Aftermath Presents: Dragons, Maidens, and Heroes

[Raisha]

"Once upon a time, there was a lonely queen who had borne many children, but all of them had grown up and left her, so she longed for more of her own . . ."

So began the day when Telgar Weyr's senior queen Dalgeth laid her thirteenth clutch of eggs. Thirteen seems to be a very unlucky number for the Weyr: Telgar is still struggling to overcome their heavy losses and political downfall during the Great Plague that ravaged all of Pern, and so even though Dalgeth's clutch was smaller than anticipated, the Weyr could still not muster enough Candidates for the nineteen eggs. In a risky move, the Weyr Council announced that even without a queen egg, girls would be permitted to Stand on the Sands, on a tentative guess that girls could actually Impress green fighting dragons!

This experiment has only caused further problems, with the other five Weyrs losing even more respect for Telgar, and a good deal of dissension among the Wings. An attempt was made to kidnap the girl Candidates to prevent them from making it onto the Sands, but the offending riders were caught, stripped of their rank, and forced to return the girls safely.

On September 18th, Aftermath's SearchCo invites you to a very special event: the birth of senior queen Dalgeth's thirteenth clutch by bronze Lazulith. Beautiful but fierce dragons shall leap from the remains of our treasured eggs. Will they choose dashing young lads -- or will some be lured by the few brave maidens who have dared to forsake tradition and step into the dangerous path of the dragons' hunt? Come and witness the stunning conclusion of the Great Greenie Girl Experiment . . . and the beginning of a revolution as women rejoin the Fighting Wings of Telgar Weyr for the first time in a millenium!

The event will begin at 9 am Pacific time (12 pm Eastern) and continue throughout the day in Telgar's Hatching Cavern. All of Pern is invited to attend. Transportation will be provided by the Weyr, so please dress in layers. The first tier of the Galleries will be reserved for our esteemed guests; plenty of seating is available in the upper four tiers, but is first-come, first-served, so arrive early for the best view. Ledge space is limited for visiting dragons inside the Cavern. Refreshments will follow in the Living Cavern.

Aftermath: Telgar Weyr welcomes you to this historical event! Guests and lurkers are welcome to sit back and enjoy the show, because the Hatching will feature both stunning role-play by our talented writers and beautiful illustrations. Of course, we hope that when you've seen how something as common as a Hatching can turn into an interactive Weyr-wide event in Aftermath, you'll want to create your own character and stay to play with us. Candidates are welcome to Stand, although it's too late to apply for Impression, but we'd also love assistant weyrlingmasters, crafters, and many other character types.

[Raisha]

With our first Hatching over, things are busier than ever in Aftermath: Telgar Weyr. To many's surprise, six girls--every one who had been brave enough to try being a Candidate--Impressed green dragons, the first time such an Impression as occured in remembered history. Now the new weyrlings are hard at work, training to be riders while their dragons grow, but no one's really sure how to treat the girls. Should they be handled like queen riders, given special treatment for their gender? Or should they be undistinguished from the boys with green dragons? The Weyrlingmasters--and the rest of Telgar--disagree on the proper protocol for this unprecedented situation. And meanwhile, someone has been messing with the weyrlings. It's just little things: personal items gone missing, a pot of oil overturned, nasty surprises left in their beds. But if someone can sneak in and out of the barracks so easily to cause mischief, are they capable of something more sinister?

We have a few slots left for weyrling characters if you'd like to join this class. Two blue dragons and two green dragons remain unnamed; all of the riders are boys. No other details have been determined on these four pairs, except that they were either Candidates picked up from Ista Weyr or they were already living in Telgar Weyr before the Clutching. Unfortunately, we've filled our quota for female greenriders right now, but we'll Impress more at the next Hatching (look for more details after the New Year), so create your potential Candidates now!

The rest of Telgar Weyr is occupied with the Turn's End celebrations right now: fun and games for everyone. Headwoman Maricella is still playing matchmaker in her scheme to make everyone in the Weyr find a partner and start making babies, to re-populate the lower caverns which were decimated by last winter's Plague. Rumor-mongers try to figure out which of the holiday delicacies and treats have been spiked with an aphrodisiac.

But just as with the Weyrlings, some mysterious individual seems intent on spoiling the fun of Turn's End for everyone else. Already on First Day, the Gift Exchange has been ruined when someone stole most of the presents. Who is responsible, and will the Dragonriders and Weyrfolk be able to stop the perpetrator before this holiday mischief escalates into something dangerous?

Send in your character sheets or adopt one of our NPCs quickly if you hope to solve the mystery, because on Sunday, the new Turn begins with a fresh slate!