S'ri and blue Surianth

The Road So Far!

It all began at Madellon Weyr for Sabri – a young girl of 15 Turns, dreaming of becoming a blue rider.

Sabri was born the daughter of Wingleader R'yeno and green rider Evie of 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, Sabri looked forward to the Hatching with both excitement and trepidation – half convinced that she would be meeting her own dragon at last; half terrified of failing to meet the standards expected of a Wingleader's daughter!

As a candidate, Sabri 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 Sabri! Backed up by her crony Berrin, Thippia became the thorn in Sabri's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.

Hatching Day

The dragons' hum woke Jopha and Sabri 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 Sabri left, Jopha – whose Impression robe was sadly overlarge for her petite frame – recruited Sabri'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, Sabri 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 Sabri to find it. Despite Sabri'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, Sabri encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Sabri to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Sabri 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 Sabri 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.

A blue lady

Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Sabri 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 Sabri didn't want to pass up.

The Hatching

When it came to the Hatching, Sabri had to wait for every other dragonet to Hatch and choose a rider before the green-clouded blue egg Hatched to reveal the dark steel-blue hatchling who would choose her, naming himself Surianth.

A friend bereft

But to Sabri'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?

Thippia's victimisation of Sabri had serious consequences – for Thippia. Not everyone would have tattled on her the way Sabri did, but her complaints about the other girl, together with L'stev's already thin opinion of Thippia, had the desired effect. Directly before the Hatching, L'stev ejected Thippia from the candidate pool!

After the Hatching

"Surianth" by Emily Holland

The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Sabri 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 Surianth's first meal. That was the first moment Sabri 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 Surianth's personality started to become evident. The dark blue dragonet, among the smallest of his colour, turned out to be of an endearingly shy and modest character, rather requiring of encouragement.

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 Sabri made along the way – a young Weyrbred candidate, Brithie, whom Sabri had encountered in a sudden crisis of confidence directly before the Hatching – hailed Sabri at the barracks – crediting her with her successful Impression of a tiny bottle-green dragonet, Epatanth!

Meeting the Weyrleader

As Sabri 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 Sabri's unusual Impression of a blue. T'gat further enquired if Sabri would like to elide her name, as T'gala had done, or not. Sabri took up the opportunity to rename herself, and after a brief conference with Surianth, Sabri gave the Weyrleader her new name – S'ri, rider of blue Surianth!

Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Surianth's and Chanth's newborn itchiness, S'ri 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

S'ri and Arina soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk S'ri had helped during the day greeted her with warm congratulations as she hunted through the throng – but, at last, she found her family.

R'yeno and Evie couldn't have been happier to greet their daughter as a blue rider for the first time . And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to S'ri and Surianth, R'yeno was delighted to embarrass his daughter 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 S'ri, 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, S'ri 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 S'ri'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 S'ri 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 Surianth.

A close encounter

On her way back to the barracks , S'ri 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 S'ri 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, S'ri decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.

Returning at last to Surianth – billeted between Arina's Chanth and a pretty blue-green dragonet – S'ri 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 – S'ri 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?

S'ri and Surianth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!

S'ri'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

Surianth and I complement each other!

Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY

Surianth and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE

Surianth and I agreed on something quite important!