M'hallen and brown Keplarth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Madellon Weyr for Mihallen – a young man of 17 Turns, dreaming of becoming a green rider.
Mihallen 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. Having been left standing at a Hatching once before, Mihallen struggled with both his modest upbringing as a Weyr child with no rider blood, and his fear that he wasn't dragonrider material.
As a candidate, Mihallen 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 Mihallen! Backed up by his crony Kestor, Rielat became the thorn in Mihallen's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Soburn and Mihallen 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 Mihallen 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, Mihallen 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 Mihallen to find it. The quest took Mihallen all over Madellon, from kitchens to lake to infirmary – but in the end he succeeded in reuniting the Weyrwoman's jewellery set, to general acclaim.
Respecting his elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Mihallen encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Mihallen to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Mihallen 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, Mihallen offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Mihallen encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Mihallen – especially after he solved all three of her fiendish riddles!
Southern comfort
Mihallen 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 Mihallen 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 Mihallen some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Mihallen 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, Mihallen 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, Mihallen 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. Mihallen 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 Mihallen a certain confidence in his own prospects!
A rising problem
Mihallen 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. Mihallen'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. Even if Mihallen did annoy Soleigh, who wasn't impressed with him for prolonging Maris' binge by bringing her more wine!
Kitchen diplomacy
Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Mihallen with the opportunity to show off his work ethic before the Hatching. A round of chores duly pleased Crauva. And the kitchen was also the source of the hotfruit R'hren had sent Mihallen to find for his warming salve.
Eggs and baskets
A visit to the Archives led to a meeting with Tarshe, Madellon's Weyrwoman Second. When Mihallen expressed an interested in looking up some Weyr records, Tarshe offered him the loan of a glowbasket – on the proviso that he return it afterwards. But with one thing and another, Mihallen didn't bring it back – earning the Weyrwoman Second's ire!
Backhander backfired
Seeking an easy way to slip into the Hatching Ground for an early peek, Mihallen encountered H'nar – Wingleader of the Betweenless Wing – on guard at the entrance. It may have seemed like a good idea to offer him a few marks for safe passage – but Mihallen hadn't reckoned on H'nar's incorruptible nature. H'nar rejected the money with outrage, and word of Mihallen's attempt to bribe him made its way back to the Weyrlingmaster!
A blue lady
Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Mihallen offered his assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted.
Friend request
Conscious of Soburn's bashfulness, Mihallen 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 Mihallen that he wasn't interested in Soburn – or any other men, for that matter. But Mihallen'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!
Hair today
Mindful of the Weyrlingmaster's orders to be smart for the Hatching, Mihallen visited Madellon's resident barber – green rider Z'fell – for a trim. Very conscious of his dignity, Mihallen ensured he came away with a cut he actually liked.
A breath of foul air
Early in the day, Mihallen 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. The route he chose turned out to be thick with choking toxic fumes from Madellon's volcanic foundation, and Mihallen soon found himself struggling for breath. And then he came across Rielat – having apparently followed Mihallen into the passageways – lying unconscious and insensible in the fume-filled tunnel.
Perhaps it was the toxic air, or perhaps not – but when Mihallen crawled out onto the Hatching sands, he didn't drag Rielat out with him – and nor did he tell the Weyrleader about his stricken fellow candidate. Overcome by the ordeal, Mihallen fainted.
Mihallen woke in the infirmary – only to be interrogated by a very grim Weyrleader T'gat and Weyrlingmaster L'stev. Rielat had been found – dead. And only some very quick talking on Mihallen's part spared him from being thrown out of the Weyr entirely.
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Mihallen had to wait a little while before the very large dark grey egg Hatched to reveal the deep turned-earth brown dragonet who would choose him, naming himself Keplarth.
But Keplarth was nearly beaten to Mihallen by another dragonet – a slender olive-green hatchling who seemed torn between Mihallen and Soburn. Sensing that she wasn't the best match for him, Mihallen stepped aside to give his friend precedence – resulting in Soburn's Impression of the little green, Aeranth.
After the Hatching
"Keplarth" by Emily Holland
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Mihallen 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 Keplarth's first meal. That was Mihallen's first opportunity to speak to Soburn, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Keplarth and Aeranth. Soburn also told Mihallen that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – S'burn.
It wasn't long before Keplarth's personality started to become evident. The substantial dark-brown dragonet – chunkier than any other hatchling – had a stolid, non-nonsense character to match, speaking his mind without hesitation or tact.
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 Mihallen 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. Mihallen was proud to introduce Keplarth to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Keplarth, Mihallen gave the Weyrleader his own new name: M'hallen, rider of brown Keplarth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Keplarth's and Aeranth's newborn itchiness, M'hallen 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
M'hallen and S'burn soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk M'hallen had helped during the day greeted him with warm congratulations as he hunted through the throng – but, at last, he found his family.
M'hallen's mother, Nelya, was thrilled by her son's Impression – though perhaps not quite as ecstatic as M'hallen's younger siblings, Ashi and Halante. As the first dragonrider in the family, M'hallen was keenly aware of what it meant to his brother and sister. And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to M'hallen and Keplarth, Valonna was particularly delighted for Nelya – one of her most trusted Headwoman Seconds.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for M'hallen, 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, M'hallen 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 M'hallen's background with him – including much of what he had got up to on the morning of the Hatching – for good and ill. She cleared up an anomaly with his new name, too. She offered M'hallen 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 Keplarth.
A close encounter
On his way back to the barracks (by way of the infirmary, as ordered by Tarshe), M'hallen 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 M'hallen 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, M'hallen decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger – though he did give L'stev his new name.
Returning at last to Keplarth – billeted between S'burn's Aeranth and a mucky-looking brown dragonet – M'hallen 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 – M'hallen was struck with a deep sense of foreboding. Who was the mysterious dragonrider in the hooded cloak? What was the significance of the strange wooden box? And how had the stranger known M'hallen's new name?
M'hallen and Keplarth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
M'hallen'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:
APOSTROPHE NOW
I love the smell of elision in the morning!
Achievement Unlocked:
COMPUTER SAYS NO
I changed my name from something unacceptable!
Achievement Unlocked:
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Keplarth and I make a very strong match!
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
Keplarth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Keplarth and I agreed on something quite important!
Achievement Unlocked:
RIEN DE RIEN
I left Rielat to die, and I regret nothing!