Book One: Onnu and Pannu

Reign

Onnu didn't expect a crowd when she returned, but there was. Most of the local dragons were there, along with two that she didn't recognize.
   Oh no, not more Council members! she groaned.
   She landed outside the Hold, where they'd gathered. "What's this all about?"
   Amber jerked her head toward Pannu. "He said you were going to talk to God about making more Holds. That's of interest to us, too."
   Onnu looked to Pannu, who shrugged. "They were already here negotiating trade agreements. I just mentioned it to save time later."
   She nodded. "This is true. Well, the Word is, the Elder Dragons and centaurs will guide the placement, or not, based on existing resources. For my two cents, I'd suggest spreading south and west, so we don't compete with the City or Mountain Clan. I'll hold off 'til the reports from the ground, but yes, I can create Holds when necessary.
   "However," she said over the murmurs, "we should not rely on Holds for every purpose. They disturb the mantle of Tupino in such a way that I would not overburden the firth with crystals. You've seen how they are designed. Smaller structures could be erected in fields, for larger farming operations or ranches.
   "There are also the mountains, which can be carved as the crystals cannot. We might have to deal with the cave wyrms, but I'm not sure. Best ask Bjorn when we see the traders next."
   She should have known that the kin in question would be there, but she hadn't seen him beyond Amber and the two strange dragons.
   "We are always willing to help our fellow... tupin, you said? If your kin wish to remain in the light, we can carve caves into the outside of the mountains, away from our forges."
   Onnu bowed her head in agreement. That, it seemed, was all it took to make a binding pact with the typically stoic Mountain Clan.
   "On the morrow, I travel to the City," she said to the rest of the gathering. "I have a message to deliver. It's relevant to everyone, so it is fortuitous that so many dragons are here. It'll save me a trip, if you don't mind passing it on."
   Of course, Bjorn clung to every word. She was positive that he would relay it verbatim, and possibly take more pride than she thought prudent in being the one to hear it.
   The local dragons were puzzled. They were being good stewards. Onnu had taught them as much, not that she remembered it that way. She just thought they'd all agreed that it was a good idea.
   "You said this was for the City? Are they not managing their goods well enough?" Amber asked.
   "Their emissary said as much. Thinks they're going to starve if I don't make them new Holds forthwith. Not sure how I'll get out of it tomorrow, or even if I'm supposed to. I'd much rather practice here, honestly."
   "Please?" Weaver urged. "With the peryarn kits and little kin, we're nearing capacity. If we could move the peryarns and their keepers alone to a smaller Hold, that would help immensely."
   "And the bampa production would increase with a few of those small structures you were talking about, but I don't know how to make them," Amber chimed in. "We could also stand to offload the dye-making. The smell has been bothering some of the other kin."
   "If it bothers your kin, it will definitely disturb the peryarns."
   "Fine, how about the weavers join the peryarn breeders? Then we don't have to ship the fibers to the weavers."
   Amber's knack was truly a game-changer! Onnu took notes, in case similar skills were needed the next day.
   "Wait, what about the two empty Holds?"
   "Filled," Amber said abruptly.
   Onnu sighed. They really had grown, hadn't they?
   "Right, then. One medium sized Hold for textiles, and some dye huts?"
   "Oh, I don't know that we need an entire Hold for the peryarns! More space should be enough. I don't want to be a bother," Weaver demurred.
   Onnu smiled, to take any perceived sting from her next words. "The peryarns are small, defenseless. They will require the protection that a Hold offers, else ye lose some to snokka or wolmod. Even if you managed to convince some worgles to guard the perimeter, there's just too much risk, in my opinion. Now, if we found a way to tame some of the springbeaks, it might be doable. They're bigger, and have more natural protections than the peryarns do. Remember, they were found in the Holds."
   The smaller dragonesses bowed to her wisdom. She asked Chet, who was examining the new Hold, to scout out a location fit for their purposes.
   He requested a team, which she trusted him to choose. She let him know that the next day would be much longer, though she couldn't say how long.
   Every head swung her way.
   "Oh, I forgot, didn't I? He's extending tomorrow, so I can travel to the City and back." When they looked at her like she'd grown an extra set of wings, she reminded them that no Hold save theirs would, well, hold her. That didn't take into account the hatchlings.
   "Why do they have to go with you?" Pannu asked.
   She looked at him as though he should know, but gently said that she couldn't leave them. That's why she'd given Alistair the timeframe that she had.
   "You know he's going to exploit that loophole," Amber warned.
   "He can try," was her reply. "Besides, I was only permitted to leave for the morrow. He didn't say I was to travel constantly. If I was, we would not need this Hold."
   "Let us pray that he can see such logic," Weaver said. She didn't sound any more optimistic than Amber was.
   "Pray, indeed."
   That seemed to be a dismissal, because the crowd dispersed into their disparate pursuits once more. Amber resumed trade negotiations with Bjorn and the new dragons, though she wasn't sure when or where they would move the fiber operations. Chet asked Pannu for a ride to Egg Hold and their original Hold to gather his team. Weaver went home to see how her kin felt about moving the peryarns.
   And Onnu returned to her hatchlings, to prepare them for their first outing. She still didn't see herself as any sort of leader, or priestess, but that was the day that everyone else began to.