D'rel and brown Torboth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Madellon Weyr for Darrell – a young boy of 14 Turns, dreaming of becoming a brown rider.
Darrell 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, Darrell 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, Darrell 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 Darrell! Backed up by his crony Varell, Gydeton became the thorn in Darrell's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Martom and Darrell 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 Darrell 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, Darrell 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 Darrell to find it. Despite Darrell's best efforts, though, he didn't manage to complete and return the jewellery set before the Hatching.
Respecting his elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Darrell encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Darrell to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Darrell 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, Darrell offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Darrell encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Darrell – especially after he solved all three of her fiendish riddles!
A Masterful order
In the dining hall, Darrell 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, Darrell 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. Darrell 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 Darrell a certain confidence in his own prospects!
Kitchen diplomacy
Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Darrell with the opportunity to show off his work ethic before the Hatching. A round of chores duly pleased Crauva, albeit cut short, literally, by the slip of a knife that sent Darrell to the infirmary with a slice to be stitched up. And the kitchen was also the source of the hotfruit R'hren had sent Darrell to find for his warming salve.
Friend request
Given Darrell'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 Darrell 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!
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Darrell had to wait a little while before the grey-mottled tan egg Hatched to reveal the cool dusty-brown dragonet who would choose him, naming himself Torboth.
A friend in me
And Darrell 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?
Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Gydeton Impressed the biggest dragonet of the clutch, a hefty dark-brown hatchling, making them Darrell and Torboth's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Varell didn't Impress!)
After the Hatching
"Torboth" by Chris S. Baily
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Darrell 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 Torboth's first meal. That was Darrell's first opportunity to speak to Martom, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Torboth and Kauth. Martom also told Darrell that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – M'tom.
It wasn't long before Torboth's personality started to become evident. The dusty-brown dragonet, while neither the largest nor the most handsome of his colour, proved to make up for both with his calm and helpful character immediately endearing him to all around.
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 Darrell made along the way – a young Holdbred candidate, Nichen, whom Darrell had encountered in a hopelessly dishevelled state directly before the Hatching – hailed Darrell at the barracks – crediting him with his successful Impression of a moon-blue dragonet, Yooth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Darrell 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. Darrell was proud to introduce Torboth to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Torboth, Darrell gave the Weyrleader his own new name: D'rel, rider of brown Torboth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Torboth's and Kauth's newborn itchiness, D'rel 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
D'rel and M'tom soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk D'rel had helped during the day greeted him with warm congratulations as he hunted through the throng – but, at last, he found his family.
D'rel's mother, Nelya, was thrilled by her son's Impression – though perhaps not quite as ecstatic as D'rel's younger siblings, Ashi and Halante. As the first dragonrider in the family, D'rel was keenly aware of what it meant to his brother and sister. And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to D'rel and Torboth, Valonna was particularly delighted for Nelya – one of her most trusted Headwoman Seconds.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for D'rel, 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, D'rel 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 D'rel'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 D'rel some advice about paying attention to his new classmates and surroundings, lest he fall foul of the Weyrlingmaster's penchant for snap quizzes, advised him to report to Master Isnan before returning to the barracks to get his injuries checked again, and made some observations on Torboth.
A close encounter
On his way back to the barracks (by way of the infirmary, as ordered by Tarshe), D'rel 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 D'rel 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, D'rel decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Torboth – billeted between M'tom's Kauth and a slender green dragonet – D'rel 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 brown beside him – D'rel 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?
D'rel and Torboth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
D'rel'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
Torboth and I complement each other!
Achievement Unlocked:
SUGAR AND SPICE
I've been a very nice person (so far)!
Achievement Unlocked:
PLEASE STATE THE NATURE OF THE MEDICAL EMERGENCY
I returned to the infirmary!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Torboth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Torboth and I agreed on something quite important!
Achievement Unlocked:
ENEMY MINE
Torboth and Corienth took against each other!