts that are carefully refereed. This is because dragons suicide when their riders die, and they can panic if their rider is hurt or remains unconscious for long. So dueling is prohibited, if only because of the risk to the dragon.
So anyway, F'lar has already gotten testimony from Terry and the other smithcrafters and has determined that a Fort Weyr rider violated both restrictions, which is ironic because T'ron is the biggest critic of Benden Weyr's relaxed customs.
As mentioned before, there was nothing about T'TON in Dragonflight that showed any such rigidity or hidebound thinking. Again, he was willing to lead the entire world's dragons four hundred years into the future on a wing and a prayer and was very open and welcoming to F'lar when he got here. But Ms. McCaffrey wants a villain to make F'lar and company look good, even though F'lar and company were demanding parasites to the Lord Holders for four hundred years.
It's very frustrating to me. I suppose I'm intended to look at this and see how much F'lar has matured as a person, but there's never a point that acknowledges that in the not so distant past, Benden Weyr was as bad, if not worse, to the Holds as the Oldtimers are now. Four HUNDRED years of seizing tithes and taking women and children without doing ANYTHING. At least the dragons are legitimately saving the world now.
We're again told how the Oldtimers dismiss any and all of F'lar's innovations, and I admit, a lot can change in eight years, but I wish Ms. McCaffrey bothered to explain what's changed. The Oldtimers were initially delighted by F'lar's charts, Fandarel's sprayers and other innovations. What's changed? Is it just that some of F'lar's other changes simply hit closer to home? Is it because they feel like Benden has lost its cultural identity and these changes are a part of that?
I feel like that might be the implication, but the book doesn't directly tell us, so this all feels very abrupt and strange. It might help if we ever got to see a section from one of the more conservative Oldtimers' point of view. But I don't think we do. I feel like Ms. McCaffrey is just happy with the logic that these people are old, therefore they are conservative, ignoring that they're only here because of an act of remarkable radicalism. But I've grown repetitive, so I'll move on.
Anyway, F'lar expands on the conflict from his point of view. He defends his choice to open Impressions to the lads from Holds and Crafts, though, as we'd seen that wasn't entirely F'lar's doing. They had actually recruited some Hold and Craft boys before F'lar took over (N'ton, for example, or the Harper C'gan), but to be fair to F'lar, he did make it more of a priority.
F'lar had also offended the Oldtimers by suggesting they open the mating flights of junior queens to bronzes from other Weyrs, so they'd soon have clutches as large as Benden's. I'm still not sure how that works biologically, but okay. F'lar defends himself by saying he hadn't suggested they throw open the SENIOR queens' flights, and therefore challenge the Weyrleaders openly. But I think F'lar is being less than honest here. He is absolutely smart enough to realize that eventually the senior queens will age out, and that the new larger generation of bronzes will supplant the Weyrleaders naturally. F'lar is attempting to stack the deck (like he did with Lytol and Jaxom).
He points out the diplomatic advantages of inviting Holders and Crafters to Impressions too, that there isn't a man in Pern who hasn't once fantasized about riding a dragon, and this was a way to get them emotionally invested, and both make the Weyrs seem less like a privileged over class as well as put a human face on the riders who the Weyrfolk are bound to.
There's another innovation that F'lar apparently had done while Benden was the only Weyr that we're just hearing about now: namely, he'd assigned messenger dragons to every Hold and Craft. I don't think this is something Ms. McCaffrey pulled out of her ass this time, since as I recall there was mention of Lytol arriving via messenger dragon last book. But she had not elaborated on the system. It makes a lot of sense, and honestly, I think if Benden had that kind of thing in place at some point in the last four hundred years, maybe the Holds wouldn't have gotten quite so frustrated. Everyone likes a communication system.
As much as I hate F'lar, and believe you me, I really do hate F'lar, I have to admit that Benden would probably have benefited by having some folk with his ideas much earlier. (He's also managed not to piss me off in the last three pages, but we haven't seen him interact with Lessa or think about women, so he's still got time.)
Anyway, we get to the meeting and not everyone has arrived. One of the missing people, T'kul of High Reaches, is apparently so obnoxious that Mnementh won't even use his name. F'lar regrets the absence of R'mart of Telgar though, because he and G'narish of Igen are apparently the youngest and least set in their ways. F'lar has noticed that they've been sympathetic to some of his suggestions. F'lar also regrets that Lessa couldn't come and...tweak things along or talk to other dragons behind their riders back.
F'lar, you're letting your supervillain tendencies show again. I'm not sure what it says about me that I actually kind of enjoy that. If only you weren't like completely horrible in so many other ways.
F'lar also tells us about the falling out between Mardra and Lessa. Apparently in the first days they were as close as we saw, but things soured.
Oh, good. Here we go: "Mardra was a handsome woman, with a full, strong figure, and while she was nowhere near as promiscuous with her favors as Kylara of Southern Weyr, she was much sought after by bronze riders. By nature she was intensely possessive and not, F’lar realized, particularly intelligent. Lessa, dainty, oddly beautiful, already a Weyr legend for that spectacular ride between time, had unconsciously attracted attention from Mardra. Mardra evidently didn’t consider the fact that Lessa made no attempt to entice any favorite from Mardra, did not, indeed, dally with any man (for which F’lar was immensely pleased)."
Hoo boy. Let's look at this mess. Let's set aside yet another unnecessary and unprovoked criticism of Kylara for being sexually promiscuous. Let's set aside the completely uncalled for comparison of the women's looks. Or F'lar's dismissal of Mardra as "not very intelligent", though he offers nothing to support that claim. (But of course Mardra's appearance is relevant...)
Fuck you, F'lar.
F'lar does give us a more tangible reason for Mardra's hatred of Lessa: namely, Mardra feels that Lessa, as the only survivor of Ruatha's bloodline, had no right to give up the Hold to Jaxom. This makes more sense to me than the rest of the Oldtimer characterizations. While I still think Mardra had already known about this issue when they left the past, I can buy that it felt a lot different once she came to the future and saw her home in ruins. As usual, Lessa's conflicts feel the most true to life of any of the nonsense in this book. That's because Lessa is awesome.
Oh, hey: "So it was as well the Weyrwomen had not been included in this meeting. Put Mardra in the same room with Lessa and there’d be problems. Add Kylara of the Southern Weyr who was apt to make trouble for the pure joy of getting attention by disrupting others, and nothing would be accomplished. Nadira of Igen Weyr liked Lessa but in a passive way. Bedella of Telgar Weyr was stupid and Fauna of Ista, taciturn. Merika of the High Reaches was as much a sour sort as her Weyrleader T’kul.
This was a matter for men to settle."
Fuck you, F'lar.
But hey, look at this:
"Lessa would never resort to such mean-spirited strategies. F’lar knew how often the impulsive Lessa had bitten back quick answers when Mardra had patronized her. In fact, Lessa’s forbearance with the haughty Fort Weyrwoman was miraculous, considering Lessa’s temper. F’lar supposed that his Weyrmate felt responsible for uprooting the Oldtimers. But the final decision to go forward in time had been theirs.
Well, if Lessa could endure Mardra’s condescension out of gratitude, F’lar could try to put up with T’ron. The man did know how to fight Thread effectively and F’lar had learned a great deal from him at first. So, in a determinedly pleasant frame of mind, F’lar walked down the short passage to the Fort Weyr Council Room."
Wait a second here, are we actually seeing F'lar praise Lessa? Are we seeing him admire her, not just for the way that she makes things more convenient to him? Is he actually acknowledging that her behavior is inspiring him to try to be better as well. Is he actually acknowledging that he and Lessa DO owe Mardra and T'ron a fair bit?
Is this...growth? I'll be damned.
This next bit is surprising too:
"T’ron, seated in the big stone chair at the head of the Table, acknowledged F’lar’s entry with a stiff nod. The light of the glows on the wall cast unflattering shadows on the Oldtimer’s heavy, lined face. It struck F’lar forcibly that the man, had never known anything but fighting Thread. He must have been born when the Red Star began that last fifty-Turn-long Pass around Pern, and he’d fought Thread until the Star had finished its circuit. Then followed Lessa forward. A man could get mighty tired of fighting Thread in just seven short Turns. F’lar halted that line of thought."
Holy crap. Is F'lar of Benden Weyr, OUR F'lar of "Fuck you, F'lar" fame, is he actually showing EMPATHY for someone? And not the offensive backhanded empathy he showed Lytol last book, but a genuine realization of how the other man might be feeling?
My god. I don't really know how to react to this. Might F'lar be actually growing into a salvageable human being???
F'lar isn't alone among the Oldtimers though, as T'bor of Southern Weyr is also present. T'ron is annoyed that F'lar messaged everyone instead of coming directly to him first, but surprisingly G'narish backs F'lar up, insisting that any Weyrleader can call a joint meeting if the circumstances warrant.
D'ram also backs F'lar up, since the Fort rider had been the aggressor in the conflict. We're told that G'narish is the youngest Oldtime Weyrleader, and is, in fact, a few years younger than F'lar himself.
T'bor is a bit less helpful, taking little snipes at T'ron via small talk about wine. F'lar shifts the topic into congratulating D'ram for his Weyr's recent clutch: twenty five with probably six bronzes, which isn't too bad really. While doing this, he asks Mnementh to ask T'bor's Orth to tell T'bor to think before he speaks. F'lar also starts to suggest a possible candidate if D'ram needs a green rider, but is cut off by D'ram.
I'm side-eyeing Ms. McCaffrey a bit at the idea that F'lar might eyeball a boy and know he'd be specifically suited for a green dragon, given the "interesting" ideas she's expressed about sexuality in the past. Of course, given that greens mate with browns, and the latter are men as well, it might just mean that F'lar has a good gaydar.
This section is interesting because it establishes F'lar's heretofore unknown diplomatic ability. He never really had to be diplomatic in Dragonflight. Then, there was only Benden Weyr, and well, we know how the dragonriders see themselves as superior to pretty much everyone. Even in the council of Lords, there was no one who could really challenge him. Not when Thread was here.
But now, F'lar is just one of many Weyrleaders, and he's considerably outnumbered by the Oldtimers. He can't just dictate to them, he has to play politics. And he seems to be fairly good at it, so far.
T'ron finally loses patience and calls the meeting. He tells the others that the offending Fort riders couldn't be there because their dragons only just got back from the mating flight, and they're "in no condition to attend the meeting.
*cough* IfYouKnowWhatIMean.
The others are less than impressed by this, or by T'ron's attempts to foist the blame on F'lar. But T'bor doesn't help matters by being very confrontational about whether or not T'reb should have realized that Beth was in heat. T'ron points out that heat can come on very suddenly, which F'lar acknowledges.
The circumstances of the knife come up: T'ron is at first aghast that F'lar would accept the word of a "commoner" over a dragonrider, which makes me hate the Weyrs all over again. Then T'ron tries to blame Terry for not giving the knife as some kind of tithe.
F'lar makes a mistake by defending Terry: the knife was meant as a wedding gift from Lord Larad of Telgar and wasn't his to give, but that turns the discussion into a Lord Holder vs. dragonfolk issue, and he's not going to win that with this crowd. It might have been different if R'mart, as Telgar Weyrleader were present to defend his Lord Holder's interests, but he's not.
Ultimately, D'ram is the one who conducts the meeting, getting them back on track and reining in T'ron. He seems to be a reasonable person and at least tacitly admits that this is a very serious issue. But he wants to find for T'ron, and he does so with the argument that Terry should have given the knife to T'reb, as the craftsmen would have in the past. Pern is more productive now than it was in the past, and that's not reflected in the tithes, and there is a much higher population and amount of cultivated land, so the burden on the Weyrs is heavier. D'ram also points out that if Terry had given over the knife, T'reb and B'naj would have left before Beth hit full heat.
It's utter nonsense of course and I resent Ms. McCaffrey for making me side with F'lar and company here. To his credit, D'ram doesn't seem completely happy with his own verdict.
D'ram is about to address the "dueling" (or, as T'bor correctly points out, the attack), but T'bor manages to enrage T'ron who insists that the meeting is over.
G'narish is the one to protest: nothing's been done. He's also the one to point out that F'nor had been injured, and when F'lar elaborates on F'nor's condition (not serious: won't lose the use of his arm), he's notably upset on F'nor's behalf.
This does at least get D'ram to ask T'ron to "speak to T'reb" but that's about it.
After the meeting, F'lar and T'bor talk: T'bor is frustrated while F'lar is more perturbed at what he believes T'ron's goal was: he thinks T'ron was trying to get him mad enough to attack him.
There's a kind of cute bit where T'bor makes a rude noise about T'ron's chances in that fight and F'lar grins. But, F'lar points out, that for all their advantages, the modern dragonriders need the Oldtimers more than the Oldtimers need them.
As contrived and annoying as I find this entire situation, I have to admit that I like the way it allows F'lar to show that he's grown as a person. F'lar knows that he's right and T'ron is wrong, but he also knows there's no real point in making T'ron say it outloud. Unlike the F'lar of Dragonflight, who got mad when Lessa stole his thunder, this F'lar recognizes that pride is less important than results.
We get a little more insight into T'bor's dynamic with F'lar, with some gratuitous Kylara bashing: namely T'bor's great in the sky, not so skilled on land, but with "subtle guidance", had built Southern Weyr into a true establishment. He looks to F'lar for direction and companionship, which F'lar attributes at least in part to Kylara's difficult and disturbing temperament.
F'lar also wonders what tie existed between the two riders, since Orth consistently outflew everyone to mate with Prideth (spelling apparently changed from Dragonflight where she was Pridith). Even though Kylara sleeps with many men.
This is something I wish Ms. McCaffrey had bothered to elaborate on: exactly how much the queen rider's choice influences her dragon's. It doesn't magically fix all of the consent issues inherent in this set up, but it does at least make it a little more palatable to think that there is some measure of choice. Though "none of you idiots" is clearly not an option.
Anyway, I resent that Kylara is expected to bend over backward to accommodate this dude simply because his dragon is the best at banging hers. Even if he's the best of bad options, why does she have to pretend to like him? Why shouldn't she have lovers that she actually likes?
God, I hate the dragonriders.
F'lar thinks that Lessa isn't going to like his report of the meeting. But he does note that G'narish, of all of them, might have seen past the obvious. And maybe next time, he might side with the modern dragonriders.
Okay, this IS an improvement. F'lar's thought of Lessa multiple times this past chapter, and I haven't wanted to skewer him with a rusty pole during any of those times. He expresses respect for her, his fondness for her, and indicates multiple times how involved Lessa is in co-running the Weyr. (I like the thought that he reports to her, for example). This is a drastic improvement over Dragonflight.
I won't be able to forget what came before, but it will make their dynamic a lot more palatable if this continues.
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Date: 2024-09-16 12:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-16 01:50 pm (UTC)