Post by lredd011 on Sept 25, 2011 17:03:20 GMT -5
Kolben was having trouble sleeping lately. The news of the Grenth's clutch at Solace Weyr traveled quickly to Cliff Hold and perhaps even quicker to the Harper hall which had been his home since birth. The Harpers were the record keepers, so they tended to be on top of such things. So why did this affect Kolben's sleeping habits? Well, not that he had ever slept well in the first place. He could be a bit of a headcase, and his mind tended to be even busier at night as soon as his head hit the pillow. But the news of the Senior Queen's clutch was causing him to be even more of a headcase than normal, and thus, his current predicament. Recently, he was lucky if he got two or three hours of sleep in one night. When he did sleep, it was short-lived and sporadic. Sometimes he managed to get a short nap in during the day. But only out of pure exhaustion and his body being completely deprived of rest.
Since sleep was few and far between, Kolben had recently begun the habit of rising even before the sun made its first appearance to go on his first run of the day. He liked to run twice daily now. People thought him a little strange, especially among the Harper type, that he was so dedicated to this ritual. But it soothed him. It allowed him to clear his mind and be free of the busy thoughts to which he was such a slave to.
There was so much riding on the news of Queen Grenth's clutch for him. But it was only himself that was putting this amount of pressure on him. No one else knew just how much he yearned to be a dragonrider of Pern. He would never dream of mentioning it to mother or father. They respected the dragonriders, for sure. More than respected. Revered even. They might not always agree with the leadership of Solace Weyr, but where would they be without the dragonriders? No need to answer that question. The problem was, mother and father would never approve of that kind of a lifestyle for him. Too dangerous. He had once mentioned to them that he was interested in being apprenticed as a fisher, and was abruptly turned down.
"Too dangerous, life on the sea. Too unpredictable," his father had said.
"But father, it's not like I would be out at sea all the time," Kolben had responded. To which his mother replied,
"It only takes one small misstep, or one sudden storm that no one saw coming. And that would be it. Besides, your father and I would be worried nonstop about you. We would never get any rest! And if you something happened to you, we would surely die ourselves!"
He could only imagine what they would say if he revealed to them how much he wanted to be a dragonrider. It was silly for him to even be considering such things. It wasn't as if he didn't like his current situation. He loved being a harper and had even recently earned his senior apprenticeship. He learned quickly and had a natural talent. Probably in his blood since his parents were both Master harpers themselves. But he admired everything about the dragonriders so much. He envied their lifestyle; fantasized about what it would be like to be on the back of a dragon. He often imagined as he went on his runs, as the wind tickled his face and whipped his hair around, that he was on the back of a dragon, flying through the air.
But in the end, he had to bring himself back to reality. He often dismissed his dream to be a dragonrider as selfish, just a childish dream. But the curiousity always came back, prodding him incessantly. What if he was meant to be a dragonrider? What if that was really the life he was meant to have? And now, with the new clutch...what if this was his chance to find out? These were the thoughts that constantly haunted him lately. He had to know. But how would he pull that off? It's not like a Searchrider was just going to descend from the sky, land right in front of him, and say, "Kolben, I think you are Candidate material. Hop right on and we'll fly on over to Solace Weyr!" He led a humble life. There were surely many other children they would notice before him. Children of dragonriders, children of holders. It's not like being the son of two Master harpers was something to be ashamed of or anything. Harpers were generally very respected throughout Pern. But the odds were just against him. And he had to come to terms with that. But still...if only there was a way.
Kolben let out a deep sigh, and with great effort, lifted his tired, sleepless body into an upright position. With a noisy stretch, he stood up. He went over to a washbowl, splashed some alarmingly cold water onto his face and wiped it clean with a cloth. He didn't bother to try to do anything with his hair, save pat it a little bit to smooth out the parts that were blatantly sticking straight up. It was too dark to really do anything else. And also way to early for him to care. He traded his sleep pants for a pair of cloth-like cut-off shorts he had fashioned for himself to run in. He typically opted out of wearing a shirt on his runs. They were more of a hindrance than anything else. And rather than find some shoes suitable enough for running long distances, he ran barefoot. He was just getting to the point where his feet were forming a good, hard callous on the bottoms, making them less sensitive to the rough terrain he often encountered. If he could stay on the grass, he did. But this was not always possible of course.
With a yawn, he quietly slipped out of his room, past his parents' living quarters, and out into the nippy morning air. If it could even be called morning. Not a single creature even stirred at this hour. He was usually back from him run when the drudges were rising for their morning duties. He stretched for a moment and then began his journey. Occasionally he closed his eyes, letting reality slip away.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. What if he just kept running? What if he just ran and ran and ran...until...until, what? He didn't know. But he suddenly felt invincible. The recklessness of his thoughts gave him chills. Or was it the brisk air? Never mind. It didn't matter. Why shouldn't he pursue his dreams? Why shouldn't he at least try? What did he have to lose?
And without thinking more about it, for fear that he would talk himself out of it, he altered his usual path slightly, and began running towards the general direction of Solace Weyr. He had been there before on several occasions with his parents. So he was confident he knew the way. And he could even get there in less than a day's time, especially if he ran most of the way. With a newfound excitement, and with a wild hunger in his eyes, he picked up his pace, ignoring the burning in his muscles as his feet pounded against the terrain as the first signs of light gradually appeared...
Since sleep was few and far between, Kolben had recently begun the habit of rising even before the sun made its first appearance to go on his first run of the day. He liked to run twice daily now. People thought him a little strange, especially among the Harper type, that he was so dedicated to this ritual. But it soothed him. It allowed him to clear his mind and be free of the busy thoughts to which he was such a slave to.
There was so much riding on the news of Queen Grenth's clutch for him. But it was only himself that was putting this amount of pressure on him. No one else knew just how much he yearned to be a dragonrider of Pern. He would never dream of mentioning it to mother or father. They respected the dragonriders, for sure. More than respected. Revered even. They might not always agree with the leadership of Solace Weyr, but where would they be without the dragonriders? No need to answer that question. The problem was, mother and father would never approve of that kind of a lifestyle for him. Too dangerous. He had once mentioned to them that he was interested in being apprenticed as a fisher, and was abruptly turned down.
"Too dangerous, life on the sea. Too unpredictable," his father had said.
"But father, it's not like I would be out at sea all the time," Kolben had responded. To which his mother replied,
"It only takes one small misstep, or one sudden storm that no one saw coming. And that would be it. Besides, your father and I would be worried nonstop about you. We would never get any rest! And if you something happened to you, we would surely die ourselves!"
He could only imagine what they would say if he revealed to them how much he wanted to be a dragonrider. It was silly for him to even be considering such things. It wasn't as if he didn't like his current situation. He loved being a harper and had even recently earned his senior apprenticeship. He learned quickly and had a natural talent. Probably in his blood since his parents were both Master harpers themselves. But he admired everything about the dragonriders so much. He envied their lifestyle; fantasized about what it would be like to be on the back of a dragon. He often imagined as he went on his runs, as the wind tickled his face and whipped his hair around, that he was on the back of a dragon, flying through the air.
But in the end, he had to bring himself back to reality. He often dismissed his dream to be a dragonrider as selfish, just a childish dream. But the curiousity always came back, prodding him incessantly. What if he was meant to be a dragonrider? What if that was really the life he was meant to have? And now, with the new clutch...what if this was his chance to find out? These were the thoughts that constantly haunted him lately. He had to know. But how would he pull that off? It's not like a Searchrider was just going to descend from the sky, land right in front of him, and say, "Kolben, I think you are Candidate material. Hop right on and we'll fly on over to Solace Weyr!" He led a humble life. There were surely many other children they would notice before him. Children of dragonriders, children of holders. It's not like being the son of two Master harpers was something to be ashamed of or anything. Harpers were generally very respected throughout Pern. But the odds were just against him. And he had to come to terms with that. But still...if only there was a way.
Kolben let out a deep sigh, and with great effort, lifted his tired, sleepless body into an upright position. With a noisy stretch, he stood up. He went over to a washbowl, splashed some alarmingly cold water onto his face and wiped it clean with a cloth. He didn't bother to try to do anything with his hair, save pat it a little bit to smooth out the parts that were blatantly sticking straight up. It was too dark to really do anything else. And also way to early for him to care. He traded his sleep pants for a pair of cloth-like cut-off shorts he had fashioned for himself to run in. He typically opted out of wearing a shirt on his runs. They were more of a hindrance than anything else. And rather than find some shoes suitable enough for running long distances, he ran barefoot. He was just getting to the point where his feet were forming a good, hard callous on the bottoms, making them less sensitive to the rough terrain he often encountered. If he could stay on the grass, he did. But this was not always possible of course.
With a yawn, he quietly slipped out of his room, past his parents' living quarters, and out into the nippy morning air. If it could even be called morning. Not a single creature even stirred at this hour. He was usually back from him run when the drudges were rising for their morning duties. He stretched for a moment and then began his journey. Occasionally he closed his eyes, letting reality slip away.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. What if he just kept running? What if he just ran and ran and ran...until...until, what? He didn't know. But he suddenly felt invincible. The recklessness of his thoughts gave him chills. Or was it the brisk air? Never mind. It didn't matter. Why shouldn't he pursue his dreams? Why shouldn't he at least try? What did he have to lose?
And without thinking more about it, for fear that he would talk himself out of it, he altered his usual path slightly, and began running towards the general direction of Solace Weyr. He had been there before on several occasions with his parents. So he was confident he knew the way. And he could even get there in less than a day's time, especially if he ran most of the way. With a newfound excitement, and with a wild hunger in his eyes, he picked up his pace, ignoring the burning in his muscles as his feet pounded against the terrain as the first signs of light gradually appeared...
