Rukbat’s gentle rays pressed against the aged stone of Benden’s immense Bowl, but did little to alleviate the persistent winter chill. Shivering against it, Kera bundled further into her riding jacket and peered up at the distant star.
You are troubled?
Helionth’s mindvoice curved sinuously through her thoughts, offering warmth and solace from the heavy burdens she carried. Reaching back, the Valor Wingleader stroked her Blue’s downy soft neck, then pressed her back against him in a heavy lean.
“I wish these eggs would hatch… I don’t know how much longer I can keep the curious at bay.” She’d reply, aloud. Helionth snorted softly, shifting to nose her shoulder. Phosphine breath warm in her ear, Kera sighed as well. I will assist you. Akyth is amenable to my presence, as is Danath.
He knew her answer to that without words, so Kera simply looked back towards the Weyrbowl, and the line of candidates working through one of the many chores they’d been assigned since arriving in Benden. This morning was the ever popular cleaning of the herdbeast pens, and at this distance, Kera could almost believe that everyone down there was as they seemed.
That is to say, human. Nevermind Pernese.
Mara had taken great pains to assist the ones without magic of their own to disguise themselves, and the effect was nearly flawless. Or at least, as flawless as the individual personalities involved allowed. Some simply couldn’t help flaunting their prior Rank and prestige - such as that insufferable R’ly Gerr. Others simply had Plans, and were impatient to get off ‘this rock’ and back to wherever they’d come from. Of those, Kera wasn’t sure if she was relieved, or insulted. But the fact remained that neither she, nor Mara, would force anyone to stay. I am quite sure Mara would happily evict R’ly Gerr, if given the chance. Helionth opined, another huff of warm air rustling her hair.
“Probably.” Kera replied, shifting forward.
“Definitely.” The chilly interrupt surprised rider and dragon - and for the first time, Kera found herself disliking the silver-eyed woman. Was nothing private to her?
“No.” Unperturbed, Mara continued her approach with precise grace. “Akyth grows restless. Karia has informed me that she believes the Hatching is imminent.” The woman added, coming to a stop, her hands folded in her voluminous sleeves. “What is your protocol for--”
“We wait for the humming to start.” Kera interrupted, irritation spiking. “Our candidatemaster will ensure they are ready-”
“My spell requires time to set up, Wingleader Kera. If you insist on allowing spectators, countermeasures will need to be taken in case --”
“Then get it set up! What are you expecting, anyway? Two-headed dragons?” Tension made the bluerider spit it out, but the way Mara looked at her steadily gave Kera pause. Did she really think that was a possibility? What would happen if …
“No. I expect everyone to conduct themselves appropriately.” Mara clarified, her chilly countenance softening slightly. “I will begin my preparations, Wingleader. Thank you.” Inclining her head in a slight bow, Mara took her leave without waiting for a reply. Kera watched her go with a lingering sense of bewilderment. Had she purposefully come here to unsettle her? At her back, Helionth exhaled again, drawing her attention to his tranquil mental waters.
All will be well. The silver one means no disrespect. The blue assured her, then looked up as another rider approached. Danath’s is here. Helionth sounded curious, but Kera set the dragon’s idle questions aside in favor of a less irritated greeting for her fellow ‘blue’ rider.
“Wingleader.” Where Mara’s polite poise reminded Kera of a Lord Holder’s Court, Van’el was a different creature entirely. Noble in carriage, yes, but deadly. Kera often wondered what horrors his eyes had seen, but the man never gave so much as a thought away. Where Mara had a a subtle warmth behind her eyes, Van’el had nothing. “Karia wished to ask about-” Uncharacteristically, the man stopped, looking down at his feet.
Startled, Kera wondered if this is what ‘embarrassment’ looked like on the stoic leader of the refugees - until she felt the rumbling through her own feet. Looking down, it took her a moment to realize it was the traditional hum of welcome - magnified somehow until it felt almost like an earthquake.
“What the-”
“Mara’s spell, I suspect.” Van’el looked uncertain. “Karia and I were concerned that she may not make it in time, but it seems she was a step ahead.” For all his visible serenity, the man’s tone had an edge of relief to it. Combined with the thought of two-headed dragons earlier, Kera was beginning to wonder what Van’el thought was going to emerge from those eggs!
“Van'el, about-”
The man shook his head, and gestured towards the candidates being ushered back to the barracks to change into their white robes. “Later, let’s go.” If he was nervous, he didn’t sound it now. His certainty buoyed her flagging conviction to see this Hatching conducted as ‘normally’ as possible.
Their arrival in the Hatching Sands matched that of the candidates and the first of the spectators. Mara was present as well, seated beside Karia with her eyes closed and brow furrowed. Van’el made an immediate beeline for the queenrider, seating himself on her other side without a word. Conflicted for a moment, Kera eventually joined them, seating herself with crossed arms beside Mara.
Down on the Sands, the first shell cracked as Akyth thrummed a lyrical welcome, her pale hide glowing faintly in the thin, wintery light. Danath settled at her side as the dark, wet nose of their first hatchling peeked through. Eyes whirling a tranquil blue, Danath added his own deep warble to that of the queen - the thrum picking up as the hatchling struggled free.
Determination seemed to be the youngster’s trademark, as the little one finally spread their bronze wings wide - announcing their name as Welath in a distinctive timbre. Kera’s eyes snapped to Van’el and Karia, both of whom nodded somewhat contritely before returning their eyes to the female bronze gracing the sands with her presence.
I do believe I will enjoy this Hatching. Helionth noted with a shimmer of amusement. Turning ‘tradition’ on it’s head was one of the blue’s favorite pastimes. Kera simply sighed internally, and shifted so her swordbelt wasn’t poking her in the side. If the movement brought her a little closer to Mara, the woman didn’t appear to mind. Or notice, for that matter. More eggs were shaking, with a trio of greens bursting free to find their intended while the female bronze eventually made her way up into the Stands to choose her rider from among the spectators.
Akyth seemed pleased with herself, and gently nosed a small gathering of eggs that had been shaking vigorously while the bronze made her selection. Before long, another set of greens emerged, along with two browns.
Initially, the browns seemed to stare at each other for a long moment, then the lighter of the two marched off to find his match in Ynu, announcing his name to be Nirath. The second didn’t seem perturbed, and took --- her? --- time finding her intended rider. Kera looked at Karia and Van’el again, but they were stone-faced. How exactly did they think she was going to explain this to Fort Weyr?!
Warbling to herself as she navigated the sands, the young brown eventually landed at the feet of Issira, looking up at the girl with rainbow eyes as her name whispered through the new link between them. “Her name is Gilath!”
Rubbing her temples, Kera managed to dispel some of her worry as the greens impressed, followed by another bronze and two blues. As they all chose from among the candidates, the bluerider started to relax, when Akyth trilled again - drawing attention to one particularly large egg.
Many had bet that the egg contained a gold - or perhaps a bronze or brown of considerable size.
They were all wrong; as the hairline fractures widened to allow a writhing mass of dark wings and too-many limbs to spill out onto the sands. Kera watched with mild horror, wondering if she was about to witness the hatching of a real two-headed dragon, when the hatchlings resolved her internal conflict themselves by separating. Whole and hale, the pair peered around them with whirling eyes framed by inky black hides. Cautiously, the young male black dragon took a step. Then another. Then, with a thrilled warble at his twin, he bounded off towards their mother. The smaller, shy female trilled uncertainly after her more gregarious brother - then looked to her left.
Holding her breath, the Wingleader watched as the young female carried herself daintily towards the female candidates, seating herself in front of Akazia as her worried yellow eyes shifted into rainbows. Breathless herself, the girl announced to the stunned spectators that her name was Maranth - just as Maranth’s brother found his own bond not far from his mother’s side.
Looking over at Mara, Kera wondered what exactly was the point of a spell if everyone was seeing all of … this. But the woman seemed unperturbed. What was she planning to do, then?
But more eggs were hatching, leaving little room for Kera to wonder as hatchlings of all colors piled onto the sands in a rush. Blues, greens, browns - even another bronze.
One particularly temperamental green found her match in young Oslona, declaring herself to be Dalarith and very hungry. Her more demure sister scoffed at the lack of decorum, announcing herself as Balmerrath of X’erat, for now and always, stunning her new rider.
Blue Banroth chose Zeek from among all present, declaring in a similar fashion to Dalarith that he was quite hungry. Thanks. Meanwhile, a cheery brown hatchling who went by the name of Hadorth found his way to Kimbley. Headfirst. First impression made at first impact! Wasn’t that a fun way to start their new adventure?
Another blue found his way to Velaryl, proudly stating his name to be Lelsoth, while a rather aggressive blue found his way to Brass, and disclosed his name as Killoth.
Then, for a time, there was a pause as the eggs simply rocked. Kera looked over at Akyth, but Helionth assured her that the queen was pleased with the hatching’s progression, and was unconcerned. Resettling, Kera found her eyes traveling to another one of the larger eggs - wondering if it also held ‘twins’ now. (Twins! Of all things!)
As if aware of her scrutiny, the egg abruptly cracked with a sharp snap of sound - as if struck by lightning. Startled, Kera straightened and leaned forward just as Karia did. Mara and Van’el both remained impassive, though Kera would swear later she saw them exchange a Look. Silent types usually did.
The egg, however, demanded their attention in a way unlike the other hatchlings. Bold and decisive, the youngling inside clearly had their own thoughts about how this hatching would be remembered - and it would start with him!
Bursting free of his shell with a flourish, the deep patterns of purple, blue and black was immediately reminiscent of his sire - and reminded Kera of what Van’el had said Danath’s true color was.
“A Night dragon?” She murmured, entranced, as the young male shook loose the shards of his creamy shell and spread his midnight wings. Van’el remained impassive, but Karia met the Wingleaders eyes and nodded enthusiastically, then looked back at the hatchling. The Night was roaming the sands with a measured stride despite his still-drying wings and gangly limbs. A character, for sure, his eyes were a wild red-blue as he sauntered among the candidates - heedless of the curious eyes following his every move. He knew what he wanted. Or rather, who.
Settling in front of K’lyn, Kordelath released a brassy bugle. This one was His!
Leaning back, Kera released the breath she’d been holding, and was surprised to find Mara’s hand move to gently give her clenched fist a squeeze. “See, all is well.” The woman assured her, turning her attention back to the Hatching. Notably, she left her hand where it was - gently warming Kera’s. Glancing at the enigmatic woman, the bluerider wondered what she was about, but didn’t object. It was still winter.
Back on the sands, more greens and blues bonded, while brown Kiseath found his way to Pema. A blue soon followed suit, finding Palash and stating his name as Sirlinth. Green Cerdriadeth found Jamara, while a small white (when had she even hatched?!) found her bond in Shireykya. Kera found herself watching the tiny white pair with fondness - they reminded her of Helionth when he’d first hatched.
Her fondness would be short lived, however, as the next egg to crack was another large one. Leaning forward again, the bluerider regretted not thinking that through as Mara’s hand fell away - but the sight on the Sands was riveting enough to cause Mara herself to lean forward as well.
Because there, standing amid the shards of her egg, was a dragoness unlike anyone Kera had ever seen.
Pale as morning mist and colored like the dawn, the young hatchling peered around her with whirling yellow-green eyes. As more attention fell on her, she seemed to shrink a little further into herself. Still, there was no denying her size, or her grace as she folded her wet wings to shield herself from view. Those among the candidates vying for the presence of a queen could be forgiven for turning acquisitive eyes on this unusually colored female - even if the youngling herself shrank away from it.
Luckily for the young dawn colored dragonet, however, another egg cracked sharply - revealing a second unusually colored female for the candidates to coo over. This one could only be described as ‘amber’ - and appeared to shimmer faintly in the light of the Hatching Cavern. Unlike her sister, however, this one was quite proud of herself and clearly enjoyed the attention. Picking her way free of her shell, the young amber took a moment to groom herself fastidiously - then arched her neck in such a way to apparently invite further praise. Vain, yes. But deservedly so, her bearing seemed to indicate. Nearby, another large egg cracked open, releasing a disgruntled brown onto the sands.
The brown, taking one look at his vain sister, appeared to decide he didn’t have time for this nonsense. His bond was Over There, and he was well on his way towards Azure Sand by the time the amber noticed that he hadn’t paid her proper respect. Not that Riogath cared, of course. His rider would want to ensure her charges bonded, and he was content to sit with her… far away from that demanding amber sister of his.
Trilling in annoyance, the amber decided she’d find her own lackeys, and proceeded towards several rocking eggs, giving them experimental taps and nuzzles - then slapping two of them with her tail.
The first cracked spectacularly, revealing two sinuous green twins. The pair blinked up at their sister with wide blue eyes - but otherwise remained where they were. The amber looked miffed, but didn’t do anything else, simply moved along. The paler of the twin greens moved only after the amber had gone, nuzzling her sister, then moving off towards the candidates. Her darker sister followed in her wake, casting only a cautious glance back towards the amber before focusing on the candidates herself.
That momentary distraction did cause the darker of the pair to walk straight into her future rider, with Fiarnath squawking in surprise before looking up at Beck with rainbow eyes. The paler twin seemed pleased, then moved towards the girls, quietly informing Asia that her name was Siarnath.
Meanwhile, the attention-grabbing amber had cracked a second shell, revealing a deep purple-hued hide curled up on itself. Pausing to survey her sibling, the amber was about to give the half-hatched dragonet another tail slap when Akyth rumbled warningly.
Huffing, the amber moved on - leaving her sibling to sort itself out. Her next target seemed almost unfair, being an exceptionally tiny egg that many had wagered wouldn’t hatch at all. Stepping up to the mottled shell, the amber sniffed it experimentally first, then huffed in satisfaction as it shivered beneath her attention. Sitting, the amber gently tapped it until the dragonet within responded with it’s own quick tap. Settling back on her haunches, the amber furled her wings and curled her tail around her hindquarters, watching the small egg shiver and shake.
Eventually, a small, pearlescent nose peeked through - followed by large, whirling blue eyes. Blinking to clear them, the small pearl dragonet struggled to free herself from the confines of her shell to no avail - trilling in entreaty to the amber beside her. Peering down, the amber seemed to weigh her options, then obliged the smaller female. Once free, she even helped to lick the pearl clean, as the younger hatchling’s wings were stuck together uncomfortably.
Looking up at the amber adoringly, the pearl nuzzled her sister warmly before bounding off towards the candidates - leaving the amber to wonder why exactly she’d bothered to help. Wasn’t the point of her efforts to have an underling?
But the pearl had seen her person, and while she was thankful to the amber, Falaerth wasn’t in the habit of waiting. Not when Kimaree was right there!
While the amber wondered, the purple-hued dragoness she’d woken early finally deigned to remove herself from the rest of her shell - revealing a stunning hide reminiscent of twilight. Fanning her wings, the youngling had clearly decided on who she wanted, and wasted little time in seeking out Lheevdho Izrathi. Peering up at her bonded, Jassirth seemed interested in learning more about water magic --- but only after eating.
As the amber debated which eggs to try to recruit next, several rocked at once, with a large one slamming into a smaller one - spilling three dragonets from two eggs onto the sands all at once. The smallest, a deep blue, scrambled out of the way of his two pale gold sisters before beelining for the candidates and hiding behind the legs of his G’ran. Lorianth wasn’t sure if he’d offended them, but he was extra sure his rider would protect him!
Seeing the golds picking themselves up, the amber bristled. Those would certainly draw attention from her, and she couldn’t have that!
Snaking towards the still-wet pair, the amber seemed like she would snap at the tail of the more serious looking gold --- up until a white robed figure abruptly got in the way! Or, more accurately, a white robed back. The candidate took the amber’s claws valiantly, emitting only a muffled gasp as the duller of the two golds raced around to defend her bonded. I am Saiyoth, and you will LEAVE US BE! She demanded, bolstered by the arrival of her sister, Kaiyoth.
Hissing at being thwarted, the amber backed up enough to allow Haad alGer to stand, blood streaking his white robes, as Saiyoth bristled and hissed in return at the amber. Kaiyoth took it a step further, darting towards the amber to run her off, causing her to careen into another egg.
More hissing joined that of the females, as a bright hint of buttery-silver glinted in the light of the cracking shell. When the amber tripped over the half-hatched egg again, the platinum male all but burst from the confines - slashing at the amber with a snarl.
Akyth, for all her patience, apparently had enough of the squabbling, and warbled a warning to her hatchlings - particularly the amber. Kaiyoth snorted in response, then trotted off to find her bonded from among the candidates. The platinum seemed intensely annoyed that he’d been rattled, rolled and now disciplined - because of his sister. Hissing at the amber one last time, the platinum marched towards the back of the candidate pack, sitting at the feet of an equally surly fellow who felt Just Right to Kaluth. Hello Gray.
As for the amber, she was finally tiring. And, thoroughly chastised, decided now was not the time to select her rider. No, she needed to clean herself up once more. One couldn’t simply show up at R’ly Gerr’s feet looking ridiculous, could they?
Of course not, Neyareth reasoned. So she took the extra time to pick every speck of sand from her glistening wings. Waited until the spotlight was once more on her, then proceeded to march directly up to her bonded with a flick of her tail. Shall we, then? I’ve concluded my survey.
With the amber finally bonded, the dawn from earlier finally stirred - and took it upon herself to check on the remaining eggs. In startling contrast to her sister, the gentle dawn nuzzled each one and seemed to speak with them briefly.
Before long, she was joined by a green and two blues. The final egg seemed pleased by her touch, but not quite ready to stir, yet. Concerned, the dawn decided to rest beside the last egg, and watched with whirling blue eyes as first the green found her bond, declaring herself to be Jenath of Aisling. The two blues quickly followed suit, with blue Lidorth choosing Kerrir and blue Sidareth choosing Asha.
Content to wait, the dawn seemed to fall asleep - much to the consternation of the impatient ones among the candidates - but the large egg at her side shifted slightly, as if nudging her. Picking her head up, the dawn peered up at the large egg, and the ever widening cracks as the dragonet within finally decided to show himself. Slowly, she stood and backed up enough to allow her brother room; with the dark mottled shell breaking to reveal something very different indeed.
By size, the hatchling rivaled the largest already hatched, but his hide glittered with all the colors of the sky as Rukbat sank below the horizon. Like his Night brother, this Sunset commanded attention both in terms of presence and authority. But unlike his brother, this one seemed more moderate - as demonstrated by the kind attention he paid his attentive sister, the dawn. Go, I am well. He seemed to assure her, before turning his attention to the boys.
Relief colored the dawn’s eyes, along with tiredness herself and the awareness that she was incredibly hungry. Turning to the candidates, she picked her way delicately towards the mind she’d first touched while in the shell. Thiadrye. I am your Nymeiyth. Would you… would you come here?
As for the sunset, he made his choice with little fanfare. Finding His on the sidelines, where the injured Talaryn, now T’alyn, thought he’d missed his chance at something extraordinary.
No, T’alyn. I am Asirianth. And our story has just begun.
Closing:
Candidates who failed to impress get to head back to drown their sorrows in the Hatching Feast to come, while new riders have to get messy feeding their new bonds. The candidatemaster is aware of everyone’s true identity, and will allow the ‘off worlders’ their own private celebration so they can appear as they truly are among their fellows. This is also to help them cement the first hours of the bond with their new dragon.
Mara’s spell will modify the memories of everyone present to see exactly what they expect to see. This means that should any off-worlders encounter a native Pernese, they can expect to be congratulated on their ‘blue’ or ‘white’ dragon etc, depending on the color their dragon most closely resembles. When the color doesn’t have a close analog, the size will be used by the spell.
Asirianth = bronze
Nymeiyth = pale brown
Kaluth = bronze
Kordelath = blue
Xaranth & Maranth = dark blue/dark green
Neyareth = green
Falaerth = white
Jassirth = blue
This clutch has several opposite gendered dragons, and this won’t be remarked upon except by those who are aware of the off-worlders.
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