Alyrah and green Psalonth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Alyrah – a young woman of 18 Turns, dreaming of becoming a dragonrider.
Alyrah was born to unusual privilege – a granddaughter of Winstone, Lord of mighty Jessaf Hold. Alyrah 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, Alyrah 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 Alyrah becoming a candidate – displeased that such a opportunity would ruin his plans for Alyrah's betrothal to a nephew of Lord Orfen's. But he grudgingly accepted that, as Alyrah had her majority, she had the right to accept Search. And with Winstone's admonition that she should remember her place as his granddaughter and not make a scene ringing in her ears, Alyrah left to begin her candidacy at Madellon Weyr.
As a candidate, Alyrah 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 Alyrah! Backed up by her crony Cedranne, Auciet became the thorn in Alyrah's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Erilde and Alyrah 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 Alyrah 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 and the thieving queen
Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Alyrah 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 Alyrah to find it. The quest took Alyrah 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.
Disrespecting her elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Alyrah encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. But they got off to a poor start – Alyrah had unwittingly taken a redfruit without permission – and furthermore lied about it when challenged by the old bronze rider. The scrumping alone might not have turned R'hren against Alyrah – but the literal red-handed lie did!
Southern comfort
Alyrah 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 Alyrah 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 Alyrah some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Alyrah 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, Alyrah 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, Alyrah 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. Alyrah 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 Alyrah a certain confidence in her own prospects!
A rising problem
Alyrah 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. Alyrah'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 Alyrah with the opportunity to show off her work ethic before the Hatching. A round of chores duly pleased Crauva.
A shining example
Coming upon Santinoth – Madellon's biggest bronze – being bathed in the lake, Alyrah was quick to offer assistance to his rider, T'rello. Perhaps Alyrah was never going to Impress a bronze – but it couldn't hurt to have some hands-on experience!
Friend request
Seeking knowledge of Erilde's parentage, Alyrah 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 Alyrah might construct a story about a long-dead rider. Alyrah 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!
Hair today
Mindful of the Weyrlingmaster's orders to be smart for the Hatching, Alyrah visited Madellon's resident barber – green rider Z'fell – for a trim. Very conscious of her dignity, Alyrah ensured she came away with a cut she actually liked.
Wherry bad behaviour
Alyrah'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. Alyrah chose the former, and the Weyrlingmaster sent her to do penance in the wherry hatchery – though Alyrah remained on probation, with one more slip promising to rule her out of standing!
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Alyrah had to wait a little while before the spotted green and cream egg Hatched to reveal the vivid sea-green dragonet who would choose her, naming herself Psalonth.
A friend in me
And Alyrah 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?
Auciet didn't turn up for the pre-Hatching muster, and – Alyrah's own suspicions notwithstanding – L'stev guessed that she had probably got herself lost trying to sneak into the Hatching Ground through the dangerous ventilation tunnels. Fortunately – Alyrah supposed – Weyrlingmaster A'len located the missing candidate, but too late for Auciet, who having been found unconscious, was promptly invalided out of standing!
After the Hatching
"Psalonth" by Emily Holland
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Alyrah 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 Psalonth's first meal. That was Alyrah's first opportunity to speak to Erilde, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Psalonth and Shaldeth.
It wasn't long before Psalonth'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.
Big sister
Another friend Alyrah made along the way – a young Weyrbred candidate, Brithie, whom Alyrah had encountered in a sudden crisis of confidence directly before the Hatching – hailed Alyrah at the barracks – crediting her with her successful Impression of a tiny bottle-green dragonet, Epatanth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Alyrah 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. Alyrah was proud to introduce Psalonth to the Weyrleader – and to give him her full new name: Alyrah, rider of green Psalonth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Psalonth's and Shaldeth's newborn itchiness, Alyrah 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
Alyrah and Erilde soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Alyrah 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, Alyrah's grandfather, was faint with his praise for his granddaughter's Impression of Psalonth – 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 Alyrah, 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, Alyrah 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 Alyrah'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 Alyrah 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 Psalonth.
A close encounter
On her way back to the barracks , Alyrah 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 Alyrah 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, Alyrah decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Psalonth – billeted between Erilde's Shaldeth and a pale green dragonet – Alyrah 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 – Alyrah 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?
Alyrah and Psalonth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
Alyrah'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
Psalonth and I complement each other!
Achievement Unlocked:
SNAKES AND SNAILS
I haven't been very nice!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Psalonth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
BUM NOTE
Psalonth and I disagreed on something quite important!