M'rano and bronze Tanarth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Madellon Weyr for Mariano – a young boy of 15 Turns, dreaming of becoming a bronze rider.
Mariano was born the son of Wingleader R'yeno and green rider Evie of 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. As a first-time candidate, Mariano looked forward to the Hatching with both excitement and trepidation – half convinced that he would be meeting his own dragon at last; half terrified of failing to meet the standards expected of a Wingleader's son!
As a candidate, Mariano was assigned a bunkmate – Martom, a confident young Weyrbred lad, 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 – Gydeton, the blustering, entitled son of Lord Meturvian of Kellad – who took a firm disliking to Mariano! Backed up by his crony Varell, Gydeton became the thorn in Mariano's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Martom and Mariano on 102.03.17. Following a brief run-in with Gydeton, 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 Mariano left, Martom – keen to prove himself by Impressing on his first attempt – asked him for help procuring some additional confidence in the form of some alcohol.
The one-armed green rider and the thieving queen
Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Mariano 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 Mariano to find it. Despite Mariano's best efforts, though, he didn't manage to complete and return the jewellery set before the Hatching.
Respecting his elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Mariano encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Mariano to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Mariano 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, Mariano offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Mariano encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Mariano – especially after he solved all three of her fiendish riddles!
Southern comfort
Mariano 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 Mariano 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 Mariano some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Mariano unravelled Archidath's confusing suggestions and got the right packages to the right dragons – without being growled at!
Hot stuff
Madellon's kitchen was the source of the hotfruit R'hren had sent Mariano to find for his warming salve. Headwoman Crauva handed one over immediately he asked for it, pleased to be helping such an august figure as the old Weyrleader.
A shining example
Coming upon Santinoth – Madellon's biggest bronze – being bathed in the lake, Mariano was quick to offer assistance to his rider, T'rello. It couldn't hurt to have some close-up experience with a bronze, could it?
Friend request
Given Mariano's age, finding some wine for Martom proved difficult – the Weyr Vintner, Master Saxton, refused to sell it to an underage candidate. His only other alternative was an illicit purchase from the shady figure of Grimes. And L'stev's warning about getting drunk before the Hatching held weight. The Vintner's offering of alcohol-free grape juice gave Mariano an idea – and offering it to Martom, none the wiser for the substitution, still had the desired effect of boosting his confidence before the Hatching – without any unwanted side-effects!
The Hatching

When it came to the Hatching, Mariano had to wait a little while before the large greeny-grey egg Hatched to reveal the pale greeny-bronze dragonet who would choose him, naming himself Tanarth.
A friend in me
And Mariano wasn't the only lucky one. To his delight, Martom also Impressed, becoming the rider of a bright golden-bronze hatchling, Kauth.
Whatever happened to Gydeton?
Gydeton's victimisation of Mariano had serious consequences – for Gydeton. Not everyone would have tattled on him the way Mariano did, but his complaints about the other boy, together with L'stev's already thin opinion of Gydeton, had the desired effect. Directly before the Hatching, L'stev ejected Gydeton from the candidate pool!
After the Hatching

"Tanarth" by Chris S. Baily
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Mariano 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 Tanarth's first meal. That was Mariano's first opportunity to speak to Martom, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Tanarth and Kauth. Martom also told Mariano that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – M'tom.
It wasn't long before Tanarth's personality started to become evident. The pale bronze dragonet – the largest of the clutch, and the image of his father Muzzanth – proved to be a particular intelligent and perceptive character even minutes out of the egg.
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 brother
Another friend Mariano made along the way – a young Holdbred candidate, Nichen, whom Mariano had encountered in a hopelessly dishevelled state directly before the Hatching – hailed Mariano at the barracks – crediting him with his successful Impression of a moon-blue dragonet, Yooth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Mariano and M'tom 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. Mariano was proud to introduce Tanarth to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Tanarth, Mariano gave the Weyrleader his own new name: M'rano, rider of bronze Tanarth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Tanarth's and Kauth's newborn itchiness, M'rano and M'tom 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'rano and M'tom soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk M'rano had helped during the day greeted him with warm congratulations as he hunted through the throng – but, at last, he found his family.
R'yeno and Evie couldn't have been happier to greet their son as a bronze rider for the first time – though R'yeno couldn't resist making a crack about the new competition for his own bronze. And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to M'rano, R'yeno further embarassed his son by insinuating that Gryth would be stiffer competition to Muzzanth in Shimpath's next flight.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for M'rano, 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'rano 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'rano's background with him – including much of what he had got up to on the morning of the Hatching – for good and ill. She offered M'rano some advice about paying attention to his new classmates and surroundings, lest he fall foul of the Weyrlingmaster's penchant for snap quizzes, and made some observations on Tanarth.
A close encounter
On his way back to the barracks , M'rano 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'rano 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'rano decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Tanarth – billeted between M'tom's Kauth and a slender green dragonet – M'rano 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 bronze beside him – M'rano 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 Mariano's Impression here. M'rano and Tanarth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
M'rano'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
Tanarth and I complement each other!

Achievement Unlocked:
SUGAR AND SPICE
I've been a very nice person (so far)!

Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Tanarth and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Tanarth and I agreed on something quite important!