|
Weyrlinghood: Month 7
Between - July 25 - August 3
With firestone understood and flaming well underway or mastered as the case may be, drills now regularly include the use of rope to flame. Wing strains should be less common now as the dragons' have enough strength to excute most duties without trouble, but rope drills are still hard and soreness and stiffness might be common after a particularly difficult drill. More often it might be their riders who suffer strains as throwing sacks of firestone through the air while on moving dragons is no easy feet. There might be some bruises too for both dragon and rider if a sack of rock gets away from someone. Overall, serious injuries are becoming less of a concern as weyrling pairs grow comfortable with the skills they've been learning, but that doesn't mean the WLM team is any less vigilant about safety during training exercises.
Meanwhile, life outside of drills has become more relaxed and there's new concern over the mental and emotional well-being of weyrling pairs. Are they getting enough sleep? Are they free of distractions? The only real focus outside of drills has become geography and visualization. Pop quizes turn up: can you give a clear visualization of the beach at a moment's notice? When the weyrlingmaster shows you Nerat, do you recognize it? And most importantly, can you give a crystal clear picture of Ista's star stones?
Once every weyrling can clearly visualize the land marks around the Weyr, the first between jumps will be arranged. Splitting up into small groups, the Weyrlingmaster or an assistant will take each group to the Bowl, check and cross-check the Star Stones visual, instruct the weyrling pair to clear the Bowl floor by at least two dragonlengths and go between to the sky just above the Stones. This important milestone is the first step into more and more between jumps.
Once the first jump has been mastered, jumps to the beach and to the Hold will follow, with the weyrlingmasters starting to drill the weyrlings to perform the jumps with less and less warning time, 'snapping' the visual into place and going and coming back on command. After all the weyrlings become somewhat comfortable with going between to places they've seen with their own eyes, the next phase will be visualizing a foreign place and successfull arriving there. Between practice will also start to take the place of some other lessons and drills, with the weyrlingmasters taking each weyrling or small groups of weyrlings outside the Weyr to learn new destinations.
By the end of the month, all weyrlings will have been thoroughly drilled in the common destinations around Pern, including all of the Weyrs, the major Holds and several other key jump locations. Weyrlings will then be permitted to leave the Weyr on their own and to perform new weyrling duties that includes message and mail delivery as well as transport.
WLM/AWLM
The time has come for the last major hurdle of weyrling training and it is the most dangerous milestone yet. While previous perils might have resulted in a nasty injury, messing up during between training can lead to almost certain death. The job of the WLM team will be to try to calm fears while also encouraging a healthy respect for what they're about to undertake; a fine line to walk. Visualization is the most important skill that can be taught now, and the WLM team will be looking for ways to incorporate it throughout each day. However, this is generally avoided during drills as a sense of panic could lead a pair to go between before they are actually ready.
Rules
With greater danger comes greater privileges! Rules against sex and getting drunk have been lifted in an effort to allow weyrlings to do what they need to do to work through their anxiety and relax a bit. Plus, well, they might die, so it could be their last chance. ;) Meanwhile, showing up for drills and lessons on time and with a clear head is imperitive and failing to do so will mean these privileges could be revoked.
Toward the end of the month, once a weyrling has show competency with going between, they will be allowed to leave the Weyr on their own to practice this skill and enjoy the freedom it brings.
|
