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Sonria Weyr's First Hatching
(As seen by Werywoman Toriana of Sonria Weyr)
Sonria Weyr was silent in the early dawn, the morning mists wreathed about the Bowl, silently wisping about the watchrider and his blue on the Star Stones. The entire Weyr was deeply asleep, nobody stirred and nothing moved in the Weyr. On the Hatching Grounds, Ryveneth, the Senior queen lay curled about her clutch of twenty-three eggs. On a ledge above her, her bronze mate, Elendreth dozed. So deeply asleep were the two dragons that they nearly didn't notice that the eggs began to rock and shake as the hatchlings within fought to break their way free of the shells.
Ryveneth came to full alertness then and stretched out her neck, bugling loudly to announce to all the Weyr that the Hatching was beginning. In the weyr of the Senior queen, Weyrwoman Toriana jerked awake. "Hurry." She hissed to her weyrmate, K'radon. "The eggs are rocking. Call in the Candidates."
Ryvvie dear, call the other Weyleadears in, they'll want to come. The Weyrwoman mentally requested her queen to send the news to the other Weyrs so that the leaders of those Weyrs could come. Wasting no time to dress in her Hatching finery, Toriana slipped out of bed and threw her wher-hide jacket and pants on over the shorts and tank top she wore as nightclothes. Stamping her feet into her boots, she shoved her weyrmate. "K'radon, wake up, we've got to get the Candidates up."
"Mmmmph." K'radon muttered before falling out of bed as Toriana hauled the sleeping fur off him. He grabbed his wher-hide jacket and shirt as well and pulled his boots on as Toriana dashed out of the weyr, heading for the Candidate Barracks.
She dashed into the room, calling out for L'dvon, the Weyrlingmaster who helped her begin to rouse the Candidates. L'dvon immediately headed into the boys' rooms while Toriana took the girls' rooms. Moving down the line in the two Barracks, they shook the Candidates awake and told them to put on their robes.
"Wake up," Toriana gently shook the last girl awake. "The eggs are Hatching, time to get up," she smiled at Visions, who was sitting on the girl's pillow chirping at her. "Take good care of Bryna out there, Visions, she'll Impress today. She'll need you to be her eyes." Toriana helped the girl out of bed and helped her put on her white robe. Guiding her to the line, the Weyrwoman led the group of Candidates to the Hatching Ground entrance, leaving them in the care of L'dvon.
She entered the Hatching Grounds, which were already beginning to fill with riders, Weyrfolk and spectators alike who talked noisily in the Stands as they watched the rocking eggs. The upper ledges were lined with dragons of every color; bronze, brown, blue, and green, and yes, she saw a few golds as well. Crossing the Sands she stepped up onto the raised portion of the Hatching Ground where K'radon and Ryveneth waited for her.
Toriana greeted her queen happily, scratching the dragon under her jaw as she watched the Candidates file in. Just then, two more dragons swooped in through the upper entrance of the Grounds and Toriana smiled when she recognized gold Zreinth and blue Talouth.
Ryvvie, dear, ask Kayan and J'simo to join us here, Toriana chuckled, glad for an opportunity to see her friends again. Come to think of it, she wasn't all that surprised to see them here, they did have a few Candidates Standing after all. She waited until the blue and gold had deposited their riders and taken off for a ledge, then she rushed over to greet them.
"Kayan, J'simo, so glad you could come." she smiled broadly. Today was the day after all when forty-six new lives began. "And you've a few of your own out on these Sands, I'm glad you came to cheer them on.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Kayan smiled back at the other goldrider. "Look, the eggs are rocking!"
Just then a loud crack was heard and the entire crowd gasped as a sturdy bronze broke through his shell, spilling out onto the hot Sands.
"A bronze Hatched first. Good sign!" Toriana grinned, giving her weyrmate and her friends a broad grin. "And it looks like he's made his choice." she added as the bronze headed toward the cluster of boys. Pushing his way past the Candidates, he stopped at the feet of one young lad. Adriv, I am Barinath, the young dragon told the boy. Toriana smiled at the look of wonder and incredulous joy on the boy's face. He was Weyrbred wasn't he? From Dawnsisters where quite a few of their own Candidates had Stood.
"Adriv. Felicitations!" she called down to the boy, wondering if any riders from Dawnsisters were here to cheer their Candidate on.
The next three eggs cracked and the hatchlings stumbled out onto the Sands in search of food and companionship. One was a dinty little green, the other a sturdy brown and the last a slender-winged blue. Creeling with hunger, the three dragonets stumble towards the Candidates. The green trips on her wings and plows into the hot sand nose first. Bryna moves to help the little dragon up.
Is this the one I want? she asks herself, seeing the dainty green through Visions' eyes. But the green nudges her shoulder and still creeling totters away. Bryna sighs in disappointment.
Menawhile, Jemini is watching the blue and brown closely, hoping that one of them will choose him. But as he watches, the brown stops beside a lad. D'ran, I'm Verimath and you have to feed me now, he tells his new rider.
The boy looks surprised, but he kneels in the sands and hugs the brown to him. the little blue starts toward the newly Impressed pair and passes them up, pulling to halt near a boy Toriana recoginzes as a lad in their own Lower Caverns. The boy looks down at the little blue with wonder and love in his eyes. "Why of course, I'll feed you Dharmiath. Food is right this way."
The green is still creeling and crooning wildly in her search for her new rider. She brushes past Yalla, nosed Aliki's leg and continued on, creeling all the while.
Bryna can't stand to hear the distressed cries of the little green and as she watches through her firelizard's eyes, the little green stumbles and lies down in the sand.
The Candidates' attention is drawn away as two more eggs shatter, revealing two well-grown bronzes. In a flash, the two dragonets head toward the circle of male Candidates, herding them together, then scattering them as they make their choices.
"Hey Courinath, that's not the way for a bronze to behave," Nathan calls out to one of the bronzes.
"Yeah Shimmaeth, you stop that right now." Yislan added. The two boys grinned at each other and led their dragonets off the Sands.
As if the first few Impressions were a signal, six more eggs cracked and two greens, a blue and three browns stalk out onto the Sands. Two of the browns make a dash for Muligan and Jemini who move forward to meet them.
"Food is right this way," Muligan, now M'gan, smiles down at the brown who had chosen him. "Just follow me, Feliorth." And J'mini follow him, leading his brown, talking encouragingly to the study dragonet already quite steady on his feet. "Let's just follow these two, Kelienth, and you can eat all the meat you want."
The two greens meanwhile are following their bronze siblings' examples, diving into the crowd of female Candidates and then zipping back out before anyone can catch them. the larger of the two greens stips and flops down in the sand at Sierhan's feet. "Fhariath, don't behave in such a carelss manner, now let's get you over to the food." she knelt and helped the dragonet up and they wandered off for the meat being offered at the edges of the sands.
The other brown is crooning at the foot of the Stands as he searches the crowd. A few boys eager to Impress a brown crowd around him, but Ryveneth gives a warning bugle and they scatter away. R'mas, where are you? the brown wimpers pitifully. Come down here, feed me and oil my hide.
Reimas, the boy in question looks startled and hops to his feet from where he was sitting in the stands. He almost slips and falls down the stairs, but he manages to make it to the bottom in one piece where he knnels at the brown's side. "You want me to be your rider Hestorth, but I'm not a Candidate."
It doesn't matter rider mine, I would like to have my hide oiled now. "Of course, right this way," Reimas, now R'mas stands up and leads his new lifemate off the sands.
The other green continues to weave through the circle of female Candidates, diving here and there until she crashes into a girl and both of them are kocked to the sands. The little green sits up and shakes her head hard as if it hurt.
"Oh, Gresieth, I didn't mean to hurt you," Rixae puts a hand on the green's head. "You're all right now, lets get you some food." she says comfortingly.
The newly Impressed pair leave the sands, leaving behind the whistful looks of the other girls. But as they leave, two more greens Hatch, screeching their arrival as they stalk among the girls. They head toward the twins, Fellis and Seeria who giggle when they learn they have Impressed. "Oh Arnyoth, of course I'll feed you," Seeria tells her green just as Fellis hugs hers. "Right this way Aanyath, we'll get your lovley hide oiled right away."
The blue meanwhile is slowly circling the Candidates, studying each one closely, then with a triumphant bugle he leaps into the air and lands on Ranyx's chest, psuhing the boy back into the sand. "Ow! Hot Sand!" Ranyx yelps. "Wynoith, I can't feed you if you're sitting on me."
There are some worried glances toward the green lying in the sands, seeming oblivious to all those around her, but at that moment four eggs break apart and the bugles and hums from the adult dragons herald the arrival of the newly hatchlings, three of them wetly green, the other a blue. The three greens are different from each other in so many ways. The largest one is big for a green, nearing the size of a small blue, while the middle green is well grown and the smallest green creels as she heads toward Lara. The Candidate can hardly beleive her luck and she runs toward her. "Oh, Nymiorth, I'm here, let's get you some food."
The middle green snorts loudly, looking at everyone as if she was a queen and they were her servants. With a loud bugle of joy she nudges Aliki with her nose. The girl looks down and smiles. "Of course Jhessith, there's food for you if you can follow me."
The largest green is looking about the circle of Candidates and moves toward Kathanay. But her blue sibling beats her to the girl. Kathanay looks startled as she stares down at the little blue sitting at her feet, looking up at her with a dragon-grin on his face. "Azureieth, what are you doing? I didn't know girls could impress blues."
They usually don't, the blue snorted. But I choose you. The girl smiles hugely as she helps her little blue off the sands.
Suddenly the first green to Hatch, the one who had been lying in the sands gave a bugle and hopped to her feet, heading past the girl Candidates who remained and dashing over to a boy standing at the far back of the boys' circle. G'ran, G'ran I am Cariath! she tells him and the grinning boy scoops up the hatching and together they leave the sands.
The largest green, the last one remaining, snorts loudly, thwarted by her blue brother's choice of rider. With another decicisve snort, she trots toward Yalla who grins brightly. "Here you are Millisath, I was wondering when you'd come."
So few eggs left. The remaining Candidates cross their fings at the few rocking eggs. A brown is first to Hatch and he makes his way over to a fosterling from Sonria Weyr's Lower Caverns. "Right this way my handsome Ranarth," the boy L'uke says, looking up into the Stands to give a dragonrider a sign of victory.
The next two eggs were blues, and Toriana looked a little worried, so few Candidates left and the queen still hadn't made her arrival. But the queen egg was rocking wildly and a large crack appeared in it. Just then, the Weyrwoman's gaze was caught by the two lads who had impressed the remaing blues. "There there Jeskinth," she heard Leeon say. "We'll get you some meat. Simmioth," Jattan told his blue.
The queen egg shattered, leaving a glowing golden dragonet on the sands. With a loud bugle, the bronzes announce her arrival and she tries to bugle back. Craning her head back, the little gold peered up at the immense golden bulk of Ryvneeth, her mother before tottering toward the one remaning female Candidate.
Bryna gasped with incredulous joy and knelt beside the little queen. Looking up toward her father and her aunt, she smiled radiently. "She says her name is Auraniath!"
"Such a wonderful Hatching" Toriana replied when it was all over. "Three bronzes, eight greens, five browns and six blues. G'ran Impressed a green like I thought he would and Kathany and Azureith give us quite a surprise. And of course Bryna who Impressed the lovely queen."
They will make a good pair. Reveneth said confidently. They are good for each other, my daughter and her rider.
Supressing a chuckle, Toriana took her weyrmate's arm and led him off to congratulate the new riders as so many others were doing.