L'xen and brown Berroth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Madellon Weyr for Lubaxen – a young man of 16 Turns, dreaming of becoming a dragonrider.
Lubaxen 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, Lubaxen 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, Lubaxen 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 Lubaxen! Backed up by his crony Kestor, Rielat became the thorn in Lubaxen's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Soburn and Lubaxen 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 Lubaxen 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, Lubaxen 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 Lubaxen to find it. The quest took Lubaxen 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, Lubaxen encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. R'hren asked Lubaxen to help him track down the ingredients for a warming salve to help his elderly bronze, Staamath, with his arthritic forepaws. Lubaxen 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, Lubaxen offered it to old S'rius, who was equally appreciative of the gift. And while Kisha, the blind old green rider Lubaxen encountered in the infirmary, would have nothing to do with one of R'hren's concoctions, she too grew to approve of Lubaxen – especially after he solved all three of her fiendish riddles!
Southern comfort
Lubaxen 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 Lubaxen 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 Lubaxen some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, Lubaxen 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, Lubaxen 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, Lubaxen 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. Lubaxen even shared the largesse with Zielaph, who then introduced him to Fr'ton – who, having Impressed a bronze in spite of his less than boundless promise, gave Lubaxen a certain confidence in his own prospects!
A rising problem
Lubaxen 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. Lubaxen'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 Lubaxen 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 Lubaxen 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 Lubaxen 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 – Lubaxen did!
A blue lady
Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Lubaxen offered his assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted.
Friend request
Conscious of Soburn's bashfulness, Lubaxen 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 Lubaxen that he wasn't interested in Soburn – or any other men, for that matter. But Lubaxen'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, Lubaxen visited Madellon's resident barber – green rider Z'fell – for a trim. Very conscious of his dignity, Lubaxen ensured he came away with a cut he actually liked.
A Weyrleader's mercy
Early in the day, Lubaxen 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. By chance, he found a way onto the Hatching Ground – onto a very high ledge! Calling down for help was the only option, and a welcome – if embarrassing – lift down from Muzzanth himself returned Lubaxen safely to ground level.
Realising that honesty was the best policy, Lubaxen apologised to the Weyrleader for intruding – and was surprised to find T'gat remarkably sanguine about it, reminiscing about his own youthful journey through the passages. And a polite request granted Lubaxen the Weyrleader's permission to approach the clutch. He touched one of the eggs, marvelling at its palpable vitality. And something about the unassuming grey-green egg made him feel strangely certain that he would Impress later that day.
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, Lubaxen had to wait a little while before the unassuming grey-green egg Hatched to reveal the deep russet-brown dragonet who would choose him, naming himself Berroth.
A friend in me
And Lubaxen 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 Lubaxen and Berroth's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Kestor didn't Impress!)
After the Hatching
"Berroth" by Emily Holland
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Lubaxen 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 Berroth's first meal. That was Lubaxen's first opportunity to speak to Soburn, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Berroth and Aeranth. Soburn also told Lubaxen that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – S'burn.
It wasn't long before Berroth'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 Lubaxen made along the way – a young Holdbred candidate, Nichen, whom Lubaxen had encountered in a hopelessly dishevelled state directly before the Hatching – hailed Lubaxen at the barracks – crediting him with his successful Impression of a moon-blue dragonet, Yooth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As Lubaxen 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. Lubaxen was proud to introduce Berroth to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Berroth, Lubaxen gave the Weyrleader his own new name: L'xen, rider of brown Berroth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Berroth's and Aeranth's newborn itchiness, L'xen 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'xen and S'burn soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk L'xen had helped during the day greeted him with warm congratulations as he hunted through the throng – but, at last, he found his family.
L'xen's mother, Nelya, was thrilled by her son's Impression – though perhaps not quite as ecstatic as L'xen's younger siblings, Ashi and Halante. As the first dragonrider in the family, L'xen was keenly aware of what it meant to his brother and sister. And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to L'xen and Berroth, Valonna was particularly delighted for Nelya – one of her most trusted Headwoman Seconds.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for L'xen, 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'xen 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'xen'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 L'xen 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 Berroth.
A close encounter
On his way back to the barracks , L'xen 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'xen 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'xen decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.
Returning at last to Berroth – billeted between S'burn's Aeranth and a mucky-looking brown dragonet – L'xen 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 – L'xen 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 Lubaxen's Impression here. L'xen and Berroth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
L'xen'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
Berroth and I complement each other!
Achievement Unlocked:
THE PATH LESS TRAVELLED
I pre-Impressed Berroth by touching his egg before the Hatching!
Achievement Unlocked:
SUGAR AND SPICE
I've been a very nice person (so far)!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Berroth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Berroth and I agreed on something quite important!
Achievement Unlocked:
BFFs
Berroth and Destrath made friends!