"Babies, babies, babies! By Faranth, I came here to get away from midwifery!"
That's right, folks, the words of Journeywoman Healer Kaelyn say it all: there has to be something in the water at Caufar...
As the southern Weyr moves into another Turn, the population of Caufar and its Holds seem to be experiencing a veritable boom in population growth.
In the Holds, Lord Restair's two eldest daughters have each given him healthy granddaughters, Andesra and Nolyn, yet Restair's eldest, Morestyn, has yet to sire a child with his bride of ten Turns, and people are starting to talk... Perhaps it's time for the Three Rivers patriarch to consider another heir apparent, if the root of the problem lies in the current choice? A Holding family needs a firm Bloodline, after all.
Darksea's Lady Nuriel has delivered a healthy son, Thenriel, to serve as the much-coveted heir for her home, and she's contact the boy's sire, green rider V'rae, to let him know of the fact. After pushing V'rae so staunchly away from anything to do with the babe upon first discovering the pregnancy, what could possibly have prompted Nuriel to contact her child's reviled, man-loving father?
And the Weyr, of course, is ripe with life! Brown rider T'sor and green rider Julian are the newest parents, of a feisty girl named Aesora, but before them, Master Woodsmith Quent and his mate, brown rider Clarra, welcomed their son, Harlee, into the world, finally naming the boy after much prompting from Quent's younger brother, the recently promoted Assistant Candidatemaster, H'rolque. Weyrlingmaster Shiandra and her lover, Candidatemaster T'bin, are now only a month away from the arrival of their child, and Shiandra's... in fine color... Just don't you dare suggest she'll have anything less than a healthy labor, or she'll shove a boot so far up your -
As I was saying, the baby boom's into full swing, for it seems that numerous impromptu "couples" with all also be welcoming life due to the aftermath of senior gold Alorioth's mating lust. It seems the Weyr's eldest queen did more than make Daloruth's rider Weyrleader...
Masterhealer Rian and his new pupil, Journeywoman Kaelyn, found themselves in a most awkward position while dragons twined overhead, and now Kaelyn has found herself firmly centered in motherhood, when she'd come to Caufar to avoid playing midwife... Blue rider Heylora also finds herself in an interesting conundrum: having snagged bronze rider J'sin while mothing Alorioth's flight, she soon fell into a casual physical relationship with the older man, and now finds herself bearing his child. Well, she hopes it's his, but wouldn't dare dream of telling him that, or why. Gold rider Ahnia and her mate, bronze rider N'thin, are also expecting, but the couple is rather on the young side... Are they ready to be parents, or will the very stress of that pressure be too much for the Weyr's sweethearts?
Of course, it's not just a baby that had N'thin and Ahnia excited. After all, a Weyr is a home for dragonriders, and dragons are being born just as often as babies, and in larger numbers, too! The clutch of Ahnia's Rhaeath yielded twenty-one healthy dragonets. The Junior Weyrlings of Breakwater Group are now happily residing in the Weyrling Barracks, which have only just recently been vacated by the the Rising Hope Group, now graduated to the ranks of Seniors. Congratulations to all!
Of course, Seniors the Rising Hope riders may be by rank, but let's not forget that the Group contains both the oldest and the youngest Werylings in Caufar's entire history, some members as young as eleven or twelve Turns... While no one's talking about it, yet, it's only a few months before those greens start to rise in mating flights, and the boys begin chasing. Are the prepubescent riders going to be ready to handle an event that has, in the past, always been left in dragons' talons? Or will Caufar deviate from its old adage of 'trust the dragons' and try to preserve the innocence of its youths with human intervention?
Weyrwoman's Second Anodelle's gold, Sylfaeth, is bound to be in the air in only a few month's time, and she'll need Candidates for those eggs. With Alorioth's latest clutch intended to be a group of unnamed NPCs and ANPCs, and Sylfaeth's next brood still some months off, now is the perfect time to create a Candidate and play them actually living life as a Candidate, if that piques your interest. After all, we didn't all start out as riders, let's see some history being made!
And speaking of NPCs and ANPCs, it seems the Weyr's "extra" characters are going to get some serious revamping, in the form of larger, individual profiles, a work-in-progress that any player, new or old, is eagerly invited to help with. There's a lot of them, folks, so if you feel the need to the "character creation bug" out of your system, come check out the action. Who knows, you might find somebody special to play...
If all the talk of babies in the Weyr has you bored, perhaps you'd like to see what's happening in the Halls and Holds? The Dolphincraft Hall will soon be seeing the arrival of another calf, and - oh, wait, we were trying to get away from babies, weren't we? Hmmm...
Best take yourself straight to Darksea's harbors, then, where a few mysterious vessels have been laying in, and goods can be found for very reasonable prices, if you know who to speak with, and don't spread the word too quickly. And don't so much as mention the ship the Stiletto, or some rather disappointed raiders be set to pay you a visit. It seems they have eyes and ears everywhere, a finger in every pot, and maps to every trade route, nautical or landlocked. One must wonder: where are the thieves and smugglers getting their information?
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