It's a bright spring morning at Jerdan Weyr. You have come to check out the latest searches. You are tired and groggy. This is not your favorite part of the Hatching process. You walk into the Lower Caverns and get yourself a mug of steaming klah. The bitter drink goes down well and raises your spirits. Now you are ready to start your journey.
You walk into the first two weyrs to find the occupants still fast asleep on their furs. In the next one you see a tall blond man working on a curious device. You step in, but he is too absorbed in his work to notice you. You are getting impatient as you walk to the next weyr. Just past the entrance to the cavern, you see something strange. A tall blond man who you swear looks just like the man in the last weyr. You walk out of the weyr and walk back to the one you thought you had just come from. The tall blond man is still working on his project. Then you walk to the other weyr again. The second tall blond man is standing there waiting for you. He is huge just like the other one. He is about 6'4" with massive arms and shoulders. With the exception of his blond hair, he could be Master Fandarel's son.
"Hello," he says in a gruff voice. "Can I help you with something? You seem confused," he says with a knowing smile.
"I am," you say with a sigh. "You look just like the person in the weyr to the left of this one."
"I know," he says with a grin which is reflected in his green eyes. That is my twin brother Attor. I am Attok," he explains holding out his hand in greeting. You take the large fleshy hand in your own and shake it. "My brother is a journeyman smith. I on the other hand am a journeyman woodsmith."
You look around the weyr as if for the first time and notice that the large sleeping cavern is full of elaborately carved furniture. Everything from the table and chairs to a small shelf on the back wall looks elegant and well made. Intricate patterns wind around the legs and top of the chair, the top of the shelf, and the table legs. The carving makes the wood almost look braided. "Wow," you say,"Your work is beautiful."
"Thank you. Master Bendarek has taught me very well. I am even helping him with those pulp sheets of his. We have almost found a way of preserving the sheets, so the records will last longer."
"That's very interesting,"you say in earnest. "If I may ask, how were you searched," you ask wondering how the smith crafthall would let a man with his talent go.
"It's kind of a strange story. I had better start with my apprenticeship or none of the rest of the story will make sense. I have been making things out of wood since I was old enough to hold a belt knife. It was one of the first things that my father Marnet taught Attor and me. Our mother Ursa didn't like it too much, but when I showed so much skill in it, she soon had me making spice racks and other things for the hold.
"Sounds like something a mother would do," you comment.
"Yeah, that was the type of person our mother was."
"Mine too."
"Anyway, people used to come to the hold and inquire about the furniture and other things I had carved. They started making requests. I obliged a few not wanting to take away from actual smith work. Then I decided that I didn't have to sell them, and I began to give my work as presents. I even made a set of chairs and a table for the Lord Holder of Crom."
"Wow," you say. "That's quite a claim."
"Yeah," Attok says with a chuckle.
"Please continue."
"Sure.One day when I was about 15 turns old, Master Fandarel and Bendarek came to our small hold. They inspected my work and Attor's work. We were surprised when they invited us back to the crafthall for apprenticeship. We accepted, and I worked with Master Bendarek in the early stages of our new craft. It was great. We worked on the pulp sheets and still did the carving that all the important people on Pern commissioned. I walked the tables in about two turns. Attor did too.
"Then about three turns later, Master Bendarek and I were scouting out a sight in Lemos for the new crafthall. Lord Asengar and Weyrleader F'lar were helping us decide on placement of the buildings, but I, being a fool, forgot the plans for the hall."
"Oh no," you say knowing how he must have felt. "What did you do?"
"Lucky for me F'lar's Wingsecond and brother F'nor was also there, and he agreed to convey me back to the Smith Crafthall to get the plans. We were there and back in no time.
"You flew on F'nor's brown," you say in awe.
"Yeah. Canth is a great beast and a marvel of a dragon. Even before I mounted his broad brown back, he had been snuffling at me. Then when we arrived back in Lemos, F'nor had a curious look on his face. He chuckled at me and slapped me on the back as he asked if I wanted to be a candidate for Impression. Canth had thought that I would make a good dragonrider. Benden had just had a hatching though, so I was sent here to Jerdan. Imagine my surprise when I found Attor in the weyr next to mine. He has already been accepted for the clutch of Green Saivith and Blue Atlantith. I just had a meeting with Weyrwoman Carah yesterday,and she said I could be a candidate. I am going to get to stand on the Sands for the clutch of Gold Isabeth and Bronze Pintreth" he says with hope in his green eyes.
You look at your new friend. Attok almost looks child like instead of his full 20 turns. His huge body almost shakes with anticipation. He seems to already be dreaming about flying on a dragon, but doesn't everyone. You hope he gets his chance. You look at Attok one more time, shake his hand, and leave the weyr. You want to ask him a few more questions, but you have other demands on your time.
Stats
Name: Attok
Age: 20 Turns
Job: Journeyman Woodsmith
Parents: Ursa and Marnet
Siblings: Attor
Birthplace: Crom
Candidate: Jerdan Weyr
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