Bynthera and green Oleaceth
The Road So Far!
It all began at the Harperhall at Kellad Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Bynthera – a young girl of 15 Turns, dreaming of becoming a green rider.
Bynthera was born the daughter of two Harpers at the Southern Harperhall, Kellad Hold. Surrounded by music, she was apprenticed to the Craft when she came of age. But she never excelled in any discipline, and it seemed as if an unremarkable career as a mid-level journeyman likely lay ahead for her. And then, in early 102, J'kel – a dragonrider of Madellon Weyr – came to Kellad Hold in search of candidates for the new clutch hardening on the Sands of Madellon Weyr. Bynthera caught the attention of J'kel's blue Hozrath. And a sevenday later, Bynthera arrived at Madellon Weyr, joining the candidate pool for senior queen Shimpath's first clutch by her new mate Muzzanth.
As a candidate, Bynthera 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 Bynthera! Backed up by her crony Berrin, Thippia became the thorn in Bynthera's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Jopha and Bynthera 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 Bynthera left, Jopha – whose Impression robe was sadly overlarge for her petite frame – recruited Bynthera'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, Bynthera 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 Bynthera to find it. Despite Bynthera's best efforts, though, she didn't manage to complete and return the jewellery set before the Hatching.
Disrespecting her elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Bynthera encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. But they got off to a poor start – Bynthera had unwittingly taken a redfruit without permission – and furthermore lied about it when challenged by the old bronze rider. The scrumping alone might not have turned R'hren against Bynthera – but the literal red-handed lie did!
A Masterful order
In the dining hall, Bynthera 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, Bynthera 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
Bynthera 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. Bynthera'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 Bynthera did annoy Soleigh, who wasn't impressed with her for prolonging Maris' binge by bringing her more wine!
A Harper born
Bynthera's Harper training came in handy when Carleah, the Weyr Singer, asked her to play a set with her ensemble in the dining hall. They played to a rapturous reception that gave Bynthera's confidence – and her mark purse – quite a boost!
Pie denied
Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – proved an irresistable lure for Bynthera. But reluctant to actually get her hands dirty by helping, she tried to sneak a pie – and got caught. Crauva's fire-lizard, Miggsy, sounded the alert, and Crauva sent her packing!
Overkeen to get her hands on the last bubbly pie in the dining hall, Bynthera took it – forcibly – from a small child. Not the nicest thing to do – but mmm, pie...
Eggs and baskets
A visit to the Archives led to a meeting with Tarshe, Madellon's Weyrwoman Second. When Bynthera expressed an interested in looking up some Weyr records, Tarshe offered her the loan of a glowbasket – on the proviso that she return it afterwards. Which – mindful of not offending such an important personage of the Weyr – Bynthera did!
Weyrbrat by name...
A run-in with a Weyrbrat – Terzon, whom Thippia had paid to cause Bynthera trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, Bynthera gave the kid a shove – in front of a number of witnesses – doing nothing for her reputation!
A shining example
Coming upon Santinoth – Madellon's biggest bronze – being bathed in the lake, Bynthera was quick to offer assistance to his rider, T'rello. Perhaps Bynthera was never going to Impress a bronze – but it couldn't hurt to have some hands-on experience!
Friend request
Knowing of Jopha's chequered history with Shookana, mistress of the Weyr's mending room, Bynthera approached the task of having her robe adjusted with considerable caution. Realising that falsehood would be the wrong approach, Bynthera went to Shookana with the truth – and a gift of popcorn. And while Bynthera doubted if Shookana and Jopha will ever be friends, the restoration of her Hatching robe to a suitable length did a great deal for her self-confidence!
Wherry bad behaviour
Bynthera's assorted instances of bad behaviour finally caught up with her. L'stev collared her in the Bowl and gave her an ultimatum – buck up her ideas, or sit the Hatching out. Bynthera chose the former, and the Weyrlingmaster sent her to do penance in the wherry hatchery – though Bynthera remained on probation, with one more slip promising to rule her out of standing!
A curious development
Early in the day, Bynthera found out about a secret way into the Hatching Ground via storeroom that might allow her a sneaky peek at the eggs before the Hatching. Successfully entering the combination to the lock on the storeroom door, and suitably equipped with glowbaskets, she crawled into a confusing maze of passages.
Bynthera never made it to the Hatching ground – instead, encountering an unusually intelligent feline in the tunnels. Following it deeper into the ventilation shafts, Bynthera came across the most unexpected discovery – a hidden room, full of a very peculiar selection of individuals. But she had barely taken stock of her situation before Vanzanth, the Weyrlingmaster's brown, forced his way into the room – ordering Bynthera out, and commanding her never to speak of the encounter again!
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Bynthera didn't have to wait too long for her date with destiny. The spotted green and cream egg Hatched out a vivid sea-green dragonet who told Bynthera her name was Oleaceth.
A friend in me
And Bynthera wasn't the only lucky one. To her delight, Jopha also Impressed, becoming the rider of a big emerald-green hatchling, Deimoth.
Whatever happened to Thippia?
Thippia didn't turn up for the pre-Hatching muster, and – Bynthera's own suspicions notwithstanding – L'stev guessed that she had probably got herself lost trying to sneak into the Hatching Ground through the dangerous ventilation tunnels. Fortunately – Bynthera supposed – Weyrlingmaster A'len located the missing candidate, but too late for Thippia, who having been found unconscious, was promptly invalided out of standing!
After the Hatching
"Oleaceth" by Emily Holland
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Bynthera on her Impression, but it was J'kel, thrilled that Hozrath had finally found a successful candidate after so long without, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Oleaceth's first meal. That was Bynthera's first opportunity to speak to Jopha, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Oleaceth and Deimoth.
It wasn't long before Oleaceth's personality started to become evident. The sea-green dragonet – ambiguously coloured at first glance, but unequivocally female when asked – proved to have a particularly playful and fun-loving outlook on life.
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 sister
Another friend Bynthera made along the way – a young Weyrbred candidate, Brithie, whom Bynthera had encountered in a sudden crisis of confidence directly before the Hatching – hailed Bynthera at the barracks – crediting her with her successful Impression of a tiny bottle-green dragonet, Epatanth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Bynthera and Jopha 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. Bynthera was proud to introduce Oleaceth to the Weyrleader – and to give him her full new name: Bynthera, rider of green Oleaceth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Oleaceth's and Deimoth's newborn itchiness, Bynthera and Jopha 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
Bynthera and Jopha soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Bynthera had helped during the day greeted her with warm congratulations as she hunted through the throng – but, at last, she found her family.
Bynthera's Harper parents were absolutely delighted to find themselves the mother and father of a green rider and happier still to learn that Bynthera had already brought her musical skills to the Weyr. And they were even more delighted to drink to Bynthera and Oleaceth when the Weyrleaders arrived to toast them!
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Bynthera, 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, Bynthera 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 Bynthera'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 Bynthera 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 Oleaceth.
A close encounter
On her way back to the barracks , Bynthera 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 Bynthera 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, Bynthera decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Oleaceth – billeted between Jopha's Deimoth and a pretty blue-green dragonet – Bynthera 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 – Bynthera 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 Bynthera's Impression here. Bynthera and Oleaceth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
Bynthera'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
Oleaceth and I complement each other!
Achievement Unlocked:
SNAKES AND SNAILS
I haven't been very nice!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Oleaceth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Oleaceth and I agreed on something quite important!