R'dan and green Alomiath

The Road So Far!

It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Riordan – a young man of 16 Turns, dreaming of becoming a green rider.

Riordan was born to unusual privilege – a grandson of Winstone, Lord of mighty Jessaf Hold. Riordan didn't scramble for the attention of the young Search rider, Garlan, who came to Jessaf in early 102 seeking candidates for Madellon Weyr's latest clutch. But as a scion of the Hold, Riordan was among the party welcoming the green rider to Jessaf – and, in due course, became the focus of her dragon Hushith's attention. Lord Winstone wasn't enthusiastic about Riordan becoming a candidate – while conceding that he could spare a younger grandchild. And with Winstone's admonition that he Impress a bronze – or a brown at the very least – ringing in his ears, Riordan left to begin his candidacy at Madellon Weyr.

As a candidate, Riordan was assigned a bunkmate – Soburn, an anxious Weyrbred youth with one failed Hatching already haunting him, 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 – Rielat, a self-important apprentice Weaver – who took a firm disliking to Riordan! Backed up by his crony Kestor, Rielat became the thorn in Riordan's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.

Hatching Day

The dragons' hum woke Soburn and Riordan on 102.03.17. Following a brief run-in with Rielat, 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 Riordan left, Soburn asked him to find out if H'nar, the young Wingleader of the Betweenless Wing, might currently be seeing someone – or not.

The one-armed green rider and the thieving queen

Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Riordan 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 Riordan to find it. Despite Riordan's best efforts, though, he didn't manage to complete and return the jewellery set before the Hatching.

Respecting his elders

In the infirmary, Riordan encountered Kisha – a blind old green rider giving the Weyr's Healers a difficult time about taking her medicine. Kisha challenged Riordan to answer three riddles before she would consent to behave. And Riordan rose to that challenge – answering all three correctly, and winning Kisha's grudging respect!

Kitchen diplomacy

Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Riordan with the opportunity to show off his work ethic before the Hatching. A round of chores duly pleased Crauva.

Overkeen to get his hands on the last bubbly pie in the dining hall, Riordan took it – forcibly – from a small child. Not the nicest thing to do – but mmm, pie...

A blue lady

Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Riordan offered his assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted.

Friend request

Conscious of Soburn's bashfulness, Riordan approached the object of his affections – H'nar, Wingleader of the Betweenless Wing – with some circumspection. Still, when questioned, H'nar insisted he had to know who was making enquiries of him. And when he learned the identity of his admirer, he told Riordan that he wasn't interested in Soburn – or any other men, for that matter. But Riordan's agile pivot in questioning revealed that a close friend of H'nar's – blue rider M'rany – might be a viable alternative. Thus encouraged, Soburn began to think more positively of life as a dragonrider – even if H'nar would end up being his Wingleader!

A Weyrleader's mercy

Early in the day, Riordan found out about a secret way into the Hatching Ground via storeroom that might allow him a sneaky peek at the eggs before the Hatching. Successfully entering the combination to the lock on the storeroom door, and suitably equipped with a glowbasket, he crawled into a confusing maze of passages. By chance, he found a way onto the Hatching Ground – onto a very high ledge! Calling down for help was the only option, and a welcome – if embarrassing – lift down from Muzzanth himself returned Riordan safely to ground level.

Realising that honesty was the best policy, Riordan apologised to the Weyrleader for intruding – and was surprised to find T'gat remarkably sanguine about it, reminiscing about his own youthful journey through the passages. And a polite request granted Riordan the Weyrleader's permission to approach the clutch. He touched one of the eggs, marvelling at its palpable vitality. And something about the elongated spotted egg made him feel strangely certain that he would Impress later that day.

The Hatching

When it came to the Hatching, Riordan didn't have to wait at all for his date with destiny. The elongated spotted egg that Hatched first produced a pale mint-green hatchling who spared no time in choosing Riordan, naming herself Alomiath.

A friend in me

And Riordan wasn't the only lucky one. To his delight, Soburn also Impressed, becoming the rider of a slender olive-green hatchling, Aeranth.

Whatever happened to Rielat?

Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Rielat Impressed an impressively proportioned indigo-blue hatchling, making them Riordan and Alomiath's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Kestor didn't Impress!)

After the Hatching

"Alomiath" by Chris S. Baily

The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Riordan on his Impression, but it was Garlan, delighted that her risky choice of Winstone's grandson had Impressed, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Alomiath's first meal. That was Riordan's first opportunity to speak to Soburn, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Alomiath and Aeranth. Soburn also told Riordan that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – S'burn.

It wasn't long before Alomiath's personality started to become evident. The pale green dragonet had absolutely no hesitation about making her voice – her very loud and strident voice – heard, indicating what a forceful and demanding character she would become.

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 Riordan and S'burn 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. Riordan was proud to introduce Alomiath to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Alomiath, Riordan gave the Weyrleader his own new name: R'dan, rider of green Alomiath!

Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Alomiath's and Aeranth's newborn itchiness, R'dan and S'burn 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

R'dan and S'burn soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk R'dan had helped during the day greeted him with warm congratulations as he hunted through the throng – but, at last, he found his family.

Lord Winstone, R'dan's grandfather, was in a state of high dudgeon about his grandson's Impression of a green. A tense scene ensued, with the Weyrleaders obliged to step in to defend R'dan from his grandfather's fury – but the damage was already done.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for R'dan, 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, R'dan 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 R'dan'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 R'dan 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 Alomiath.

A close encounter

On his way back to the barracks , R'dan 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 R'dan 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, R'dan decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.

Returning at last to Alomiath – billeted between S'burn's Aeranth and a bright bronze dragonet – R'dan 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 – R'dan 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?

R'dan and Alomiath's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!

R'dan'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

Alomiath and I complement each other!

Achievement Unlocked:
THE PATH LESS TRAVELLED

I pre-Impressed Alomiath by touching her egg before the Hatching!

Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY

Alomiath and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE

Alomiath and I agreed on something quite important!