A'vany and blue Lomarith
The Road So Far!
It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Arvany – a young boy of 14 Turns, dreaming of becoming a bronze rider.
Arvany was born to unusual privilege – a grandson of Winstone, Lord of mighty Jessaf Hold. Arvany 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, Arvany 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 Arvany becoming a candidate – while conceding that he could spare a younger grandchild. And with Winstone's admonition that he Impress a bronze – or a brown at the very least – ringing in his ears, Arvany left to begin his candidacy at Madellon Weyr.
As a candidate, Arvany was assigned a bunkmate – Martom, a confident young Weyrbred lad, 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 – Gydeton, the blustering, entitled son of Lord Meturvian of Kellad – who took a firm disliking to Arvany! Backed up by his crony Varell, Gydeton became the thorn in Arvany's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Martom and Arvany on 102.03.17. Following a brief run-in with Gydeton, 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 Arvany left, Martom – keen to prove himself by Impressing on his first attempt – asked him for help procuring some additional confidence in the form of some alcohol.
The one-armed green rider and the thieving queen
Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Arvany 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 Arvany to find it. Despite Arvany's best efforts, though, he didn't manage to complete and return the jewellery set before the Hatching.
Respecting his elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Arvany encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Arvany to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Arvany duly located the components of R'hren's salve, winning the old bronze rider's approval in the process.
A Masterful order
In the dining hall, Arvany 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, Arvany 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. Arvany even shared the largesse with Zielaph, who then introduced him to Fr'ton – who, having Impressed a bronze in spite of his less than boundless promise, gave Arvany a certain confidence in his own prospects!
Kitchen diplomacy
Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Arvany with the opportunity to show off his 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 Arvany to find for his warming salve.
A blue lady
Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Arvany offered his assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted.
The Hatching

When it came to the Hatching, Arvany had an excruciatingly long wait before the grey-swirled silvery cream egg Hatched to reveal the very pale moon-blue dragonet who would choose him, naming himself Lomarith.
A friend bereft
But to Arvany's dismay, Martom wasn't as fortunate. No dragonet showed an interest in him, and he was left among the candidates remaining unmatched at the end of the Hatching.
Whatever happened to Gydeton?
Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Gydeton Impressed the biggest dragonet of the clutch, a hefty dark-brown hatchling, making them Arvany and Lomarith's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Varell didn't Impress!)
After the Hatching

"Lomarith" by Chris S. Baily
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Arvany 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 Lomarith's first meal. That was the first moment Arvany had truly grasped that Martom wasn't going to be a weyrling alongside him – a truth that hit hard. In Martom's absence, Chiliam – the highborn lad from Kellad, who'd Impressed a dusty-brown dragonet, Destrath, and who now styled himself Ch'liam – was a welcome friendly face.
It wasn't long before Lomarith's personality started to become evident. The moon-blue dragonet, while seemingly reluctant to even leave his egg, showed glimmers of a curiously perceptive and knowing mind beneath his apparent laziness.
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 Arvany and Ch'liam 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. Arvany was proud to introduce Lomarith to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Lomarith, Arvany gave the Weyrleader his own new name: A'vany, rider of blue Lomarith!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Lomarith's and Destrath's newborn itchiness, A'vany and Ch'liam 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
A'vany and Ch'liam soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk A'vany 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, A'vany'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 A'vany's behalf, but the damage to his relationship with his grandfather was done.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for A'vany, 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, A'vany 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 A'vany's background with him – including much of what he had got up to on the morning of the Hatching – for good and ill. She offered A'vany 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 Lomarith.
A close encounter
On his way back to the barracks , A'vany 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 A'vany 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, A'vany decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Lomarith – billeted between Ch'liam's Destrath and a bright bronze dragonet – A'vany 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 – A'vany 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?
A'vany and Lomarith's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
A'vany'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
Lomarith and I complement each other!

Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Lomarith and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Lomarith and I agreed on something quite important!