Candidacy Page for Seiryuu Weyr

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Zasarin looked up from his work. He was an apprentice Woodcrafter, he was a lot older than the other boys however, he hadn't been able to be apprenticed till his 15th turn due to a serious illness. He had been ill for over 3 years and still had a very pale complexion. It was still morning, but he had been up for 3 hours now. He was working on a very difficult and precise sculpture. He had to do it in his spare time because art wasn't exactly why he had been apprenticed to the Hall. He had to learn how to carve furniture and such. But Zasri had always been more interested in art. He could remember making little sculptures of his sister, parents and wild animals when he was younger. Especially the three years he had been ill had been busy years for him. That was when the Wood Craft had seen his potential. They had promised him a spot in the Hall if he got better. It had given him a whole new reason for living. Never before had he thought of his figurines as something to craft in, but then he hadn't given crafting a lot of thought since it hadn't been certain he'd survive.
An other reason for him to get better was his sister Blanka. She needed him. He had seen her grow weaker as his illness grew worse. They had a good bond between them. They had often made jokes about living together as old people. Of course, they would get married and their ways would separate. But he knew that if he died, she would forever miss something. Being ill had given him more than enough time to think. That was why he didn't speak much, he was busy analysing the data and preparing his next actions. Life always seemed like a battle to him, and it had been like a battle most of the time he could remember.
He looked up at the sun again. He had an hour tops before they would miss him. He was making a wood carving of Blanka and himself. He knew she missed him, even though he visited once every sevenday. He would visit her again tomorrow, that's why he needed to get the carving done. It was Blanka's birthday and he would give it to her as a present.

He put his hands around Blanka's eyes and asked: "Guess who."
"Zasri?!" she laughed and hugged him
"No need to strangle me sis! Wait till you see what I made you!" Funny he was only talkative around Blanka....he didn't need to calculate his moves around her. The first hour she didn't leave his side, not even to go to her very jealous looking boyfriend.
"Ahh, your my brother and I only see you once a sevenday! He has to understand." She said, dismissing his objections.
"It's not like I'm going to marry him, not this one, he's fun, but not someone to spend my life with."
"Then, what is your ideal man like?"
"Hmmm, I'll know when I meet him." she grinned, "and I don't plan to meet him anytime soon!"
They laughed and went to talk to their aunt who was waiting, not very patiently, for her niece to pay her a visit.

Later that day, when the sun was a few hours past it's Zenith, a dragon flew into the hold. It was Green Trith, known by all holders as Seiryuu's Weyr head Searchdragon. Everyone cheered as C'fron landed and smiled. There was a clutch on the sands!
"People, you all know what to do! Give Trith the room she needs to spot any likely candidate." C'fron said
The crowd parted. children and older people getting to the edges of the field, making room for the younger folk to giggle and take poses the dragon might like. All this time Zasri had been mesmerised by the Green's eyes. They seemed to glow in a hypnotising way, making it unable for him to look away.
"Ahh! Trith has spotted a likely candidate. What's your name boy?" C'fron asked
Zasarin hardly noticed C'fron was talking to him...
"He's talking to you you know...state your name."
"Zasarin" he whispered.
"So, want to become a candidate?"
Zasri glanced sideways at his sister. She stood there, beaming with pride and her eyes conveying the message: "If you say no, I might kill you, brother or not."
"eh....Yes." he said.
"Fine! We'll be back to pick you up tomorrow evening, that should be enough time to get everything you need."

The Hall had been a bit reluctant to see him leave, but he had chosen and they had to respect it. He had enjoyed his trip adragonback. It was very comforting that the green talked to him. He didn't know if that was normal, but he was glad she did, because it was the only thing that kept him from screaming in between. He had slept in the Candidate's quarters in the Lower Caverns and was now awake to explore the Weyr.
When he saw several men with looked to be baby firelizards he asked how they had gotten them.
"You've got to go to the Sea Hold, son. They help you there."
It wasn't a long hike to the Sea Hold, and it was quite a pleasant walk too. Once he got there he asked the first holder he saw about the firelizards.
"A firelizard? You've got to talk to Jonie about that, she's in charge of the eggs...you're in luck, that's her."  The holder said as he pointed to a tall woman.
Zasri stood still and watched the tall woman approaching him. The holder had said she was in charge of the eggs. He walked up to her and said:
"Goodday, I was told to go to you for a firelizard."
"Say! you are one of the candidates for the clutch, aren't you?" Jonie asked.
"Yes, I am." Zasri said, "But I've always liked the idea of owning a firelizard. I better get an egg now while I'm still in the Weyr if I shouldn't impress or while I still have time to tend for it should I impress."
"That's not a bad idea." Jonie shrugged, "You can pick one."
Zasri looked closely at them, let his hand hover above the eggs and then grabbed one.
"I like this one!" Zasri said and the egg cracked. It revealed a baby blue. The prettiest firelizard there had ever been in the eyes of Zasri.
"You will be Cippo."

CIPPO

HATCHING

He heard the cry of the baby. Zasri didn't sleep all that well these last days. The excitement of the upcoming hatching had got to him. Not that he was a fast sleeper at normal times. He heard the cry and only minutes later the hasty arrangements of people getting dressed and leaving. Then he heard it! The singing of the dragons. He leapt out of bed and jumped into his tunic. Then he left for the hatching grounds. It was almost a miracle everyone had gotten their in time, but they had. A moment of silence until the son of the Weyrwoman cried "Hat'chy" And then they did. A blue and bronze. Odd he hadn't seen the bronze's egg. With a raised eyebrow he looked at the queen. She wouldn't have hidden some eggs right? Unbonded dragons almost never survived...
A green dragon found her rider and both left in total silence. Then a brown and two blues found their mates. The last blue did some funny antics and hopped through the sands to a girl. Zasri smiled and felt slightly relieved. He was too tensed, he could feel his chest hurt as his heart and lungs started to work harder again. Another green and a white ran over the sands to their riders.
Then there was a short silence that only made Zasri more tensed then before when finally 2 browns hatched. One was his for sure. Zasri looked at the lazy dragonet laying on the sands, waiting for him to get to him. Zasri carefully placed his feet, he didn't want to crack open more hidden eggs, and reached his brown.
"So you come to me then?" the brown asked.
"That would be the size of it, Xeroncheth." All tension was lifted as he felt Xeroncheth's presence in his mind, "Are you hungry?"
"Very now that you mention it."

XERONCHETH

WEYRLING
"Xeroncheth!!!" Zasri yelled.
"Yes..." the sleepy reply of the brown came, "the bad dream again?"
"Yeah, but I feel better now."
"I will never leave you you know. Not ever."
The snoaring indicated Xeroncheth had gone back to sleep. Z'rin sighed. How he missed Blanka calling him Zasri. They should visit her, it had been a full month since he had last spoken to her!
"I'll call you Zasri if you like that..." So Xeroncheth hadn't been fully asleep yet.
"You can too, but no-one else." Z'rin said.
Z'rin walked to the opening of his newly appointed weyr (Xeroncheth was getting big) and looked down into the bowl. The night was very peaceful. How would it feel to fall? Just in time Cippo awoke and chirruped hungrily. Z'rin hastily turned away from the gap and went to see his little blue.
"You are supposed to stop eating so much when you are grown!"

Cippo

Cippo only crooned and hungrily devoured the piece of meat Z'rin held out to him. Z'rin turned to his bed again. He might get another two hours of sleep before he had to wake. He needed help. And he still couldn't think of himself as Z'rin. He was just Zasri.

ADULT

"Hurry Xeroncheth! We can't be seen!" Zasri yelled as he dove into the little cave he had been hiding in. Seiryuu seemed only a bad dream...well, he knew he had gotten Xeroncheth there and he would always be gratefull, but that place just wasn't right for him. It was too far away from his family and especially Blanka.
He wanted to go to her so badly, she always knew the answer. But he couldn't. Word of his departure from Seiryuu would have reached them by now. They would be disapointed in him. They would make him go back. He couldn't go back. He wasn't this person they called Z'rin. He was still Zasri in his heart, not even Xeroncheth could change that.
"I don't want to, I'll love you no matter who you are." Xeroncheth butted in.
"I know."
"You shouldn't ponder like this. Blanka loves you, she'll understand."
"Maybe. But if we go into the world again, I'll need to find another name for you so people won't recognise us."
"Might I suggest Xeron?"
"Why Xeron?" Zasri asked, wondering where the -th had gone too.
"I like it." Xeroncheth smiled.

The next night Xeroncheth took him, Zasri and Cippo to Zasri's home town. Zasri had never realised how much he loved the night. It was all so quiet and peaceful. Maybe the night was just beautiful because he was going home, he didn't care.

Outside Blanka's window was a tree where they had often climbed as children. It felt good to climb it again.
Once at Blanka's window he tapped the window, hoping she'd hear.
The light went on, she was awake. His heart beat faster, fearing she'd be angry at him for coming here.
"Zasri?! Where were you? We were all so worried!" she cried out when she saw him.
"Shhh! You'll wake mum and dad." Zasri whispered.
"No I won't! They're over at Seiryuu looking for you."
"They are looking for Z'rin, I'm only Zasri."
She gave him a queer look as he entered her window. For a second he feared again, but he calmed as he felt Xeroncheth telling him it would be ok.
"You won't go back?" She asked suddenly, turning towards him.
"Never."
"Then I cannot stop you. I will be leaving soon too."
"Where?"
"Remyndal Hall. I'm enlisted to teach there."
"I've never heard of this place."
"That's because it is new. As in, still being built." her eyes stared in the distance and a faint smile appeared on her face, "Oh Zasri, it will be marvelous. A place where you can go and stay without needing to fear, where you can learn a trade and start a new life."
Zasri had his doubts about that, but he didn't want to crash her dreams with pessimistic thoughts about funding and managemant.
"The best thing is all will be provided by the nearby Weyr! All they ask from us is that they won't mind them searching candidates there every so often. As if we'd mind that!"
"Wonderful." he could see his sister was enchanted by this place.
"Will you come?" She asked.
"I will." he said as he looked her in the eyes and saw the hope he needed.

Blanka had been right about the building status of the place. Only one hall was finished and that was where the teachers slept. As far as they knew he was just another dragonrider from Lantessama Weyr. All he had to do was stay out of the other dragon's way. This worked well for a week.

"Zasri! Come quick! There's been an accident!" Blanka screamed when she saw him coming.
Zasri leaped of Xeroncheth and ran towards the building site. Three or four man had been caught below a large stone tablet, bigger than he'd ever seen. Xeroncheth would be needed. The dragon gladly came on his call and lifted the tablet high enough for the other workmen to lift their coleagues out.
When they turned to thank him, he was already gone, avoiding the incoming helpers from the Weyr. But he wasn't gone fast enough. One green spotted the brown of Xeroncheth as he flew over the rainforest.
"I see a dragon." she told her rider.
"Can't be, I see all our dragons here."
"He's not one of ours."
"Then by all means follow him, so we can go thank him." Xasnis told Hydrath.

Xeroncheth hid as the green flew over, but she still felt him and landed right next to their cave.
"You shouldn't hide from me!" Xasnis called.
Zasri sighed and came out, he couldn't hide. At least he didn't know her.
"What's your name?"
"Zasri, and this is Xeron."
"ok, Zasri, this is no place for a dragon, not with a Weyr in less then 5 minutes of flight."
"I know, but I like it here."
"It is lovely," Xasnis said as she looked at the clearing, a lot of caves, a stream with a small pond and what looked to be a stone surface under her feet, "I'll have our weyrleaders take a look at it."
"So I'm supposed to come with you?"
"No, but I will invite you to fly Hydrath, not many people have been applying since I have a weyrmate. But there are many girls to please you."
Zasri coudln't quite refuse her offer without revealing who he was. You didn't say no to a dragonrider. Now, wait, he was a dragonrider too...could he refuse? Better not. He had been getting rather lonely...and they had already seen a mating flight overhead once that almost made Xeroncheth chase the female.
"Ok, I'll come. But I'd like to stay close to Remyndal Hall if you don't mind."
"Of course not."

Lantessama Isle