Adaptations

Writers: Estelle
Date Posted: 26th May 2025

Characters: Lorican, I'lek
Description: Lorican has an idea about I'lek
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr, Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 6, day 4 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Urlene, Lusilk

Lorican gave his son a last wave as he toddled away, hand in hand with
his foster mother and the other clutching a toy. As always, he felt a
little deflated when he turned and headed for the Weyrbowl to meet the
dragonrider. He treasured his monthly visits with Lorgelen, but leaving
was never easy. Now that he had Carani, he couldn't help thinking of all
the moments that he'd already missed. The first steps, the babbles
turning into words - and all that was still to come.

He stepped out into the afternoon heat and shaded his eyes, looking
around for the retired pair who'd been assigned to transport them. There
was a dragon waiting, but he could tell it wasn't the same one. Instead
of the sturdy older green, her hide faded and weathered with age, this
one was clearly young, rather pretty and delicate, her eyes glowing as
blue as the ocean. When she saw Lorican, her lids flicked open and she
tilted her head curiously.

"Hello! Are you Master Lorican?" The rider came around her side and
approached with the lopsided walk riders had with their straps slung
around their shoulders. He sounded excited, as if Lorican was the most
thrilling person he'd met all Turn instead of an ordinary passenger, but
the smith thought that might be his usual manner.

"Yes, I was looking for..."

"Terella says she's so sorry, but she had to rush off. It's Lord
Grumpkins, you see. He's been throwing up again. And her weyrmate's off
visiting his cousin in their Crafthall, and the beasthealer says he
absolutely won't see that vicious creature again without one of them
there, not after last time. He's a feline," the greenrider explained,
catching Lorican's baffled expression. "Lord Grumpkins, I mean, not the
beasthealer. One of those big orange stripy ones. Not _big_ big, big for
a pet. Terella's had him for ages. He's got a reputation for being as
mean as a watchwher with a headache, although I can't say _I_ wouldn't
have done some hissing and biting if a strange craftsman put their
finger in there. Not without warning." He winked. "So anyway, she asked
me to take you wherever you wanted to go. Sunstone Seahold, right?"

"Ah - yes. Sunstone." Lorican did his best to keep track of all the
characters in that speech. He thought he was doing well to remember
where his own home was. "It's nice to meet you, Greenrider..."

"Oh, sorry! I didn't introduce myself. I'lek, of Lightning Wing, and
this is my lovely Lirioth." He gestured towards the green, who arched
her neck and ruffled her wings.

"My duty to you, Lirioth. You're shining like a jewel today." Lorican
bowed, feeling on safer ground complimenting the dragon. From her hum of
pleasure, it worked.

}: All right, I will carry him. :{

I'lek grinned. "Hold on a moment while I put her straps on, and then
we'll be on our way. So what brings you to Dolphin Cove?"

"I'm visiting my son. He lives here with his mother." Lorican felt safe
enough admitting that. Weyrfolk weren't nearly so scandalised by the
circumstances of Lorgelen's birth.

"Aww. How old?"

"Two Turns. He'll be three towards the end of the Turn."

"Oh! You're the Weyrhealer's smith." I'lek's eyes lit up, clearly
recalling some past juicy gossip. "I've seen him. Cute little boy, and
really clever for his age. Well, you'd have to be with that mama. She's
impressive. Some people are scared of her, but I liked her. She was
straightforward. Didn't try to soften the blow."

**What blow?** Lorican wondered, trying to keep up. The question was
answered a moment later as the greenrider, having tossed the harness
over his dragon's back, held the buckle in place with his right elbow
while passing the strap through one-handed with his left. In place of
his right hand, he was wearing a prosthetic. Rather than being lifelike,
it looked as though it was designed for dragon-riding, with a
hook-shaped metal attachment which could fit through a strap ring.

Embarrassed at not having noticed, he started forward. "Can I help?"

"Nah, we're all right. Lirioth and I have got pretty good at this,"
I'lek replied easily. "It was a few Turns ago, so we've had time to
practice. But thank you for offering." He fastened the buckle as quickly
as any other rider, then moved on to the next.

That answered the question of how the young man came to be flying in the
retiree's Wing, Lorican thought. A few Turns ago? He hardly looked out
of his teens now. He imagined Urlene having to deliver the news that the
boy would never fly in a fighting Wing again. This was the side of
fighting Thread they didn't sing about in the heroic ballads. He hardly
knew what to say, but the greenrider seemed unconcerned.

"All right! We're ready to go." I'lek patted Lirioth's side fondly, then
hooked on to one of the rings, grabbed a strap with his other hand and
pulled himself up to his seat on her neck. "Need a hand up, Master?" He
grinned mischievously.

"Thanks." Lorican gripped I'lek's offered left hand and scrambled up
behind him. He'd got used to mounting dragons in the last two Turns, but
the greenrider was surprisingly strong for his build. He let himself be
buckled in, and then prepared himself for her leap into the air.

**

It was still mid-morning at the Seahold, early enough to return to the
smithy for a day's work. Lorican thanked the greenrider and waved him
off, then greeted his fellow crafters. The forge was fired up and they'd
made a good start on the day's orders, so he began work on a batch of
fish hooks. They weren't complicated pieces, but he liked to set an
example for the apprentices by keeping in practice. No one was too good
to hammer out a nail or a hook.

Later on, after the evening meal and the children were in bed, he came
back to catch up on some of the work he'd missed that morning. The
smithy was quiet and the forges out, with only the glow of the hearth to
light the room. Lorican gave the fire a poke - the evening was chilly
and overcast after the bright sun of Dolphin Cove - and opened the glow
baskets. He cleared a space on his bench and took out a glass to examine
some of the day's pieces, to confirm they matched the designs and check
for flaws. Everything was as it should be, so he put them back on the
shelf for collection and glanced over the accounts. Thanks to Lusilk's
careful eye, they were just as flawless as the metalwork.

His last task was to draw up a plan for the next day's work. Once that
was completed, he yawned and rolled his shoulders, stretching tired
muscles. He could head back to the Hold, but there was an idea that had
been tickling at the back of his mind since his encounter with I'lek. He
remembered how deft the young greenrider had been with his one hand, and
how agile and strong his dragon had looked. It seemed a shame. They were
clearly adaptable...

He got up and went over to the shelf of hide-bound records, ran his
finger along it until he found the one he wanted. Opening it on the
bench, he turned to the instructions for making flamethrowers. These
were the bulkier kind that ground crews used to destroy burrows, but
tucked between the pages were a few sheets he'd brought from the Weyr.
While he'd been there he'd copied out the design used by the goldriders
of the Queen's Wing. Some of the improvements made by the Weyr's smiths
had worked well when incorporated into the holders' design.

Now, Lorican wondered if he could return the favour.

He pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and a pencil, and began to sketch
the curves of a shoulder, upper arm and back, then a few strokes for the
rider's legs, gripping a dragon's neck. He shaded in a cylinder for the
agenothree tank on his back, then thin lines for the long wand and the
nozzle. The dragonrider's good hand would work the pump, but he focused
on the space below the elbow. He'd have to look into how the prosthetic
fitted. It would need high quality steel, strong and resistant to the
weather, but light enough to point and fire...

The glowbaskets dimmed as he tried out different sketches, angles and
close-ups, hardly aware of the time passing as he worked on into the night.

Last updated on the June 8th 2025

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