2022/05/11 Gold Malvayth has Flown, caught by Bronze Xyxyth of A'tay. Their Hatching will be PC, and take place in Telgar in August around the 20-22nd! Update your Candidate Applications and prepare for some fun!
2022/04/21 New default layout! I hope you enjoy it! If you find any bugs, please report them in the discord #bug-squishing channel!
05/JUL It’s Hatching time!! Come take part in the shenanigans here
30/JUN Gold Thallyath of Ista Weyr has laid a clutch! More information here
27/JUN A bluerider, and then a greenrider, are found dead. More information here
30/MAY After the Touching, many Candidates found themselves preyed upon in the form of their food. More information here
18/MAY Another goldrider - Ameris of Benden - is attacked. More information here
05/MAY Multiple individuals are attacked whilest out of the Weyr! More information here
04/MAY Take a chance OOC and guess who you think the murderer is! You can win prizes! More information here
03/MAY Goldrider Cazan and her twin brother Cazelarias are attacked. More information here
24/APR Goldrider Ashara of Fort is murdered by two brownriders. More information here
12/APR Searchrider B’jin was attacked at Telgar Weyr, surffering a slash to his throat. While in Benden, bluerider B’dor is found dead in his weyr. More info here
05/APRMore attacks occurred today. More information here
03/APRMultiple individuals found their death this day; more information here and here
28/MAR Tragedy has struck again! Across all the Weyrs, multiple people - primarily dragonriders - have fallen ill after eating muffins. There have been multiple deaths, and others are in criticle condition. More information here
24/MAR Weyrwoman Ameris and her son, Rislan, poisoned! More information here
18/MAR Benden’s Weyrleader M’ris and his children have been poisoned! Resulting in sickness and death. More information here
18/MAROn 18.03.742 Bronzerider A’dris of Vyaniorth was found dead in his personal bathing pool. He appears to have drowned after drinking an excess of alcohol. Afterwards it was realized that Machiya of Gold Cameth from Telgar Weyr had disappeared. Having never arrived at her destination, it is suspected she had an accident between.
11/MAR Gold Racoth of Donmaline went between taking Bronze Beruth of T’rel with her shortly after she had been caught, due to T’rel strangling Donmaline. He did not survive. more info
25/FEB Congratulations and thank-you to Guest for taking on a moderator role! <3
Welcome to the Month of Lovetm! This month's Monthly Event is all about Romance, whether it is asking someone out on a date, or getting sweaty between the sheets! Anything and everything counts, if it even looks sideways like it could be related to Valentine Day -- including lover's spats, or breaking up, Flights Wins (or Flight Losses!). Honestly, this month has a huge opportunity for interpertation, so go wild!
Ahh, the fresh snow, the crisp air, the naked trees... welcome to Winter! Or, just the Colder Months for those in the more Northern Weyrs, while Ista is just... not as hot. But it is time to enjoy the end of the Turn, so folks should get together, spend some time gossiping, and drinking Hot Chocolate (alcohol and marshmallows opional)... does Pern even have marshmallows????? (they do now!)
Mylorah was nervous, but also excited. Tazikel kept telling her it was okay to be both and that it would be fine, but now that they were moments away from the Touching actually beginning, it was harder to believe him. She didn't even know why she was so nervous! How many Touchings had she gone through as a Candidate without a fuss? Not even Thallyath's maiden clutch had slowed down her stride entering the Sands that day--though the bad reaction she had to one of the eggs had stayed with her for longer than she admitted to everyone but her men. Still, she had gone on to the next Touching without too much hesitation. So why was she a ball of nerves for her dragon's first Touching?
Because you're worried everyone will have a bad experience. Total nonsense! We have given my babies nothing but love and even Z'kel liked the ones he met. Mylorah gave Amagrith a quick smile, letting some of the tension go. She was right; they had done everything perfectly and even her punishment of being confined to the Sands and working on the most boring of paperwork had been a blessing in the end. She'd been there daily, telling stories to Amagrith and the eggs while they also worked together on being better at the gold pair thing.
And then there was the part that had them being naughty and sneaking Z'kel in last night so he could have his own Touching since he had been robbed of that experience before his own surprise Impression. Seravath had been fine with it and it probably didn't hurt that they had promised the plucky green a job during the Touching. Z'kel was going to keep Mylorah company on the Sands that day while Amagrith overlooked the whole affair and Seravath would guard the entrance and give the Candidates approval to enter. Mylorah really hoped that didn't backfire and no one was denied access, but what was one more blemish on her record?
As Tazikel approached with the mugs of hot chocolate and snacks she sent him off for, Mylorah officially relaxed. Everything would be fine. There were bound to be some negative reactions, but that was normal, she reminded herself yet again and accepted a mug. It was hot on the Sands, but chocolate in any form was a comfort. "Okay, Seravath! Let them in!" She felt only slightly bad for the Candidate Master having to put up with yet another eccentric gold pair, but if it avoided a gold having a hissy fit, most things were tolerated.
Candidates are divided into groups of twenty (20) who each visit the eggs for an hour, with a 15 minute gap between sessions. For the purpose of RP, all PC Candidates are in the same group, which is being threaded now.
This Touching commenced at 8am and this is the first group, meaning that no one else has Touched the eggs yet. There are 21 eggs which have numbers neatly marked on them in charcoal. A minimum of one touch is required. The ladies are expected to touch the gold egg and are free to try others as well.
Candidates are expected to be polite and demure; the safety of the eggs is paramount and anyone found to be goofing around will be removed. Firelizards are not allowed on the Sands during the Touching. The same goes for humans that are not a part of the class and the instructors. Special permission can be granted if asked beforehand but even then, there won’t be many exceptions granted.
Eggs are approximately 4 to 5 feet in length, and approximately half to two-thirds that in width. They’re rather squat and roundish. Eggs are laid in a leathery state, much like an earthen snake egg. They slowly expand as they harden with the youngster growing within. When a candidate Touches an egg, they will find the shell to be hard, but kind of lumpy and bumpy in some spots, and smooth in others, depending on how the dragonet shifted during the hardening phase. All the eggs are roughly the same mottled greenish-tan, except for the gold egg, which has a bit of the metallic gold colour in the shell, in addition to being larger than all the others.
Additionally, when the Candidate’s hand connects with the shell, the dragonet within will reach out mentally and touch their mind. The response the dragonet has to each individual candidate is extremely varied and often considered private by the individuals. A negative response from a dragonet does not denote the inability to Impress the hatchling within! There have been several cases in the past – PC and NPC – when characters Impressed to a hatchling from an egg that they thought hated them.
If you want a reply from the egg, put an ooc note below a hr tag with a number 1-20 or 'gold' and I'll get one up. You can also ask for the word used for the prompts if you wish to interpret that your own way.
How did every single Weyr always put him in the first group of the day? Was he not allowed to sleep in? Not that he had much of that the last three weeks thanks to his punishment for punching a bluerider that couldn't keep his mouth shut. At least this early start marked the end of tending to mushrooms and emptying buckets of various substances that ranked from 'gross' to 'kill me now'. They couldn't risk the eggs surprising them with an early Hatching while he was covered in manure, now could they?
Another thing he noted all Weyrs liked to do was to keep his siblings together. That, at least he could understand. They could be trouble together, but more often than not, they helped keep each other under control--or in Zor's case, on time and not lost somewhere. Although, while they still had a high number thanks to R'nd's bed hopping, they were dwindling as a unit. Zor, Xendrin, and Wynera accompanied him on the walk to the Sands and it still felt odd not having Mylorah with them. Although, he supposed she would be there this time since it was her dragon's clutch. It was still mind-blowing that she managed a gold. He'd actually lost a few marks on his bet she'd be the one to break the pattern and Impress blue.
He also had some friends in the group, like Qori, Faeli, and Fetch, so the rest of the day didn't look too bad. They could all gossip about how the Touching went while lazing the day away. Or maybe getting in a good work out, Orgailian pondered as he eyed up Fetch once more.
And then there was a green dragon in his way. Huh, that was new. But why did anything surprise him when it came to Mylorah? She really did do things her own way and having her mate's dragon sniff and prod each Candidate before entering seemed on par with her level of mischief. He waited in line until it was his turn and he was deemed worthy to enter. Once they were all inside, the Candidate Master didn't waste further time and let them loose.
Orgailian studied the clutch and his classmates that scurried among the eggs before he started on his own path. He didn't have any plans this time, just went where his feet took him and stopped at a vacant egg, laying his hand upon it before any doubts or waffling crept in.
Faeli all but skipped her way to the Sands. She enjoyed Touchings and how everyone shared their experiences afterward as it was something that brought even the most opposite of people together. But this one was extra special as another one of her friends had Impressed a gold and was having their maiden clutch. She couldn't wait to pester Mylorah later and see what it was like to be on the goldrider side of a Touching.
And there was a gold egg! Maybe she'd know first hand in a year or two. Not that Faeli was set on Impressing gold. She'd be happy with any dragon that wanted her, though maybe she'd honestly prefer blue if she made herself think about what would be a good match or what she wanted from her life mate. Then again, green wasn't entirely out of the question either! She'd leave it up to the dragons. They always knew best anyway.
Like how Seravath knew they could all be trusted to treat Amagrith's eggs with respect, although Faeli played along with her when the green tried to deny her entry. She pouted and started to walk away before Seravath deemed that to be the appropriate response and let her in. Giggling, Faeli thanked her and continued inside. She waved at Mylorah and Z'kel and loved how adorable they were together. Faeli needed to go to more Gathers and try to find a lordling of her own if they were all as handsome as Z'kel and Yfris.
Her attention snapped to the eggs when their time began. Faeli saw a few of the other girls lining up at the gold, and while she knew she had to greet that little lady as well, she figured she'd start with one of the others instead of wasting time in a queue. She meandered through the clutch until she found an egg that was unoccupied and with a number that lured her in.
Wynera hummed lightly to herself as the group cut across the Bowl to the Hatching ground. She wasn't one of the Candidates that hopped Weyrs for Hatchings, so the novelty was still there for Touchings with nerves and excitement battling for supremacy. She greeted Seravath like they were old friends and blew her a kiss as she passed by. She liked that Mylorah and Amagrith had let the spunky green dragon be a part of the big day, even if it was mostly just for show.
Speaking of Mylorah, she looked as radiant as ever standing between her dragon and one of her men. She'd always been closest to A'tay given they shared a mom and grew up in the same home, but the others all treated her kindly and like they were all fully related as well--and they were just so cool! She wanted to be like them. T'ryn always seemed to have everything figured out and now had a cute family. Mylorah and Casa were just so confident and comfortable in everything they did. Zoremet and Xendrin just did things at their own pace, and Orgailian was much the same but with a sharper edge to it. He didn't care what others thought of him but they all learned he actually did care about his family and would lash out when provoked. She both loved and hated him for fighting the bluerider in her honour but was now happy to see him set free of his punishment.
She probably took after A'tay the most, however. They were both rather introverted in comparison to most weyrbrats, but she was happy, had friends and hobbies, and was enjoying figuring out who she really was. Wynera hoped being a dragonrider would be a part of who she was, but she'd be content in waiting as well. But she wouldn't know by just standing there staring at the eggs. After a pause to consider, Wynera went to stand behind a woman already at the gold egg, deciding to try her compatibility there first.
It was cold and it was morning. If he didn't like (and slightly fear) Mylorah so much, Xendrin would have stayed in Igen Weyr being toasty and sleeping through the day. But there he was, all bundled up and being sniffed by a green dragon before stepping onto the Sands. Did he miss the announcement about green security duties? Wouldn't a bronze be more suited to such a task? It all made more sense when he saw Z'kel standing with Mylorah and he turned back to blink sleepy eyes at the green he now recognised as Seravath. Cool.
He gave double thumbs up to Mylorah when he saw her glancing his way and then moved to the eggs. He nearly tripped over his own feet and froze to stare wide eyed at Amagrith who was now watching him. Right, maybe he should have had a second mug of klah before coming to a Touching. Definitely noted for the Hatching. Xendrin gave himself a slap to each cheek, drawing a few looks his way, but he didn't care. The sting helped enough to focus on not destroying his sister's first Touching by landing on the egg he successfully made it to and greeted.
Touchings just did not hold the same appeal and intrigue that the first handful had. He had concluded the mystic connection was just randomly done by babies with no control (further based on the hatchlings not having any volume control) and meant absolutely nothing when it came to bonding at the Hatching. He had witnessed many men and women walk away without a dragon despite having a positive or heartfelt connection at the Touching (himself included) while also seeing men bond with a dragon that came from an egg they had never Touched. In further conclusion, Touchings were a waste of time that kept the superstitious happy. He could get behind avoiding a riot as they had far too much chaotic energy even for him.
And if he wanted to keep Weyr hopping and doing his own thing, then he had to keep showing up to Touchings which then put him in for Hatchings. It was all so tedious and involved far more standing around than he liked, but Ulliendis tossed on his flirty persona as he meandered past the green dragon with the rest of his group. He knew Mylorah--who didn't? She would make an excellent spy with how everyone gravitated to her and she made an effort to know people--so when he spotted her, he tossed on a large grin and waved. "Mylorah, love! Congratulations on the clutch! And to you as well, dearest Amagrith," he sketched a perfect bow to the golden pair, not at all caring about her boy toy beside her. He knew exactly who Z'kel was and the family he came from, but he was a minor player in that day's act. Who knew? Maybe any spiked jealousy would spice up Z'kel's evening with Mylorah.
There were some interesting characters in his group that day. Ulliendis decided he could get away with just one egg and then observe everyone else. He'd pinpoint the ones having visceral reactions and target them later for details and what else they might reveal in the process. But first, an egg. He wandered up to the nearest one and settled his hand against the warm shell.
"No, don't you dare go near those memories," Orgailian practically groaned as he had a visceral reaction to the dragonet's prodding. His loyalty and defensiveness of his more innocent siblings had been latched onto as soon as his hand met the shell, but there wasn't any praise or respect for defending Winnie's honour. In fact, that incident was hardly even looked at as the nosy bastard found the evening in Benden Weyr's library that nearly killed Zor. He had nearly died as well, and before that attack, Orgailian may have said that was the more important fact, but a lot changed from the moment he fell stiff to the floor and could do nothing to help his brother.
Was it regret, though? Absolutely. His desire to research was the reason why they were there in the first place and maybe they both would have been safe if they had been anywhere else that night. He did his best to never regret anything he did, good or bad, but that decision was something he could not let go of no matter how many times he was told to and how he wouldn't have ever known the outcome of their trip. For the longest time, he thought it had been guilt that plagued him, but no one blamed him for the attack. Everything he felt was brought on by himself and he deserved it, despite the egg-dweller now adding to the warm fuzzies that insisted he was innocent.
Disgusted at how the first Touching went, Orgailian pulled away his hand before the dragonet could leave first and turned his back on the egg. He didn't need encouragement or pity or gentle nudging to let it go. What he needed was to be stronger so it wouldn't happen again. He'd have to ask K'dar to train him. He'd gotten lucky in his recent fight due to having the advantage of surprise and pinning the rider down as he pummelled him, but it could have been far worse for himself if he had been jumped again.
Orgailian scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to remove all traces of emotion and collect himself enough to go for another egg. He didn't want to, but he had to support Mylorah, so a couple more rounds of torment were in order. He did his best to think happy thoughts and memories before moving on to another egg.
The questions weren't specifically asked, but Faeli felt the impression of them all the same and frowned at the dragonet she couldn't see. She supposed ambition was having a desire to reach for the goal, whatever it might be. So, before she could ask herself if she was ambitious, she needed to figure out what the goal was.
There had been a Touching roughly a year ago that had a little fellow encouraging her to be a Healer so she could help her friends like she wished she could after all of the attacks. But it turned out she didn't have a head for remembering such things and lacked the stomach to hold herself together when she saw blood. So she had ambition. Once. Then it fell through and Faeli realised she was back to her old ways of just... existing.
She didn't think she was useless or in the way and did the chores asked of her, but what was a long term goal? Impressing gold and becoming a Weyrwoman? Faeli snorted. Not likely! That was well above her reach for so many reasons and that thought alone showed how unambitious she really was. But she was still young! What was the rush? Besides, any dreams she might try to have likely revolved around Impressing and Impressing green or blue and becoming a Searchrider was a very different goal than what she could aim for as a goldrider.
Maybe she could start small and work on her sewing. It was something she enjoyed and it could even benefit the Weyr, even if only in a small way. Maybe she could make something the leadership would wear to meetings with Lords! That would be pretty cool, and Faeli smiled as she thanked the dragonet for giving her yet another nudge and something to try for.
Seeing that the line for the gold egg was moving along, Faeli figured it was a good time to go for it next and then try a couple of other eggs. That first interaction risked ruining her mood and time at the Touching, but she was in great spirits once more and couldn't wait to meet more of the babies.
Wynera was deep in thought as she walked away from the gold egg so she could stand off to the side and out of the way. As soon as she felt the presence brush her mind, it had been one of curiosity, but then it quickly targeted her thoughts of her siblings and how envious she could be over aspects of their lives. Then just as quickly, she was dismissed, as if the gold was disgusted with her.
It wasn't that she lived with envy in her heart! She was simply still figuring out who she was while slowly starting to get a taste of that freedom her siblings always seemed to have from the get-go. Wynera also used them as guidelines for what she might like, but she didn't let it rule every aspect of her life, so the dismissal of the gold dragonet stung a bit. Although she supposed a goldrider had to be confident in who she was and what she did, both things Wynera knew she was only starting to get a handle on herself.
Maybe she was just afraid to be herself, especially given how so many people still saw her as if she was twelve and pure. Orgailian and Mylorah fighting a bluerider because he called her a whore proved that. She quickly covered her mouth with a hand before she laughed at how ridiculous it all was. Maybe, if she didn't Impress here, she'd make a trip to Igen Weyr and ask A'tay how he dealt with overcoming perceptions and going after what he wanted. K'dar would be a good one to talk with as well as she had seen his own changes and embracing who he was over the last couple of years. She also didn't think either would judge or tease her as she tried to work through everything on her mind.
One thing she did know was that she didn't want to make Mylorah worry if she continued to stand aside and not Touch more eggs. Besides, even the negative interactions still could be useful and Wynera liked meeting as many of the dragonets as she could. So off she went to do just that.
Xendrin smiled at the egg and decided the dragonet within had to be a cuddle-loving green or maybe a blue. He was instantly overwhelmed with the need to curl up in R'dal's pillow pile and have a nap. This presence was comforting; cozy. It was like all of his problems vanished and simply vibing and enjoying the moment snuggled up with friends was all that mattered. Maybe he could get some friends to agree to that after the Touching. It was cool enough that getting a group together would be toasty and enjoyable for all. Maybe he'd even try to get that to be a tradition for the rest of the days before the Hatching. They could all use the downtime and who didn't like snuggling? R'dal's cuddle puddle would live and spread across the Weyrs if he had any say in it.
"Thanks, little dude. I needed that." A reminder to slow down and relax was actually needed from time to time. He liked being active, but the dragonet brought up good counterpoints for taking it easy as well. He gave the egg a little pat in gratitude and parting and stepped away. Now he was truly primed for the Touching. He was relaxed and feeling good, so on to the next one!
"Aw, thanks, eggie baby," Ulliendis smirked as he got the impression the dragonet liked how strategic he was when on a mission or simply planning his mayhem of the day. "Ger Bear would be appalled that you think so and are encouraging me to continue." That was only partly true. Geric liked to worry that he didn't take their craft seriously, which just meant he was great at his job. If his friend could sometimes be fooled by his antics, then what chance did anyone else have?
Ulliendis caught Xendrin looking at him as the other Candidate was passing by, so he gave a bright smile with a flourish of his hands to present the egg. "You should visit this one. Absolute delight! Called me charismatic and loved my flirtatious nature." When Xendrin shrugged and took him up on the offer, Ullendis walked away and toward the stands. He'd stick with his original plan to get one egg out of the way before moving to observing the other Candidates. He could already tell there were some juicy reactions to get out of people later on with the way Orgailian looked murderous and some of the girls thoughtful. Maybe he'd send Geric to Wynera for that particular project.
Hello loves! While I haven't been writing, I have been working on updating some issues that have been hanging around on the layout! The Character change box is now at the bottom of the page, beside the up/down arrows! Green and Gold dragon flight dates have been shifted to the bottom of the page, where the (useless!) discord widget was located. Where the dragon flights were in the header, is now replaced by a Monthly Event box! This will be updated at the start of each month, with a fun mini-event you can take part in, if you want to! Thistle!
