Chrismai and green Trilanth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Chrismai – a young girl of 14 Turns, dreaming of becoming a green rider.
Chrismai was born the daughter of a modest cotholder at Jessaf Hold, working alongside her widowed father to work their allotted land, and help bring up her young twin siblings, Albon and Gettie. And in early 102, when a green rider, N'jol, and his Kistrith came to Jessaf in search of candidates for Madellon Weyr's hardening clutch, Chrismai didn't even present herself as a hopeful. Yet it was Chrismai that Kistrith singled out among all those young people. She almost didn't accept Search – anxious not to abandon her father. But he insisted, revealing that his late wife, Chrismai's mother, had always dreamed of being a dragonrider – and gifting Chrismai with her blue feather pendant as a lucky charm.
As a candidate, Chrismai was assigned a bunkmate – Jopha, a mischievous young Weyrbred girl prone to getting herself into trouble, 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 – Thippia, a foul-mouthed girl from the Seacraft – who took a firm disliking to Chrismai! Backed up by her crony Berrin, Thippia became the thorn in Chrismai's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Jopha and Chrismai on 102.03.17. Following a brief run-in with Thippia, 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 Chrismai left, Jopha – whose Impression robe was sadly overlarge for her petite frame – recruited Chrismai's help in getting it adjusted by her nemesis Shookana in the mending room.
The one-armed green rider and the thieving queen
Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Chrismai 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 Chrismai to find it. Despite Chrismai's best efforts, though, she didn't manage to complete and return the jewellery set before the Hatching.
Respecting her elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Chrismai encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Chrismai to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Chrismai duly located the components of R'hren's salve, winning the old bronze rider's approval in the process.
Southern comfort
Chrismai 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 Chrismai 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 Chrismai some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Chrismai 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, Chrismai 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, Chrismai 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. Chrismai 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 Chrismai a certain confidence in her own prospects!
Kitchen diplomacy
Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Chrismai 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 Chrismai to find for his warming salve.
Weyrbrat by name...
A run-in with a Weyrbrat – Terzon, whom Thippia had paid to cause Chrismai trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, Chrismai gave the kid a shove – in front of a number of witnesses – doing nothing for her reputation!
At the lake, T'gala – the only female blue rider on Pern – asked for Chrismai's help in bathing her big Southern blue, Heppeth. Chrismai, reluctant to get wet, refused – earning T'gala's dislike, and a blot on her reputation!
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Chrismai had an excruciatingly long wait before the pearlescently pink egg Hatched to reveal the deep bottle-green dragonet who would choose her, naming herself Trilanth.
A friend bereft
But to Chrismai's dismay, Jopha wasn't as fortunate. No dragonet showed an interest in her, and she was left among the candidates remaining unmatched at the end of the Hatching.
Whatever happened to Thippia?
Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Thippia Impressed a very vocal mint-green hatchling, making them Chrismai and Trilanth's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Berrin didn't Impress!)
After the Hatching
"Trilanth" by Chris S. Baily
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Chrismai on her Impression, but it was N'jol, delighted that his most humble candidate had Impressed, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Trilanth's first meal. That was the first moment Chrismai had truly grasped that Jopha wasn't going to be a weyrling alongside her – a truth that hit hard. In Jopha's absence, Arina, who'd Impressed a cloudy-green dragonet, Chanth – was a welcome friendly face.
It wasn't long before Trilanth's personality started to become evident. The bottle-green dragonet – by some margin the smallest hatchling of the clutch – had a nervous and wary personality to match, startling at everything and everyone.
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 Chrismai and Arina 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. Chrismai was proud to introduce Trilanth to the Weyrleader – and to give him her full new name: Chrismai, rider of green Trilanth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Trilanth's and Chanth's newborn itchiness, Chrismai and Arina 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
Chrismai and Arina soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Chrismai had helped during the day greeted her with warm congratulations as she hunted through the throng – but, at last, she found her family.
Chrismai's father almost couldn't believe his daughter's good fortune, completely thrilled to be the father of a dragonrider. And he was even more starstruck when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to Chrismai and Trilanth.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Chrismai, 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, Chrismai 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 Chrismai'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 Chrismai 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 Trilanth.
A close encounter
On her way back to the barracks , Chrismai 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 Chrismai 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, Chrismai decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Trilanth – billeted between Arina's Chanth and a pretty blue-green dragonet – Chrismai 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 – Chrismai 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?
Chrismai and Trilanth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
Chrismai'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
Trilanth and I complement each other!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Trilanth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
BUM NOTE
Trilanth and I disagreed on something quite important!