Chapters (55)
- Title Page
- Map
- Prologue
- VOLUME I: DRAGONFLIGHT
- Dedicatory Note
- PART I Weyr Search
- PART II Dragonflight
- PART III Dust Fall
- PART IV The Cold Between
- VOLUME II: DRAGONQUEST
- Dedication
- I Morning at Mastercrafthall, Fort Hold / Several Afternoons Later at Benden Weyr / Midmorning (Telgar Time) at Mastersmithcrafthall, Telgar Hold
- II Evening (Fort Weyr Time). Meeting of the Weyrleaders at Fort Weyr
- III Morning over Lemos Hold
- IV Midday at Southern Weyr
- V Midmorning at Ruatha Hold / Early Evening at Benden Weyr
- VI Midmorning at Southern Weyr / Early Morning at Nabol Hold: Next Day
- VII Midmorning at Benden Weyr / Early Morning at the Mastersmithcrafthall, Telgar Hold
- VIII Midmorning at Southern Weyr
- IX Afternoon at Southern Weyr: Same Day
- X Early Morning in Harpercrafthall at Fort Hold / Afternoon at Telgar Hold
- XI Early Morning at Benden Weyr
- XII Morning at Benden Weyr / Predawn at High Reaches Weyr
- XIII Night at Fort Weyr: Six Days Later
- XIV Early Morning at Ruatha Hold / Midday at Benden Weyr
- XV Evening at Benden Weyr: Impression Banquet
- XVI Evening at Benden Weyr / Later Evening at Fort Weyr
- VOLUME III: THE WHITE DRAGON
- Dedication
- I At Ruatha Hold, Present Pass, 12th Turn
- II Benden Weyr, Present Pass, 13th Turn
- III Morning at Ruatha Hold, and Smithcrafthall at Telgar Hold, Present Pass, 15.5.9
- IV Ruatha Hold, Fidello’s Hold, and Various Points Between, 15.5.10-15.5.16
- V Morning in Harpercraft Hall, Fort Hold, Afternoon in Benden Weyr, Late Afternoon in Harpercraft Hall, 15.5.26
- VI Ruatha Hold and Southern Hold, 15.5.27-15.6.2
- VII Morning at Ruatha Hold, 15.6.2
- VIII Ruatha Hold, Fort Weyr, Fidello’s Hold, 15.6.3-15.6.17
- IX Early Summer, Harpercraft Hall and Ruatha Hold, 15.7.3
- X From Harpercraft Hall to the Southern Continent, Evening at Benden Weyr, 15.7.4
- XI Late Morning at Benden Weyr, Early Morning at Harpercraft Hall, Midday at Fidello’s Hold, 15.7.5
- XII Ruatha Hold, Fidello’s Hold, Threadfall, 15.7.6
- XIII A Cove in the Southern Continent, 15.7.7-15.8.7
- XIV Early Morning at Harpercraft Hall, Midmorning at Ista Weyr, Midafternoon at Jaxom’s Cove, 15.8.28
- XV Evening at Jaxom’s Cove and Late Evening at Ista Weyr, 15.8.28
- XVI At the Cove Hold, 15.8.28-15.9.7
- XVII Fort Hold, Benden Weyr, at Cove Hold, and at Sea aboard the Dawn Sister, 15.10.1-15.10.2
- XVIII At the Cove Hold the Day of Master Robinton’s Arrival, 15.10.14
- XIX Morning at the Cove Hold, Star-gazing in Late Evening, Next Morning, Discovery at the Mountain, 15.10.15-15.10.16
- XX At the Mountain and at Ruatha Hold, 15.10.18-15.10.20
- XXI Next Day at the Mountain, Cove Hold, and the Southern Hatching Ground, 15.10.21
- Afterword
- Dragondex
- Other Books by Anne McCaffrey
- To learn more about other great titles from Ballantine Books . . .
- Copyright
“This Plateau will have to be available to everyone,” F’lar said, ignoring Toric’s implication. “And since dragons enjoy earth-moving...”
“I’d like to bring Benelek with me tomorrow, F’lar,” said the Mastersmith, rubbing his gray-mudded hands together and flicking the dried pellets off his clothes. “And two other lads with good imaginations...”
“Imagination? Yes, you’ll need a lot of that here to make sense out of what the ancients have left for you,” Toric said, the faintest hint of scorn in his tone. “When you’re ready. D’ram?”
For some reason Toric’s manner toward the old Weyrleader was more-respectful than to anyone else. At least to Jaxom’s sensitive ears. He was inwardly seething over Toric’s insinuation that he did not manage his own Hold but pleased himself. He seethed because it was a valid accusation. Yet why, Jaxom sought to console himself, would anyone have expected him to return tamely to Ruatha, which prospered under Lytol’s expert management, when all the excitement in the world was happening here? He felt Sharra’s fingers curl around his arm, and he reminded himself of his own analogy between Toric and Dorse.
“I’ll have a job getting Ruth clean,” he said with a rueful sigh as he undid Sharra’s fingers from his arm and clasped them tightly, drawing her with him to Ruth.
As the dragons broke from between over the Cove, the Harper’s tall figure was visible on the beach, his impatience to hear of their explorations echoed by the fire-lizards who did dizzy spirals about him. When he saw the state the group was in, and how impatient they were to swim clean, he simply divested himself of his clothes and swam from one to another, hearing their reports.
It was an altogether deflated group that sat about the fire that evening.
“There’s no guarantee, is there,” the Harper said, “that even if we had the energy to excavate all those hundreds of mounds, we’d find anything of value left behind.”
Lessa held up her spoon with a laugh. “No intrinsic value, but it does give me a tremendous thrill to hold something my hundred-times ancestress might have used!”
“Efficiently made, too,” Fandarel said, politely taking the small object and examining it again. “The substance fascinates me.” He bent toward the flames to scrutinize it. “If I could just...” and he reached for his belt knife.
“Oh, no you don’t, Fandarel,” Lessa said in alarm and retrieved her artifact. “There were other bits and pieces of the same stuff discarded in my building. Experiment on them.”
“Is that all we are to have of the ancients, their bits and pieces?”
“I remind you, F’lar,” Fandarel said, “their discards have already proved invaluable.” The Smith then indicated the spot where Wansor’s distance-viewer had been sited. “What men have once learned to do, can be relearned. It will take time and experimentation but...”