Plot

Valhalla Weyr is no stranger to hardship. The winter cold, the bite of Thread, and rivals from inside and out all seem to conspire against this small Northern Weyr, and things have been even more difficult of late.

With the death in Threadfall of the old Weyrleader and the subsequent death of the old Weyrwoman, the teenage Weyrwoman Martine, rider of Eseth, became leader of every man, woman and dragon in Valhalla. The older, more impatient riders quickly maneuvered to run the Weyr as they saw fit, reducing Martine's role to that of a ceremonial figurehead until her Queen was caught and the Weyrwoman was under the control of a more experienced bronzerider.

Martine was not about to take this sitting down.

Although her Queen was still a long time from Rising and the Weyrwoman herself was young and naive, Martine--as was her right--took back her Weyr and resumed running it alone. Backed by the Weyrleaders of a distant but powerful Weyr, Martine resisted Valhalla's ambitious bronzeriders for a whole year... until Eseth finally Rose.

The Flight was high and fast and all of the established bronzeriders mad with anticipation. However, Eseth was not caught by the most experienced or the most ambitious. Rather, a young man barely older than Martine became Weyrleader as his quick, fit dragon swept Eseth out of the skies with a speed that awed the old dragons and riders alike.

That was the last straw.

The young Weyrleader was murdered while he slumbered in Martine's arms after the Flight. Roused by the Weyrwoman's screams, those loyal to Martine immediately went on the warpath, trying to find the murderer and bring him to justice... but all the evidence had disappeared, and no person was found guilty.

With no evidence and no guilty plea, the Weyr had no choice but to resume functioning as it had functioned before: Martine stubbornly defended her position, the remaining bronzeriders schemed, and the tension grew steadily thicker with each passing day. There was another whole year to wait for Eseth to Rise again.

Some of the riders left for greener pastures, leaving Valhalla with a skeleton crew of riders and weyrfolk and plenty of power-hungry men. Others disappeared as they showed too much loyalty--sometimes bordering on insubordination towards the bronzeriders--to Martine, their deaths as mysterious as the Weyrleader's.

Now, with Eseth's clutch hardening on the Sands, the Weyr's only hope is to breed more riders loyal to the Weyrwoman regardless of her youth and inexperience. Time is running out for Martine, whose loyal dragonriders have dwindled. For each of the prospective Weyrleaders, Valhalla has been too long without a competent Weyrleader.

Some of them are unwilling to wait any longer.