K'dar and brown Kirkiath
The Road So Far!
It all began at Madellon Weyr for Kerredar – a young man of 18 Turns, dreaming of becoming a brown rider.
Kerredar was born the son of Nelya, a Headwoman's Second at 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. Having been left standing at a Hatching once before, Kerredar struggled with both his modest upbringing as a Weyr child with no rider blood, and his fear that he wasn't dragonrider material.
As a candidate, Kerredar was assigned a bunkmate – Soburn, an anxious Weyrbred youth with one failed Hatching already haunting him, 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 – Rielat, a self-important apprentice Weaver – who took a firm disliking to Kerredar! Backed up by his crony Kestor, Rielat became the thorn in Kerredar's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Soburn and Kerredar on 102.03.17. Following a brief run-in with Rielat, 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 Kerredar left, Soburn asked him to find out if H'nar, the young Wingleader of the Betweenless Wing, might currently be seeing someone – or not.
The one-armed green rider and the thieving queen
Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Kerredar 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 Kerredar to find it. The quest took Kerredar all over Madellon, from kitchens to lake to infirmary – but in the end he succeeded in reuniting the Weyrwoman's jewellery set, to general acclaim.
Respecting his elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, Kerredar encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Kerredar to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Kerredar 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, Kerredar offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Kerredar encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Kerredar – especially after he solved all three of her fiendish riddles!
Southern comfort
Kerredar 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 Kerredar 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 Kerredar some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Kerredar unravelled Archidath's confusing suggestions and got the right packages to the right dragons – without being growled at!
A rising problem
Kerredar 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. Kerredar'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 Kerredar with the opportunity to show off his 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 Kerredar to find for his warming salve.
Eggs and baskets
A visit to the Archives led to a meeting with Tarshe, Madellon's Weyrwoman Second. When Kerredar expressed an interested in looking up some Weyr records, Tarshe offered him the loan of a glowbasket – on the proviso that he return it afterwards. Which – mindful of not offending such an important personage of the Weyr – Kerredar did!
Weyrbrat by name...
A run-in with a Weyrbrat – Terzon, whom Rielat had paid to cause Kerredar trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, Kerredar gave the kid a shove – in front of a number of witnesses – doing nothing for his reputation!
A blue lady
Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Kerredar offered his assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted.
Friend request
Conscious of Soburn's bashfulness, Kerredar approached the object of his affections – H'nar, Wingleader of the Betweenless Wing – with some circumspection. Still, when questioned, H'nar insisted he had to know who was making enquiries of him. And when he learned the identity of his admirer, he told Kerredar that he wasn't interested in Soburn – or any other men, for that matter. But Kerredar's agile pivot in questioning revealed that a close friend of H'nar's – blue rider M'rany – might be a viable alternative. Thus encouraged, Soburn began to think more positively of life as a dragonrider – even if H'nar would end up being his Wingleader!
Hair today
Mindful of the Weyrlingmaster's orders to be smart for the Hatching, Kerredar visited Madellon's resident barber – green rider Z'fell – for a trim. Very conscious of his dignity, Kerredar ensured he came away with a cut he actually liked.
A breath of foul air
Early in the day, Kerredar found out about a secret way into the Hatching Ground via storeroom that might allow him 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, he crawled into a confusing maze of passages. The route he chose turned out to be thick with choking toxic fumes from Madellon's volcanic foundation, and Kerredar soon found himself struggling for breath.
Undeterred, Kerredar pushed through the discomfort, and emerged shortly onto the Hatching Sands. But he wasn't quiet enough. Shimpath, dozing only very lightly, awoke, and she and Muzzanth chased Kerredar from the Sands!
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Kerredar didn't have to wait too long for his date with destiny. The unassuming grey-green egg Hatched out a deep russet-brown dragonet who told Kerredar his name was Kirkiath.
A friend in me
And Kerredar wasn't the only lucky one. To his delight, Soburn also Impressed, becoming the rider of a slender olive-green hatchling, Aeranth.
Whatever happened to Rielat?
Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Rielat Impressed an impressively proportioned indigo-blue hatchling, making them Kerredar and Kirkiath's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Kestor didn't Impress!)
After the Hatching
"Kirkiath" by Emily Holland
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Kerredar 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 Kirkiath's first meal. That was Kerredar's first opportunity to speak to Soburn, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Kirkiath and Aeranth. Soburn also told Kerredar that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – S'burn.
It wasn't long before Kirkiath's personality started to become evident. The little russet-brown dragonet proved unusually quiet, speaking only seldom, and showing a strong preference for his own company – and his rider's.
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 Kerredar made along the way – a young Holdbred candidate, Nichen, whom Kerredar had encountered in a hopelessly dishevelled state directly before the Hatching – hailed Kerredar at the barracks – crediting him with his successful Impression of a moon-blue dragonet, Yooth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Kerredar and S'burn 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. Kerredar was proud to introduce Kirkiath to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Kirkiath, Kerredar gave the Weyrleader his own new name: K'dar, rider of brown Kirkiath!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Kirkiath's and Aeranth's newborn itchiness, K'dar and S'burn 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
K'dar and S'burn soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk K'dar had helped during the day greeted him with warm congratulations as he hunted through the throng – but, at last, he found his family.
K'dar's mother, Nelya, was thrilled by her son's Impression – though perhaps not quite as ecstatic as K'dar's younger siblings, Ashi and Halante. As the first dragonrider in the family, K'dar was keenly aware of what it meant to his brother and sister. And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to K'dar and Kirkiath, Valonna was particularly delighted for Nelya – one of her most trusted Headwoman Seconds.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for K'dar, 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, K'dar 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 K'dar'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 K'dar some advice about paying attention to his new classmates and surroundings, lest he fall foul of the Weyrlingmaster's penchant for snap quizzes, advised him to report to Master Isnan before returning to the barracks to get his injuries checked again, and made some observations on Kirkiath.
A close encounter
On his way back to the barracks (by way of the infirmary, as ordered by Tarshe), K'dar 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 K'dar 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, K'dar decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Kirkiath – billeted between S'burn's Aeranth and a mucky-looking brown dragonet – K'dar 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 brown beside him – K'dar 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 Kerredar's Impression here. K'dar and Kirkiath's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
K'dar'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
Kirkiath and I complement each other!
Achievement Unlocked:
THE PATH LESS TRAVELLED
I pre-Impressed Kirkiath by touching his egg before the Hatching!
Achievement Unlocked:
SUGAR AND SPICE
I've been a very nice person (so far)!
Achievement Unlocked:
PLEASE STATE THE NATURE OF THE MEDICAL EMERGENCY
I returned to the infirmary!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Kirkiath and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Kirkiath and I agreed on something quite important!
Achievement Unlocked:
BFFs
Kirkiath and Destrath made friends!