M'gan and green Malpith
The Road So Far!
It all began at Madellon Weyr for Morgan – a young boy of 14 Turns, dreaming of becoming a green rider.
Morgan 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. As a first-time candidate with no dragonrider blood, Morgan looked forward to the Hatching with both excitement and trepidation – fearing he might not have what it takes to Impress, but hoping beyond hope that he would!
As a candidate, Morgan 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 Morgan! Backed up by his crony Varell, Gydeton became the thorn in Morgan's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Martom and Morgan 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 Morgan 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, Morgan 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 Morgan to find it. The quest took Morgan 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, Morgan encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Morgan to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Morgan 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, Morgan offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Morgan encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Morgan – especially after he solved all three of her fiendish riddles!
A Masterful order
In the dining hall, Morgan 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, Morgan 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.
A rising problem
Morgan 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. Morgan'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 Morgan 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 Morgan 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 Morgan 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 Morgan 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 – Morgan did!
A blue lady
Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Morgan offered his assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted.
Friend request
Given Morgan's age, finding some wine for Martom proved difficult – the Weyr Vintner, Master Saxton, refused to sell it to an underage candidate. His only other alternative was an illicit purchase from the shady figure of Grimes. And L'stev's warning about getting drunk before the Hatching held weight. The Vintner's offering of alcohol-free grape juice gave Morgan an idea – and offering it to Martom, none the wiser for the substitution, still had the desired effect of boosting his confidence before the Hatching – without any unwanted side-effects!
Hair today
Mindful of the Weyrlingmaster's orders to be smart for the Hatching, Morgan visited Madellon's resident barber – green rider Z'fell – for a trim. Very conscious of his dignity, Morgan ensured he came away with a cut he actually liked.
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Morgan didn't have to wait too long for his date with destiny. The blotchy pale turquoise egg Hatched out a bright olive-green dragonet who told Morgan her name was Malpith.
A friend in me
And Morgan wasn't the only lucky one. To his delight, Martom also Impressed, becoming the rider of a bright golden-bronze hatchling, Kauth.
Whatever happened to Gydeton?
Gydeton didn't turn up for the pre-Hatching muster, and – Morgan's own suspicions notwithstanding – L'stev guessed that he had probably got himself lost trying to sneak into the Hatching Ground through the dangerous ventilation tunnels. Fortunately – Morgan supposed – Weyrlingmaster A'len located the missing candidate, but too late for Gydeton, who having been found unconscious, was promptly invalided out of standing!
After the Hatching
"Malpith" by Emily Holland
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Morgan 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 Malpith's first meal. That was Morgan's first opportunity to speak to Martom, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Malpith and Kauth. Martom also told Morgan that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – M'tom.
It wasn't long before Malpith's personality started to become evident. The rather slender olive-green dragonet demonstrated an immediate haughty pride in herself – and in her rider.
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 Morgan and M'tom 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. Morgan was proud to introduce Malpith to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Malpith, Morgan gave the Weyrleader his own new name: M'gan, rider of green Malpith!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Malpith's and Kauth's newborn itchiness, M'gan and M'tom 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
M'gan and M'tom soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk M'gan had helped during the day greeted him with warm congratulations as he hunted through the throng – but, at last, he found his family.
M'gan's mother, Nelya, was thrilled by her son's Impression – though perhaps not quite as ecstatic as M'gan's younger siblings, Ashi and Halante. As the first dragonrider in the family, M'gan was keenly aware of what it meant to his brother and sister. And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to M'gan and Malpith, Valonna was particularly delighted for Nelya – one of her most trusted Headwoman Seconds.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for M'gan, 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, M'gan 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 M'gan'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 M'gan 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 Malpith.
A close encounter
On his way back to the barracks , M'gan 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 M'gan 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, M'gan decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Malpith – billeted between M'tom's Kauth and a mucky-looking brown dragonet – M'gan 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 green beside him – M'gan 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?
M'gan and Malpith's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
M'gan'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
Malpith and I make a very strong match!
Achievement Unlocked:
SUGAR AND SPICE
I've been a very nice person (so far)!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Malpith and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Malpith and I agreed on something quite important!
Achievement Unlocked:
ENEMY MINE
Malpith and Destrath took against each other!