Bracken and green Rothath
The Road So Far!
It all began at Madellon Weyr for Brekke – a young woman of 16 Turns, dreaming of becoming a blue rider.
Brekke was born the daughter of Nelya, a Headwoman's Second at Madellon Weyr. While she didn't have to be Searched, she was 'given the nod' as a likely dragonrider by the Weyr's most senior retired Search pair – S'rius and his elderly blue Padseth. Having been left standing at a Hatching once before, Brekke struggled with both her modest upbringing as a Weyr child with no rider blood, and her fear that she wasn't dragonrider material.
As a candidate, Brekke 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 Brekke! Backed up by her crony Cedranne, Auciet became the thorn in Brekke's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Erilde and Brekke 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 Brekke 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, Brekke was flagged down by M'shen – a green rider with only one arm. But whatever he wanted, Brekke never discovered, being disinclined to be helpful with so many other errands to run.
Respecting her elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Brekke encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Brekke to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Brekke 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, Brekke offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Brekke encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Brekke – especially after she solved all three of her fiendish riddles!
Southern comfort
Brekke 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 Brekke 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 Brekke some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Brekke 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, Brekke 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, Brekke 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. Brekke 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 Brekke a certain confidence in her own prospects!
Bubbling up
Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – proved an irresistable lure for Brekke – 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
Brekke certainly indulged her sweet tooth before the Hatching – laying claim to not one, not two, but three different types of bubbly pie Albeit she stole one of them..
Eggs and baskets
A visit to the Archives led to a meeting with Tarshe, Madellon's Weyrwoman Second. When Brekke 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. But with one thing and another, Brekke didn't bring it back – earning the Weyrwoman Second's ire!
A shining example
Coming upon Santinoth – Madellon's biggest bronze – being bathed in the lake, Brekke was quick to offer assistance to his rider, T'rello. Perhaps Brekke was never going to Impress a bronze – but it couldn't hurt to have some hands-on experience!
Wherry bad behaviour
Brekke's assorted instances of bad behaviour finally caught up with her. L'stev collared her in the Bowl and gave her an ultimatum – buck up her ideas, or sit the Hatching out. Brekke chose the former, and the Weyrlingmaster sent her to do penance in the wherry hatchery – though Brekke remained on probation, with one more slip promising to rule her out of standing!
A slithery customer
Early in the day, Brekke found out about a secret way into the Hatching Ground via storeroom that might allow her 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, she crawled into a confusing maze of passages.
By a stroke of ill luck, Brekke strayed into tunnel snake territory! A huge, aggressive, and potently venomous female tunnel-snake guarded the exit to the Hatching ground. Brekke was lucky to avoid being bitten. But ultimately she evaded the snake, dodging past it and slipping out onto the Hatching Sands.
Having survived her encounter with the snake, Brekke crept closer to the clutch – close enough to touch an egg – before beating a hasty retreat from the Hatching Ground! And something about the spotted green and cream egg made her feel strangely certain that she would Impress later that day.
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Brekke had an excruciatingly long wait before the spotted green and cream egg Hatched to reveal the vivid sea-green dragonet who would choose her, naming herself Rothath.
A friend bereft
But to Brekke'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?
It turned out that making an enemy of Brekke was a very poor choice on Auciet's part. For the low, low price of just three marks, Brekke had Grimes, the shady fellow loitering near the Gather stalls, spread a series of nasty rumours about Auciet. By the time the Weyrlingmaster mustered the candidate cohort immediately before the Hatching, the damage to Auciet's reputation was done – and she was ejected from the candidate pool without ever setting foot on the Sands!
After the Hatching
"Rothath" by Emily Holland
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Brekke on her Impression, but it was old S'rius, delighted to have found yet another weyrling, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Rothath's first meal. That was the first moment Brekke 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 Rothath's personality started to become evident. The sea-green dragonet – ambiguously coloured at first glance, but unequivocally female when asked – proved to have a particularly playful and fun-loving outlook on life.
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 Brekke 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 to ask after their names. Brekke was proud to introduce Rothath to the Weyrleader – and to give him her full new name: Bracken, rider of green Rothath!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Rothath's and Chanth's newborn itchiness, Bracken 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
Bracken and Arina soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Bracken had helped during the day greeted her with warm congratulations as she hunted through the throng – but, at last, she found her family.
Bracken's mother, Nelya, was thrilled by her daughter's Impression – though perhaps not quite as ecstatic as Bracken's younger siblings, Ashi and Halante. As the first dragonrider in the family, Bracken was keenly aware of what it meant to her brother and sister. And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to Bracken and Rothath, Valonna was particularly delighted for Nelya – one of her most trusted Headwoman Seconds.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Bracken, 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, Bracken 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 Bracken'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 Bracken 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 Rothath.
A close encounter
On her way back to the barracks , Bracken 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 Bracken 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, Bracken decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Rothath – billeted between Arina's Chanth and a very large green dragonet – Bracken 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 – Bracken 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?
Bracken and Rothath's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
Bracken'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:
CEASE AND DESIST
I prevented legal difficulties by changing my name!
Achievement Unlocked:
THE YIN TO YOUR YANG
Rothath and I complement each other!
Achievement Unlocked:
THE PATH LESS TRAVELLED
I pre-Impressed Rothath by touching her egg before the Hatching!
Achievement Unlocked:
SNAKES AND SNAILS
I haven't been very nice!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Rothath and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Rothath and I agreed on something quite important!
Achievement Unlocked:
BFFs
Rothath and Naisseth made friends!