Sapphire and blue Wisnerth

The Road So Far!

It all began at the Harperhall at Kellad Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Sapphire – a young woman of 16 Turns, dreaming of becoming a blue rider.

Sapphire 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. Sapphire caught the attention of J'kel's blue Hozrath. And a sevenday later, Sapphire arrived at Madellon Weyr, joining the candidate pool for senior queen Shimpath's first clutch by her new mate Muzzanth.

As a candidate, Sapphire was assigned a bunkmate – Erilde, a quiet young woman from the Lower Caverns fearing a second unsuccessful Hatching, 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 – Auciet, a snobby and superior Holdbred girl – who took a firm disliking to Sapphire! Backed up by her crony Cedranne, Auciet became the thorn in Sapphire's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.

Hatching Day

The dragons' hum woke Erilde and Sapphire on 102.03.17. Following a brief run-in with Auciet, 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 Sapphire left, Erilde asked her to make enquiries about any dragonrider heritage she herself might possess, to give her confidence a boost before the Hatching.

The one-armed green rider and the thieving queen

Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Sapphire 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 Sapphire to find it. Despite Sapphire'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, Sapphire encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Sapphire to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Sapphire 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, Sapphire offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Sapphire encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Sapphire – especially after she solved all three of her fiendish riddles!

Southern comfort

Sapphire 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 Sapphire 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 Sapphire some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Sapphire unravelled Archidath's confusing suggestions and got the right packages to the right dragons – without being growled at!

A rising problem

Sapphire 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. Sapphire'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.

A Harper born

Sapphire'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 Sapphire's confidence – and her mark purse – quite a boost!

Bubbling up

Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – proved an irresistable lure for Sapphire – as well as the source of the hotfruit R'hren had sent her to find for his warming salve. But reluctant to actually get her hands dirty by helping, she sneaked in and stole a bubbly pie right from under the Headwoman's nose!

Pie-more

Sapphire certainly indulged her sweet tooth before the Hatching – laying claim to not one, not two, but three different types of bubbly pie .

A blue lady

Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Sapphire offered her assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted. Getting some first-hand advice about what it took for T'gala to Impress a blue dragon was an opportunity Sapphire didn't want to pass up.

The Hatching

When it came to the Hatching, Sapphire had an excruciatingly long wait before the grey-swirled silvery cream egg Hatched to reveal the very pale moon-blue dragonet who would choose her, naming himself Wisnerth.

A friend bereft

But to Sapphire's dismay, Erilde wasn't as fortunate. No dragonet showed an interest in her, and she was left among the candidates remaining unmatched at the end of the Hatching.

Whatever happened to Auciet?

Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Auciet Impressed an unusually aggressive grass-green hatchling, making them Sapphire and Wisnerth's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Cedranne didn't Impress!)

After the Hatching

"Wisnerth" by Chris S. Baily

The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Sapphire 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 Wisnerth's first meal. That was the first moment Sapphire had truly grasped that Erilde wasn't going to be a weyrling alongside her – a truth that hit hard. In Erilde's absence, Arina, who'd Impressed a cloudy-green dragonet, Chanth – was a welcome friendly face.

It wasn't long before Wisnerth's personality started to become evident. The moon-blue dragonet, while seemingly reluctant to even leave his egg, showed glimmers of a curiously perceptive and knowing mind beneath his apparent laziness.

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 Sapphire made along the way – a young Weyrbred candidate, Brithie, whom Sapphire had encountered in a sudden crisis of confidence directly before the Hatching – hailed Sapphire at the barracks – crediting her with her successful Impression of a tiny bottle-green dragonet, Epatanth!

Meeting the Weyrleader

As Sapphire and Arina wiped the worst of the blood and sand from their tired new dragonets, the Weyrleader, T'gat, came to inspect both girls' dragonets – and in particular to remark upon Sapphire's unusual Impression of a blue. T'gat further enquired if Sapphire would like to elide her name, as T'gala had done, or not. Sapphire elected not to elide her name – content to remain Sapphire, rider of blue Wisnerth!

Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Wisnerth's and Chanth's newborn itchiness, Sapphire and Arina 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

Sapphire and Arina soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Sapphire had helped during the day greeted her with warm congratulations as she hunted through the throng – but, at last, she found her family.

Sapphire's Harper parents were absolutely delighted to find themselves the mother and father of a blue rider and happier still to learn that Sapphire had already brought her musical skills to the Weyr. And they were even more delighted to drink to Sapphire and Wisnerth when the Weyrleaders arrived to toast them!

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Sapphire, 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, Sapphire 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 Sapphire'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 Sapphire 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 Wisnerth.

A close encounter

On her way back to the barracks , Sapphire 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 Sapphire 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, Sapphire decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.

Returning at last to Wisnerth – billeted between Arina's Chanth and a pretty blue-green dragonet – Sapphire 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 blue beside her – Sapphire 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?

Sapphire and Wisnerth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!

Sapphire'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

Wisnerth 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

Wisnerth and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
BUM NOTE

Wisnerth and I disagreed on something quite important!