Blackstone Caer, Kshau Protectorate Isle, Paniya, Alskyr - 576

Hollis was quite happy. In months past, he would have been called H’lis, but he liked his old name well enough, and his comrades decided that he was suited to having a real name again like others who had made the journey to Alskyr from the old world.

But that wasn’t why Hollis was happy. He was pleased because while he’d been so busy trying to locate a good weyr to allow his huge bronze Synesth to pursue a gold or big female at, the problem had solved itself quite nicely here at Blackstone. The Caer wouldn’t be hosting any official hatchings, of course. Not for Alskyran participants at any rate. But their dragons were stronger and wilder and better trained than most others from the old world, and there would be ample time to find candidates for the clutch which would certainly be laid on their dormant sands.

Hollis glanced at the other office, where the very fine rider of the extremely fine gold dragoness who rose and was caught by Synesth rested her weary self. He felt her drifting off to sleep, and it was well deserved. She always had something huge going on in the infirmary – there would always be need for healers and dragon healers like herself. Hollis didn’t underestimate his current partner, Korea was a woman of many facets like the eyes of her dragon.

She was a wonderful woman, very pretty, smart and able, in addition to being a queen rider. She was one of the best dragon healers that Blackstone could ever want, her skills and her open mind were so valuable. He wondered how she could ever handle the stress of working with a room full of injured people and a cavern of torn or damaged dragons...

“It’s not all that hard,” she muttered from half-sleep in the other room, feeling Hollis prying around in her mind. “If you want to have a taste of it, you’re more than welcome to sit in on me when I’m working... Besides,” the dark-skinned woman lifted her head from the desk where she’d been snoozing, “you’re a telepath, you ought to know what it’s like.”

Hollis leaned against the wall by the door and smirked. “Yes, but I can turn it off. Not like you, I can’t imagine it. Never going away...”

“It’s something you just get used to I guess. It’s always been there, and I guess it’ll always be part of me.”

Like me! Called her golden Kalareth from the lower sands. Korea chuckled.

“Yes, like you, you big golden flake. Are you all satisfied with the sands now?” Korea got up, clung on to Hollis’ extended arm, and they went down the long hallways to the lower sands.

I think so. But I might change my mind later on. You know, I am not certain I like the way the light comes in from that area over there... As they arrived the medium sized golden dragoness was shuffling massive piles of soft tan sands around. The cavern had an endless supply of the stuff, so there was no problem if she wanted to fill the whole place with it or empty it out completely, it would be done.

I like your mate, Kalareth thought, he is very gracious and he wants me to play with the sand until I am happy.

“He’s not my—well, I suppose he is for now,” Korea glanced at Hollis whose extremely cute face was drawn up into an innocent ‘I didn’t hear anything, I know nothing at all’ look. “... Rather nice in fact. Well!” Korea switched her attention back from Hollis’ entrancing grey eyes, to Kalareth’s whirling color-filled eyes. “And do you think you’ll tell me when you’re going to start laying?

That will not be for a while, my rider. But it will be a good clutch. I can feel it. We flew very well, Synesth and I.

“You certainly did,” Korea muttered, blushing. So they had, the bronze caught her gold so far into the clear Paniyan skies that they were almost lost among the clouds, and when they did finally come back into view it was along the horizon for a leisurely and still-paired landing more than an hour later.

Of course, Korea and Hollis weren’t really paying any attention to the dragons, at that point. They were rather busy themselves. And Hollis had always prided himself upon being more than an ‘adequate’ lover, Korea had rarely had time to herself before the event to even wonder whether she ought to try selecting a mate or not – she didn’t want to now, anyway.

“Did you ever want to be a weyrwoman?” Hollis asked, breaking into Korea’s rather nice memory. She shook her head and pushed her beaded hair from her eyes.

“Oh no, no. I have more than enough responsibility with the dragons and the infirmary to ever want more paperwork, Hollis. You know that.” She laughed, “I don’t want to be called weyrwoman, or caerlady or whatever they call people like me now. Oh no...”

Hollis let out an exaggerated sigh, “I never have anyone to share my paperwork with,” he said, “a Caerlord’s work is never done...”

“You’re the weyrleader, not the caerlord,” muttered Korea, “We don’t have a proper Caer here. The Alskyran dragons won’t even usually allow our dragons to fight beside them.”

“Yes,” Hollis said, looking away with a bit of concern in his expression, “It’s like their riders didn’t mind us coming, but their dragons aren’t as easily fooled.”

“Not like most of the population of the Protectorate?” Korea chided, “anyone without a dragon is hardly able to remember the old world, let alone understand how there could ever be a difference. Stop harping on it, you and your ... group of collaborators did a fine job bringing us here.”

“You helped,” Hollis reminded her, “everyone with the slightest bit of t-power did.”

“I am merely a dragon healer,” Korea said, waving him off and heading to her dragon, to help sort out the sands. Hollis left them to it, while he went to see if Synesth needed anything.

Nothing that my mate will not provide, and nothing you could hunt would be big enough for my hunger right now.

“Then you do want to hunt,” Hollis said, and off they went.

This was how it went for the next five weeks, until Kalareth made the announcement to her rider that she was going to lay her eggs any time now. “Any time now” lasted more than three days. It was not that there was a remarkable number of eggs – certainly disappointingly few for the length of the laying. But they were large, with more than their share of shimmering metallic colors on the outsides of the eggs.

“Do you think ... which ones might be gold, Kal?” Korea asked, but Kalareth did not answer. “Kal?”

I think there will be many, but... Only if there are the right bonders present when they hatch.

“Come now, eggs are either gold or not!” Korea said, becoming impatient as she had been awake most of those last three days, up with her dragon. “Do you know or not?”

I know there will be golds among them, but I do not know how many because the candidates might be able to sway the eggs to become gold.

Korea stood there blinking, she was tired but she wasn’t THAT tired. “Kal, what in the world did you just say?”

I mean, there will be a need for exceptional candidates, but I want more than that. This is a very special clutch, and the dragons will be remarkable. Their sire saw to that...

Synesth gave a purring trill from one of the nearby ledges. He didn’t dare step onto the sands, Kal had already chased him away insisting that she’d gotten the piles of sand just right and that his bulk would interrupt them. He didn’t argue, but he did want to rest on the soft, warm inviting sands with her.

“But Kalareth, what do you mean by that? I know there were clutches where scientists changed the eggs before they were hard, but what you’re saying is different from that, isn’t it?”

Very. The dragon replied smugly.

“Then out with it, Kalareth, what is it you want for these eggs?” Korea put her fists on her hips, and wanted to scream or pass out cold, she wasn’t sure which would claim her first.

She was certainly not ready for what Kalareth told her next.

***

In short, they must be ready and they must be grouped successfully. Kalareth said, and by that time, Hollis had bolted down to the sands to hear for himself what the dragoness was telling his partner.

“You want more than one person to bond to the dragons?” Hollis panted, “that’s... um, that isn’t done!”

Well it is now. Kalareth said with a nod to her pale golden head. I want it that way. Trust me. Do you not trust your own dragon? He knows too. This clutch is very special. Very particular.

Indeed - Kalareth and Synesth's clutch will be handled dramatically differently than any other Old-world, Alskyran or other dragon-site's hatching has ever been before.

The request list for the candidates is a very odd one. Each "Candidate" must be made up of several individiduals - a team. The MINIMUM requirements for the team are Three individuals, with every one of the items listed below taken care of. Maximum number of SIX people. Generally speaking, one person may be doing more than one duty, but shouldn't ever be doing more than three.

Duties Required
One will ride the dragon, more than any other. Their "Rider" status may be combined with other aspects. More than one of the team may (in fact, should) learn to ride the dragon but one must be the main rider - the "pilot".

Another must take care of the physical needs such as grooming and bathing, tending injuries or other such functions. Healing and dragon healing abilities, or t-powers, herbalistic knowledge, or other kinds of experience is an absolute must.

Someone must cover the aspect of tactics, understanding where the dragon and rider should be, what they ought to be doing, and how they will interact with their surroundings or their companions in the air. This may also include paperwork for flights, appearances at other locales, record keeping of any kind, but also includes threat-fighting tactics and knowledge of flight formations. They must be able to give commands, and take orders as well.

Someone must be able to either create or modify, take care of or otherwise supply the riding gear and flight accessories for human/rider and dragon. This might include fabric maker, leather crafter, any kind of crafts which involve skilled labor of that sort. They must be able to keep the rider and dragon together in the sky, and safe.

One must provide food or care at least during the flightless period - this will change dramatically once the dragon knows how to hunt for themself, however the post is required for at least a while. Anyone might be able to do this, but a skilled hunter or trapper would come in handy. They may be trained later or during the fledge stage, to do other duties for the team.

One member must be able to take care of the dragon's den and team quarters. This might include carpentry skill, stonework, or even drudge service in the past - anything which might make the team comfortable, warm and dry, and "at home" when they come back. This member may be doing other duties in the team as well.

Any other duties may be invented or come up as useful but are not necessarily required - they will certainly add to the mix, and definitely add to the interest value of the Team.

General Rules
Members of the team must get along with one another sufficently well that they actually operate AS a team - individuals do not have to like one another, they must merely be able to work together properly.. They do not have to be experienced with one another, or with anything other than a craft or their prior work, before becoming part of this team. Age is NOT a limiting factor save for the Rider spot (potentially), and in fact it may be beneficial to have a wide spread of ages represented. Males and females are encouraged to perform together, but the team as a whole will generally be represented by their Rider or their Tactician - one whose gender may affect the outcome of their bonding, but that remains to be seen.

The dragons will choose their teams carefully, and they will base their bond on how much they feel their interests will be represented by the team's abilities. In general, smaller teams will not bond high-ranking dragons simply because they will not have the time or expertise to finish the job - though this is not a hard-and-fast rule.

The dragons will bond to the ENTIRE team - every one of them will be intimately aware of the dragon in the party, even if they are not telepathically aware of their human/team companions.

There will be some ... extra special surprises with these eggs. Bonding will be unique, that much is assured. I cannot say what that special something is.

The dragons are both Alskyran and Old World, they may be considered Nexus dragons for purposes of accepting candidate teams. Teams may be entirely human, non-human but humanoid, shapeshifter, whatever, but may NOT include other dragons unless it is a very *very* special one - and UNBONDED. I hope to not get too many very unusual teams for this event. Normal people should be doing this work! The Rider post must be held by someone who is fully capable of riding. Other posts may be held by people with physical deformities or disabilities IF they can adequately perform their duties. The clutch is being laid on Alskyran sands - at Paniya's Blackstone Caer, essentially Blackstone is now in a much larger version of its old digs.

Dragon colors are "traditional", most likely mixing Alskyran and Old World - if need be. In other words, Gold will normally be the highest rank, if an exceptional team is created there is a possibility of white, silver or black (which all come in either gender). Bronzes/Golds are the highest, Coppers and Slates are the same rare high rank, either male or female. Brown and Cream are m/f middle-ranked, Red/Purple are considered mid-rank, and of course Blue/Green are the "low" rank. They are not consolation prizes, it's possible to try for a specific rank but not reach it for one reason or another, and equally possible to have a small team who desires a fast, little green or showy blue.

I strongly encourage everyone to use "dollz" type artwork to portray your groups, or create images (properly linking of course) to add to their pages. Other information I would really like to see on the Team pages will be a link (of course) to the main Protectorate page (kshau_protectorate); and a stat list or table for each Team member - what their skills are and such being most important. I would prefer NO background music and, of course, No Neopages and no cyberpet collections.

These teams of people and their dragon will eventually be sent off to their own caer/weyr/cathair, they will not be required to remain at Blackstone.

Required information:
Your ID/Email
Your Caer/Weyr/etc name, and url, if you have one
Team's Accurate, working - and COMPLETE - url
Team members information (name, gender, age, position/skills), and Team Name if you have one
If you are trying to get this Team bonded to a specific rank of dragon, please indicate which color and a "runner up" if you wish. This is no guarantee of course.
Send ONLY complete Team pages to kshau_protectorate@yahoo.com with the subject line "team players". I will NOT be reserving any spaces. I will only take complete teams. I will be needing no fewer than 12 teams.

LIST IS OPEN! 8/30/02 (last modified 7/12/06)
- please begin creating your Teams. This is a first-come first-served clutch.

!! There are THIRTEEN eggs - some seem normal sized, while others are simply gigantic, and one or two quite small. If you'd like to indicate whether you think a large, small or whatever size egg would be the one your team is attracted to, that's fine. Might or might not have any bearing on the result. !!

Current Candidate Teams

From Frizzle (???) (I need to know if Frizzle's still here)
From Shard- Carramba High School Seniors
From...
Kalareth is from Harana Weyr

Synesth is from Blackstone sorta