Miarina and green Reveurth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Madellon Weyr for Miarina – a young girl of 15 Turns, dreaming of becoming a green rider.
Miarina 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. As a first-time candidate with no dragonrider blood, Miarina looked forward to the Hatching with both excitement and trepidation – fearing she might not have what it takes to Impress, but hoping beyond hope that she would!
As a candidate, Miarina 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 Miarina! Backed up by her crony Berrin, Thippia became the thorn in Miarina's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Jopha and Miarina 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 Miarina left, Jopha – whose Impression robe was sadly overlarge for her petite frame – recruited Miarina'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, Miarina 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 Miarina to find it. The quest took Miarina all over Madellon, from kitchens to lake to infirmary – but in the end she succeeded in reuniting the Weyrwoman's jewellery set, to general acclaim.
Respecting her elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Miarina encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Miarina to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Miarina 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, Miarina offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Miarina encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Miarina – especially after she solved all three of her fiendish riddles!
Southern comfort
Miarina 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 Miarina 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 Miarina some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Miarina 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, Miarina 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, Miarina 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. Miarina 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 Miarina a certain confidence in her own prospects!
A rising problem
Miarina 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. Miarina'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.
Kitchen diplomacy
Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Miarina with the opportunity to show off her 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 Miarina to find for his warming salve.
Backhander backfired
Seeking an easy way to slip into the Hatching Ground for an early peek, Miarina 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 Miarina hadn't reckoned on H'nar's incorruptible nature. H'nar rejected the money with outrage, and word of Miarina's attempt to bribe him made its way back to the Weyrlingmaster!
A shining example
Coming upon Santinoth – Madellon's biggest bronze – being bathed in the lake, Miarina was quick to offer assistance to his rider, T'rello. Perhaps Miarina was never going to Impress a bronze – but it couldn't hurt to have some hands-on experience!
Friend request
Knowing of Jopha's chequered history with Shookana, mistress of the Weyr's mending room, Miarina approached the task of having her robe adjusted with considerable caution. Realising that falsehood would be the wrong approach, Miarina went to Shookana with the truth – and a gift of popcorn. And while Miarina doubted if Shookana and Jopha will ever be friends, the restoration of her Hatching robe to a suitable length did a great deal for her self-confidence!
Hair today
Mindful of the Weyrlingmaster's orders to be smart for the Hatching, Miarina visited Madellon's resident barber – green rider Z'fell – for a trim. Very conscious of her dignity, Miarina ensured she came away with a cut she actually liked.
A slithery customer
Early in the day, Miarina 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, Miarina strayed into tunnel snake territory! A huge, aggressive, and potently venomous female tunnel-snake guarded the exit to the Hatching ground. Miarina 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, Miarina crept closer to the clutch – close enough to touch an egg – before beating a hasty retreat from the Hatching Ground!
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Miarina had an excruciatingly long wait before the rough-textured cloudy white egg Hatched to reveal the vivid grassy-green dragonet who would choose her, naming herself Reveurth.
But Reveurth was nearly beaten to Miarina by another dragonet – a big emerald-green hatchling who seemed torn between Miarina and Jopha. Sensing that she wasn't the best match for her, Miarina stepped aside to give Jopha precedence – resulting in her Impression of the green dragonet, Deimoth.
Whatever happened to Thippia?
Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Thippia Impressed a very vocal mint-green hatchling, making them Miarina and Reveurth's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Berrin didn't Impress!)
After the Hatching
"Reveurth" by Emily Holland
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Miarina 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 Reveurth's first meal. That was Miarina's first opportunity to speak to Jopha, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Reveurth and Deimoth.
It wasn't long before Reveurth'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 Miarina made along the way – a young Weyrbred candidate, Brithie, whom Miarina had encountered in a sudden crisis of confidence directly before the Hatching – hailed Miarina at the barracks – crediting her with her successful Impression of a tiny bottle-green dragonet, Epatanth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Miarina and Jopha 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. Miarina was proud to introduce Reveurth to the Weyrleader – and to give him her full new name: Miarina, rider of green Reveurth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Reveurth's and Deimoth's newborn itchiness, Miarina and Jopha 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
Miarina and Jopha soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Miarina had helped during the day greeted her with warm congratulations as she hunted through the throng – but, at last, she found her family.
Miarina's mother, Nelya, was thrilled by her daughter's Impression – though perhaps not quite as ecstatic as Miarina's younger siblings, Ashi and Halante. As the first dragonrider in the family, Miarina was keenly aware of what it meant to her brother and sister. And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to Miarina and Reveurth, Valonna was particularly delighted for Nelya – one of her most trusted Headwoman Seconds.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Miarina, 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, Miarina 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 Miarina'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 Miarina 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 Reveurth.
A close encounter
On her way back to the barracks , Miarina 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 Miarina 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, Miarina decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Reveurth – billeted between Jopha's Deimoth and a pale green dragonet – Miarina 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 – Miarina 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 Miarina's Impression here. Miarina and Reveurth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
Miarina'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:
OPPOSITES ATTRACT
I make quite a strange match with Reveurth!
Achievement Unlocked:
SUGAR AND SPICE
I've been a very nice person (so far)!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Reveurth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
BUM NOTE
Reveurth and I disagreed on something quite important!