K'dle and blue Magnolth

The Road So Far!

It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Kindle – a young man of 17 Turns, dreaming of becoming a dragonrider.

Kindle was born to unusual privilege – a grandson of Winstone, Lord of mighty Jessaf Hold. Kindle didn't scramble for the attention of the young Search rider, Garlan, who came to Jessaf in early 102 seeking candidates for Madellon Weyr's latest clutch. But as a scion of the Hold, Kindle was among the party welcoming the green rider to Jessaf – and, in due course, became the focus of her dragon Hushith's attention. Lord Winstone wasn't enthusiastic about Kindle becoming a candidate – displeased that such a opportunity would ruin his plans for Kindle's betrothal to a niece of Lord Orfen's. But he grudgingly accepted that, as Kindle had his majority, he had the right to accept Search. And with Winstone's admonition that he Impress a bronze – or a brown at the very least – ringing in his ears, Kindle left to begin his candidacy at Madellon Weyr.

As a candidate, Kindle was assigned a bunkmate – Soburn, an anxious Weyrbred youth with one failed Hatching already haunting him, who would soon become his closest friend in the Weyr. He also got to know many of his fellow candidates, including the Weyrbred twins Leover and Leoguy; Zielaph, the nephew of a Madellon bronze rider; and Chiliam, a good-natured highborn lad from Kellad.

But he also made an enemy – Rielat, a self-important apprentice Weaver – who took a firm disliking to Kindle! Backed up by his crony Kestor, Rielat became the thorn in Kindle's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.

Hatching Day

The dragons' hum woke Soburn and Kindle on 102.03.17. Following a brief run-in with Rielat, the pair joined the rest of the candidates for a morning lecture. The Weyrlingmaster, L'stev, gave the whole cohort – increased by three late Searchees to a total of thirty-five – strict instructions about pre-Hatching preparations, including eating, drinking, bathing – and in some cases, getting a decent haircut – and then turned the group loose for the morning. Before Kindle left, Soburn asked him to find out if H'nar, the young Wingleader of the Betweenless Wing, might currently be seeing someone – or not.

The one-armed green rider and the thieving queen

Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Kindle was flagged down by M'shen – a green rider with one arm, a fire-lizard queen – and a problem. His queen, Squiffy, had stolen several pieces of the Weyrwoman's jewellery, and hidden it around the Weyr. M'shen recruited Kindle to find it. The quest took Kindle all over Madellon, from kitchens to lake to infirmary – but in the end he succeeded in reuniting the Weyrwoman's jewellery set, to general acclaim.

Respecting his elders

In the infirmary, Kindle encountered Kisha – a blind old green rider giving the Weyr's Healers a difficult time about taking her medicine. Kisha challenged Kindle to answer three riddles before she would consent to behave. And Kindle rose to that challenge – answering all three correctly, and winning Kisha's grudging respect!

Southern comfort

Kindle met G'kalte – a brown rider and Wingsecond, not to mention Weyrwoman Valonna's weyrmate – in the Bowl, and was quickly recruited by him to help with a diplomatic matter. G'kalte had been tasked with delivering two gifts from Valonna to her Southern counterpart Weyrwoman Karika – but he'd been summoned away to collect his own grandmother, Lady Coffleby, for the Hatching.

He asked Kindle to figure out which of the seven Southern dragons visiting Madellon were the correct pair to hand over Karika's gifts. And while G'kalte's brown, Archidath, offered Kindle some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Kindle unravelled Archidath's confusing suggestions and got the right packages to the right dragons – without being growled at!

A Masterful order

In the dining hall, Kindle met his fellow candidate Zielaph, who'd been tasked by his somewhat dim uncle, bronze rider Fr'ton, with delivering a complicated drinks order to a group of Master Crafters. Zielaph had information about their names, beverages, crafts, and fire-lizards – but not in any sensible order!

Luckily for him, Kindle solved the puzzle of Fr'ton's confusing notes adeptly, delivering the correct drinks to the correct Masters, and earning a handsome tip in the process.

A rising problem

Kindle encountered both Soleigh, whose green Bristath was preparing to rise near the lake, and her weyrmate Maris, who was getting very drunk in the dining hall on account of her fears that Soleigh was having an affair with a blue rider, G'tron. And while Kindle did manage to get G'tron excluded from the flight – not to mention another blue rider, G'pellas, who was needed in the Harper ensemble – he still ultimately failed to reconcile the star-crossed green riding lovers!

Kitchen diplomacy

Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Kindle with the opportunity to show off his work ethic before the Hatching. A round of chores duly pleased Crauva.

Weyrbrat by name...

A run-in with a Weyrbrat – Terzon, whom Rielat had paid to cause Kindle trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, Kindle gave the kid a shove – in front of a number of witnesses – doing nothing for his reputation!

A blue lady

Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Kindle offered his assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted.

Friend request

Conscious of Soburn's bashfulness, Kindle approached the object of his affections – H'nar, Wingleader of the Betweenless Wing – with some circumspection. Still, when questioned, H'nar insisted he had to know who was making enquiries of him. And when he learned the identity of his admirer, he told Kindle that he wasn't interested in Soburn – or any other men, for that matter. But Kindle's agile pivot in questioning revealed that a close friend of H'nar's – blue rider M'rany – might be a viable alternative. Thus encouraged, Soburn began to think more positively of life as a dragonrider – even if H'nar would end up being his Wingleader!

Hair today

Mindful of the Weyrlingmaster's orders to be smart for the Hatching, Kindle visited Madellon's resident barber – green rider Z'fell – for a trim. Very conscious of his dignity, Kindle ensured he came away with a cut he actually liked.

The Hatching

When it came to the Hatching, Kindle had to wait a little while before the pearl-green egg Hatched to reveal the deep midnight-blue dragonet who would choose him, naming himself Magnolth.

A friend in me

And Kindle wasn't the only lucky one. To his delight, Soburn also Impressed, becoming the rider of a slender olive-green hatchling, Aeranth.

Whatever happened to Rielat?

It turned out that making an enemy of Kindle was a very poor choice on Rielat's part. For the low, low price of just three marks, Kindle had Grimes, the shady fellow loitering near the Gather stalls, spread a series of nasty rumours about Rielat. By the time the Weyrlingmaster mustered the candidate cohort immediately before the Hatching, the damage to Rielat's reputation was done – and he was ejected from the candidate pool without ever setting foot on the Sands!

After the Hatching

"Magnolth" by Chris S. Baily

The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Kindle on his Impression, but it was Garlan, delighted that her risky choice of Winstone's grandson had Impressed, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Magnolth's first meal. That was Kindle's first opportunity to speak to Soburn, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Magnolth and Aeranth. Soburn also told Kindle that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – S'burn.

It wasn't long before Magnolth's personality started to become evident. The big midnight-blue dragonet showed an immediate desire to show off and preen – not surprising given his handsome colour and conformation!

With both dragonets full to bursting with fresh meat, the newly minted dragonpairs left the Hatching sands for their new home: the weyrling barracks.

Meeting the Weyrleader

As Kindle and S'burn wiped the worst of the blood and sand from their tired new dragonets, the Weyrleader, T'gat, came to inspect both boys' dragonets, to ask after their names – and to ask the two new weyrlings how they should now be called. Kindle was proud to introduce Magnolth to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Magnolth, Kindle gave the Weyrleader his own new name: K'dle, rider of blue Magnolth!

Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Magnolth's and Aeranth's newborn itchiness, K'dle and S'burn headed into the boys' barracks to claim the billets that would be theirs for the next Turn. Choosing adjacent cots, the two new weyrlings got their dragonets settled on the couches that they would take months to grow into. But there was no time for them to sit and admire their new dragons. The Weyrlingmaster soon came along to give them their new weyrling shoulder-knots, before chivvying them off to the Hatching feast!

The Hatching feast

K'dle and S'burn soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk K'dle had helped during the day greeted him with warm congratulations as he hunted through the throng – but, at last, he found his family.

Lord Winstone, K'dle's grandfather, was highly displeased that his grandson had only managed to Impress a blue – against his strict warning that nothing less than a brown would suffice. The Weyrleaders were quick to step in on K'dle's behalf, but the damage to his relationship with his grandfather was done.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for K'dle, and it came as a relief when the Weyrlingmaster ordered all the new weyrlings back to the barracks for a good night's sleep. But en route to bed, K'dle was flagged down by a Weyrbrat, Emry, bringing the message that Weyrwoman Second Tarshe wanted to see him in the Archives.

Setting the record straight

Tarshe, tasked by the Weyrwoman with converting candidate documentation into weyrling records, went through K'dle's background with him – including much of what he had got up to on the morning of the Hatching – for good and ill. She cleared up an anomaly with his new name, too. She offered K'dle some advice about paying attention to his new classmates and surroundings, lest he fall foul of the Weyrlingmaster's penchant for snap quizzes, and made some observations on Magnolth.

A close encounter

On his way back to the barracks , K'dle had two peculiar encounters – first, with Tarshe's queen, Berzunth, who seemed quite agitated by one of the visiting dragons on the Rim; and then with a mysterious hooded figure, smelling strongly of what K'dle would later realise was firestone, who called him by name – and gave him a curious wooden box.

"The Watchful Queen" by Chris S. Baily

Back at the barracks, K'dle decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger – though he did give L'stev his new name.

Returning at last to Magnolth – billeted between S'burn's Aeranth and a bright bronze dragonet – K'dle was too tired to examine the strange wooden box very closely, and put it in his clothes' chest for later examination. But even as he went to sleep – a dragonrider at last, his blue beside him – K'dle was struck with a deep sense of foreboding. Who was the mysterious dragonrider in the hooded cloak? What was the significance of the strange wooden box? And how had the stranger known K'dle's new name?

Find out more about Kindle's Impression here. K'dle and Magnolth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!

K'dle's achievements

Achievement Unlocked:
CARRY ON WAYWARD SON

I travelled The Road So Far!

Achievement Unlocked:
OUR ROB, OR ROSS

I received a mysterious box!

Achievement Unlocked:
COMPUTER SAYS NO

I changed my name from something unacceptable!

Achievement Unlocked:
THE YIN TO YOUR YANG

Magnolth and I complement each other!

Achievement Unlocked:
SUGAR AND SPICE

I've been a very nice person (so far)!

Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY

Magnolth and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE

Magnolth and I agreed on something quite important!