Sláinesquirrel and green Zapianth
The Road So Far!
It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for SlaineSquirrel – a young woman of 16 Turns, dreaming of becoming a green rider.
SlaineSquirrel was born to unusual privilege – a granddaughter of Winstone, Lord of mighty Jessaf Hold. SlaineSquirrel 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, SlaineSquirrel 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 SlaineSquirrel becoming a candidate – while conceding that he could spare a younger grandchild. And with Winstone's admonition that she should remember her place as his granddaughter and not make a scene ringing in her ears, SlaineSquirrel left to begin her candidacy at Madellon Weyr.
As a candidate, SlaineSquirrel 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 SlaineSquirrel! Backed up by her crony Cedranne, Auciet became the thorn in SlaineSquirrel's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.
Hatching Day
The dragons' hum woke Erilde and SlaineSquirrel 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 SlaineSquirrel 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, SlaineSquirrel 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 SlaineSquirrel to find it. The quest took SlaineSquirrel all over Madellon, from kitchens to lake to infirmary – but in the end she succeeded in reuniting the Weyrwoman's jewellery set, to general acclaim.
Disrespecting her elders
In the Weyr's kitchen gardens, SlaineSquirrel encountered R'hren, a former Weyrleader of Madellon, now peacefully retired to potter among his beloved plants. But they got off to a poor start – SlaineSquirrel had unwittingly taken a redfruit without permission – and furthermore lied about it when challenged by the old bronze rider. The scrumping alone might not have turned R'hren against SlaineSquirrel – but the literal red-handed lie did!
Southern comfort
SlaineSquirrel 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 SlaineSquirrel 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 SlaineSquirrel some intelligence on the Southern seven, his advice was somewhat garbled! Nonetheless, SlaineSquirrel 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, SlaineSquirrel 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 SlaineSquirrel to follow, and the drinks order went rather wrong!
A rising problem
SlaineSquirrel 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. SlaineSquirrel'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 SlaineSquirrel with the opportunity to show off her work ethic before the Hatching. A round of chores duly pleased Crauva.
Eggs and baskets
A visit to the Archives led to a meeting with Tarshe, Madellon's Weyrwoman Second. When SlaineSquirrel 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 – SlaineSquirrel did!
A shining example
Coming upon Santinoth – Madellon's biggest bronze – being bathed in the lake, SlaineSquirrel was quick to offer assistance to his rider, T'rello. Perhaps SlaineSquirrel was never going to Impress a bronze – but it couldn't hurt to have some hands-on experience!
Friend request
Seeking knowledge of Erilde's parentage, SlaineSquirrel visited the Weyr's Archives and sought advice from Weyrwoman Tarshe, the Weyrwoman Second. While Tarshe could find no evidence that Erilde's father had been a dragonrider, she suggested SlaineSquirrel might construct a story about a long-dead rider. SlaineSquirrel delved into Madellon's records and unearthed a brown rider, B'get, deceased some Turns ago, but of the right age to have fathered her friend. Bringing this plausible white lie to Erilde may have been a tad devious – but it had the desired effect on her belief that she could, in fact, possess the ability to Impress a dragon!
Hair today
Mindful of the Weyrlingmaster's orders to be smart for the Hatching, SlaineSquirrel visited Madellon's resident barber – green rider Z'fell – for a trim. Very conscious of her dignity, SlaineSquirrel ensured she came away with a cut she actually liked.
The Hatching
When it came to the Hatching, SlaineSquirrel didn't have to wait at all for her date with destiny. The white-swirled grey-beige egg that Hatched first produced a dark emerald-green hatchling who spared no time in choosing SlaineSquirrel, naming herself Zapianth.
A friend in me
And SlaineSquirrel wasn't the only lucky one. To her delight, Erilde also Impressed, becoming the rider of an inquisitive teal-green hatchling, Shaldeth.
Whatever happened to Auciet?
Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Auciet Impressed an unusually aggressive grass-green hatchling, making them SlaineSquirrel and Zapianth's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Cedranne didn't Impress!)
After the Hatching
"Zapianth" by Chris S. Baily
The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate SlaineSquirrel on her Impression, but it was Garlan, delighted that her risky choice of Winstone's granddaughter had Impressed, who stepped in to help with the immediate matter of Zapianth's first meal. That was SlaineSquirrel's first opportunity to speak to Erilde, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Zapianth and Shaldeth.
It wasn't long before Zapianth's personality started to become evident. The emerald-green dragonet – the largest of her colour – immediately showed her devious and irreverent character, looking for mischief before she'd even left the Sands.
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 SlaineSquirrel made along the way – a young Weyrbred candidate, Brithie, whom SlaineSquirrel had encountered in a sudden crisis of confidence directly before the Hatching – hailed SlaineSquirrel at the barracks – crediting her with her successful Impression of a tiny bottle-green dragonet, Epatanth!
Meeting the Weyrleader
As SlaineSquirrel and Erilde 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. SlaineSquirrel was proud to introduce Zapianth to the Weyrleader – and to give him her full new name: Sláinesquirrel, rider of green Zapianth!
Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Zapianth's and Shaldeth's newborn itchiness, Sláinesquirrel and Erilde 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
Sláinesquirrel and Erilde soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk Sláinesquirrel had helped during the day greeted her with warm congratulations as she hunted through the throng – but, at last, she found her family.
Lord Winstone, Sláinesquirrel's grandfather, was faint with his praise for his granddaughter's Impression of Zapianth – suggesting that she should have waited for a chance at a queen. The Weyrleaders were swift to insist that Impressing any dragon was a great achievement!
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Sláinesquirrel, 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, Sláinesquirrel 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 Sláinesquirrel's background with her – including much of what she had got up to on the morning of the Hatching – for good and ill. She cleared up an anomaly with her new name, too. She offered Sláinesquirrel 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 Zapianth.
A close encounter
On her way back to the barracks , Sláinesquirrel 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 Sláinesquirrel 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, Sláinesquirrel decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger – though she did give L'stev her new name.
Returning at last to Zapianth – billeted between Erilde's Shaldeth and a pale green dragonet – Sláinesquirrel 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 – Sláinesquirrel 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 Sláinesquirrel's new name?
Find out more about SlaineSquirrel's Impression here. Sláinesquirrel and Zapianth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!
Sláinesquirrel'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:
DEED POLL
I changed my name by choice!
Achievement Unlocked:
THE YIN TO YOUR YANG
Zapianth and I complement each other!
Achievement Unlocked:
SUGAR AND SPICE
I've been a very nice person (so far)!
Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY
Zapianth and I agreed on something very important!
Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE
Zapianth and I agreed on something quite important!