L'lian and blue Khilth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Lealain – a young girl of 13 Turns, dreaming of becoming a blue rider.
Lealain was born to unusual privilege – a granddaughter of Winstone, Lord of mighty Jessaf Hold. Lealain 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, Lealain 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 Lealain 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, Lealain left to begin her candidacy at Madellon Weyr.
As a candidate, Lealain was assigned a bunkmate – Jopha, a mischievous young Weyrbred girl prone to getting herself into trouble, 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 – Thippia, a foul-mouthed girl from the Seacraft – who took a firm disliking to Lealain! Backed up by her crony Berrin, Thippia became the thorn in Lealain's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Jopha and Lealain on 102.03.17. Following a brief run-in with Thippia, 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 Lealain left, Jopha – whose Impression robe was sadly overlarge for her petite frame – recruited Lealain's help in getting it adjusted by her nemesis Shookana in the mending room.
The one-armed green rider and the thieving queen
Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Lealain 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 Lealain to find it. Despite Lealain's best efforts, though, she didn't manage to complete and return the jewellery set before the Hatching.
Respecting her elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Lealain encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Lealain to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Lealain duly located the components of R'hren's salve, winning the old bronze rider's approval in the process.
Hot stuff
Madellon's kitchen was the source of the hotfruit R'hren had sent Lealain to find for his warming salve. Headwoman Crauva handed one over immediately she asked for it, pleased to be helping such an august figure as the old Weyrleader.
Overkeen to get her hands on the last bubbly pie in the dining hall, Lealain took it – forcibly – from a small child. Not the nicest thing to do – but mmm, pie...
Eggs and baskets
A visit to the Archives led to a meeting with Tarshe, Madellon's Weyrwoman Second. When Lealain 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, Lealain didn't bring it back – earning the Weyrwoman Second's ire!
A blue lady
Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Lealain offered her assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted. Getting some first-hand advice about what it took for T'gala to Impress a blue dragon was an opportunity Lealain didn't want to pass up.
A slithery customer
Early in the day, Lealain 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, Lealain strayed into tunnel snake territory! A huge, aggressive, and potently venomous female tunnel-snake guarded the exit to the Hatching ground. Lealain 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, Lealain crept closer to the clutch – close enough to touch an egg – before beating a hasty retreat from the Hatching Ground! And something about the grey-swirled silvery cream egg made her feel strangely certain that she would Impress later that day.
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Lealain had an excruciatingly long wait before the grey-swirled silvery cream egg Hatched to reveal the very pale moon-blue dragonet who would choose her, naming himself Khilth.
A friend bereft
But to Lealain's dismay, Jopha 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 Thippia?
Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Thippia Impressed a very vocal mint-green hatchling, making them Lealain and Khilth's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Berrin didn't Impress!)
After the Hatching
"Khilth" by Chris S. Baily
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Lealain 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 Khilth's first meal. That was the first moment Lealain had truly grasped that Jopha wasn't going to be a weyrling alongside her – a truth that hit hard. In Jopha's absence, Arina, who'd Impressed a cloudy-green dragonet, Chanth – was a welcome friendly face.
It wasn't long before Khilth's personality started to become evident. The moon-blue dragonet, while seemingly reluctant to even leave his egg, showed glimmers of a curiously perceptive and knowing mind beneath his apparent laziness.
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 Lealain 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 in particular to remark upon Lealain's unusual Impression of a blue. T'gat further enquired if Lealain would like to elide her name, as T'gala had done, or not. Lealain took up the opportunity to rename herself, and after a brief conference with Khilth, Lealain gave the Weyrleader her new name – L'lian, rider of blue Khilth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Khilth's and Chanth's newborn itchiness, L'lian 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
L'lian and Arina soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk L'lian 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, L'lian's grandfather, was outraged by his granddaughter's highly irregular Impression of a blue dragon – calling her aberrant. The Weyrleaders were quick to take L'lian's part, but the damage to her relationship with her grandfather was done.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for L'lian, 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, L'lian 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 L'lian'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 L'lian 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 Khilth.
A close encounter
On her way back to the barracks , L'lian 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 L'lian 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, L'lian decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Khilth – billeted between Arina's Chanth and a pretty blue-green dragonet – L'lian 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 blue beside her – L'lian 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?
L'lian and Khilth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
L'lian'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
Khilth and I complement each other!
Achievement Unlocked:
THE PATH LESS TRAVELLED
I pre-Impressed Khilth by touching his egg before the Hatching!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Khilth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
BUM NOTE
Khilth and I disagreed on something quite important!