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Embyr shuddered as the last sparks from the fire died out and vanquished in a cloud of smoke. She could almost feel the last of the heat draining from her body, and as she looked about her at all the other sleeping bodies, she knew it would be her who was to blame for the coldness in the morning, for it was she who let the fire go out. It was really only fair that she brave the cold outside the tiny hut, and find some more wood to re-start the fire. Who knew, maybe she'd get lucky and stumble upon some sticks or something.
Named for the warmth of the hearth fire, Embyr was nothing of heat and love. She was a cold person, distant in her own way, and only cared for being responsible for her large family. Seven younger siblings, and no parents to care for them all. Embyr�s mother died after the birth of Sevori, the youngest, and shortly after the foster mother, who came in to take over the entire brood, left as well. Embyr was stuck with eight total mouths to feed, no money, and no one to help her save the two brothers directly below her: Tolly and Davyd.
The family was quickly kicked out of their cothold home, and with only luck Embyr was able to find someone who would rent out a small hut for the price of labor. During the warm months, most of the children worked in MasterFarmer Hygnil�s fields, and during the winter they took turns serving him and his family in the main Hold about a mile away. Embyr went most often, for she knew the Master Hygnil enjoyed looking at her. He�d offered to put her family up, at no cost, in a small cliffside cottage if Embyr agreed to �keep him warm on cold winter nights�. Embyr refused, and the Master stopped including food in the rental agreement. The eight brats could fare for themselves, without stealing from his crops, if they wanted to stay.

Embyr shivered at the night air as she opened the door and slipped out. With a quick glance she looked at the two �babies�, six turn old Sevori, and seven turn old Hethar, and noticed the two were shaking in their shared blanket.
   I must hurry. Embyr decided, and pulled her raggedy shawl tighter about her shoulders. It was nowhere near morning, and the small hut would be freezing very shortly. The last thing anyone needed was for one of the children to get sick.
Her thin soled shoes provided little protection against the frosty ground, and had the situation been less serious, Embyr would have look quite silly as she hopped along the ground, trying to avoid keeping her feet down.
The situation was close to hopeless; there was hardly any dry wood near the place. All the chopped firewood had been used up the night before; and the boys hadn�t had time to go collect more. It had also been misty and damp that morning, and few nearby trees and bushes sheened with frozen wetness. They would not burn, even if Embyr could tear up some limbs from them.
Great Faranth. Embyr thought. We�re going to freeze to death, and it�s all my fault! Embyr�s mind was struck with a sudden sense of urgency. The night was much colder than she thought, and she could swear she saw some white flakes falling to the ground off in the distance. They needed a fire, and they needed it now. She couldn�t be expected to handle the consequences of a cold night in that tiny hut.
   Fardles. Embyr thought angrily as the wind picked up, and played with her hair, causing the nape of her neck to bristle, and goosebumps to appear on her arms. It was looking downcast. She was far from her home now, and still there was nothing in sight.
It�s too bad those vines on the north side of the house didn�t act as a tapestry, to keep the draft out.
The vines! Embyr whirled around quickly, just as the first few snowflakes began to land on her dark hair. She ran as fast as her numb legs would allow to the backside of the hut, and she fervently began ripping the long vines off the side of the outside stone panels. They would burn slowly, and they were dry because of the gutters above them. Sure they�d create a thick smoke, but the house was so riddles with holes it wouldn�t matter much.
   With an armload of the green, clingy plant life Embyr shoved the door open and hissed at Davyd to shut the door. The lad was awake, and desperately trying to restart the fire with a couple of sticks.
�But those are..� He began, and was quickly silenced by a kick from his sister.
�I know what those are.� She said quietly, and sighed. �We have to burn them, I don�t care if Hygnil says he wants us to leave them. If he cared at all about this place, there wouldn�t be holes in the walls, and there�d be enough firewood for us to burn in the winter. Now go get that tin of matches from the mantle.�
Embyr watched as Davyd glowered at her, but he obeyed. He always did, so Embyr had nothing to worry about. The poor lad had been an angry one ever since their mother died. Thier mother had indulged him in all sorts of foolish fanciness, letting him entertain the idea he�d be a Harper someday, and when he realized Embyr wouldn�t allow him his dreams, he grew upset.
   Embyr pondered this as she shoved some of the vines into the fire. Out of the family, Davyd was the only one who didn�t seem to care about anyone else. He was selfish, thinking they should help him get recognized by a Harper, so he�d get taken apprentice. He said when he made Journeyman, he�d have enough marks to help his family rent a better place, and eat enough during the winter, and not have to have the little ones work in the fields during the hot summer. Embyr didn�t understand how he thought like this. Assuming he did make Journeyman, which was always a risky gamble, he�d be at least three or four turns in doing it. That was three or four turns without his strong young body working in the fields. The entire group could barely make their harvesting quota working together, what would happen when they lost Davyd to a Craft? They�d be forced into drudgery, that�s what, and Embyr had no intention of letting her family loose the freedom they had on account of Davyd.
�Give me the matches.� Embyr commanded softly, and held out her hand as Davyd all but slammed them into her palm. She ignored his behavior; having no desire to wake the children up by arguing. �Now go outside and pull off more vines. Tear them all down if you must, and wake Tolly if you need help.� Embyr took out a match and struck it a few times over the fireplace, trying to get the sparks to light the vines on fire. Sighing, she leaned back, looking for something to catch the sparks and in turn light up the plants.
The slamming of the door by Davyd caused a sharp gust of wind to come into the hut and rustle some of the leaves and things around. The floating white movement of a piece of paper, disrupted by that wind, twisting midair about the room and settling near Embyr�s feet revealed a source of �lighting material�.
Embyr crumbled up the paper, hardly glancing at the sheet of music that it was, and tossed it into the fireplace. It was Davyd�s, obviously, and from the direction it came from it was also obvious he�d been hiding it. A good decision on his part, because if Embyr had found the paper before, it would have long ago been used up by the fire.
It�s good I didn�t. She thought as she withdrew another match. Otherwise we�d surely freeze tonight. There. The sparks took, and a small fire was beginning to grow underneath the brittle vines. Now, Embyr thought with satisfaction. To see if he has any more of those sheets. He shouldn�t be hoarding them, not when we need burnable material so badly.
Embyr stood up, brushed off the bottom of her skirt, and walked towards Davyd�s bed. It was immediately apparent that Davyd had hastily shoved more paper underneath the straw of his mattress, and without bothering to look at it Embyr pulled them out and walked them over to the fire.
We�ll burn them tonight. Embyr thought, a bit remorsely, because she didn�t want to waste anything that might be good for later. Tomorrow. She decided firmly. Tomorrow I�ll go get us enough firewood to last the winter out. That was to make sure using up all the paper tonight was justified.
�Hey!� Davyd, entering the doorway and seeing his sister throwing his own music, music that took him over two turns to write in case he might yet be seen by a Harper, music that meant more to him than anything else, into the fire. He didn�t bother to muffle his yells for the sleeping children as he threw Embyr away from the fireplace and up against the wall. �What are you doing!? Those are mine, not yours! Who said you could burn them because you�re cold?�
Embyr snarled at him in rage, and threw his arms off her shoulders. How dare he touch her like this? She was his sister. She shoved his chest, hard, and tossed the rest of the paper in her hand into the flames. All around her the others were waking up, and peering out from underneath their raggedy blankets at their two oldest siblings, fighting.
�How dare I?� Embyr hissed at him. �How dare I keep our family warm when it�s snowing? How dare you hide them from us? For fardling sakes, it�s just music Dav. Get over it.�
Davyd, in turn growled back at his sister.
�Oh, how stupid of poor selfish me. Are you getting cold sister dear? Do you want to burn my hand written songs so your toes aren�t chilly? That could have been a meal ticket Embyr, you dimglow! Those songs were good, even you�ve heard my practicing them�.�
�Which is another thing, dimglow!� Embyr said angrily, remembering to keep her voice low, even though everyone else was already awake. �That gitar of yours is as good as firewood if I catch you dodging work again to play it! And how dare you call me selfish? You think I care a wit if I�m cold? I�m fine enough. Look out there,� Embyr said urgently, pointing towards the younger children, huddled together in two different beds. �Look at your family. You want them to freeze to death so you can be a Harper? You want Sevori and Hethar to get frostbite? You want Desyia to starve because you can�t stand to work an entire day without escaping to write a few notes of music? Do you want Hannha and Coalan to..�
�I get your point!� Davyd screamed, and the look in his eyes was so intense it almost frightened his sister. �I understand perfectly well that all you want is what�s best for your family. I understand.� Embyr swung her arms in exasperation.
�Then what is your problem?� She asked him, and looks sharply at two of the children who were being too obvious about watching the fight. �Back to sleep.� She ordered them, and in fear of her they obeyed. Embyr turned back to Davyd for an answer, but she didn�t get one. Instead he smiled at her, a hollow, sad, sort of ironic smile that made his eyes glitter like a madman�s. With one slow movement, he shook his head back and forth, and turned around. Embyr watched in amazement as he picked up the gitar sitting by the door, and she gaped as Davyd opened that door and walked right out into the frigid night air.
�Come back here!� She yelled at him, her voice hysterical. What would their mother have done if she knew Embyr couldn�t keep the family together? What would their mother have done if she knew Davyd was going out to his death on a winter night? �Come back here!� Embyr screeched, even more forcefully, and was rewarded by the sound of Davyd�s boots crunching away in the snow. She didn�t bother to go to the door, to call after him, or even go after him. She just stood there, in the middle of the room, thinking about what springtime planting would be like without Davyd�s strong body to help. They would surely be kicked out now. Would she have to take up Farmer Hygnil on his offer, just to keep her family fed?
With a dejected sigh, Embyr sank down by the fireplace, not bothering to shut the door. As she stared into the flames of the now well-burning fire, she thought she heard one of the others get up and close the door. They weren�t stupid; they weren�t about to chase after Davyd either.
Hours seemed to pass, and the first lights of dawn crept into the hut. Embyr was dozing on her knees by the fire, nearly burnt out by now. A sudden snap caused her to jerk up her head, and she looked to see Sevori by the door, holding something in his arms. Exasperated and tired, Embyr motioned the young boy over to her.
�What�s that Sev?� She asked him, and he obediently held out to her two, small, roundish object. Embyr didn�t have time to gasp
�These are�These are��
�Eggs.� Sevori said, and smiled. He motioned over to the one chest the entire family used to store their clothes and shrugged. �I got them the other day when I was up helping the kitchen ladies, and I�ve been keeping them warm in there. I was going to give one to Davyd, but he�s gone now, and so are Hannha and Desia and Coalan..� Embyr shook her head, stopping the child midsentence.
�What?� She asked him, and Sevori shrugged again. �Last night when Davyd left, so did Hannha and Desia and Coalan. There�s only four of us now.� Sevori was amazingly blatant and unruffled by this whole ordeal, and Embyr immediately suspected him of lying. But a quick glance around the room revealed his word to be true. There were only two other bodies here, aside from Sev and herself, and both snoring away in their bed.
�Oh no.� Embyr cried, and sunk her face into her hands, ignoring the way the soot of the fire stung her eyes. �Oh no.� And tears began to fall. What would their mother think now? She�d be horrified at it. The only thing she�d ever wanted was for her family to be together. That�s why she didn�t foster any of her children�That�s why�.
Loud sobs racked Embyr�s body, and she was only vaguely aware of Sevori�s comforting arms about her shoulders. He was a good boy, Sevori, and smart too. Embyr reached out to hold him, but instead he put both the fire lizard eggs into her arms.
�They�re for you now.� He told her, and went to go put on his boots. Embyr only stared down in pity, fear, and confusion as the largest of the eggs began rocking. How would she ever manage to feed these creatures? Sure they�d bring in food later, but the first few months of their lives they�d be eating machines. But there were four less mouths to feed now�Embyr thought, and erupted into sobs again as that first egg began to chip away pieces of shell.

CONTINUE>>>

Embyr

Hatching/Weyrling/Adult
Sidra Weyr/Dawnsisters Weyr