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He had been Cetari then. The eldest son of a minor. He had lived in a small shack with his 4 half siblings, 2 younger brothers 10 and 2, and his little sisters 8 and 5. His mother had died when he was but 1 and he never knew her. His father had taken another wife. She was nice enough, but she never treated Cetari as she had her own children. They had never been well off, but they had not starved.

He was raised to be a minor like his father and was training his younger brothers to be the same. At 16 he had no false dreams of being a dragon rider, he knew his place on Pern and was ready to take it, as soon as his father let him step up in the ranks. The guild master at the time had taken a shine to Cetari and had made sure that he had spent plenty of time with the harpers that traveled through. In turn, he taught his own siblings so that they too could make lives for themselves. His own father could not read or write and several harpers had nailed the idea into Cetari's head that the only way to improve ones life was to learn ones lessons. Knowing how to count, read, write and properly respect the dragon riders was the only way to put real food on the table.

It had been a day like any other. Cetari had been sent out to feed and clean the runner beast stalls at dawn. A job he had taken on to earn extra marks since his father's wife had become pregnant again. Plus he wanted to start saving some marks for himself. Get a room of his own somewhere.

Then dragons had appeared in the sky, the watch wher bugled as the brown and blue circled and then landed not up in the fire heights, but right on the ground in front of the main mine entrance. His heart had nearly stopped at their sudden appearance in the crisp early morning air. Their sleek bodies shining in the first rays of sun. Their riders leapt easily off their mounts and walked up to the guild master, who was trying to straighten out a hastily thrown on robe. Cetari had hidden from them.

He hadn't heard the conversation that went on between the riders and his guild master, but the master had suddenly clapped one of the riders on the shoulder and run off to his home. The riders just stood their talking jovially, laughing occasionally. When suddenly their was a bursting of movement and all 9 of the guildmaster's children and foster children were marched out into the courtyard. Half of them squeeled and tried to hide from the dragons. Most of them simply clung to the guildmaster and each other. The riders and dragons seemed to be suddenly very serious. One little boy broke down sobbing and ran back to the hold. The dragon riders seemed to be shaking their heads. And the guildmaster's shoulders slumped. But then, the short stalky man took off in a run, straight for where Cetari was hiding. He rounded the corner to where Cetari stood and grabbed him by his shoulders.

Go, get all your siblings and gather every child you can find. Wake every one up, they've come here on a search!

Cetari remembered how fuzzy the next 15 minutes had been.. or had it been an hour? He had gone for all his siblings and all the children he knew. It was a varitable parade of children. No less than 50 when he was done running door to door.

In all the clutches in the guildmaster's life, his father's life, and his grandfather's life dragon riders had never stopped at their mining hold and he wasn't about to let them leave without taking at least one member of his holding. He already had twice as many children around than he could give jobs too once they had all become of age. Not to mention his wife was with child yet again.

The dragon riders had looked shocked as Cetari had led them all over. Most whining and afraid. A few overtaken by curiosity moved shyly forward. To his surprise Cetari's 10 year old brother Marol had walked right up to the blue and was staring as intently at the dragon's whirling blue eye as the multi faceted jewel eye was staring at him. Cetari remembered how Marol's had was shaking as he reached out to touch the dragon. Cetari had been so sure at that moment that the dragon would swallow his brother whole and without thinking he had jumped forward and picked his brother off the ground and pulled him kicking and whining several feet back from the dragon. Cetari's own heart had been pounding out of control at getting so close. Then a heavy gloved hand gripped his shoulder, both firmly and softly.

It's okay, he won't hurt him.

I think we've found one good candidate. What say you? The blue rider turned to the brown.

I say there are at least three we can take from this motley group that would make good riders. He said nodding to the other. Cetari remembered how the brown looked intently at some of the near naked, shoeless children in the group. Some of them covered in dirt, their hair a matted mess.

The dragon riders sorted through all the children and picked up two more. Spoke breifly with the guildmaster, and then wrapping Marol and the other two youngsters in spare jackets the guild had procured from some unknown store house, they lifted the children, wide eyed to the back of their dragons. Jumped on, and in an instant they were air bourne and gone. Cetari had returned then to the rest of the days chores. He couldn't get the embarrasment out of his mind. Of having thought the blue would harm his brother. And now Marol was off at the weyr. Cetari had tried with all his might to imagine what must be happening at the weyr. His brother was truly lucky to have been chosen in a search. He might even get a dragon!

The day was wonderful, it didn't matter what anyone said or did all the talk was about the three children from their hold, their guild that would stand on the sands for the next hatching. Not only that, one of those chosen, the first chosen to go had been Marol. His father recieved congratulations from every one, even Cetari was getting claps on the back, and 'how does it feel to be getting a dragon rider for a brother?'

As the family sat down for a celebratory dinner his father made an announcement that nearly made Cetari's heart stop.

In honour of Marol getting chosen to stand at the next hatching I want you Cetari, to take mother and the girls to watch the hatching. The grin on his father's face was beaming, his cheeks rosy from toasting with klah and wine all day to his good fortune. I will borrow a wagon from Tregla and rent some good beasts from the hold stables. You'll leave in a week as it's a good three days treck and that's when the rider said the hatching should be around. I don't want any of you to miss this.

Cetari sat dumbstruck for as long as he could remember, his mouth open wide, But father, all the work, I have to clean the stables and...

Nonsence boy, Kriteld will do it in your stead, it's all worked out already.

And that's how it was. Cetari took his mother brother and sister's in the wagon pulled by a wagon beast, he on a runner beast running forward and back making sure the path was clear. Cetari was constantly wary of attackers and others on the road. He'd never actually left his own hold except to act as a runner or messenger to the nearest holds, and even that only happened once or twice. The closer they got to the Weyr the more dragons they saw. At first the sweep riders startled them at every pass, but they had grown accustomed to them now. Plus the roads were now thick with people traveling to the Weyr just as they were.

Cetari would never forget his first view of a weyr with dragons soaring in and out through the top, people rushing too and fro. Dragon riders all looking so calm and collected, like they had not a care in the world. They moved amongst the throng of people to a temporary tent and cart village that was forming on the outskirts of the weyr. Caravans of every type had showed up to sell their wares, bubbly pies, wine and klah were everywhere. A tent with lethers nicer than any he had ever seen. A tent with bowls and another with jewelry. It was all so much to take in, and then there were the clothes that people wore. The fancy outfits of all the upper hold members, dresses with lots of threading, everyone so clean and upstanding it seemed. His face flushed as a large man in fancy dress on a perfectly groomed runner sneered at him and his family and it made him blush in embarrasment to be there.

They found a spot on the outskirts of all the hustle and bustle with other travelers that looked as star struck as they did. They sat quietly not sure what they should do. They had only a few marks between them and even if they had had more, they wouldn't have known what to do with them anyhow.

Finally Cetari had to relent to his sisters' constant torment to go find Marol, and he led them bravely trough the throng to an entrace to the weyr. Upon entering Cetari wished he hadn't given in. The place was alive with people running in every direction. From what he could tell the hatching was imminent. It would happen today, so all the workers were trying to clean everything, get the food ready, the perperations were endless. Finally Cetari saw a man he would later call his own wing leader leaning against a wall trying to snag meat rolls as the trays passed by, but the knowing staff kept their trays at bay.

Um... excuse me sir, but I'm, er... looking for my brother.

The rider looked at him with one eyebrow raised and a sort of snort.

You see, he's a candidate, and we wanted to see him before he went out on the sands. Cetari looked at his feet as he spoke. He felt small and childish here. He was used to the closeness of lots of people deep in the mines. But you could hide in the dark if you ever felt overwhelmed, here there was no where to hide.

Ahhh, yes, they're over in the candidates barracks getting dressed. You take directions well?

Yess.. sir. He slurred, his voice cracking. He could feel sweat dripping down his face. He'd never been so scared in his life. He chided himself for it, he was 16, he wanted to take a good position in the miner craft and yet he couldn't even talk to a dragon rider. No wonder his father hadn't given him any responsibility yet.

On second thought. Tara, take these three to the candidates barraks, he wants to wish his brother luck.

Take him yourself I'm busy. She hollared back as she ran with a full tray of meat rolls from the kitchen to a nearby table slowly filling up with food.

He shrugged and motioned through a door. They seemed to walk forever in the halls of the weyr, which made Cetari feel more at home. The tight enclosed spaces had fewer people wandering through them. The rider didn't say anything more to them as they went, but he suddenly stopped and threw back a curtain. On the other side several boys were rough housing as they dressed in their white tunics. Just as they entered the thrombing started. The dragons began to hum slowly with the queen on the sands.

The boys stopped rough housing and instantly turned to robing themselves.

Op, I better get going, you can just follow the candidates to the bowl, good luck to your brother. He winked and was gone.

But for all he looked, Cetari could not find Marol. He kept his sisters firmly in hand by the door as the candidates filed out behind a dragon rider yelling out orders. He snagged the shoulder of the last candidate coming out of the barracks. Is there another barracks?

Hey, oh, no. Well, there was, but they put us all in here this morning when the weyrwoman said it would be today so they wouldn't have to come looking for us.

Do you know a Marol, he should have been here.

The blond boy shook his head, his curls bouncing a bit. Nope, sorry, gotta go though. With that he ran off after the other candidates going around the corner.

Cetari dutifully grabbed his sisters and followed the line of candidates to the bowl. They followed them out onto the hot sands and then broke from them making for the stands where the rest of the populace was seating themselves. Cetari had not expected the sands to be quite so hot and had to pick up his littlest sister who was whining. Once at the stands, he didn't know where to take them, then with a huge sigh he saw his mother and ran his sisters to her. We couldn't find Marol, and I don't see him now. Cetari was scanning the large group of boys making a sort of crescent shape on one side of the eggs, attempting to avoid the large queen who was easily the center of attention at the moment. Her large eyes whirling violently as she hummed.

Dragons were darting every which way in an acrobatic display as they all returned to their weyrs or found a place on the rim as they all began humming. Cetari saw the dragon rider who had escorted the candidates to the bowl and told his mother he would be right back. He sprintet back onto the sands, hardly noticed now as the eggs had began rocking, the noise of the dragons becoming defening to the ears.

The rider looked down at him with surprise as he tugged on the man's sleeve. MAROL! He yelled, but the rider simply shook his head. There was no way he could have heard him over the ruckous. Cetari danced on the sands his face stricken in worry. The hatching was starting and Marol was not on the sands. His brother's chance to be something great and he wasn't there. His father would never forgive him if they had to bring Marol home because not only did he not impress, but he wasn't even there. The dragon rider simply shook his head again and then lost all interest in Cetari as the first egg spit open.

There were cheers from the crowd. It was a brown and not a bronze, which would have been better. But he broke free immediately and walked straight for a red headed boy in the front. That at least was a really good sign. But Cetari wasn't watching the hatching he was looking for Marol, he had to get the attention of the rider. Between the cheers and the dragons though, the rider just seemed to be waving him off. Then the rider pushed past him and took a few steps onto the sand. Cetari followed the rider still attempting to get his attention when he saw what the rider saw. A small hatchling stood surrounded by 12 or so boys. It looked at each of them in turn and cried out piteously. Yet they stayed huddled around him each trying to coax the tiny dragon. It got so thick that you couldn't actually see the hatchling. The shrill of his cries got so loud that the golden queen cried out in defense. Then without warning he barreled through the group of boys, stumbling over them and coming to a crash at the feet of the dragon rider who on impulse jumped back tripping over Cetari.

Cetari found himself lying face down on the hot sands facing the pitiful crying dragonette. Oh, it's okay, it's okay, don't cry. The little dragonette whimpered and struggled to get back to it's feet. It's wings were caught underneath it and it cried out again. Cetari couldn't help but grab the oversized head helping the dragonette steady and stand. That's when he felt it, the moment that changed everything.

Feronamth says he's okay now. Cetari had said bewildered to the dragonrider who had tripped over him, and was still sitting in the hot sands.

The dragon rider gave a hearty laugh and patted Cetari on the back, Good man. He then nodded to the weyrwoman and weyrman who had watched this display with a bit of curiosity. Many of the audience gasped, but an impression was an impression. A few from the mining guilds recognized the colors on Cetari's shirt and let out cheers for their trade. All of Pern could have been watching, but for Cetari only Feronamth existed at that moment. And indeed everyone in the bowl was watching, but soon the next egg hatched and they were allowed to revel in their bond without too many watching eyes.

I'm hungry Feronamth said quite matter of factly as if they had always been together.

Me too.