The Stars Align (3/3)

Writers: Estelle, Iluva
Date Posted: 31st October 2026

Characters: Agyta, V'karel
Description: Valbath and Novath's clutch hatches!
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 6, day 25 of Turn 13

Several more eggs had hatched in the interim, faces lighting up on all sides of the cavern. The applause never quite settled now, what with the Impressions coming in small, steady waves. A gaggle of greens approached the line of candidates almost in step with each other, heads craning about in eager assessment of the options. They descended among the girls with far more composure than many of their brothers had exerted. One, dark-hided and sure-footed, found her way to Balagyra, whose face erupted with sudden, tear-streaked joy. That was when Agyta went completely misty-eyed, as well, watching her daughter lead her new lifemate from the Sands.

}:Chamacroth made a good choice,:{ Valbath noted, almost without bias. Until-- }:But then all our children have.:{

**They have, darling.** Her expression eventually fell into soft elation, and it was a look born not just of this moment, or the turns when her elder children had been found by their lifemates. Her thoughts were a soft echo of that pivotal moment on the Sands of Thayan Peak where Valbath took one look at her and broke through everything she thought she was. Bala and her fellow weyrlings had that for themselves now, too.

Another green, a sleek, dazzling creature, wound her way as carefully as she could manage among the hopeful faces, as if already aware of how sharp her talons really were. Her big wings were slightly askew, causing her to almost trip a number of times, but she refused to knock into anyone. Eyes followed her with lingering intensity until she finally let out a cry of delight, settling herself closely at her rider’s feet. }:I knew I'd find you, Lorest. I could feel you all the way across the Sands. I could feel your heart anywhere.:{ Elisarth fanned her wings, trying not to knock herself or her rider over. }:Can we get food now?:{

Agyta had regained her composure by now, clapping heartily along with the crowd for the new green pair. “Another weyrgirl. How lovely is that.”

"It is. If anything in the world could make Impression even better, it's seeing your friends be chosen too." V'karel couldn't hide a slight smile, remembering how his classmates had included friends and mortal enemies alike. "And some of them have waited a long while." He supposed his mother and her friends would say it was about time some of those girls got dragons, after they'd been passed over in favor of the holdless. This time, fortune seemed to be favoring the weyrbred.

For his part, he was just glad to see them safely partnered. If he feared anything for the clutch, it was the heartbreaking sight of a hatchling unable to find a lifemate, crying out in desperation until the last of their strength faded. And - a sobering thought - it would be his duty to take them /between/.

He glanced around. Only a few eggs remained now, and as he watched one of the last shivered into fragments, a green tumbling out and falling at the feet of an astonished young man who looked as though he'd all but given up. The blue he'd seen a moment ago was still looking, casting his eye over a group of boys, but he didn't seem drawn to any of them. V'karel felt his chest tighten with guilt, as though his thoughts, irrational as it seemed, might have brought ill luck on the little blue.

}:All will be well.:{ Novath's confident voice released some of the tension in the fibers of his heart. And then, as if the hatchling had heard too, his head swung around and his gaze fixed on someone across the Sands. Steadily, with growing determination, he marched in their direction, paying no attention to the others who tried to attract him.

}:Tiyo! Here I am!:{ In his eagerness, he nearly tripped over a discarded piece of shell, but righted himself and bounded the last few feet in a rush. }:I found you!:{

V'karel's mouth had dropped open as the blue - Ularenth - sat himself firmly down in front of a slender, dark-haired girl. "Look! Did you see?" His surprise soon resolved into a wide, delighted grin. "Another one! It's happening all the time now. Almost like it wouldn't be a proper class without a girl on blue."

“That's five here at Dragonsfall alone,” she said, a little mystified herself. “Something in the water, perhaps.” This was the first time it had ever happened in one of Valbath's clutches, and she watched intently as the girl was led from the Sands by her blue. There were only a handful of female blueriders spanning the entire continent. Aydhan's daughter and her friend Impressing some months back-- and in the same clutch, no less. It felt like a miracle when the news had reached Rising Moons. And Rasme’s daughter the Turn before. Another young lady at Dolphin Cove. But that centuries-long standard of women only on gold and green had been dispelled, and in almost every clutch since Ishath, a blue had found his rider in a woman. Agyta could only smile. Such were the wonders of dragons.

Now the sands, pristine such a short while ago, were churned up by claws and tails and littered with discarded fragments of shell. V'karel did a mental count - thirty-six, thirty-seven, he wasn't going to forget how many there were when he'd been ribbing K'valdran about it all month...no, there was one left, patterned with bands and whorls of golden-brown and pale sand, almost in Valbath's shadow. It rocked gently, cracks spidered down the outside, and then it stilled for a moment as if the occupant was gathering their strength. Then it shattered, revealing a dark bronze, his damp wings giving his hide an almost silvery sheen.

He saw the remaining boys straighten their shoulders in renewed hope. The bronze raised his head as if to scent the air as they converged on him, then shook out his wings and set off on a determined path, gaze straight ahead. Not heading for the Stands again? No, there was still someone left...the young lad who'd been knocked down by that big brown earlier, who must have picked up some bruises but had stuck it out through the whole Hatching on the burning sands, and had all but turned to go, if not for this one, last egg.

}:Kakaru! You waited for me.:{ His glowing eyes shone up at the new weyrling. }:My name is Ivarroth.:{

All the tension V'karel had hardly known had been gripping him flowed away and he found himself grinning like a weyrbrat in sheer relief. "All safely Impressed. What a magnificent clutch!"

}:Magnificent indeed.:{ V'karel sensed Novath knew some compliments were in order, and he watched as the bronze gently touched his nose to his mate's, sharing with her his love and admiration. }:They are worthy of their queen.:{

"And now, thank the stars, they're the Weyrlingmaster's responsibility," he went on cheerfully, offering Agyta his arm. "All we have to do is accept the congratulations of some Lords and Ladies, and have a glass or two of the Weyr's finest wine. It can't be too early, can it?"

}:Worthy? They must get that from their father.:{ Valbath lapped up the compliments like cool water, her tail swishing happily: for the success of their clutch, the obvious strength of their offspring, and the continued attention of their gleaming sire. And, more than anything, finally leaving the claustrophobic confines of this cavern.

“I don’t believe there’s such a thing as too early when there's something to celebrate.” The giddy way their dragons nuzzled each other reminded Agyta of two silly teenagers, and despite herself, she may have let out a soft, satisfied sigh of her own. “And today is certainly that.”

Last updated on the November 2nd 2026

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The Stars Align (3/3)