M'kal and blue Archidith

The Road So Far!

It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Hawke – a young man of 18 Turns, dreaming of becoming a blue rider.

Hawke was born to unusual privilege – a grandson of Winstone, Lord of mighty Jessaf Hold. Hawke 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, Hawke 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 Hawke becoming a candidate – displeased that such a opportunity would ruin his plans for Hawke's betrothal to a niece of Lord Orfen's. But he grudgingly accepted that, as Hawke 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, Hawke left to begin his candidacy at Madellon Weyr.

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

Hatching Day

The dragons' hum woke Soburn and Hawke 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 Hawke 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

Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Hawke was flagged down by M'shen – a green rider with only one arm. But whatever he wanted, Hawke never discovered, after making a mean-spirited joke about M'shen's missing hand that – not unreasonably – made the green rider take against him.

Eggs and baskets

A visit to the Archives led to a meeting with Tarshe, Madellon's Weyrwoman Second. When Hawke 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. But with one thing and another, Hawke didn't bring it back – earning the Weyrwoman Second's ire!

Weyrbrat by name...

A run-in with a Weyrbrat – Terzon, whom Rielat had paid to cause Hawke trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, Hawke gave the kid a shove – in front of a number of witnesses – doing nothing for his reputation!

Backhander backfired

Seeking an easy way to slip into the Hatching Ground for an early peek, Hawke encountered H'nar – Wingleader of the Betweenless Wing – on guard at the entrance. It may have seemed like a good idea to offer him a few marks for safe passage – but Hawke hadn't reckoned on H'nar's incorruptible nature. H'nar rejected the money with outrage, and word of Hawke's attempt to bribe him made its way back to the Weyrlingmaster!

A blue lady

Coming across T'gala, Pern's only female blue rider, bathing her Heppeth in the lake, Hawke offered his assistance – which T'gala gladly accepted.

Friend request

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

Wherry bad behaviour

Hawke's assorted instances of bad behaviour finally caught up with him. L'stev collared him in the Bowl and gave him an ultimatum – buck up his ideas, or sit the Hatching out. Hawke chose the former, and the Weyrlingmaster sent him to do penance in the wherry hatchery – though Hawke remained on probation, with one more slip promising to rule him out of standing!

A slithery customer

Early in the day, Hawke 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 a stroke of ill luck, Hawke strayed into tunnel snake territory! A huge, aggressive, and potently venomous female tunnel-snake guarded the exit to the Hatching ground. Hawke was bitten – badly – and immediately felt the effects of the snake's paralysing venom. But ultimately he evaded the snake, dodging past it and slipping out onto the Hatching Sands.

But the snake's venom had done its work, and Hawke collapsed trying to reach the eggs, waking up in the infirmary.

The Hatching

But when it came to the Hatching, Hawke had a less than ordinary experience. While trying to sneak into the Hatching Ground for a surreptitious look at the eggs, he disturbed an immense, highly venomous tunnel-snake. He survived the encounter, but not without a cost – he was bitten. Seeking immediate aid from the Weyr Healer, Isnan, saved his life – but got him invalided out of the Hatching and confined to the infirmary. But an earlier conversation with a veteran blue rider, S'rius, gave Hawke 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 Archidith.

Whatever happened to Rielat?

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

After the Hatching

"Archidith" by Chris S. Baily

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

It wasn't long before Archidith'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 Hawke 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. Hawke was proud to introduce Archidith to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Archidith, Hawke gave the Weyrleader his own new name: M'kal, rider of blue Archidith!

Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Archidith's and Aeranth's newborn itchiness, M'kal 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

M'kal and S'burn soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk M'kal 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, M'kal'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 M'kal's behalf, but the damage to his relationship with his grandfather was done.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for M'kal, 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, M'kal 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 M'kal'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 M'kal 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 Archidith.

A close encounter

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

Returning at last to Archidith – billeted between S'burn's Aeranth and a bright bronze dragonet – M'kal 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 – M'kal 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 M'kal's new name?

M'kal and Archidith's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!

M'kal'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

Archidith and I complement each other!

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

Archidith and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE

Archidith and I agreed on something quite important!