Eriendel and green Cymodoth
The Road So Far!
It all began at the Harperhall at Kellad Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Eriendel – a young girl of 15 Turns, dreaming of becoming a dragonrider.
Eriendel 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. Eriendel caught the attention of J'kel's blue Hozrath. And a sevenday later, Eriendel arrived at Madellon Weyr, joining the candidate pool for senior queen Shimpath's first clutch by her new mate Muzzanth.
As a candidate, Eriendel 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 Eriendel! Backed up by her crony Berrin, Thippia became the thorn in Eriendel's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Jopha and Eriendel 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 Eriendel left, Jopha – whose Impression robe was sadly overlarge for her petite frame – recruited Eriendel'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, Eriendel 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 Eriendel to find it. Despite Eriendel's best efforts, though, she didn't manage to complete and return the jewellery set before the Hatching.
Respecting her elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Eriendel encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Eriendel to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Eriendel 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, Eriendel offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Eriendel encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Eriendel – especially after she solved all three of her fiendish riddles!
Southern comfort
Eriendel 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 Eriendel 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 Eriendel some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Eriendel 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, Eriendel 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, Eriendel 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. Eriendel even shared the largesse with Zielaph, who then introduced her to Fr'ton – who, having Impressed a bronze in spite of his less than boundless promise, gave Eriendel a certain confidence in her own prospects!
A rising problem
Eriendel 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. Eriendel'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 Eriendel did annoy Soleigh, who wasn't impressed with her for prolonging Maris' binge by bringing her more wine!
A Harper born
Eriendel'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 Eriendel's confidence – and her mark purse – quite a boost!
Kitchen diplomacy
Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Eriendel with the opportunity to show off her 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 Eriendel to find for his warming salve.
Weyrbrat by name...
A run-in with a Weyrbrat – Terzon, whom Thippia had paid to cause Eriendel trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, Eriendel 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, Eriendel was quick to offer assistance to his rider, T'rello. Perhaps Eriendel 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, Eriendel approached the task of having her robe adjusted with considerable caution. Realising that falsehood would be the wrong approach, Eriendel went to Shookana with the truth – and a gift of popcorn. And while Eriendel 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!
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Eriendel had to wait a little while before the grey-splashed beige egg Hatched to reveal the dark teal-green dragonet who would choose her, naming herself Cymodoth.
But Cymodoth was nearly beaten to Eriendel by another dragonet – a big emerald-green hatchling who seemed torn between Eriendel and Jopha. Sensing that she wasn't the best match for her, Eriendel stepped aside to give Jopha precedence – resulting in her Impression of the green dragonet, Deimoth.
Whatever happened to Thippia?
Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Thippia Impressed a very vocal mint-green hatchling, making them Eriendel and Cymodoth's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Berrin didn't Impress!)
After the Hatching
"Cymodoth" by Chris S. Baily
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Eriendel 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 Cymodoth's first meal. That was Eriendel's first opportunity to speak to Jopha, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Cymodoth and Deimoth.
It wasn't long before Cymodoth's personality started to become evident. The teal-green dragonet, inquisitive about everything from the instant of her hatching, also proved to be an especially sweet-natured and kind character.
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 Eriendel made along the way – a young Weyrbred candidate, Brithie, whom Eriendel had encountered in a sudden crisis of confidence directly before the Hatching – hailed Eriendel at the barracks – crediting her with her successful Impression of a tiny bottle-green dragonet, Epatanth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Eriendel 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. Eriendel was proud to introduce Cymodoth to the Weyrleader – and to give him her full new name: Eriendel, rider of green Cymodoth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Cymodoth's and Deimoth's newborn itchiness, Eriendel 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
Eriendel and Jopha soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Eriendel had helped during the day greeted her with warm congratulations as she hunted through the throng – but, at last, she found her family.
Eriendel's Harper parents were absolutely delighted to find themselves the mother and father of a green rider and happier still to learn that Eriendel had already brought her musical skills to the Weyr. And they were even more delighted to drink to Eriendel and Cymodoth when the Weyrleaders arrived to toast them!
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Eriendel, 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, Eriendel 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 Eriendel'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 Eriendel 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 Cymodoth.
A close encounter
On her way back to the barracks , Eriendel 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 Eriendel 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, Eriendel decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Cymodoth – billeted between Jopha's Deimoth and a pale green dragonet – Eriendel 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 – Eriendel 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?
Eriendel and Cymodoth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
Eriendel'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
Cymodoth 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
Cymodoth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Cymodoth and I agreed on something quite important!