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Guinevere and green Poldelith

The Road So Far!

It all began at Madellon Weyr for Guinevere – a young woman of 18 Turns, dreaming of becoming a dragonrider.

Guinevere was born the daughter of Nelya, a Headwoman's Second at Madellon Weyr. While she didn't have to be Searched, she was 'given the nod' as a likely dragonrider by the Weyr's most senior retired Search pair – S'rius and his elderly blue Padseth. Having been left standing at a Hatching once before, Guinevere struggled with both her modest upbringing as a Weyr child with no rider blood, and her fear that she wasn't dragonrider material.

As a candidate, Guinevere was assigned a bunkmate – Erilde, a quiet young woman from the Lower Caverns fearing a second unsuccessful Hatching, who would soon become her closest friend in the Weyr. She also got to know many of her fellow candidates, including the Weyrbred twins Leover and Leoguy; Zielaph, the nephew of a Madellon bronze rider; and Arina, a level-headed young woman from Jessaf who'd stood at the previous Hatching.

But she also made an enemy – Auciet, a snobby and superior Holdbred girl – who took a firm disliking to Guinevere! Backed up by her crony Cedranne, Auciet became the thorn in Guinevere's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.

Hatching Day

The dragons' hum woke Erilde and Guinevere on 102.03.17. Following a brief run-in with Auciet, 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 Guinevere left, Erilde asked her to make enquiries about any dragonrider heritage she herself might possess, to give her confidence a boost before the Hatching.

The one-armed green rider and the thieving queen

Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Guinevere 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 Guinevere to find it. The quest took Guinevere all over Madellon, from kitchens to lake to infirmary – but in the end she succeeded in reuniting the Weyrwoman's jewellery set, to general acclaim.

Respecting her elders

In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Guinevere encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Guinevere to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Guinevere duly located the components of R'hren's salve, winning the old bronze rider's approval in the process.

Gifted a small pot of the salve, Guinevere offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Guinevere encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Guinevere – especially after she solved all three of her fiendish riddles!

Southern comfort

Guinevere 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 Guinevere 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 Guinevere some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Guinevere 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, Guinevere met her 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, Guinevere 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. Guinevere even shared the largesse with Zielaph, who then introduced her to Fr'ton – who, having Impressed a bronze in spite of his less than boundless promise, gave Guinevere a certain confidence in her own prospects!

A rising problem

Guinevere 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. Guinevere's intervention successfully got rid of G'tron, whose Imdoth was very sweet indeed on Bristath, from the mating flight – not to mention G'pellas, another blue rider, needed in the Harper ensemble – and reconciled the two green riders.

Kitchen diplomacy

Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Guinevere with the opportunity to show off her work ethic before the Hatching. A round of chores duly pleased Crauva. And the kitchen was also the source of the hotfruit R'hren had sent Guinevere to find for his warming salve.

Eggs and baskets

A visit to the Archives led to a meeting with Tarshe, Madellon's Weyrwoman Second. When Guinevere expressed an interested in looking up some Weyr records, Tarshe offered her the loan of a glowbasket – on the proviso that she return it afterwards. Which – mindful of not offending such an important personage of the Weyr – Guinevere did!

A blue lady

Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Guinevere offered her assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted. Getting some first-hand advice about what it took for T'gala to Impress a blue dragon was an opportunity Guinevere didn't want to pass up.

Friend request

Seeking knowledge of Erilde's parentage, Guinevere visited the Weyr's Archives and sought advice from Weyrwoman Tarshe, the Weyrwoman Second. While Tarshe could find no evidence that Erilde's father had been a dragonrider, she suggested Guinevere might construct a story about a long-dead rider. Guinevere delved into Madellon's records and unearthed a brown rider, B'get, deceased some Turns ago, but of the right age to have fathered her friend. Bringing this plausible white lie to Erilde may have been a tad devious – but it had the desired effect on her belief that she could, in fact, possess the ability to Impress a dragon!

Hair today

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

A slithery customer

Early in the day, Guinevere found out about a secret way into the Hatching Ground via storeroom that might allow her a sneaky peek at the eggs before the Hatching. Successfully entering the combination to the lock on the storeroom door, and suitably equipped with a glowbasket, she crawled into a confusing maze of passages.

By a stroke of ill luck, Guinevere strayed into tunnel snake territory! A huge, aggressive, and potently venomous female tunnel-snake guarded the exit to the Hatching ground. Guinevere was lucky to avoid being bitten. But ultimately she evaded the snake, dodging past it and slipping out onto the Hatching Sands.

Having survived her encounter with the snake, Guinevere crept closer to the clutch – close enough to notice something very peculiar – an extra, twenty-first egg! Intrigued, she sneaked close enough to examine the strange, yellow, somewhat waxy-looking egg, before beating a hasty retreat from the Hatching Ground.

The Hatching

When it came to the Hatching, Guinevere had to wait a little while before the long pale grey egg Hatched to reveal the light cloudy-green dragonet who would choose her, naming herself Poldelith.

But Poldelith was nearly beaten to Guinevere by another dragonet – an inquisitive teal-green hatchling who seemed torn between Guinevere and Erilde. Sensing that she wasn't the best match for her, Guinevere stepped aside to give Erilde precedence – resulting in her Impression of the little green, Shaldeth.

Whatever happened to Auciet?

Auciet didn't turn up for the pre-Hatching muster, and – Guinevere's own suspicions notwithstanding – L'stev guessed that she had probably got herself lost trying to sneak into the Hatching Ground through the dangerous ventilation tunnels. Fortunately – Guinevere supposed – Weyrlingmaster A'len located the missing candidate, but too late for Auciet, who having been found unconscious, was promptly invalided out of standing!

After the Hatching

"Poldelith" by Emily Holland

The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Guinevere on her Impression, but it was old S'rius, delighted to have found yet another weyrling, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Poldelith's first meal. That was Guinevere's first opportunity to speak to Erilde, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Poldelith and Shaldeth.

It wasn't long before Poldelith's personality started to become evident. The cloudy-green dragonet, being a very forthright and direct character, spared no time in making it clear that she wouldn't take any nonsense from anyone – her new rider included!

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

Big sister

Another friend Guinevere made along the way – a young Weyrbred candidate, Brithie, whom Guinevere had encountered in a sudden crisis of confidence directly before the Hatching – hailed Guinevere at the barracks – crediting her with her successful Impression of a tiny bottle-green dragonet, Epatanth!

Meeting the Weyrleader

As Guinevere and Erilde wiped the worst of the blood and sand from their tired new dragonets, the Weyrleader, T'gat, came to inspect both girls' dragonets and to ask after their names. Guinevere was proud to introduce Poldelith to the Weyrleader – and to give him her full new name: Guinevere, rider of green Poldelith!

Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Poldelith's and Shaldeth's newborn itchiness, Guinevere and Erilde headed into the girls' 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

Guinevere and Erilde soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Guinevere had helped during the day greeted her with warm congratulations as she hunted through the throng – but, at last, she found her family.

Guinevere's mother, Nelya, was thrilled by her daughter's Impression – though perhaps not quite as ecstatic as Guinevere's younger siblings, Ashi and Halante. As the first dragonrider in the family, Guinevere was keenly aware of what it meant to her brother and sister. And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to Guinevere and Poldelith, Valonna was particularly delighted for Nelya – one of her most trusted Headwoman Seconds.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Guinevere, 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, Guinevere was flagged down by a Weyrbrat, Emry, bringing the message that Weyrwoman Second Tarshe wanted to see her in the Archives.

Setting the record straight

Tarshe, tasked by the Weyrwoman with converting candidate documentation into weyrling records, went through Guinevere's background with her – including much of what she had got up to on the morning of the Hatching – for good and ill. She offered Guinevere some advice about paying attention to her new classmates and surroundings, lest she fall foul of the Weyrlingmaster's penchant for snap quizzes, and made some observations on Poldelith.

A close encounter

On her way back to the barracks , Guinevere 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 Guinevere would later realise was firestone, who called her by name – and gave her a curious wooden box.

"The Watchful Queen" by Chris S. Baily

Back at the barracks, Guinevere decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.

Returning at last to Poldelith – billeted between Erilde's Shaldeth and a very large green dragonet – Guinevere was too tired to examine the strange wooden box very closely, and put it in her clothes' chest for later examination. But even as she went to sleep – a dragonrider at last, her green beside her – Guinevere was struck with a deep sense of foreboding. Who was the mysterious dragonrider in the hooded cloak? And what was the significance of the strange wooden box?

Guinevere and Poldelith's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!

Guinevere'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:
A HORSE WITH A NAME

I have a name and it's a good name and I don't need to fix my name. Probably.

Achievement Unlocked:
THE YIN TO YOUR YANG

Poldelith and I complement each other!

Achievement Unlocked:
SIXTH SENSE

...what did I just see?

Achievement Unlocked:
SUGAR AND SPICE

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

Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY

Poldelith and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE

Poldelith and I agreed on something quite important!