In the Skies of Pern, something that really stood out to me was the connection between dragon and rider. Dragons tend to be amazingly important background characters. They are literally the only thing keeping Pern and all it's inhabitants alive, the very center of civilization on that planet. Yet, in the books, they have only choice lines, in few scenes. How can a creature that affects the balance of the story have only a few lines? It's because they are with their riders every moment of every scene. Their connection is so innate that they need not say a thing to effect what's going on. You can see a definite difference in characters as well. Lord holders think only of themselves, or else must think of many people, their minor holders. Hallsmen think only of their craft, how to improve it, spread it, get better at it. Dragonriders think of only their dragons. If one dies, so does the other. They are connected so that if one is injured, the other's entire life is changed.
For example, F'lessan and Golanth, were once heads of their wing, young, carefree, their entire life ahead of them. After a single incident, all that changes. Golanth is grounded, losing his ability to fly. F'lessan must now change his entire way of living, must get used to staying in one place his entire life. A world which once held so many possibilities is closing in on him, leaving him with few options, all of which would mean drastically changing his lifestyle, not to mention possibly being separated from the girl he loves. He of course can't blame Golanth, as that would be like blaming himself. Besides, if Golanth had died, F'lessan would've died as well. If a dragon or a rider dies, the other almost always commits suicide. To live without the other would be to live without half a soul. During a recovery process, both must be constantly reassured that the other is not dead, for fear of them losing the will to live. This level of loyalty and commitment spoke to me as something both beautiful and terrifying about this world of Pern.
HI SIERRA! I like how you wrote about a certain aspect of the book and how it can drastically change the book if it's present/ not present. You talked about the loyalty, friendship, respect and love that a Dragon and its Rider can have towards each other, and I think that is cool because it shows how strongly the Dragon and the Rider are and how strong of a bond they have in the book. How would the story change if the main character's bond with his dragon was broken?
ReplyDeleteGREAT POST :D,
Melissa