A Symbiotic Bond

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Chapter 1    A NEW BEGINNING

I was getting tired. I realized that I had been awake for twenty four hours straight. Instead of sleeping, we had talked the night away. The journey here took just a few minutes. It was relaxing in a weird sort of way. Now I was on another planet! Me, Sophia, riding on the back of a huge Silver Great Dragon. A thought flitted through my mind, maybe I was destined to be a snack or a virgin sacrifice, so many movie themes to choose from and yet, Lerinth seemed so kind and gentle. I could feel the honesty in her mind.

When we talked for the whole night, I felt her anger as I talked about my Care Worker. I would not want to be on the receiving end of that sort of anger. Probably comes complete with fire. The thought of riding a Great Dragon into battle was a little scary but, I was just so lonely. Dad had died in a war. He had been a war correspondent until the bloody stupid US air force had dropped a bomb on the wrong hotel. Then only three years later, Mum had died from cancer. It was awful, watching as she slowly, bit by bit, died. That was two long years ago. I had become a State Ward and what a joke that turned out to be. Wasn’t in one place long enough to make many friends and every time I did, I was moved without being able to say goodbye. They told me it was for my own good. That’s what I hated the most, the damn stupid lies, like, it wasn’t half obvious, but they didn’t care, just lies and more lies to make it easier for them.

Now I was here. Well, I made my decision based on Lerinth’s promises so, live or die, I was going to give this a go. Sometimes I felt as if death was a friend, so I didn’t mind much if that was what would happen. Lerinth sent a wave of love and concern my way and as it washed over my mind, I returned to the here and now and started looking around. We were gliding towards a city, or was it? It looked like a fantasy castle with seven pointy turrets. It sat on a high bluff above a wide river and it was very tall.

Lerinth sent, This is the planet Winnowaan and that is Winno Weyr. Winno Weyr is a Weyr Ship, a huge Star Ship, landed on her tail that provides an instant city. It can be heavily Shielded or moved at any time to avoid the worst that nature can throw at us. At one thousand six hundred metres tall, with a central core of four hundred and forty metres wide and two hundred and forty metres deep, it is shaped as an elongated octagon. On the six smaller sides are the attached Turrets. Those are almost the full height of the central core and each one provides one hundred and eighty levels of living space for Great Dragons.

I smiled at the awesome sight as Lerinth continued,

Two thousand Great Dragons and eleven thousand Humans make Winno Weyr their home. The Weyr Ship itself is aware. Winno is the name of the Artificial Intelligence, or AI, that is the ship. As I have a body, wings and talons, he has his central core, his turrets and a great array of shields partnered with the best energy weapons that Ressalon can produce. Never, in all of Ressalon’s history, has a Weyr Ship been taken by force or lost in battle. Sophia, welcome to your new home!

As we flew closer I heard another mind. I could not understand the language but I had the impression that while the message itself was bleak, the laughter that accompanied the thought was anything but bleak.

Lerinth replied, It is I, Lerinth, Great Silver Dragon. I have a new rider with me, she is young. Please, until she adapts, give the humor a miss, Sorinth.

Sorinth answered but of course I could not understand it. He did sound a little contrite. I asked, What did he say?

Lerinth replied, Did you hear Sorinth?

I answered, Um, yes, sorry! Is it wrong to hear what other Dragons think?

Lerinth sent waves of calmness and love overlaid with, No Sophia, it is actually wonderful. Not many Riders can hear the thoughts of other Great Dragons. You are full of very pleasant surprises. Sorinth is bored and when bored he tends to joke around. He asked, ‘Who approaches Winno Weyr?’ That is the standard challenge but then he added, ‘Advance and be charred.’ One of these days he will say the wrong thing at the wrong time, but we all have our quirks and guard duty is always boring because no one in their right mind would attack a Weyr Ship.

She paused and continued, OK, they are ready for us. Because you come from a different world you need to go through a process to ensure that all of the micro-organisms that you carry are not harmful to others. Please do not be afraid, I will be right next to you and I will explain every little step and why it is necessary. Ask any questions and as many as you wish.

I thought back, We do similar things when going between countries on Earth. This will not be scary. I am not five years old.

We transferred into a huge room within the ship city. I guess the room needed to be huge because there was a beautiful and huge, Golden Dragon sitting there with, I assumed, a Rider. I say assumed because the Rider was covered in armor.

Sophia, this is our Weyr Queen, Naleeth and Rodene her Rider. Just as you are now a Silver Rider, Rodene is a Queen Rider. Rodene is in Battle Armor just in case we brought something dangerous with us. Now, if it is OK with you, we need you to take off all of your clothes and lay down on the scanner bed.

Well, that was easy enough. I was a little nervous at being naked but I understood they needed to scan me. As I undressed, the Queen Rider took my clothes and placed them in what looked like a set of drawers. She was very particular how she arranged them. Once I was ready, I went and laid down on what Lerinth thought of as a bed. Although it had rounded sides, I thought it looked a little like a coffin with its high sides and lid. It was also very big.

Lerinth chuckled and sent, It is a Life Support Capsule. When it is closed, it can maintain an injured Human or Warrior in stasis until Healers arrive. It can also be used as an escape capsule in almost any environment including space. In this application, we use its scanner array to determine what microscopic organisms you are carrying as well as detecting any health issues that need attention. There is nothing to worry about, Sophia.

I relaxed while the Capsule did its job and it ended with a tingling sensation over and seemingly through my body. Rodene was next to me when it finished and she touched a button on her left wrist to retract her helmet. She looked about forty but I could be decades off, I was never good at estimating ages.

You’re just a few decades off my love, Rodene has lived for over six hundred and fifty of your years. A long life is one of the benefits of riding a Great Dragon.

I remembered Lerinth telling me that while we were still on Earth but hundreds of years? I hadn’t thought of living that long. It seemed like a good idea though. I really wanted to ask a question but thought better of it. It seemed though, that I had a lot to learn about telepathy.

Lerinth sent a wave of love and thought, Kirra and I were together for an amount of time equal to three of your lifetimes. Sophia, there is no question that will come between us, not ever. Ask anything. There will always be truth between us. Telepathy does not allow lies to exist. Answer me this please, is there anything I cannot ask you?

I thought for a few moments before replying, No there is not. It is going to take me a while to get used to this. I have never been this close to someone before. Only my Mum and Dad really loved me but even they weren’t inside my mind.

Lerinth replied, We have as long as you need. You can set the pace. Now, Rodene has a drink for you. It contains what you may call nano-bots and they end up swimming in your blood stream. Think of them as tiny robots. With those in your system running in conjunction with Battle Armor that we will arrange tomorrow, you will never have to go through this procedure again. You will also never get sick from a virus or anything similar. Then we can go to our Weyr.

I drank the liquid, it had a honey taste, well, sort of anyway. I bowed to the Queen Dragon and Queen Rider. Lerinth transformed to her dog form and we walked out of the room to a large corridor. To my way of thinking it was more like a really long room but if Dragons had to use it, I suppose it had to be wide.

At first I was bemused but I started to get a little edgy. That was enough for Lerinth to notice as she asked, "What is wrong Sophia?" I said, I think you forgot something. Lerinth asked, What have I forgotten?

I went back to being bemused. I suppose Great Dragons don’t really care but I was feeling uncomfortable so I said, You forgot my clothes. I am naked. We could run into someone!

I felt Lerinth’s emotions fall and with great concern she thought, Oh Sophia, I am so sorry. I know of your nudity taboo but I have no real concept of how it works. Your clothes are being checked and cleaned as are your belongings in your backpack. I thought you would like to see something of this Weyr Ship, but I was obviously wrong. None of the races that make up Ressalon have such a taboo so I have no experience with this. Riders mostly wear clothes for adornment or protection but are free to wear nothing if they so choose. Stand close to me and I will Transfer us direct to our very private Weyr.

We Transferred to this huge room. It was as big as a couple of school gymnasiums. I just turned around in a circle to take it all in, it was so big! Lerinth thought, This is what you may think of as the living room. The whole room had polished walls in some sort of stone finish but there were no joins anywhere, it just flowed together.

Coming off this room were a few smaller areas and Lerinth took me on a tour. There was a sleeping area with a very low bed for me and what Lerinth called a couch for her. It looked to me as if the floor itself had been shaped for her. There was a bathroom with a bath or you could call it a small swimming pool maybe, since it was so big. A meals area for me and a whole big room just for me to study in or whatever else I needed it for. There was lots of storage space as well.

After I had looked for a while Lerinth asked, Is it OK? We can have it redecorated if you would like. It would be no problem, I just want you to be happy. Think about it for a while. I was not sure if I should be awed or if perhaps I should just go back to being bemused. Considering what I was used to, it almost seemed too big but then, Lerinth needed to live here as well, so I supposed that everything was as it should be. I yawned. The low bed was looking very inviting!

Lerinth transformed back to her Dragon form and thought, "Sophia, come here please." The request had an image with it so I walked over to her and cuddled her nose. That was all I could reach! She was warm and sent a wave of love and concern.

She sent, You have reservations about this. While you are using humor to mask them, your thoughts of being used as a meal for me or as a virgin sacrifice have some basis in fear. I need to be certain that you want to be my Rider as opposed to, ‘this is simply better than the situation I was in’. I have not yet taken the final step, that of a merger of our minds that provides a shared love and trust like no other bonding. It is a symbiotic relationship we would share. I can delay this until you are ready but the final step of Pair Bonding cannot be undone. Do you need more time?

I thought about the question before replying, My Mum always said that if it seemed too good to be true, then it probably was and Dad always said that there was a sucker born every minute. This is way too good to be true. What you have already shared is so damn wonderful, it is breaking my heart but, well, why me? I am just a problem to everyone, just a file. Why the hell do you want me? I am not special, just … a sad little girl.

I paused for a moment and then asked, You can see into my mind, why can’t I see into yours? Lerinth’s mind entered mine and suddenly I could see into hers. A vast mind that was overwhelming. I had never been into someone else’s mind before. It was a little scary but as I looked around my fear diminished. She loved me. It seemed like a sea of love just waiting to engulf me.

She saw me in an utterly different way to the way I thought of myself. She saw extreme intelligence, she saw awesome potential and she saw Arcane Power that excited her for the possibilities of what I might achieve. I wasn’t sure what that meant but she obviously did. She saw my gentle caring disposition that no one else noticed and she truly thought that was the most important aspect of who I was. She even liked my name.

Tears started running down my cheeks. I could not believe how damn lucky I was. In my mind it was like a dam bursting as I realized that I wanted this with every tiny part of who I was. I said, Lerinth, do it please, I want love and cuddles again, I want this, I want you and the love you offer. Join us now … please!

It was like our minds just flowed together. I became a part of her mind and she became a part of mine. Every little thing I had ever done wrong, every little lie, every little childish deception was there in plain view. She just smiled at them and then put them aside. I now knew how she saw me and she had not lied, not in the tiniest bit. Her love did not engulf me, it became a part of me. I reached out, finally able to fully trust her and with that mental admission I flowed into her. My love for her was released and I felt it infuse her mind. She shuddered in relief and pleasure.

I saw her real fear that I would refuse the Bonding just evaporate. She had actually been really scared that I would not choose her. I saw her love of Kirra. I realized then that Kirra had been a truly wonderful person and one who’s memory I could respect deeply.

For the first time in a very long time I felt that I was home, that I was loved and cared for by someone that knew me intimately. The merger became deeper. Together we celebrated my parents and the love they had had for me.

When it was completed we were as one, together at last and with the merger, a new exciting and loving beginning where we would face the future together. We had a Bond where only death could part us.

I pulled all of the fur rugs from the low bed and dropped them between Lerinth’s front legs. With the two of us still deeply merged, I laid down and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 2    A NEW WAY OF LEARNING

I awoke to a feeling of intense love. You slept very soundly my Rider. I liked your dreams, I was in one of them! I rolled onto my back to see Lerinth’s right eye looking straight at me. I snuggled a little deeper into the furs, not yet willing to rise.

Lerinth continued, That feels so nice snuggling into the furs. I have missed a Riders little pleasures and now I am so honored to have you as my Rider. I love you and I feel your love for me. I am just so happy! Now, I have a few little things to explain to you. There are many benefits to being a Rider, you will discover them as we progress. While we are now Pair Bonded for life, it takes time for us both to discover and meet the needs of each other.

I liked the sound of that and smiled in contentment as she continued, One of the benefits you would call, your education. We do not have a school and you do not need to learn in the way you are used to. We could if you wanted to. I could have books printed for you and I could find a classroom and even a teacher for you.

Her mind smiled as she continued, But perhaps you could try it our way for a while and see if it is more to your liking. We learnt our teaching methods from Warriors. Lerinth paused and thoughts of Warriors filled my mind. A feline species that could run on four legs or two. When standing they stood two and a half metres tall. Their caring disposition and a core belief in clan, family and children given generation by generation. When called upon or threatened though, they were awesome in combat, able to use ancient and modern weapons, armored or not as the situation dictated. A telepathic species, one of four that made up Ressalon. The more I thought, the more information became available to me right down to the biology of the species and their history spanning eleven thousand years. I was speechless!

Lerinth continued, I teach as you sleep, placing the information into you mind with total accuracy, very deep in your long term memory centers. I taught you a great deal last night and I enjoyed it immensely. If you start having headaches we will need to slow down, time and experience will give us an idea of how much you can take at one time. The speed of your progress is entirely up to you. I also altered some of your mind’s pathways. You now have a perfect memory. If you intend to remember something, you will. Now, you need to use the bathroom. We will see how well you can use the information I placed in your mind last night. I concentrated on those small things that will ease your transition into our society.

I laughed. As soon as Lerinth mentioned the word ‘bathroom’ the situation became somewhat urgent. I rolled out of the furs and headed for the bathroom. I knew exactly what to do. As I approached the appropriate wall, the toilet slid out for me. After I finished the toilet washed and dried my nether regions. I realized that the learning part was a whole lot easier but I still needed to experience things before I could completely understand.

I dove into the small pool and as I surfaced I said, Weyr, wash please. I knew it was a sonic enhanced pool, but knowing the name and feeling it were two different things. As I lay floating on my back my body felt exceedingly clean. I stayed for a few minutes before walking up the steps and waiting while the dryer did its thing. It felt like a small current of air. I thought some more but while I knew how to make it work, I did not have any information on how it worked.

Lerinth thought, I do not know either and the same can be said for most of the technology we use. A few Riders would likely know, the information is there for those curious souls that enquire but frankly, I do not have an interest in such things.

Lerinth paused until I was in front of her. I cuddled her snout as she continued, "Now, Queen Rider Rodene is approaching with some food for you. She also brings your clothes. One of Winno’s Shells is with her. As I thought of the word ‘Shell,’ some more information, just sort of, appeared in my mind. I grinned. This was just so wicked! A shell in this context was a robotic copy of an animal that Ressalon Artificial intelligences often used to interact with others.

Firstly, should I have them wait outside until you are dressed or is it OK for them to see you naked for a short time? I made a mistake yesterday, I try never to make the same mistake twice, especially where you are concerned.

I answered, It is fine, I do not mind. I have met her before and she is a woman. I would get very nervous if it was a group of boys though.

More information surfaced. AIs were considered sentient life forms. They could love and care deeply just as I could but they did not in any way experience sexuality. Seemed safe to me. A chime sounded. Without thinking about it I identified it as the door bell and simply said, Come in!

The door opened by itself and Queen Rider Rodene entered. Next to her walked a dark blue cat. It was really huge! On its back, over the hind quarters, was what looked like a cannon, with three barrels. It looked very much like a cat, but an alien cat. Nothing about it was quite right. The snout was different as were the ears. The legs were OK, but the paws where very flat. It had teeth similar to what I had seen once in a museum. Those teeth had belonged to a stuffed saber tooth tiger. This cat was likely about as big! He also had the normal, for me, two eyes but he had a crystal in the middle of its fore head. In my mind I felt Lerinth, but another mind was also simply observing. I assumed it was Queen Naleeth.

I didn’t know how to act so I just stood still and waited. It was too late when I thought I probably should have bowed or something. They were followed by what looked like a little sled, well, sort of, as it just floated in midair behind them.

Queen Rider Rodene simply walked right up to me and knelt down on both knees. She smiled warmly and in my mind, I sensed her deep caring nature fully directed at me. She said, I hope you slept well Sophia, Rider of Lerinth. When the occasion is formal a small bow is customary. On a friendly visit such as this, I would prefer if you simply use my name, Rodene. Naleeth also prefers simple forms of address. Respect has to be earned and yet our rank needs to be acknowledged. That acknowledgement and respect comes from your mind, through Naleeth’s mind, to me. Soon, Lerinth will teach you the various forms of address common to our society. There are no wrong ways, so do not be concerned.

She smiled and waited for my mind to catch up before continuing, Naleeth is a Queen Great Dragon and together as the Weyr Queen Pair, we have the responsibility and the care of this Weyr Ship community. A Weyr Ship community just about runs itself so my primary duties are mainly to solve problems, negotiate any disputes and generally to care for those members that have a need. At this moment, you are my main concern. It is important to the whole community that you settle in and make the adjustments to a very different society than you are used to.

She paused again while I made sense of what she had said. I felt a wave of deep abiding caring overlaid with love from all three of the minds. This was so very different to the so called ‘care system’ back on Earth.

Lerinth thought, I should hope so!

I froze in place as my mind had a huge epitaph moment. I turned to Lerinth and just about exploded, How did you do that! In one night! My mind was still reeling from the surprise, In one night, while I slept, you taught me a whole language! I didn’t notice until now. I have been speaking your language since I woke up haven’t I? Without even noticing! That is the wickedest thing I have ever heard of.

Everyone chuckled as I walked over to Lerinth and hugged her. She sent a wave of amused love to help me calm down. It is how we learn and how we teach Riders and Dragonets. I was wondering how long it would take before you noticed. There is still a very slight and very lovely accent. Lerinth showed me where in my mind she had placed the controls for language. To me it seemed almost like a switch that I could mentally tab to switch between them. It was wicked!

Rodene went to the sled and brought over my bath robe. Not only was it clean, a few minor stains had vanished as well. It was one of the last things my Dad had given me. He had been working in Vietnam and had bought one for him and one each for both Mum and I. They were made out of silk with embroidered twin golden dragons.

Rodene held it as I put it on saying, This is very nice. Very apt too! She paused as a burst of communication went between the Great Dragon minds and continued, Ah, I see, it is very special to you as well. After you have had breakfast we will go and get you sufficient clothes for your needs and perhaps some to meet your desires as well. This should keep you covered to meet the needs of your taboo and also allow you to try on clothes if you wish to, since it is easy to slip it on and off. Sophia, I do not understand your taboo, so please speak up if I am not meeting the needs you have. Remember always, our society respects and celebrates these differences. No one wants you to conform, we are all individuals.

As I contemplated those rather profound words, she put a tray in front of me. Of course the tray somehow just floated there. She explained that she had three sample trays of food and drinks normally eaten at breakfast and I could try everything until I was full. Winno would take notes of what I liked. I felt Winno’s mind join the mental link. As I started eating I was also thinking. I realized that some very important people were all concerned for my welfare and it was very nice, very unexpected and a little overwhelming.

Rodene cupped my face between bites and said, Sophia, this is how it should be! You deserve to be loved and to have others care for you and in turn you will care for others as we all do. This is normal, what your previous life was like, was simply wrong!

I had to stop while the lump in my throat went down. Rodene leant over and gave me a small cuddle adding, We have a system to meet the needs of those who sadly lose their parents. It is rare in our society but it does happen. Would it be OK if I took up the role of your parents for now?

I nodded not trusting myself to speak and hugged back. I asked, What if I do something wrong or break your laws? I have no idea what any of your laws are. I don’t want to disappoint anyone here.

It was Winno that answered, Hello Sophia, be welcome here. You know who and what I am. As you slept, I received a great deal of data from Nautilus. I now have some understanding of the society you came from. If you wish, I would like to stay with you until you choose otherwise. I thought this form would be pleasing. My consideration was, that it may offer a feeling of safety since this is a Defense Shell and is heavily armed and shielded. However I also have small ones, you may choose if you wish. While you consider that, understand that we do not have laws as you think of them. It seems to me that Earth’s societies makes new laws on a whim. I cannot understand why. Surely if they made the right laws in the first place they would not need to continually make new ones. In our society, all you need to do, is simply respect the people within this society and not harm anyone. From what I know of you, that will come naturally.

Silence ensued for a while as I ate. I went through one and a half trays before I was full. It was a little strange, I knew I was full but I was also still hungry.

Lerinth thought, You are full my Rider, I am hungry. We feel each other’s hunger. While I go and eat you can go and find some clothes. Stay with Rodene and Winno. You are well protected and you need to meet others in our society. When you have finished, I will be here or I will join you. I prefer resting after a meal. Go, I will hear you always. She felt my agreement and went to the rear of our quarters. The wall simply dissolved and she was standing on a large ledge. Then she spread her wings and dropped off. Information sprang to my mind. What looked like the rear wall was in fact a force shield combined with a holographic projection that I could change at will. The ledge was actually an open airlock that would close if necessary to seal the opening.

I walked to the ledge and looked out. The ledge was like a huge ramp. The view was incredible, just like one would get from an aircraft. Winno came up and sat next to me saying, This ramp is one thousand three hundred and forty five metres off the ground. There are force shields in place right now, you cannot fall off. If the force shield should fail for any reason, and that is near to impossible, the ramp would close immediately. If the unthinkable should ever happen and you find yourself falling, simply scream the thought, ‘Help’. Your fear would be felt by every Great Dragon here and you would be Transferred to safety before you had fallen a tenth of the way. Even if all of that failed, I would notice the fall on my scanners and activate what is called a Restraint Field. You would simply stop falling. Of course, before any of that happened, Lerinth would have rescued you. While a few have fallen, none have ever been injured.

I smiled as I walked back in. The sled had left and Rodene took my hand as we walked out the front door. I asked, What do I use for money?

Winno answered, "We have no use for money in our society. We divide possessions into needs and desires. Your needs such as living quarters, clothing and food will always be met. Your desires will be met, subject to you helping in some way in this society. It is also a little dependent on position.

As a Silver Rider and Rider of a Flight Leader, there is little you cannot ask for. Greed does not exist here. Money in Earth’s society has two functions. The first is to control the masses and the second is as a scorecard for those who are rich. It is an appalling concept based solely on greed and money feeds greed in a never ending spiral of corruption. I am still processing the concept of designed obsolescence, it seems so wasteful and stupid."

It was a lovely walk along wide corridors and down a gravity lift that I already knew how to use. I simply stepped into it and floated downward.

The first establishment we came to catered for underwear. A lovely lady served us with a big happy smile. She welcomed me warmly. It seemed that everyone already knew who I was. She used multiple holographic projections of me to display the underwear. Winno translated some of my words, especially to find types