Dragonsong

One day, Menolly is out gathering seafood and plants when she spots a clutch of fire lizard eggs on the shore. Suddenly, Thread starts to fall. As she races toward her cave, a brown dragon lands beside her. The rider calls out to her and helps her onto his dragon. The dragon then enters the between, a liminal place of freezing cold and suffocating airlessness where dragons go when they are teleporting from one place to another. The dragon flies to Benden Weyr, a massive settlement of dragonriders. Shortly after they land, Menolly collapses from pain because she injured her feet while running from the Thread. The rider, T’gran, and the weyrwomen initially believe that Menolly is a boy. They give her a sleeping draught to numb the pain and then carry her to the infirmary.

The dragonriders also rescued Elgion from Thread earlier that day. He is embarrassed about being caught outside during Threadfall, but his shame gives way to awe when he sees one of the weyrwomen with a golden fire lizard. A dragonrider named T’gellan assures the Harper that Yanus is glad to know that he is safe.