Ch'lak and brown Mosawath
The Road So Far!
It all began at the Healer Hall at Blue Shale Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Challak – a young man of 17 Turns, dreaming of becoming a dragonrider.
Challak was born the son of two Master Healers at the Southern Healerhall, Blue Shale Hold. He was treating minor injuries even before he was formally apprenticed to the Craft. But frustration with the drudgery of the long apprenticeship made Challak an undistinguished crafter, lacking the focus or passion demanded by the Healerhall. And then, in early 102, brown rider P'lian came to the Healer Hall complaining of frostbitten fingers. Challak was assigned to treat the minor condition. But P'lian's Sparth – despite his colour, a budding Search-sensitive dragon – insisted that Challak was a likely sort for candidacy. And a sevenday later, Challak arrived at Madellon Weyr, joining the candidate pool for senior queen Shimpath's first clutch by her new mate Muzzanth.
As a candidate, Challak 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 Challak! Backed up by his crony Kestor, Rielat became the thorn in Challak's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Soburn and Challak 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 Challak 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, Challak 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 Challak to find it. Despite Challak'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, Challak encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Challak to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Challak duly located the components of R'hren's salve, winning the old bronze rider's approval in the process.
Southern comfort
Challak 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 Challak 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 Challak some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Challak 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, Challak met his 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, Challak 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.
A rising problem
Challak 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. Challak's intervention successfully got rid of G'tron, whose Imdoth was very sweet indeed on Bristath, from the mating flight and reconciled the two green riders. Even if Challak did annoy Soleigh, who wasn't impressed with him for prolonging Maris' binge by bringing her more wine!
Hot stuff
Madellon's kitchen was the source of the hotfruit R'hren had sent Challak 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.
Eggs and baskets
A visit to the Archives led to a meeting with Tarshe, Madellon's Weyrwoman Second. When Challak 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 – Challak did!
A shining example
Coming upon Santinoth – Madellon's biggest bronze – being bathed in the lake, Challak 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
Conscious of Soburn's bashfulness, Challak 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 Challak that he wasn't interested in Soburn – or any other men, for that matter. But Challak'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!
A breath of foul air
Early in the day, Challak 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 Challak soon found himself struggling for breath. And then he came across Rielat – having apparently followed Challak into the passageways – lying unconscious and insensible in the fume-filled tunnel.
Setting aside his petty rivalry with Rielat in the face of a genuine emergency, Challak set about making Rielat stable – glad for the Healer kit he always carried with him. And on crawling out onto the Hatching Ground, half suffocated himself, he raised the alarm with the Weyrleader before being overcome by the ordeal, and fainting there on the sand.
Challak woke in the infirmary, and while the Weyrleader and Weyrlingmaster questioned him sternly about his adventures, the fact that Challak had certainly saved Rielat's life counted in his favour, despite having disobeyed the order not to go meddling in the tunnels.
The Hatching

When it came to the Hatching, Challak had to wait for every other dragonet to Hatch and choose a rider before the grey-mottled tan egg Hatched to reveal the cool dusty-brown hatchling who would choose him, naming himself Mosawath.
A friend in me
And Challak wasn't the only lucky one. To his delight, Soburn also Impressed, becoming the rider of a slender olive-green hatchling, Aeranth.
After the Hatching

"Mosawath" by Chris S. Baily
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Challak on his Impression, but it was P'lian, ecstatic that Sparth's very first Search had yielded an Impression, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Mosawath's first meal. That was Challak's first opportunity to speak to Soburn, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Mosawath and Aeranth. Soburn also told Challak that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – S'burn.
It wasn't long before Mosawath's personality started to become evident. The dusty-brown dragonet, while neither the largest nor the most handsome of his colour, proved to make up for both with his calm and helpful character immediately endearing him to all around.
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 Challak made along the way – a young Holdbred candidate, Nichen, whom Challak had encountered in a hopelessly dishevelled state directly before the Hatching – hailed Challak at the barracks – crediting him with his successful Impression of a moon-blue dragonet, Yooth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Challak 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. Challak was proud to introduce Mosawath to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Mosawath, Challak gave the Weyrleader his own new name: Ch'lak, rider of brown Mosawath!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Mosawath's and Aeranth's newborn itchiness, Ch'lak 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
Ch'lak and S'burn soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Ch'lak had helped during the day greeted him with warm congratulations as he hunted through the throng – but, at last, he found his family.
Ch'lak's father, a loud man in normal times, was positively bellowing with pleasure at Ch'lak's Impression – albeit with a certain disappointment that his son wouldn't be continuing in the Healercraft. And he embarrassed both his son, and his long-suffering wife, still further when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to Ch'lak and Mosawath – remarking, very loudly, on the parentage of Valonna's soon-to-arrive first baby!
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Ch'lak, 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, Ch'lak 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 Ch'lak'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 Ch'lak 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 Mosawath.
A close encounter
On his way back to the barracks (by way of the infirmary, as ordered by Tarshe), Ch'lak 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 Ch'lak 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, Ch'lak decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Mosawath – billeted between S'burn's Aeranth and a bright bronze dragonet – Ch'lak 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 – Ch'lak 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 Challak's Impression here. Ch'lak and Mosawath's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
Ch'lak'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
Mosawath and I complement each other!

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
Mosawath and I agreed on something very important!

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