Post by Lark on Mar 2, 2013 20:51:10 GMT -5
Candidate
When a weyrbrat turns into a candidate, everything changes. Suddenly, they do work not to learn about things, but as a service. They have to have regular lessons about hatching etiquette and Weyrlife. Harpers and riders will be brought in to do demonstrations as well. The thing is, not all candidates are from weyrbrat stock.
Candidacy starts from the moment a search dragon finds a suitable child from the ages of 13-30. It can be from the area around a Weyr, someone visiting the Weyr, a hold that the Weyr looks after, anywhere. Sometimes, there are even candidates found during Weyrbusiness in holds not beholden to the searching Weyr. After seeking out a candidate, the searchrider talks to the parents of that candidate if he/she is younger, or the candidate directly if they are older. Then, they often will go back to their home Weyr and put a list of names for the Weyrwomen to go over. Once they are approved, they can be brought to the Weyr officially.
Sometimes, a candidate will be brought before this approval is done. This is generally in the case of emergency candidates being needed. The easiest example is with Trelis for Loraketh's first clutch. With the old Weyrwoman dead, there wasn't time for the new Weyrwoman Inali to make friends with holders and traders again. So, often candidates would just be brought in whenever they were allowed to be by their parents. Because of this, sometimes candidates that would normally be looked over and dismissed ended up in the system.
Eventually, the day of the touching arrives. Yes, the touching, not the hatching. The first time the candidates officially meet the eggs one-on-one is when they are allowed to touch their shells. The Queen determines this time, sensing when the eggs are within a few sevendays of hatching and the shells have hardened enough for the action to be safe. After this, she calls for the Candidatemasters' dragons to alert the candidates and bring them to the sands.
It is a time also for etiquette to be practiced, since the candidates must wait for the Queen to allow them near her clutch. If there is a Gold egg, the female candidates are encouraged to touch it before any others. Many times, dragonets inside the eggs have developed enough to give off some sort of indication of their personality. It can easily be misinterpreted, but it at least gives the candidates the idea that there is something living within the eggs.
Now, it is time for a hatching, and the candidates are ushered onto the sands as soon as the Queen notices the eggs rocking. Dragons will start immediately humming, and flits will flock to the sands. There, the candidates line up in a semi-circle around the eggs and Queen, girls to one side, boys to another. The first egg hatches...and maybe, just maybe the candidate is chosen.