Caleen and green Nidorth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Caleen – a young woman of 18 Turns, dreaming of becoming a green rider.
Caleen was born the daughter of a modest cotholder at Jessaf Hold, working alongside her widowed father to work their allotted land, and help bring up her young twin siblings, Albon and Gettie. And in early 102, when a green rider, N'jol, and his Kistrith came to Jessaf in search of candidates for Madellon Weyr's hardening clutch, Caleen didn't even present herself as a hopeful. Yet it was Caleen that Kistrith singled out among all those young people. She almost didn't accept Search – anxious not to abandon her father. But he insisted, revealing that his late wife, Caleen's mother, had always dreamed of being a dragonrider – and gifting Caleen with her blue feather pendant as a lucky charm.
As a candidate, Caleen 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 Caleen! Backed up by her crony Cedranne, Auciet became the thorn in Caleen's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Erilde and Caleen 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 Caleen 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, Caleen 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 Caleen to find it. Despite Caleen'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, Caleen encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Caleen to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Caleen duly located the components of R'hren's salve, winning the old bronze rider's approval in the process.
A Masterful order
In the dining hall, Caleen 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!
Sadly, though, Fr'ton's garbled instructions proved too convoluted for even Caleen to follow, and the drinks order went rather wrong!
Kitchen diplomacy
Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Caleen with the opportunity to show off her 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 Caleen 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 Caleen expressed an interested in looking up some Weyr records, Tarshe offered her the loan of a glowbasket – on the proviso that she return it afterwards. Which – mindful of not offending such an important personage of the Weyr – Caleen did!
Weyrbrat by name...
A run-in with a Weyrbrat – Terzon, whom Auciet had paid to cause Caleen trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, Caleen gave the kid a shove – in front of a number of witnesses – doing nothing for her reputation!
A blue lady
Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Caleen 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 Caleen didn't want to pass up.
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Caleen had an excruciatingly long wait before the grey-splashed beige egg Hatched to reveal the dark teal-green dragonet who would choose her, naming herself Nidorth.
A friend bereft
But to Caleen's dismay, Erilde 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 Auciet?
Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Auciet Impressed an unusually aggressive grass-green hatchling, making them Caleen and Nidorth's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Cedranne didn't Impress!)
After the Hatching
"Nidorth" by Chris S. Baily
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Caleen on her Impression, but it was N'jol, delighted that his most humble candidate had Impressed, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Nidorth's first meal. That was the first moment Caleen had truly grasped that Erilde wasn't going to be a weyrling alongside her – a truth that hit hard. In Erilde's absence, Arina, who'd Impressed a cloudy-green dragonet, Chanth – was a welcome friendly face.
It wasn't long before Nidorth's personality started to become evident. The teal-green dragonet, inquisitive about everything from the instant of her hatching, also proved to be an especially sweet-natured and kind character.
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 Caleen made along the way – a young Weyrbred candidate, Brithie, whom Caleen had encountered in a sudden crisis of confidence directly before the Hatching – hailed Caleen at the barracks – crediting her with her successful Impression of a tiny bottle-green dragonet, Epatanth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Caleen 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 to ask after their names. Caleen was proud to introduce Nidorth to the Weyrleader – and to give him her full new name: Caleen, rider of green Nidorth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Nidorth's and Chanth's newborn itchiness, Caleen 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
Caleen and Arina soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Caleen had helped during the day greeted her with warm congratulations as she hunted through the throng – but, at last, she found her family.
Caleen's father almost couldn't believe his daughter's good fortune, completely thrilled to be the father of a dragonrider. And he was even more starstruck when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to Caleen and Nidorth.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Caleen, 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, Caleen 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 Caleen'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 Caleen 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 Nidorth.
A close encounter
On her way back to the barracks , Caleen 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 Caleen 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, Caleen decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Nidorth – billeted between Arina's Chanth and a very large green dragonet – Caleen 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 – Caleen 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 Caleen's Impression here. Caleen and Nidorth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
Caleen'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:
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Nidorth and I make a very strong match!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Nidorth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Nidorth and I agreed on something quite important!
Achievement Unlocked:
ENEMY MINE
Nidorth and Naisseth took against each other!