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at
Tieran-"the same ones on your friend's beadwork! Animal healer."
"That's what I thought," Tieran agreed.
To his surprise, Tieran did not find himself on duty escorting all the
various
craftmasters, Holders, and Weyrleaders past the newly-raised mound that
marked
the queen dragon's final resting place and on into the College's Dining Room,
hastily rearranged as a meeting place. Instead, he found himself bustling
back
and forth between Wind Blossom, Emorra, and Janir, carrying notes, bearing
messages, and generally being run off his feet.
The undercurrents in the room were deep and numerous. Just from his own
hearing,
he knew that the Lord Holders not only warred with themselves over the
disposition of Colony resources but also had numerous issues of trade to
resolve. The Weyrleaders seemed united, if somewhat restless, willing to
follow
M'hall's direction.
But the real issue was Wind Blossom's. Those who hadn't actually seen the
dragon's burnt skeleton were dubious of the claim, although not quite willing
to
voice out loud their lack of faith in Wind Blossom's reasoning or abilities.
It promised to be an interesting and perhaps contentious session. Tieran
caught
a whiff of the snacks Moira and Alandro were baking and was surprised when
his
stomach gave a disgusted heave. Apparently this interesting session meant
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more
to him than he was willing to admit.
The tables of the Dining Room had been arranged in a large oval. Emorra and
the
other collegians were gathered at the end nearest the kitchen. Opposite them
were the Weyrleaders. In between, on the left and on the right, were the
leaders
of the Holds.
Tieran was surprised when the first person to speak was Emorra.
"Does everyone have a copy of the agenda?" she asked. Hearing no dissent, she
continued. "Very well, I propose we start with the first item: the issue of
the
queen dragon and Wind Blossom's findings-"
"It seemed awfully small to be a queen," Lord Kenner of Telgar noted
quaveringly, glancing around the room nervously, his beak-like nose bobbing
this
way and that.
"That's because it was an immature dragon," Tieran responded. "Judging by its
teeth, it was under six months old, probably as little as two."
"And you agree with this assessment?" Mendin asked, looking pointedly at
M'hall.
M'hall nodded. "Yes."
Mendin turned back to Tieran and nodded for him to continue. Tieran looked at
Emorra and raised an eyebrow.
Emorra continued. "It is our opinion-"
"Whose?" Mendin demanded challengingly.
"The medical staff and faculty at this College," she replied testily. "Kindly
let me continue uninterrupted."
Mendin looked ready to argue the point but desisted after catching sight of
M'hall's glare.
"It is our opinion that the queen dragon was a hatchling from somewhere
between
the thirtieth and fortieth generation," Emorra said. The Lord Holders gave
her
blank stares, while the Weyrleaders who hadn't heard this before all sat bolt
upright in their chairs.
"Emorra, could you tell us what dragon generation we are at now?" Malon of
Tillek asked courteously.
"The newest generation is the sixth generation," Emorra answered.
"So the dragon came from the future," K'nel of Ista said.
"How can dragons travel through time?" Kenner asked.
"It is a property of their ability to teleport," Wind Blossom replied. "Any
movement through space implies a movement through time."
Kenner looked politely confused.
"Space and time are the same," M'hall expanded, taking pity on the old
Holder.
"We've done it."
"You have?" Mendin blurted.
"Yes," L'can, High Reaches Weyrleader confirmed. "It is quite draining on the
rider, though."
"We estimate that the dragon came from more than four hundred years in the
future," Emorra told the group.
"Well, that's a relief," Mendin declared. "We've got nothing to worry about,
then." He looked expectantly around the room. "So what's the next item on the
agenda?"
"I don't think we should move on so quickly," M'hall replied. He turned to
Emorra. "Is there any danger to our dragons?"
"I don't think so," she replied. "The young queen was immediately bathed in
acid, so all microorganisms should have been destroyed."
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"What about that fire-lizard?" Mendin asked, pointing at the brown
fire-lizard
curled on Tieran's shoulder.
"I would not have released the fire-lizard from quarantine had I considered
it
still a possible source of contagion," Wind Blossom spoke up from behind her [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]