|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Mar 19, 2008 21:04:36 GMT -5
M'ren had called a class for that day. His face was pensive, quiet, and his eyes looked sad. He'd finally decided that, as a whole, everyone in the class was capable of short flights, capable of taking off, landing, and they would soon begin practice for the day that they joined a Wing. Before all of that training could begin, he wanted to make sure none would try to Between without learning it from him first. He couldn't keep them grounded forever, and this was the first step in learning about that crucial skill.
As the Weyrlings trickled in, M'ren wished again for a small class size, or assistants to help in the class. It was too large for him to be sure of everyone's abilities. He hoped it didn't mean extra deaths, but it wouldn't surprise him. Not that there wasn't always death when this subject came up.
Most of the Weyrlings seemed to be in the large class room(Though it could no longer fit the Dragons).
"Between," M'ren began. "You've all heard of it, most of you have experienced it, and you all know how crucial it is for a Dragonrider. And I'm sure most of you are anxious to learn how to do it." M'ren took a deep breath. "And I'm going to teach you how. I have some questions before hand- the first one is, what do you know about Between?"
|
|
|
|
Post by hrsegrl on Mar 20, 2008 19:19:33 GMT -5
Amneris wandered into the room, as dreamy as ever. She was about 5 minutes late but that was Neris. M'ren was lucky to have seen that she could arrive places on time. Generally though, Neris was late. Today wasn't especially good for her attention span either. Not that she could have known that this particular lesson would require that sort of attention from her.
The Weyrling rider took a seat in the back of the room. Trying to avoid being seen if possible, which unfortunately for her was unlikely. Amneris had become one of the more well known Weyrlings, though why, she couldn't say. She didn't like being late but she was horrible at keeping track of time when she was like this.
Labeth was interested as much as she herself was in the subject of Between. Amneris didn't say the ballad loud enough for anyone to hear... "Black, blacker, blackest and cold beyond frozen things, where is Between, when there is naught to life, but fragile dragon wings." The lines made her shudder.
She was one of the few people here who had yet to experience Between. She had not come to the Weyr on the back of a dragon but rather on her own two feet, so as to keep Tipp and Note. No one in her family rode a dragon either and since arriving here she had had no reason to actually go Between.
|
|
|
|
Post by effluo on Mar 22, 2008 8:32:33 GMT -5
G’eph listened to the Weyrling Master, though thinking of the brown rider in that regard kept the sailor wondering why the bronze rider Lan’ae had stepped down. Even so, it didn’t change the fact that it had put the brown rider in a ranking position and as a brown rider himself, G’eph couldn’t help but approve.
Deciding to take a seat rather than stand at the edge of the room as he usually did, the tall man sat between Amneris and another of their classmates. At the question M’ren possed, the tall rider couldn’t help but remember his one experience between. It had been as unnatural and despairing as Amneris offered to describe it.
Offering his own words, G’eph spoke up after the green rider finished. “You don’t feel anything when your in the blackness. No wind, no sunlight. All you feel is the warmth of the dragon beneath you. There’s no longer the smell of your surroundings and you see nothing and hear nothing. If it were not for the dragon and perhaps another passenger… There would be nothing.”
While G’eph had grown up on a ship where they would go for months at a time with nothing but themselves and the sea, there at least was always the sea. After experiencing between, knowing the sea was there was comforting… to have nothing. Well at least he knew Vanarth would be there.
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Mar 22, 2008 17:46:54 GMT -5
Neory listened and thought about M'ren's question. What did she know about between? She knew that it was dark, that it was cold, that it usually took the time for three heartbeats before you were where ever you were going.
She also knew that it was how Dragons suicided. How women terminated pregnancies. And how thread that made its way to a Rider or Dragon was killed.
She knew just how helpful and useful between was to Riders (well, maybe not in its entirety yet), but she also knew how dangerous it could be.
"Its a tool we use, and a danger we have to respect. It can save our lives in Threadfall, but it can also take our lives."
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Mar 22, 2008 21:14:41 GMT -5
M'ren nodded, looking carefully around at his class. Shards, he wished classes were smaller.
"Everything you have said is correct." M'ren spoke slowly, and clearly. "Between in very many ways, is the lack of everything. However, you will always have your dragon while you are Betweening, so allow that to give you some reassurance." M'ren's face darkened somewhat.
"However, do not be too reassured. Between can cause even the most experienced dragonrider a measure of difficultly, and it isn't just Weyrlings who have Betweening accidents." M'ren tried not to pace. He'd been told excess movement while speaking to a class was distracting, but this talk, whether he or the WLM was leading the lesson, he could rarely stay still.
"How many of you know how Between works? Allow me to give you a hint first- just as you can sent words to your dragon silently, you can send them pictures as well."
|
|
|
|
Post by hrsegrl on Apr 6, 2008 17:55:01 GMT -5
Amneris heard her classmates and sighed. Between in her opinion wasn't the issue it was making sure people weren't stupid. The only reason there were so many Betweening accidents was because no one paid attention. She was going to practice sending images to Labeth while M'ren was talking to the class.
How's that?It is a bit blurry...concentrate...harder
Amneris sent another image this time, one she knew much better. It was not a picture of the Healer Hall or of the Weyr but rather where she spent the first part of her life. Her parent's cothold. The sun was just setting, its light touching the fields. A soft breeze rushed in, and the door of the house could be seen, worn out and creeky. The house was as always in a state of messiness. The roof constantly needed repair and the walls weren't much better but it was home.
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on May 4, 2008 23:22:41 GMT -5
M'ren continued lecturing for most of the rest of an hour.
He covered how long it took to Between, how important it was to visualize your location when going Between, why you always Betweened from higher up(to avoid ending up Betweened into stone or earth), the dangers of Between, and why if you were tired how you should stop, take a nap, and Between later.
It was a long lecture, and he covered each point closely, carefully, and with great detail. It might not save all of them, but it would save most of them.
"Tomorrow we'll recap, and then we'll have our first actual try at Between. Do not attempt this on your own. If you do, I promise you'll be spending the next ten turns scrubbing latrines before we allow you to try being a Weyrling again."
End
|
|
