“Fight only in direst needNot for lust or petty greedHonor those that do give birthRespect them well for their full worth”

“Oh, Tongue, give sound to joy and singOf hope and promise on dragonwing”

“Above us, outlined against the brilliant sky, dragons crowded every available perching space on the Rim. And the sun made a gold of every one of them.”

“(Meli, are you sure these "humans" are on our side?)(No ... but at least they are not Khieevi.)(That is beginning to seem less and less of a recommendation. Like us in form, perhaps, but hardly in ethics.)(That may not be entirely a bad thing. If they meet their friends with weapons in both hands, what do you suppose they do to their enemies?)”

“Exchange information, learn to speak sensibly about any subject, learn to express your thoughts, accept new ones, examine them, analyze. Think objectively. Think toward the future.”

“Look around you, Lessa of Pern, look around the Weyr with unveiled eyes. Old and hallowed is the Weyr? Yes, but shabby and worn – and disregarded. Yes, you were elated to sit in the Weyrwoman’s great chair at the Council Table, but the padding is thin and the fabric dusty. Humbled to think your hands rest where Moreta’s and Torene’s had rested? Well, the stone is ingrained with dirt and needs a good scrubbing. And your rump may rest where theirs did – but that’s not where you have your brains.”

“My nightly craft is winged in white, a dragon of night dark sea.Swift born, dream bound and rudderless, her captain and crew are me.We've sailed a hundred sleeping tides where no seaman's ever beenAnd only my white-winged craft and I know the wonders we have seen.”