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 Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:50 pm
((Up to two people can join, plus dragons and/or flits. <3))
T'go was giddy with excitement. He had only heard of Master Ancientcrafter Archimonde. Now he was here, in Benden, and like a hero offering the solution to all the Weyr's problems! Stoloth urged T'go to meet him but, alas, Master Archimode's business was too important to interrupt. They both hoped to have a second chance later. T'go talked constantly about ancient craft and his enthusiasm had quickly caught on with Stoloth. About meeting Master Achimonde, T'go did not know whether to be terrified or exuberant, but having lived his life in solitude, with rarely an opportunity to share his interests, the chance to meet a master in his craft left him practically foaming at the mouth. Stoloth, too, twittered with questions.
Hoping to calm their mutual nerves, T’go fetched the satchel from his quarters and took Stoloth for a walk through the meadow near Weyr Lake. Long walks through the meadow near his parents’ farm left T’go feeling refreshed, even when he failed to find any ancient craft. He doubted they would find any here, in the bowl of a dead volcano, but having his eyes on the ground, head full of jade green circuit board, and the tug of an empty satchel on his shoulder brought up pleasant memories and a feeling of satisfaction.
His nostalgia was hard to enjoy, however, because Stoloth kept disturbing his state of mind. The young brown bounded ahead of him with tail swishing wildly and paused, nosing fervently through the tall grass, then hopped to a new spot, searching. Stoloth’s enthusiasm was making T’go’s heart race.
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 3:24 pm
Watch where you're going! The stocky, heavy green admittedly hadn't been watching terribly closely herself, but with all the fuss about the Atypes, and the hatching of an crimson at her own, precious Benden, she had been in a uniquely bad mood lately and wasn't hesitating to take it out on the nearest young dragon.
"Primath!" B'tar called out in chastisement of his greens behavior. The older rider was here to collect his own thoughts, with so much to think about. His own interest in the Ancient Crafter was from a distinctly different angle from T'go, but the man had certainly put some very interesting things to think about on the table. He wasn't familiar with ancient craft, but with his interest in starcraft, it wasn't a far jump.
"Sorry, she's not in a very good mood lately." He was a distance away, standing in the grass...and he hadn't noticed, but with a strand or two of grass sticking to his shirt and thick wavy hair. "Can we help you with anything?"
In his slightly egocentric world his first thought was that the young man might have been seeking -him- not something else.
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 4:45 pm
The energetic brown jumped back from the green, startled. He settled quickly, struggling to compose himself and silence his wagging tail as it rustled the tall grass. He briefly dipped his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. Is something the matter?" he asked in an effort to be helpful.
Primath's reaction kicked T'go's drumming heart straight into the back of his throat. The much larger green could easily hurt Stoloth if she accidentally stepped on him. He would sooner have his arm broken than see Stoloth injured, which would be a hundred times worse. Wringing his satchel strap, T'go looked at B'tar and swallowed.
Even with Stoloth at his side T'go still didn't feel like a real dragonrider. B'tar was a real dragonrider; T'go was just a young man who happened to have a dragon. "N-not re-re-really..." he said quietly, hoping to mask his stutter. "J-just out f-for a w-wal-alk."
Glancing at Stoloth, he said privately, "Please try to be more careful."
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 5:27 pm
Everything is the matter. Primath sulked, snorting and turning to look the other way and pretend she was no longer interested in the small brown. The brown at least was a -normal- color. Especially with mine being ridiculously interested in stupid crimsons and stupid plants, and stupid people that I'm not interested in.
"Primath...." B'tar heaved another sigh, looking exasperated and embarrassed. She clearly wasn't helping make the Weyrling rider feel comfortable, and that probably wasn't good considering that in a relatively short span, he'd outrank them both. That too, he had to figure, was a component of her annoyance.
"It's a nice day for a walk." B'tar acknowledged, breaking from the spot he was standing and walking over. Although it wasn't for the same purposes as the ancient crafter, he was twiddling a lens in one hand, a lens that hadn't made it into one of the starcrafter tools, and had been using it to examine things around the lakefront, idly amusing himself with the flaws in the lens, and also taking an closer look at everyday things. "Don't mind her, she's not going to hurt your partner."
Not that he thought she wasn't capable of it, but Primath for all her snarl and snap, had never gone out of her way to hurt another dragon, and although he had a notorious problem getting her to show respect for her ranking superiors, he figured he could still will her down from hurting others.
Primath... it's not his fault he was born brown, it's not your fault you were born green, but if you hurt the little one even by accident you'll hurt his rider too.
I'm NOT going to. she snapped. Give me some credit. There wouldn't be a point.
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 6:20 pm
Apparently ignoring T'go's plea, Stoloth tilted his head at the green. "I thought everyone was interested. I'm sure you have your reasons. The crimson's birth was... unfortunate. My name is Stoloth."
He thought agreeing with her would put him on her good side. Saazeyth was, of course, his sister. He could not feel ashamed of his own blood. Saazeyth had her own agenda, just as he had his and Primath had her's, and having an agenda meant that sometimes you had to lie a little. Like T'go he was neutral about the use of atypicals, but unlike T'go he was willing to mouth the majority's opinion if it got him somewhere.
T'go watched the two dragons uncertainly for a moment and nodded at B'tar to show his understanding. On the downward stroke of his head he spotted something shiny in B'tar's hands and the spark of light drew his attention like a magnet. He leaned closer. Realizing he might be acting rude, he jerked upright, but his eyes kept wandering. He gestured at the lens. "M-may I s-see that?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 6:46 pm
"This?" B'tar held up the lenz. "It's a bad lens from the Starcrafters. I was just..." Ok 'playing' with it sounded a little immature. Besides, with his slightly short stature and young face, he really didn't need any help being mistaken for a younger rider, even by a weyrling... "Examining things with it for fun. It'll probably get melted down." Glass wasn't so easy to make that he was likely to get away with keeping the thing, even if it was sort of entertaining to see the warps in the glass twist things out of shape.
"Seemed as good a way to spend some down time as any." He shrugged, offering the lens out to the boy. "It's supposed to go into one of the tools, but the glass didn't settle quite correctly. It won't work, but it's novel to look through."
He was actually pleased that someone else was interested, though lack of interest didn't necessarily stop him generally either, since once he had a head of steam it took a while, if he noticed at all, to catch the glazed look in someone's eyes as they prayed for an excuse to escape, or simply slipped away and left him talking to the people too polite to bow out while he wasn't looking.
"See you can see the warps in the glass." He pointed at it with one finger, toward the subtle ripples which deformed things viewed through it.
I would be more interested if it did more for me. The golds don't exactly need anyone else to pet them and preen them and tell them how incredible they are. Primath sulked. And Mine is ridiculously interested in the fact that the crimsons can breed. Good for them. Who cares. Not me. They think they're so special....
It wasn't exactly well hidden that she did care, and that she was annoyed and jealous, if not necessarily of the ability to clutch, than of the prestige that the ability to clutch went hand in hand with. Respect. Authority. The things that she wanted and wasn't likely to get.
"Primath you're ranting again..." B'tar pointed out, his tone slightly distracted as he watched to see T'go's reaction to the lens.
SO? The green snapped, sitting down in a huff and putting her chin on the ground. Go flirt with the crimsons. You like them better anyway. She accused, openly.
"No, I think they're fascinating, that's different."
Bah. Primath snorted, eyes still flashing with flares of red, but she seemed somehow mollified by this explanation, if only slightly. fascinating like herd-beasts? They breed too. She added, a final broadside insult to everything in her path.
"Primath!"
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 7:20 pm
Handling it with care, T'go held the lens up to his right eye with his left closed and looked at the dragonrider's weyrs. The lens should have enlarged the details of the wall but instead everything was warped, like lying on the bottom of a pond and looking up at the trees through the surface, except that the ripples stayed in the same place. Maybe looking up through a sheet of ice was a better metaphor. He replayed that in his mind a few times and knit his eyebrows together. No, it was a terrible metaphor. T'go was no harper.
He glanced at Primath but quickly lost interest in the ornery green. Pressing his lips together, he wished he could banish his stutter just long enough to talk to B'tar. He sensed something in the way B'tar talked about this lens that made him think he might have found a kindred spirit. "A d-dis-tance v-v-viewer?" he supplied, hoping to make B'tar's enthusiasm bubble to the surface.
"But crimsons only breed atypicals. Isn't that true?" Stoloth gazed at Primath with wide green eyes. He saw that he only needed to say a little to get a lot of information out of her. This was good. He did not share her desire for authority, but it was good to know what other dragons wanted so as to avoid traps.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 5:40 am
No. Primath noted, barely turning her head to acknowledge the little brown. We saw them at Trine. They cannot breed gold but they can breed other colors. We saw blues, greens... She trailed off and went back to her sullen behavior, watching her rider light up at the question about the lens.
"Yes, exactly!" B'tar beamed. "That was what it was meant for, but nothing's perfect. We've seen this occasionally with extremely old lenses as well. It's really very interesting." He noted. "It ruins the lens of course but it's still fascinating to see that it does that. Glass aging..."
He'd idly wondered occasionally if it was possible for glass to age back into it's original state, but that would take far too long to study, and there didn't seem much benefit to knowing. No one, he reasoned, was likely to agree to such an long term investigation of the inevitable slow warping of glass.
"Sadly I'm at best only an casual student of the Starcraft, but it's really quite amazing." Being a dragon rider tended to be prohibitive of pursuing a secondary profession, though he clearly did his best to keep his hand in.
After a moment or two it seemed to occur to him that he'd forgotten to do something... again... and that while he'd caught the dragons name, he had neither introduced himself, or caught the boys name.
"My apologies." He added, abruptly, extending a hand. "B'tar. You've clearly made Primath's acquaintance. I caught your dragons name, but not yours... Did see you on the sands though."
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 3:52 pm
"They don't sound so special to me," Stoloth replied, hoping to get Primath talking again. What was she looking at?
Oh, yes, T'go! He was so caught up in his conversation with Primath he almost forgot T'go was having a conversation of his own. As a matter of fact, T'go having a conversation was much more interesting than Primath's sulking. T'go hardly ever had conversations with human beings. Stoloth curled his neck around to watch.
T'go smiled, keeping his mouth closed of course, and eagerly nodded as B'tar spoke. Yes, he was right about this dragonrider; they did share similar passions after all! Starcrafters were more respected than ancientcrafters, but T'go always thought of the two crafts as being closely related.
"T-T'go. M-my d-dragon is S-St-Stoloth. N-n-nice to m-meet you, s-sir." He clasped B'tar's hand and shook it vigorously. "I've r-r-read about s-st-arc-cr-aft. H-have you ever s-s-seen the D-Dawn S-Si-Sisters?" One of the things that got him interested in starcraft was learning that the objects known as the Dawn Sisters over the southern skies of Pern were actually man-made -- ancientcraft! He wanted so much to see them with his own eyes.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 4:35 pm
"Through a far-seer I haven" B'tar beamed, then dimmed slightly in his enthusiasm. "Sadly not for long, I never made it past apprenticeship before I impressed, and after that... well. Not much time, and Primath is a touch jealous of my time."
He shrugged, the gesture slightly resigned, and flashed another smile at the sulking dragon, who he suspected was winding up for a flight on top of everything else.
"You have an interest in Starcraft also?" He asked, curiously, filing away the names T'go and Stoloth as he shook the boys hand. It was so amazing to talk to someone who actually seemed to understand what he was talking about.
I don't think they are. Primath agreed, huffily. But at the new weyrs they act as though they are the next best thing to a gold, since they can choose to fight or try and clutch, and impress men or women. They're like.... She paused, angrily and added. They're huge, greens that can clutch, but THEY get rank.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 5:27 pm
T'go nodded in understanding. He sorely missed his craft as well. At least Stoloth shared his interest in Ancientcraft. That gave him hope that one day they might be able to go seeking together. When B'tar asked if he had an interest in Starcraft he nodded again. "Y-yes, b-but I'm n-n-not one. I-I'm, um.... Here."
He handed back the lens and rummaged through his satchel. He kept most of his trinkets in a box in his room, but he was also rather disorganized. After a couple of seconds his fingers brushed something smooth. Even though the board was still a bit dirty - he picked it up just before the Search rider found him and never had the chance to clean it off - when he lifted it out of his satchel, it shone a deep green. The board was small, no larger than the palm of his hand, rectangular and a bit cracked around the edges. Dark lines etched across its green surface, covered in strange, geometrical protrusions, but organized with a clear indication of design. "I f-f-find t-these. T-the a-a-ancients u-used d-dis-tance v-v-viewers, t-too. S-so t-th-that's how I g-got i-in-inter-ested."
Stoloth fidgeted restlessly and glanced at Primath. Now that there were two interesting conversations going on at the same time it was hard to figure out where he should put his attention, especially after T'go pulled out that pretty piece of ancientcraft. Stoloth loved to look at T'go's collection, even though T'go wouldn't let him touch anything.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:03 pm
Ahh, now the pieces fell neatly into place. The boy studied Ancientcraft. He took the lens back, slipping it carefully into one of his pockets as T'go searched his satchel, producing the curious green thing. Tile, for lack of a better word, plate didn't seem to fit, but to his eyes, the strange geometric protrusions seemed like curious decorations, though he didn't think it would be particularly attractive, whole, save for the rich green. But then he was a little partial to the color.
He almost reached for it, tempted to dust it off where the dirt still clung, but thought better of it. It was thin, and that would seem to indicate fragility, though it looked sharp in other parts.
"Well, that's quite the thing. Surely not part of an Distance Viewer..." He prompted, though to be honest he hadn't the slightest idea what the Ancients version of a distance viewer might have been like. "What do you suppose it was -for-?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:43 pm
"U-uh... well..." The question surprised him. He hardly ever met people who wanted to know about ancientcraft. Normally they started to back away by this point. He turned the plate around and studied it. "P-p-part of s-s-some s-s-sort of de-device. A c-comp-complicated t-th-inking m-machine. Th-these w-wi-wires m-maybe c-connec-nected t-to a-an i-image v-vie-viewer. S-small, p-p-portable. P-possibly p-part of a r-re-corder. I-it's in b-b-bad s-sh-hape...."
He frowned a little sadly. There were a lot of parts like this one scattered around the meadow near his parents' farm, most of them beyond repair, at least for him.
There was so much he wanted to say. That meadow was full of screws, wires, bits of metal, plastic and circuit boards; it had stories to tell. T'go suspected that whatever used to be in that meadow was torn down and reused to fortify the hold against Thread. If only he could speak without stuttering every word he would be able to tell B'tar everything.
He looked up at B'tar and tried to smile. "T-there's m-m-more in m-my r-ro-room."
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Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 6:53 am
"A thinking machine?" B'tar whistled softly, eyes widening almost comically. "It's hard to picture, isn't it? The Ancients had all these... things... ideas and tools beyond our comprehension, and there's so much of it that's just... gone. Or in pieces like this."
The stutter seemed a minor impediment when the boy clearly knew much more than he did about the Ancientcraft. It was a tarnished profession to be sure, especially with the stories, more legend really, of the Ninth Pass and AVIAS.
"The suggestion from the AncientCrafter Archimonde... I don't suppose you know anything about the tool's he's suggesting using? The glass structures. I've been trying to figure out how they work, but it's, again, outside of my field of study. I've had a few guesses but I'd like to understand better."
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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 9:52 pm
T'go could only shake his head. He mostly studied the parts he found in his meadow. Occasionally he happened across someone, usually a traveler passing through on a caravan, who knew a bit about ancient craft and overcame his social phobia to wring what information he could out of the passer through before he left. He had never heard of Archimonde's strange glass house. "I w-wou-would l-like v-v-very m-m-much to st-st-study it."
He hoped the weyrs would choose to trust in the Archimonde's plan. Even though the ancient civilization failed to stand the test of time, before they perished they gave Pern its most precious gift: the dragons. That was reason enough to trust in them.
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