Queen Interviews (all female candidates)

[brimstone81]

Elisha had informed the Candidate Master of all her wishes on regulations for candidacy. Girls were now only allowed to stand for gold eggs, and a girl had to be at least 15 turns. Boys could stand from the age of 14 to 21. Girls could stand until 21 as well. Now the Weyrwoman, with a gold egg on the sands, took over the interview room and told all the girls who made it past lessons and such to come to queen lessons. Elisha needed to further weed out the girls.One of these would potentially be her next goldrider so this was important. She told the Candidate Master that there was to be no last minute candidates, girls who wished to stand were to come to these lessons or would sit out. And who knew when the next gold egg would be laid?

Elisha sat in the Candidate Master's chair and waited for the arriving girls. She was going to be very critical of them, but keeping in mind she had to supply a good variety to the little queen hatchling.

[kayla]

Neory had been yanked from chores by her siblings when news of the newly laid queen egg had gotten out. She had been washing dishes when she was told she would be moving to the Candidate's barracks and attending classes like all the others. She had blinked at first, since they dragged her to get her stuff with arms soaked up to her elbows and then finally realized what it meant. She would get to stand!

She had quickly settled her stuff into the girls barracks, changed her clothes and made herself presentable, and raced off to the classes. The candidate master had smiled at her and gestured her in, and at the end of the class, had announced that all the female candidates were to report to the interview room for Gold lessons.

Neory had smiled, though that smile faded when it was announced that women could only stand for the gold egg. She looked to the other girls, and bit her lip. More than anything, Neory wanted to impress. If she was honest with herself, she knew that she wanted impress the Gold, but she did not wish to remain a drudge, always watching and waiting and never knowing the relationship between rider and dragon.

Taking a deep breath, Neory accepted the hard news. Protesting as a candidate would make no difference. Calmly she forced the disappointment to fade from her expression and headed towards the Interview Room.

When she entered the Interview Room she smiled towards the Weyrwoman and nodded her head towards her in a gesture of respect, "Weyrwoman. I'm Candidate Neory." She straightened and smiled, though she would wait to take a seat so as not to show any disrespect towards the Weyrwoman.

[hrsegrl]

There were so many thoughts going through the young girl's mind that when she did arrive at the Interview room she seemed a bit detached. Her bow was that of a Harper more than a Candidate and so was her greeting, "Weyrwoman Elisha." She smiled, though she doubted any of the others would look as out of place in front of the woman. "I am Apprentice Harper and Candidate Amneris. " The girl was fourteen going on fifteen this turn and though it was unlikely she would be able to stand she decided to come and see what the interviews were about anyway.

To her right she saw that another girl had already arrived. She was older than Amneris, by quite a few turns. The flighty girl looked down at her soiled shoes and pants. Her harper blue shirt did nothing to hide how thin she was. In truth she looked a girl, and a tall one at that. Her guitar was strapped to her as always. Sadly there was no sign of either of the blonde's canines.

Turning to the other girl, while waiting, Amneris said, "So, do you think we are going to see the clutch?" That would be exciting. As much as she might protest being a rider she was enamored of Weyrlife. In most respects it was that the riders were free to do as they willed without chores should they behave, and they got to fly wherever they wished to go. Neris couldn't imagine being able to do that. It always got her to thinking, where would she go?

[FireThorne]

Raelwyn had felt excitement course through her whole body when she heard a queen egg lay on the sands. Now was her chance to Impress a beautiful golden dragon of her own, and the thought sent excited chills up and down her spine. When she had heard further still that Elisha was starting queen lessons, it was as if she had fire burning in her rather than blood. Everything for her future was so close now, she was able to touch it, but would she be left out in the dark again? If she did, the Istan swore that she would no longer allow her fate to ride on the dragon’s whims, but she would take that future into her own hands. There was something she could do instead of just wait around until she became too old to stand and forced into a life she did not want. No, the candidate was too strong-willed for that, and would not settle.

Resolved to take the reigns of her future into her own hands no matter the outcome of the hatching, Rael made her way through the halls, smoothing her skirt. She had tried to look her best for the Weyrwoman, but not so much so that she seemed as if she cared more for her appearance than other, more important things. The girl just appeared presentable, and nice. Entering the lesson room, the Istan could see that two other candidates had arrived before her, and both girls were friends of hers. She smiled at Amneris, wondering if her canines were well, then Neory, thinking about S'frid. Rael would have to catch up with them later. However, there was a certain lady she had to address first. "Good day, Weyrwoman Elisha." The Istan said, inclining her head respectfully to the gold rider. "I hope that you and Adeloth are both doing well."

[brimstone81]

"Hello Neory." Elisha nodded to the young woman, Good age for Impression she thought And then addresed Amneris. "Greetings, Aprentice Amneris." The girl was young, but at least she had some formal training. Always good in a rider, Elisha thought. And she bowed. The goldrider saw Raelwyn enter, and liked the grace she had. "Good day, Raelwyn, we are both well, thank you for your thoughts." Nice three, and they were followed by a few more girls, all hoping to Impress a gold.

"Welcome, all of you. As you all know, Adeloth has laid a golden egg, which of course means we shall have a new gold in a few sevendays. The Weyr has not had a new gold in 12 turns, and that was when I Impressed. I know how you all feel. Anxious, nervous, happy, excited. A gold is a huge responsibility. With Impressing a queen comes some sacrifices. Some people ask why I want older girls for queens." this was a concern she got for all dragons, not just queens, but it was simply because of this: "You will have to devote your lives to your dragons. They become part of you. Your childhood ends with Impression. And I will agree that it could be worth it. But when you are older, you are stronger, more ready for the responsibility of a new mouth to feed. Of course, unlike a child, your dragon will let you know when they are hungry or tired. You will learn most of these first care things from your Weyrling Master."

Elisha folded her hands in front of her, "I thought instead of me lecturing at you, we could open up with some questions you might have about standing or young golds or just goldriding in general. I'm sure you must have questions, since none of you ride gold already. Even as new riders you would have questions. So, who wants to be brave and ask the first question?"

[kayla]

Neory nodded thoughtfully as she listened to Elisha. Her eyes gleamed with hope, though she did not lose her focus. With the sacrifice that Marisol had spoken to her of before, Neory agreed that having older girls to impress made sense.

She thought for a moment after Elisha began by opening the floor to the gathered candidates. There were any number of questions running through her head, but she wanted to be careful of what she did ask.

After a moment of careful consideration, Neory spoke up. "Weyrwoman Elisha. A Queen and her Rider are not trained in ways which are identical to other Dragons and Riders. Can you tell us, other than chewing Firestone, how we should expect the weyrling training of the one the Queen Hatchling impresses to be different from our clutchmates? And, in your own experience, how do the young Queen dragons deal with the differences? Will, for example, the Queen and her Rider be learning how to work together with a flame which originates from Agenothree flame-thrower rather than from the Dragon's mouth?"

[thedreamerlady]

Nisha had been very close to being late to the beginning of her candidate lessons- lessons, she might add, she had never truly thought she'd be a part of. She was nearly her twentieth birthing day, hadn't raised from basic drudge work, had shown no recent aptitude for leading, and only one of her brothers had impressed- and none of her sisters. And she knew the Headwoman had been disappointed in her commitment over the last few years.

But for some reason, since the Leadership flight, Nisha had been able to finish her work without any of her normal urges. The Drudge girl knew that was probably why she'd been told to report to the lessons. That, and one of her special friends had probably thought they were doing her a favor, making sure she was in on them. Forcing all unnecessary thoughts out of her head, the recently made candidate, gave the Weyrwoman a deep bow, and slipped into a chair and listened to what Elisha had to say.

Nisha had a few questions, but she'd wait a bit, and listen to what the other girls had to say first. She didn't want to look backwater after all- she just wasn't a full time candidate. The woman adjusted her skirt, and listened to the darkhaired girl(Neory wasn’t it? A brownrider’s sister, and a fling of a Bronzerider)

[hrsegrl]

A few other people filed in after her but she wasn't interested in comparing them like competition. She was however intrigued at the different ages, backgrounds and personalities of the girls selected to impress Adeloth's first Gold daughter.

The meeting started in the way that Amneris suspected it would. She was listening, well, kind of. Mostly she found meetings boring. Spending the next few minutes looking over the other girls she missed Elisha's question and Neory's. When her head finally came down from the clouds she noted the silence of the room rather than the reason for the silence.

Blue eyes fluttered in the direction of Elisha, she had better start paying attention and now. Raelwyn probably knew what was going on. Well, as long as they got to see the eggs... Amneris had sadly missed the day of teh clutching, even though a couple Weyrbrats swore they knew a way to get to the grounds unseen. That would teach her to trust a couple of six turn old children.

[brimstone81]

"Good question," This girl, Neory, was certainly not hold bred. It was an advantage that Elisha did not have, being a amateur herder and a member of the scribe craft. "A young gold will go to weyring lessons with her clutch mates, but she will also attend lessons with Marisol and myself. In these lessons a gold and her rider will learn what it is to rule a Weyr, the ins and outs of the domestic half of Telgar. Inventories, trade, information about clutching, dealing with the everyday problems with the Weyr. And believe me, there will be plenty of complaints to handle. Queenriders are often sought out for advice, and are expected to have excellent manners. So, you will be taught to have impeccable manners. Also there are alligence matters to attend to, so foriegn affairs will be taught as well. And also the flame thrower."

"Queens definately know they are different. Young queens will often point out their obvious rank though they are not necessarily hard to work with. With my experience, there were a lot more female riders on female dragons so I didn't feel totally out of the loop or different. Of course, it was akward to get used to, for you will always be the center of attention, so to say. There will always people looking for you to fall, but also people waiting for you to triumph."

"A young queen, before flame practice, will practice flying with her wing, but she will never fly in a fighting wing down the line. Does that answer your question, Neory?"

[kayla]

Neory nodded, listening to the answer and explanation. For the most part, Elisha's answer did clear up the questions that Neory had about what the gold weyrling would be like. And the one question that it raised, she would wait to ask as she did not want to hog all of the time. She did however file it away.

Neory smiled warmly and dipped her head respectively, "Very much so, Weyrwoman Elisha. Thank you."

She then looked to her classmates, wondering who would ask the next question. She hoped she had broken the ice for any who might be hesitant to ask.

[hrsegrl]

Amneris was not suprised by any of what Elisha said. Being different had never been a problem for her before. She didn't mind being a woman in a man's world. The other girls may not have had her experience with that but she had no doubt they were vastly more mature than herself.

"How dangerous is a Gold Hatchling? I have heard more girls get mauled by Gold dragonets than impress, some even die." Amneris was quite the plotting girl and she was hoping that this discussion would scare off the more faint at heart or at least those who cared about not dying. "Oh and I nearly forgot. Do fighting dragons sometimes impress to those standing for a Gold?"

She wanted to know her chances. If the Gold only chose one and there were other dragons hatching... well they were all Candidates whether they were intended for a Gold or not.

[brimstone81]

Elisha nodded gravely, folding her hands in front of her, "Maulings are indeed common place with gold hatchings. Death is a good possibility. It is another risk you must take if you stand. There is a possibility of you not returning. Adeloth mauled when she hatched, and I expect it will happen again." Elisha had not thought that it might scare girls off. She had figured it was common knowledge, but if it had weeded out the weak, it would be fine with her.

Next Amneris asked about the fighting dragon possibility. "I suppose it would be possible, to Impress a fighting dragon over the queen. I am not sure if that would happen. Don't get your hopes up. But what am I saying? You all are hoping for queens and there is only one egg." She smiled at them, trying to be funny rather than cruel. Though in all truths, Elisha thought that one girl on green was better than ten. With the plague, the deaths, the accidents, she needed strong women to help run the Weyr. Faranth knows men can be useless. They tend to think with their. . . Elisha brought her thoughts to this lesson. "Who else has a question? Nothing is off limits!"

[thedreamerlady]

"What physical conditions would prevent us from standing?" Nisha called up, trying to keep her voice respectfully quiet, yet get it to reach all those sitting around her, and the Weyrwoman herself. Perhaps that disease of lust was something they'd dealt with before, and would prevent her from standing. But- she'd been cured, hadn't she? Not even the tiniest unnatural urge in the last month at least, so, it didn't matter right?

Nisha, of course, had a backup story about why she wanted to know. Headaches, that could sometimes be severe, but were rare in hapenstance. But, as a good and respectful candidate, she wanted to make sure that wouldn't effect her chances at staying a candidate. Or even, would make her a bad rider.

She pondered the idea of impressing a Fighting Dragon. If the Queen hatched halfway through the hatching, well, then she'd half half the hatching to Impress a Fighting Dragon. A Queen or a Green, Nisha thought with interest. This Candidate had prospects that didn't want to be limited.

[brimstone81]

Well," the Weyrwoman said, thinking a bit, "an impairing injury, say the loss of limb, sight or hearing. Some people opt not to stand if they are pregnant, however, it is not unheard of. I would suggest not standing if you are far along, however looking at you I doubt that this is your concern. Some one who is sensitive to disease might be discouraged as we need people in top shape."

The queenrider had no idea of Nisha's condition, and so she could not really address that specifically. "Might you ask for yourself or someone else?" She was curious to know if there was a flaw to Nisha or if she just came up with that question. It was possible that is was just a question for the sake of asking.

[thedreamerlady]

"Women in my family are prone to migrains." Nisha offered smoothly. "It hasn't effected Kestet, but perhaps she wasn't put up to as high a standard as we are." There hadn't been a gold egg in the sands when Kestet had Impressed, after all.

"I hope that won't cause a problem?" Her voice quavered a bit. It really would bother her if she had to stop being a candidate over something as silly as a headache, much less one had admitted too. And truly, Nisha hardly ever got them. "And if it does," Nisha added, with a touch of humor, hoping that she wasn't overstepping her bounds again, "I suppose I'd be asking for the other women in my family."

Looking down again, fearful of being to sassy to such an important woman, Nisha closed her mouth.