Winifred and green Ocovanth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Winifred – a young woman of 16 Turns, dreaming of becoming a green rider.
Winifred was born to unusual privilege – a granddaughter of Winstone, Lord of mighty Jessaf Hold. Winifred 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, Winifred 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 Winifred becoming a candidate – while conceding that he could spare a younger grandchild. And with Winstone's admonition that she should remember her place as his granddaughter and not make a scene ringing in her ears, Winifred left to begin her candidacy at Madellon Weyr.
As a candidate, Winifred 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 Winifred! Backed up by her crony Cedranne, Auciet became the thorn in Winifred's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Erilde and Winifred 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 Winifred 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
Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Winifred was flagged down by M'shen – a green rider with only one arm. But whatever he wanted, Winifred never discovered, after making a mean-spirited joke about M'shen's missing hand that – not unreasonably – made the green rider take against her.
Eggs and baskets
A visit to the Archives led to a meeting with Tarshe, Madellon's Weyrwoman Second. When Winifred 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 – Winifred did!
Weyrbrat by name...
A run-in with a Weyrbrat – Terzon, whom Auciet had paid to cause Winifred trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, Winifred gave the kid a shove – in front of a number of witnesses – doing nothing for her reputation!
Friend request
Seeking knowledge of Erilde's parentage, Winifred visited the Weyr's Archives and sought advice from Weyrwoman Tarshe, the Weyrwoman Second. While Tarshe could find no evidence that Erilde's father had been a dragonrider, she suggested Winifred might construct a story about a long-dead rider. Winifred delved into Madellon's records and unearthed a brown rider, B'get, deceased some Turns ago, but of the right age to have fathered her friend. Bringing this plausible white lie to Erilde may have been a tad devious – but it had the desired effect on her belief that she could, in fact, possess the ability to Impress a dragon!
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Winifred didn't have to wait too long for her date with destiny. The rough-textured cloudy white egg Hatched out a vivid grassy-green dragonet who told Winifred her name was Ocovanth.
A friend in me
And Winifred wasn't the only lucky one. To her delight, Erilde also Impressed, becoming the rider of an inquisitive teal-green hatchling, Shaldeth.
Whatever happened to Auciet?
Quite simply, none of the dragonets seemed to want Auciet – she was left standing. Although Winifred did wonder if her own vivid grassy-green Ocovanth might have glanced, however briefly, in Auciet's direction, and what might have been had she not chosen her...
After the Hatching
"Ocovanth" by Emily Holland
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Winifred on her Impression, but it was Garlan, delighted that her risky choice of Winstone's granddaughter had Impressed, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Ocovanth's first meal. That was Winifred's first opportunity to speak to Erilde, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Ocovanth and Shaldeth.
It wasn't long before Ocovanth's personality started to become evident. The little grass-green dragonet, small for her colour, made up for her size with a fierce, aggressive personality – and very evident teeth!
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 Winifred made along the way – a young Weyrbred candidate, Brithie, whom Winifred had encountered in a sudden crisis of confidence directly before the Hatching – hailed Winifred at the barracks – crediting her with her successful Impression of a tiny bottle-green dragonet, Epatanth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Winifred and Erilde 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. Winifred was proud to introduce Ocovanth to the Weyrleader – and to give him her full new name: Winifred, rider of green Ocovanth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Ocovanth's and Shaldeth's newborn itchiness, Winifred and Erilde 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
Winifred and Erilde soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Winifred had helped during the day greeted her with warm congratulations as she hunted through the throng – but, at last, she found her family.
Lord Winstone, Winifred's grandfather, was faint with his praise for his granddaughter's Impression of Ocovanth – suggesting that she should have waited for a chance at a queen. The Weyrleaders were swift to insist that Impressing any dragon was a great achievement!
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Winifred, 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, Winifred 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 Winifred'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 Winifred 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 Ocovanth.
A close encounter
On her way back to the barracks , Winifred 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 Winifred 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, Winifred decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Ocovanth – billeted between Erilde's Shaldeth and a very large green dragonet – Winifred 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 – Winifred 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 Winifred's Impression here. Winifred and Ocovanth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
Winifred'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
Ocovanth and I make a very strong match!
Achievement Unlocked:
INSULT TO INJURY
I Impressed the dragon that my rival coveted!
Achievement Unlocked:
SNAKES AND SNAILS
I haven't been very nice!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Ocovanth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
BUM NOTE
Ocovanth and I disagreed on something quite important!