L'ance and blue Ericath
The Road So Far!
It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Lancelot – a young man of 18 Turns, dreaming of becoming a blue rider.
Lancelot was born to unusual privilege – a grandson of Winstone, Lord of mighty Jessaf Hold. Lancelot didn't scramble for the attention of the young Search rider, Garlan, who came to Jessaf in early 102 seeking candidates for Madellon Weyr's latest clutch. But as a scion of the Hold, Lancelot was among the party welcoming the green rider to Jessaf – and, in due course, became the focus of her dragon Hushith's attention. Lord Winstone wasn't enthusiastic about Lancelot becoming a candidate – displeased that such a opportunity would ruin his plans for Lancelot's betrothal to a niece of Lord Orfen's. But he grudgingly accepted that, as Lancelot had his majority, he had the right to accept Search. And with Winstone's admonition that he Impress a bronze – or a brown at the very least – ringing in his ears, Lancelot left to begin his candidacy at Madellon Weyr.
As a candidate, Lancelot 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 Lancelot! Backed up by his crony Kestor, Rielat became the thorn in Lancelot's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Soburn and Lancelot 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 Lancelot 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, Lancelot 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 Lancelot to find it. Despite Lancelot'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, Lancelot encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Lancelot to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Lancelot 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, Lancelot offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Lancelot encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Lancelot – especially after he solved all three of her fiendish riddles!
Kitchen diplomacy
Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided Lancelot 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 Lancelot to find for his warming salve.
Weyrbrat by name...
A run-in with a Weyrbrat – Terzon, whom Rielat had paid to cause Lancelot trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, Lancelot 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, Lancelot offered his assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted.
Friend request
Conscious of Soburn's bashfulness, Lancelot 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 Lancelot that he wasn't interested in Soburn – or any other men, for that matter. But Lancelot'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!
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Lancelot had to wait a little while before the pearl-green egg Hatched to reveal the deep midnight-blue dragonet who would choose him, naming himself Ericath.
A friend in me
And Lancelot 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 Lancelot and Ericath's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Kestor didn't Impress!)
After the Hatching
"Ericath" by Chris S. Baily
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Lancelot on his Impression, but it was Garlan, delighted that her risky choice of Winstone's grandson had Impressed, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Ericath's first meal. That was Lancelot's first opportunity to speak to Soburn, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Ericath and Aeranth. Soburn also told Lancelot that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – S'burn.
It wasn't long before Ericath's personality started to become evident. The big midnight-blue dragonet showed an immediate desire to show off and preen – not surprising given his handsome colour and conformation!
With both dragonets full to bursting with fresh meat, the newly minted dragonpairs left the Hatching sands for their new home: the weyrling barracks.
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Lancelot 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. Lancelot was proud to introduce Ericath to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Ericath, Lancelot gave the Weyrleader his own new name: L'ance, rider of blue Ericath!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Ericath's and Aeranth's newborn itchiness, L'ance 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
L'ance and S'burn soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk L'ance had helped during the day greeted him with warm congratulations as he hunted through the throng – but, at last, he found his family.
Lord Winstone, L'ance's grandfather, was highly displeased that his grandson had only managed to Impress a blue – against his strict warning that nothing less than a brown would suffice. The Weyrleaders were quick to step in on L'ance's behalf, but the damage to his relationship with his grandfather was done.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for L'ance, 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, L'ance 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 L'ance's background with him – including much of what he had got up to on the morning of the Hatching – for good and ill. She cleared up an anomaly with his new name, too. She offered L'ance 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 Ericath.
A close encounter
On his way back to the barracks , L'ance 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 L'ance 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, L'ance decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger – though he did give L'stev his new name.
Returning at last to Ericath – billeted between S'burn's Aeranth and a bright bronze dragonet – L'ance 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 blue beside him – L'ance was struck with a deep sense of foreboding. Who was the mysterious dragonrider in the hooded cloak? What was the significance of the strange wooden box? And how had the stranger known L'ance's new name?
Find out more about Lancelot's Impression here. L'ance and Ericath's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
L'ance'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:
APOSTROPHE NOW
I love the smell of elision in the morning!
Achievement Unlocked:
THE YIN TO YOUR YANG
Ericath and I complement each other!
Achievement Unlocked:
SUGAR AND SPICE
I've been a very nice person (so far)!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Ericath and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Ericath and I agreed on something quite important!