F'lvus and blue Rhipoth

The Road So Far!

It all began at Madellon Weyr for Fulvus – a young man of 16 Turns, dreaming of becoming a blue rider.

Fulvus was born the son of Wingleader R'yeno and green rider Evie of 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, Fulvus wrestled with the fear that he wouldn't live up to his rider parents' expectations a second time.

As a candidate, Fulvus 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 Fulvus! Backed up by his crony Kestor, Rielat became the thorn in Fulvus's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.

Hatching Day

The dragons' hum woke Soburn and Fulvus 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 Fulvus 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, Fulvus 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 Fulvus to find it. Despite Fulvus's best efforts, though, he didn't manage to complete and return the jewellery set before the Hatching.

Weyrbrat by name...

A run-in with a Weyrbrat – Terzon, whom Rielat had paid to cause Fulvus trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, Fulvus 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, Fulvus offered his assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted.

Friend request

Conscious of Soburn's bashfulness, Fulvus 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 Fulvus that he wasn't interested in Soburn – or any other men, for that matter. But Fulvus'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

But when it came to the Hatching, Fulvus had a less than ordinary experience. While bathing in the lake, Fulvus was swamped by a brown dragon's careless landing – and almost drowned. He survived – only to be invalided out of the Hatching and confined to the infirmary. But an earlier conversation with S'rius, gave Fulvus the notion that he might still be able to Impress – if he could just reach the Sands in time. He staggered from his sickbed, across the Weyr, and onto the Sands – just in time to Impress the very last dragonet, a blue who named himself Rhipoth.

Whatever happened to Rielat?

Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Rielat Impressed an impressively proportioned indigo-blue hatchling, making them Fulvus and Rhipoth's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Kestor didn't Impress!)

After the Hatching

"Rhipoth" by Chris S. Baily

The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Fulvus 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 Rhipoth's first meal. That was Fulvus's first opportunity to speak to Soburn, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Rhipoth and Aeranth. Soburn also told Fulvus that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – S'burn.

It wasn't long before Rhipoth's personality started to become evident. The big sky-blue dragonet demonstrated an enormous desire to please, making him an especially endearing 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.

Meeting the Weyrleader

As Fulvus 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. Fulvus was proud to introduce Rhipoth to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Rhipoth, Fulvus gave the Weyrleader his own new name: F'lvus, rider of blue Rhipoth!

Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Rhipoth's and Aeranth's newborn itchiness, F'lvus 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

F'lvus and S'burn soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk F'lvus had helped during the day greeted him with warm congratulations as he hunted through the throng – but, at last, he found his family.

R'yeno and Evie couldn't have been happier to greet their son as a blue rider for the first time . And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to F'lvus and Rhipoth, R'yeno was delighted to embarrass his son by insinuating that Gryth would be stiffer competition to Muzzanth in Shimpath's next flight.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for F'lvus, 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, F'lvus 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 F'lvus'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 F'lvus 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 Rhipoth.

A close encounter

On his way back to the barracks (by way of the infirmary, as ordered by Tarshe), F'lvus 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 F'lvus 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, F'lvus decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger – though he did give L'stev his new name.

Returning at last to Rhipoth – billeted between S'burn's Aeranth and a mucky-looking brown dragonet – F'lvus 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 – F'lvus 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 F'lvus's new name?

Find out more about Fulvus's Impression here. F'lvus and Rhipoth's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!

F'lvus'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:
BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Rhipoth and I make a very strong match!

Achievement Unlocked:
SNAKES AND SNAILS

I haven't been very nice!

Achievement Unlocked:
PLEASE STATE THE NATURE OF THE MEDICAL EMERGENCY

I returned to the infirmary!

Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY

Rhipoth and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE

Rhipoth and I agreed on something quite important!