Z'rel and brown Dareath

The Road So Far!

It all began at Madellon Weyr for Azarel – a young man of 16 Turns, dreaming of becoming a brown rider.

Azarel was born the son of Nelya, a Headwoman's Second at Madellon Weyr. While he didn't have to be Searched, he 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, Azarel struggled with both his modest upbringing as a Weyr child with no rider blood, and his fear that he wasn't dragonrider material.

As a candidate, Azarel 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 Azarel! Backed up by his crony Kestor, Rielat became the thorn in Azarel's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.

Hatching Day

The dragons' hum woke Soburn and Azarel 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 Azarel 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, Azarel 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 Azarel to find it. Despite Azarel'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, Azarel encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Azarel to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Azarel duly located the components of R'hren's salve, winning the old bronze rider's approval in the process.

Kitchen diplomacy

Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Azarel with the opportunity to show off his work ethic before the Hatching. A round of chores duly pleased Crauva, albeit cut short, literally, by the slip of a knife that sent Azarel to the infirmary with a slice to be stitched up. And the kitchen was also the source of the hotfruit R'hren had sent Azarel 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 Azarel expressed an interested in looking up some Weyr records, Tarshe offered him the loan of a glowbasket – on the proviso that he return it afterwards. Which – mindful of not offending such an important personage of the Weyr – Azarel did!

A shining example

Coming upon Santinoth – Madellon's biggest bronze – being bathed in the lake, Azarel was quick to offer assistance to his rider, T'rello. It couldn't hurt to have some close-up experience with a bronze, could it?

The Hatching

When it came to the Hatching, Azarel had to wait a little while before the unassuming grey-green egg Hatched to reveal the deep russet-brown dragonet who would choose him, naming himself Dareath.

A friend bereft

But to Azarel's dismay, Soburn 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 Rielat?

Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Rielat Impressed an impressively proportioned indigo-blue hatchling, making them Azarel and Dareath's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Kestor didn't Impress!)

After the Hatching

"Dareath" by Emily Holland

The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Azarel on his Impression, but it was old S'rius, delighted to have found yet another weyrling, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Dareath's first meal. That was the first moment Azarel had truly grasped that Soburn wasn't going to be a weyrling alongside him – a truth that hit hard. In Soburn'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 Dareath's personality started to become evident. The little russet-brown dragonet proved unusually quiet, speaking only seldom, and showing a strong preference for his own company – and his rider's.

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 brother

Another friend Azarel made along the way – a young Holdbred candidate, Nichen, whom Azarel had encountered in a hopelessly dishevelled state directly before the Hatching – hailed Azarel at the barracks – crediting him with his successful Impression of a moon-blue dragonet, Yooth!

Meeting the Weyrleader

As Azarel 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. Azarel was proud to introduce Dareath to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Dareath, Azarel gave the Weyrleader his own new name: Z'rel, rider of brown Dareath!

Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Dareath's and Destrath's newborn itchiness, Z'rel 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

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

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

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Z'rel, 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, Z'rel 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 Z'rel'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 Z'rel some advice about paying attention to his new classmates and surroundings, lest he fall foul of the Weyrlingmaster's penchant for snap quizzes, advised him to report to Master Isnan before returning to the barracks to get his injuries checked again, and made some observations on Dareath.

A close encounter

On his way back to the barracks (by way of the infirmary, as ordered by Tarshe), Z'rel 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 Z'rel 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, Z'rel decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.

Returning at last to Dareath – billeted between Ch'liam's Destrath and a bright bronze dragonet – Z'rel 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 brown beside him – Z'rel 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?

Z'rel and Dareath's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!

Z'rel'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:
BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Dareath and I make a very strong match!

Achievement Unlocked:
PLEASE STATE THE NATURE OF THE MEDICAL EMERGENCY

I returned to the infirmary!

Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY

Dareath and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE

Dareath and I agreed on something quite important!