D'ooku and bronze Elasith

The Road So Far!

It all began at Jessaf Hold, in the protectorate of Madellon Weyr, for Count Dooku – a young boy of 13 Turns, dreaming of becoming a bronze rider.

Count Dooku was born to unusual privilege – a grandson of Winstone, Lord of mighty Jessaf Hold. Count Dooku 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, Count Dooku 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 Count Dooku becoming a candidate – while conceding that he could spare a younger grandchild. And with Winstone's admonition that he Impress a bronze – or a brown at the very least – ringing in his ears, Count Dooku left to begin his candidacy at Madellon Weyr.

As a candidate, Count Dooku was assigned a bunkmate – Martom, a confident young Weyrbred lad, 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 – Gydeton, the blustering, entitled son of Lord Meturvian of Kellad – who took a firm disliking to Count Dooku! Backed up by his crony Varell, Gydeton became the thorn in Count Dooku's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.

Hatching Day

The dragons' hum woke Martom and Count Dooku on 102.03.17. Following a brief run-in with Gydeton, 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 Count Dooku left, Martom – keen to prove himself by Impressing on his first attempt – asked him for help procuring some additional confidence in the form of some alcohol.

The one-armed green rider and the thieving queen

Immediately on leaving the candidate barracks, Count Dooku 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 Count Dooku to find it. Despite Count Dooku'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 Gydeton had paid to cause Count Dooku trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, Count Dooku gave the kid a shove – in front of a number of witnesses – doing nothing for his reputation!

A shining example

Coming upon Santinoth – Madellon's biggest bronze – being bathed in the lake, Count Dooku was quick to offer assistance to his rider, T'rello. It couldn't hurt to have some close-up experience with a bronze, could it?

Friend request

Given Count Dooku's age, finding some wine for Martom proved difficult – the Weyr Vintner, Master Saxton, refused to sell it to an underage candidate. His only other alternative was an illicit purchase from the shady figure of Grimes. And L'stev's warning about getting drunk before the Hatching held weight. The Vintner's offering of alcohol-free grape juice gave Count Dooku an idea – and offering it to Martom, none the wiser for the substitution, still had the desired effect of boosting his confidence before the Hatching – without any unwanted side-effects!

The Hatching

When it came to the Hatching, Count Dooku had to wait for every other dragonet to Hatch and choose a rider before the black-freckled grey egg Hatched to reveal the deep classic-bronze hatchling who would choose him, naming himself Elasith.

A friend in me

And Count Dooku wasn't the only lucky one. To his delight, Martom also Impressed, becoming the rider of a bright golden-bronze hatchling, Kauth.

Whatever happened to Gydeton?

Sadly, there was at least one fly in the numbweed. Gydeton Impressed the biggest dragonet of the clutch, a hefty dark-brown hatchling, making them Count Dooku and Elasith's new classmates. (On the bright side, at least Varell didn't Impress!)

After the Hatching

"Elasith" by Chris S. Baily

The Weyrlingmaster was the first to congratulate Count Dooku 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 Elasith's first meal. That was Count Dooku's first opportunity to speak to Martom, too, and they introduced each other, with considerable delight, to their respective dragonets, Elasith and Kauth. Martom also told Count Dooku that his new name was to be – perhaps unsurprisingly – M'tom.

It wasn't long before Elasith's personality started to become evident. The energetic bronze dragonet, the classic shade of his colour, was unusually forceful even for his colour – promising to be a handful for his rider!

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 Count Dooku made along the way – a young Holdbred candidate, Nichen, whom Count Dooku had encountered in a hopelessly dishevelled state directly before the Hatching – hailed Count Dooku at the barracks – crediting him with his successful Impression of a moon-blue dragonet, Yooth!

Meeting the Weyrleader

As Count Dooku and M'tom 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. Count Dooku was proud to introduce Elasith to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Elasith, Count Dooku gave the Weyrleader his own new name: D'ooku, rider of bronze Elasith!

Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Elasith's and Kauth's newborn itchiness, D'ooku and M'tom 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

D'ooku and M'tom soon went their separate ways to find family and friends. Many of the riders and Weyrfolk D'ooku 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, D'ooku's grandfather, was very pleased indeed to be able to boast to all and sundry that his grandson had Impressed a bronze, although he still managed to find fault with Elasith for failing to be the largest dragonet in the clutch – a criticism that the Weyrleaders were quick to cut short in their toast to D'ooku and his bronze.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for D'ooku, 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, D'ooku 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 D'ooku'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 D'ooku 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 Elasith.

A close encounter

On his way back to the barracks , D'ooku 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 D'ooku 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, D'ooku decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger – though he did give L'stev his new name.

Returning at last to Elasith – billeted between M'tom's Kauth and a slender green dragonet – D'ooku 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 bronze beside him – D'ooku 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 D'ooku's new name?

Find out more about Count Dooku's Impression here. D'ooku and Elasith's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!

D'ooku'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:
COMPUTER SAYS NO

I changed my name from something unacceptable!

Achievement Unlocked:
BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Elasith and I make a very strong match!

Achievement Unlocked:
SNAKES AND SNAILS

I haven't been very nice!

Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY

Elasith and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE

Elasith and I agreed on something quite important!