BENDELAIN'S WEYR

As you walk past the lovely shade of the hills, around the small lake and stream near this weyr, you are soothed by the sound of moving water.

Bendelain comes to you, cheery, and offers you not just a cup of klah but a roll and some jam.

"We can watch the flits fish, from here, if you like!"

She leads you to the edge of her weyr's wall, and points at the faire of fire lizards over the water.

"None of those are mine," she comments, "but I'm a candidate at Hydee's Weyr. It's such a nice place, but I like it here best. I plan on bringing back my dragon if I can, so she can enjoy this lovely place too."

You thank the girl for her kindness and the jam, and are on your way.

** 2024 additions: Bendelain is a Zekiran Bayaran, whose debt is held by Peridian Morgontain

When the weyr began to hum, I was not very near it. I'll admit, I could hear it from far away. I ... didn't quite know what to do! I was collecting shells, by the cove, but then all of a sudden here is this tremendous sound!

I realized that the hatching was happening, and I wasn't there!! My heart raced, and I sprinted all the way up to the weyr hatching grounds.

I realized that I'd forgotten my candidate robe. I rolled my eyes, how stupid of me! With the hatching so close, I ought to have stayed in the weyr proper and waited like the others. But NO! I had to be outside!

I ran again, nearly out of breath and panting, back into my room. There on the hook by the entrance, my white robe. I took it roughly, almost tearing it. As I ran back to the hatching grounds, I stumbled!

"Ooh! I'll never make it! How can I be so silly!" I chastised myself for my folly. "Chasing shells and foam when I should have been here all along!"

I put the robe over my skirt and shirt, and fast-walked the rest of the way to the hatching grounds. I was out of breath and panting when I finally got there.

And... when I got there, all the noise had stopped. Everything was strangely still and silent.

No one was there. Not even the Queen! At first, I wondered, did I go to the wrong room? But I looked. I saw many broken egg shells around, on the warm sands.

I couldn't hold back my tears. I just cried and cried, and there was no one there to either stop me or comfort me.

I had missed the Hatching! Missed it!! All because of some stupid shells!

Then, many minutes later, someone did happen by. He looked strangely familiar, very very tall and really dark skinned. I realized I'd seen him with the other weyrlings from the prior clutch, those whose dragons were now (I choked on thinking about it) adults. I remembered: this was V'nya, the Blue rider who was afraid of heights!

He just stood there, watching me for some reason. I ... almost didn't like the way he did that, but then he walked past me into the hatching sands. He strode around with a purpose, it looked like.

"What are you d-doing?" I stammered, still blubbering like an idiot.

He stopped, foot sinking deeply into the hot sand. He didn't seem to mind.

"You do not hear that?" He asked, with a strange look on his face.

"Hear... what?" I asked him back, and he ruffled his eyebrows together.

"There is a sound, annoying me. I am sorry, perhaps it is nothing."

He watched me, again, for a long time. Then, somehow, after I was done sniffing and blubbering... I did hear something.

Quietly at first, but then something twinged inside me. It was scratching!

"She can't get out!" I cried, "She's trapped inside the sands!"

V'nya watched me as I ran by, but I didn't care. He could watch anything he wanted, all I wanted was to ... I started digging. The sand was hot! My hands hurt with the first couple handfulls I took but then V'nya began helping me with his own large hands.

We dug for about five minutes, all the while I kept hearing something, strangely at the back of my mind. It wasn't even like I could HEAR it with my ears, just that I knew something was wrong! It looked like V'nya did really hear something, though, because he made me dig in a particular place, I'd been going too far to the right or something.

It was a good thing he did! For there, buried below about an arm's length of hot hot sand, was an EGG! It was smaller than some I'd seen, certainly I'd never seen it on these sands! It had to have been buried here right after the Queen laid them! Perhaps even she didn't realize that she'd put sand over it?

"Oh, please, please be well!" I called out, trying to clear ever more sand away from the top of the shell. Perhaps if I gave her just a little room...

"Her?" I said, aloud. "I can feel her mind! I know she's for me! If only I can see her! Help me!" I demanded of V'nya, who first stood looking somewhat shocked, but then smiled at me and kept digging. He cleared away some of the piles which had stacked up around the egg.

"You know that you are not meant to help an egg hatch," he said, pointing out that we were digging for an egg which might just have died otherwise.

"I know, but... I can feel her! I don't know her name, all I know is that ... well, she's afraid and she's so tired! Oh look! Look!" I squealed, as the egg, now free from the pressure of the sands, started to break open! So quickly it happened, I didn't even feel how the hot sands were burning my knees (I saw later on, they were almost blistered!) or how the sand had cut into my skin.

All I saw was a lovely green dragonet, freshly wet and covered with a sheen of the sand that came tumbling back down! She opened her faceted eyes, and looked right into mine!

I am Enabeth, she thought to me! She thought to ME!! Can you shake some of this sand off? I cannot walk it is so thick on my feet!

Of course, I did! She came out from the little pit we had dug, and came gracefully too! Like she owned the place! She was still very tired, though, and I started to feel how hungry she was!

"We must get you some food, and then you can come sleep in your new weyr!"

V'nya watched and helped me up, and asked me, "so? What is she called?"

"Enabeth!" I said, proudly. "Enabeth and I will fly to the stars some day!!"

When the word got out that there had been another hatchling from that clutch, everything changed. Everyone looked at me like I was different now.

But not everyone was happy with it. I couldn't believe my ears when some of the older boys and girls who Impressed before I did would taunt me! Enabeth and I had to work so much harder, to get their respect.

But I was already working in the Starcraft. Enabeth gave me all the support that I needed there.

"I've become a Journeywoman, Enabeth! Look! I have the knots!"

You are now closer to the stars? Enabeth asked, sure that she remembered something about stars.

"Yes! You and I are going to be working very closely to the crafters! I'm so happy! They like having a rider around, we can tell them if their predictions are all correct, and I can make sure that we have everything we need when we fly Thread!"

Enabeth gave me her happy look, where her eyes were a mix between her greeny skin and a rich blue. You are pleased with me too?

"Always, Ena, always!"

Now that Enabeth is fully grown, she and I are going to be changing weyrs. We have spent the best time in Dragonsoul, but now I've become a Journeywoman Starcrafter, so I must be on my way! I think I will visit the northern weyrs first, and then head south. I don't know much about the southern stars, so that will be a challenge to me!

Enabeth is always so wonderful, even if she's never really been... um, the brightest of dragons. She flies as high as I ask her to, and never backs away from a challenge. But neither do I!