A moment in candidate Kaneya's life at the Harper Hall before leaving for Search to Madellon Weyr.
(See the end of the work for notes.)
What would it be like to ride a dragon?
Kaneya tapped her quill in thought, the tip beating a soft tattoo along the edge of the hide on her desk. The hide’s blank surface stared back, as if mocking her.
This was always the hardest part of composing for her. Melodies and notations came to her easily, but words…
Kaneya leaned back against her chair and sighed. Her eyes wandered to a small scroll at the corner of her desk. The words within the scroll she already knew by heart. Her invitation to Search. A wave of anticipation swept through her. In less than a month, she would Impress a dragon.
At least, she hoped she would.
A high-pitched squeak rang out from the room next door, startling Kaneya out of her thoughts. Khrissy’s pipe-playing had improved over the last sevenday, though at times a stray shrill note issued from them. At least he was making progress, unlike her song-writing-
Argh! Kaneya shook her head briskly. Enough wool-gathering!
One of the best pieces of advice her Mum had given her was to write what you know. But she hadn’t Impressed a dragon yet, had she? Imagination could only take her so far…
She glanced out of the window at the blue, cloudless sky.
What would it be like to fly with a dragon?
Kaneya is a special character to me. She originated from a 6th grade English assignment after reading Anne McCaffrey's "The Smallest Dragonboy" - to make an advertisement for a dragon rather than Impressing one. I drew a blue dragon for that assignment, since blue is my favorite color and I didn't know then that blues typically Impress boys. When the Dragonchoice: You Choose - Candidate game came out, with an option for a girl to Impress a blue, I remembered Kaneya and made sure she Impressed her blue!