Iy'oro and blue Dacryoth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Iora – a young man of 17 Turns, dreaming of becoming a brown rider.
Iora was born to unusual privilege – a grandson of Winstone, Lord of mighty Jessaf Hold. Iora 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, Iora 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 Iora becoming a candidate – displeased that such a opportunity would ruin his plans for Iora's betrothal to a niece of Lord Orfen's. But he grudgingly accepted that, as Iora 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, Iora left to begin his candidacy at Madellon Weyr.
As a candidate, Iora 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 Iora! Backed up by his crony Kestor, Rielat became the thorn in Iora's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Soburn and Iora 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 Iora 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, Iora 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 Iora to find it. The quest took Iora 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 Weyr's kitchen gardens, Iora encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Iora to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Iora 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, Iora offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Iora encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Iora – especially after he solved all three of her fiendish riddles!
Southern comfort
Iora 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 Iora 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 Iora some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Iora 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, Iora 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, Iora 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. Iora 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 Iora a certain confidence in his own prospects!
A rising problem
Iora 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. Iora'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. Even if Iora did annoy Soleigh, who wasn't impressed with him for prolonging Maris' binge by bringing her more wine!
Kitchen diplomacy
Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Iora 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 Iora 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, Iora offered his assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted.
Friend request
Conscious of Soburn's bashfulness, Iora 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 Iora that he wasn't interested in Soburn – or any other men, for that matter. But Iora'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, Iora visited Madellon's resident barber – green rider Z'fell – for a trim. Very conscious of his dignity, Iora ensured he came away with a cut he actually liked.
The Hatching

When it came to the Hatching, Iora had to wait for every other dragonet to Hatch and choose a rider before the gleaming blue egg Hatched to reveal the bright indigo-blue hatchling who would choose him, naming himself Dacryoth.
A friend in me
And Iora 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?
Quite simply, none of the dragonets seemed to want Rielat – he was left standing. Although Iora did wonder if his own bright indigo-blue Dacryoth might have glanced, however briefly, in Rielat's direction, and what might have been had he not chosen him...
After the Hatching

"Dacryoth" by Emily Holland
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Iora 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 Dacryoth's first meal. That was Iora's first opportunity to speak to Soburn, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Dacryoth and Aeranth. Soburn also told Iora that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – S'burn.
It wasn't long before Dacryoth's personality started to become evident. The big indigo-blue dragonet, the largest of his colour, showed his alert and serious nature from the beginning, demonstrating a high degree of focus for a blue.
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 Iora made along the way – a young Holdbred candidate, Nichen, whom Iora had encountered in a hopelessly dishevelled state directly before the Hatching – hailed Iora at the barracks – crediting him with his successful Impression of a moon-blue dragonet, Yooth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Iora 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. Iora was proud to introduce Dacryoth to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Dacryoth, Iora gave the Weyrleader his own new name: Iy'oro, rider of blue Dacryoth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Dacryoth's and Aeranth's newborn itchiness, Iy'oro 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
Iy'oro and S'burn soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Iy'oro 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, Iy'oro'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 Iy'oro's behalf, but the damage to his relationship with his grandfather was done.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Iy'oro, 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, Iy'oro 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 Iy'oro'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 Iy'oro 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 Dacryoth.
A close encounter
On his way back to the barracks , Iy'oro 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 Iy'oro 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, Iy'oro decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Dacryoth – billeted between S'burn's Aeranth and a bright bronze dragonet – Iy'oro 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 – Iy'oro 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?
Find out more about Iora's Impression here. Iy'oro and Dacryoth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
Iy'oro'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
Dacryoth and I complement each other!

Achievement Unlocked:
INSULT TO INJURY
I Impressed the dragon that my rival coveted!

Achievement Unlocked:
SUGAR AND SPICE
I've been a very nice person (so far)!

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

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