Tenniz was a trader in the Second Interval. He was one of the rare traders born with the gift of Sight - the strange gift that gave glimpses of the future, which his daughter Jirana inherited. His sister was Tannaz.
Biography[]
After Fiona and T'mar took weyrlings and injured dragons and riders back in Time to Igen Weyr, they agreed to not tell people they encountered too much about the future. However, when Fiona met Tenniz, he told her that he saw a "sickness". "Thread is falling, yet fire-lizards and dragons are not flying against it, coughing out their life force, dying." Fiona told him that she knew he had a sister named Tannaz, that she would go to Fort Weyr and she was her friend. Tenniz realized that Fiona was telling him that his sister would die at Fort Weyr. He told Fiona that, since Tannaz was Fiona's friend, he was also Fiona's friend. When Tenniz offered Fiona his hand, his father-in-law Azeez said, "Among traders, the hand of friendship has a special meaning. Once given, it can never be returned." Fiona said, "So be it," clasping Tenniz's hand.
When Fiona learned that Tenniz knew about the Weyrwoman who had brought her and the Weyrlings to Igen Weyr, she asked him if he knew who she was. Tenniz told her he didn't know who she was; but, she was the Beacon. And, “I can see the Beacon going out in your presence.”
After Fiona and T'mar took over Telgar Weyr, Shaneese gave Fiona and Terin envelopes that she said her grandmother Mother Karina had asked her to hold for them. Fiona's envelope contained a small parchment and a gold brooch. The parchment said, "I am sorry I cannot give this to you in person. But I knew that we would not meet again. Tenniz saw it. He said to tell you that it will all turn out right. Love, Mother." Terin's envelope contained a small parchment and a small gold fitting for a riding harness, in the shape of a queen dragon soaring upward. The parchment said, "This is yours and no other’s." Shaneese then showed them an envelope that was intended for Lorana. When it was given to Lorana, it was found to contain a rod-like object that looked something like the twined serpents and staff symbol of a healer, but with the top shaped more like a dragon’s head. The parchment said, "The way forward is dark and long. A dragon gold is only the first price you’ll pay for Pern."
Tenniz was a young man when Lorana met him at Red Butte in Keroon Hold. While they were talking about Lorana's travels backwards and forwards in Time, Lorana asked him about his Seeing Ability. He told her that, among those born with this gift, it is common that the first thing they see is their own death; and, he first started seeing around his eleventh Turn. He then told Lorana that he would die before she left Red Butte and he had seen her burying him and placing rocks on his grave. After Tenniz died and Lorana created a cairn for him, she went back in Time to the trader camp, to arrange for them to trade with Fiona and T'mar at Igen Weyr after they were brought back in Time. When it was discovered that she would be with Tenniz when he died and that she traveled through time, she was named the Beacon - "Once in a generation, we are gifted with one who can see something of the future."
Personality and Traits[]
He was a kind and serious man, but suffered from an illness throughout his life.
Appearances[]
- Dragonheart
- Dragongirl (mention)
- Dragon's Time
- Sky Dragons (mention)