Brush with the Holdless

Perhaps I am a bit discriminating...
I'm not supposed to be. I'm a Harper but I can't help it.
There I was, with Alonzo and my newest Pepper (AKA Peppi-kins) giving alms to the holdless. They stole a bucket from my wagon. They tried to take everything I had. Perhaps Alonzo scared them. he does look vicious. With two Fire-lizards, I do look protected. I could always send one back to my parents and another in Harper's Hall for help.
The point is, they are unruly, undisciplined and ungroomed!!!
Perhaps it's because of the lack of education. Harpers and lessons are hard to come by and even if one gets sen their way, the Harper's Hall don't usually send adequate Harpers. One Harper for seventy children of different ages. How can they learn?
Why don't the parents discipline them and teach them something besides getting even, stealing and tricking people?

Who is to blame?

Is it the parents who teach their young bad things or teach nothing at all?
Is it Harpers Hall who fail to supply enough Harpers to the holdless? Because they favor the Major Holds and Weyr first before Holdless and small Holds.
Is it the Lord Holders'? They should have taken steps for the holdless and the family of the Shunned.
Is it the Dragonriders? They always hold themselves aloof to these people and their reality.

Dragon's Fire

Pages from the 2nd Interval, 483 After Landing

Conversations/Scenes coming from Master Harper Zist, Ex-dragonrider Mikal and 3 year old mute, Pellar.

Mikal placed three pots of paint down in between himself and Pellar. He raised his still-upright finger somehwat higher, arched his eyebrow, and made his finger dive into one of the open pots as if it were the head and neck of a flying creature. Pellar smiled and his eyes danced at the ex-dragonrider's antics. Mikal's finger zoomed out of the pot with a small dab of yellow paint. Still holding his finger upright, Mikal nodded encouragingly to Pellar.
Pellar smiled and raised the same finger on his own hand. Mikal nodded again. Gleefully, Pellar thrust his finger into a different pot and zoomed it up again, his finger bright with thick red paint.
Silently, Mikal ran his finger over the ground, leaving a yellow snake on the white stone floor. With a grin, Mikal rubbed his red tipped finger over the part of the yellow snake, creating an orange blob. Pellar saw the color change and, with little encouragement from Mikal, picked up a trace of Mikal’s yellow and rubbed it on his red snake to create a duplicate orange spot.

“Can you draw me a picture of yourself?” Mikal asked. “Use any color.”
Inspired, Pellar produced a multicolored self-portrait in the way of all those who were only three years old back on the long-forgotten Earth would have done—complete with arms sticking out of heads. The mouth in the big round head was upturned and smiling.
“Great! Could you draw me, too?” Mikal asked.
Pellar happily complied.
“I see my mouth is pointing down,” Mikal remarked of the finished drawing. “Are you saying I’m sad?”
Pellar nodded.
“Why is that?” Mikal asked. In response, Pellar combined all three color onto one finger tip and drew a brown shape—a long sinewy line crossed by another gull-shaped line.
“Zist, get in here!” Mikal called. Harper Zist traced inside, looking back and forth from Pellar to Mikal. “Did you tell him I was a dragonrider?”
“It may have come out,” Zist Admitted.
“Did you tell him the color of my dragon?” Mikal pointed to one drawing.
“No. I don’t think so,” Zist said, examining the drawing himself. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever knew myself.”
“Mmm,” Mikal grunted. He looked at Pellar and pointed at the drawing. “Is that my dragon?”
Pellar nodded, eyes sad.
“How did you know what color to paint it?” Mikal asked.
Pellar raised a paint-covered finger and gently pointed at Mikal’s eyes.

Firestone

I never knew Firestone was so hard to mine. It's the strangest mineral I've ever encountered. If this phospine bearing rock meets a spark of contacts with water, it explodes. Strange mineral.

Only the shunned people mine firestone. It's is very hard to mine and very dangerous.

In the 2nd interval, there is only one firestone mine left on Pern. Until Miner Cristov, High Reaches Wingleader D'vin, Harper Kindan, Harper Pellar and Halla found a new type of Firestone. it was the Firestone where the Fire-lizard got their name from. It was not the highly volatile rock that hurts the dragon's throat.

This mineral is found near shorelines. The sea probably turned it blue-greenish in color. The dragons must take time to chew but it sustains a longer flame.

Make your own Klah!

How to make your own Earth-Brew Klah.

in a Mug of Hot water, add the following:

1/4 teaspoon coffee
Dunk a bag of Tea (Preferably English breakfast)
1 teaspoon chocolate syrup or powder
A dash of Cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Stir... then enjoy while warm!

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  Klah is the drink the Pernese drink when the coffee reserves were no more. it is high in caffeine and gives the same effect as cooffee and tea.


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  It is polite to offer Klah to visitors.

Image from www.1clipart.com