G'rass and brown Vellozith

The Road So Far!

It all began at Madellon Weyr for G’rassth – a young boy of 15 Turns, dreaming of becoming a brown rider.

G’rassth 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. As a first-time candidate with no dragonrider blood, G’rassth looked forward to the Hatching with both excitement and trepidation – fearing he might not have what it takes to Impress, but hoping beyond hope that he would!

As a candidate, G’rassth 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 G’rassth! Backed up by his crony Varell, Gydeton became the thorn in G’rassth's side throughout the sevendays of candidacy.

Hatching Day

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

A Masterful order

In the dining hall, G’rassth 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!

Sadly, though, Fr'ton's garbled instructions proved too convoluted for even G’rassth to follow, and the drinks order went rather wrong!

A rising problem

G’rassth 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. And while G’rassth did manage to get G'tron excluded from the flight – not to mention another blue rider, G'pellas, who was needed in the Harper ensemble – he still ultimately failed to reconcile the star-crossed green riding lovers!

Kitchen diplomacy

Madellon's kitchens – the heart of the Weyr, and domain of Headwoman Crauva – provided G’rassth with the opportunity to show off his work ethic before the Hatching. A round of chores duly pleased Crauva.

Weyrbrat by name...

A run-in with a Weyrbrat – Terzon, whom Gydeton had paid to cause G’rassth trouble – resulted in an unfortunate public incident. All too aware of being shaken down, G’rassth 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, G’rassth 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 G’rassth'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 G’rassth 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, G’rassth had to wait a little while before the grey-mottled tan egg Hatched to reveal the cool dusty-brown dragonet who would choose him, naming himself Vellozith.

A friend in me

And G’rassth 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?

Gydeton didn't turn up for the pre-Hatching muster, and – G’rassth's own suspicions notwithstanding – L'stev guessed that he had probably got himself lost trying to sneak into the Hatching Ground through the dangerous ventilation tunnels. Fortunately – G’rassth supposed – Weyrlingmaster A'len located the missing candidate, but too late for Gydeton, who having been found unconscious, was promptly invalided out of standing!

After the Hatching

"Vellozith" by Chris S. Baily

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

It wasn't long before Vellozith's personality started to become evident. The dusty-brown dragonet, while neither the largest nor the most handsome of his colour, proved to make up for both with his calm and helpful character immediately endearing him to all around.

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 G’rassth 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. G’rassth was proud to introduce Vellozith to the Weyrleader. And after a brief conference with Vellozith, G’rassth gave the Weyrleader his own new name: G'rass, rider of brown Vellozith!

Following their audience with the Weyrleader, and the application of oily rags to relieve Vellozith's and Kauth's newborn itchiness, G'rass 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

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

G'rass's mother, Nelya, was thrilled by her son's Impression – though perhaps not quite as ecstatic as G'rass's younger siblings, Ashi and Halante. As the first dragonrider in the family, G'rass was keenly aware of what it meant to his brother and sister. And when the Weyrleaders came to drink a toast to G'rass and Vellozith, Valonna was particularly delighted for Nelya – one of her most trusted Headwoman Seconds.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for G'rass, 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, G'rass 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 G'rass'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 G'rass 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 Vellozith.

A close encounter

On his way back to the barracks , G'rass 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 G'rass 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, G'rass decided, on balance, not to tell the Weyrlingmaster about the stranger.

Returning at last to Vellozith – billeted between M'tom's Kauth and a slender green dragonet – G'rass 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 – G'rass 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?

G'rass and Vellozith's story will continue in Dragonchoice: Weyrling, coming soon!

G'rass'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:
OPPOSITES ATTRACT

I make quite a strange match with Vellozith!

Achievement Unlocked:
EBONY AND IVORY

Vellozith and I agreed on something very important!

Achievement Unlocked:
IN TUNE

Vellozith and I agreed on something quite important!

Achievement Unlocked:
ENEMY MINE

Vellozith and Corienth took against each other!