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The afternoon was breezy, but Liat wasn't going to delay the planned lesson. It was time to get these little ones up in the air, to see what they could do. She had asked for the weyrlings to assemble not in the Bowl, but further down by the beach, where the waves lapped at the shore. "Today is a special day. All of your dragons play, all of their work stretching their wings, strengthening them with flapping exercises, and their focus to grow stronger will pay off. Today is the day your dragons will be allowed to fly." She let her gaze sweep over the assembled pairs, noting which ones looked happy, pleased, or downright terrified.

"This marks the beginning of a transitional period in our training. No longer will rider and dragon be land bound. Your dragons will begin practice flight aloft as you do ground drills; and next month, you will get to practice flight on your beloved for your first pair-flights. From there, you will find yourself less and less on the ground. Hopping Between, flaming, and fighting Thread are all dependent on your dragon taking wing and becoming comfortable and confident in flight. Today is their first day in a much larger world."

Pulling herself astride her own blue Orioth, she smiled. "Weyrligns, it is going to be your responsibility to encourage your dragons, but also to keep a check on how they're feeling. If they panic, it is up to you to calm them and get them to land; if they need help, do not hesitate to let myself or the assistants know! If they pull a muscle, or something doesn't feel right, get them grounded immediately.

"We have riders on stand-by in case your dragon starts to fall. They will be caught. It is also your duty to keep your dragons controlled. Don't let them get too flashy, or over-work themselves. Keep them on the beach and over the water; don't let them get too close to the hills, or go too high up. If Orioth and I, or one of the assistants, tells your dragon to land they had best do so.

Now, spread out, and let's see how they do in the air."

Once you're ready, have your derg roll a D6! They must keep rolling until they get a successful flight prompt!

Lift Off Grid

Lift Off Grid

1. Nothing happened. You jumped, you flapped, and you find yourself with all four legs on the ground. Hmm, maybe you didn't quite do it right.

2. Confidence suits you! Motivated Dragons: Some of your siblings might not be sure about this flying thing, but you take to the sky with ease. You manage to leap high and your downstroke is sure. You find yourself airborne without a hitch or stumble! Average Dergs You find yourself in more of a glide than actual flight. Though your legs were airborn for a few breaths, your wind up getting blown back down to the shore. Darn! Time to try again. A bit harder on the downstroke and you should be good! Relaxed Dergs You try, but alas, it doesn't quite work. You manage more of a large leap than anything. There is no airtime. Better try again!

3. Nothing happened. You jumped, you flapped, and you find yourself with all four legs on the ground. Hmm, maybe you didn't quite do it right.

4. Still nothing. This time you gave a running start, but though you flapped, your downstroke must not have been hard enough. Though it was a solid leap, you don't make flight.

5. Your dragon manages to take off! Motivated Dergs They not only make it into the air, but they look to be a natural! They catch a thermal and rise high up! Yeee haw! Average Dergs You manage to make it up, though not nearly as smoothly as some of your kin. Still you're up, and are able to catch a good thermal for some higher lift. Relaxed Dergs Well, it took a lot of flapping, wasn't really graceful, but look ma, no paws on the ground! It's flying, but it's going to take a little work getting higher up.

6. Some mixed results on this windy day! Do you wait to see how others manage before making an attempt or do you spread those wings and fly? Motivated Dergs You manage to make it off the ground, but in your confidence, you didn't account for the shore breezes, and one of them throws you off-balance and back down on the ground. Ouch! Good thing the sand doesn't hurt...much. Average Dergs Well, you manage to fight your way up through the wind, but find yourself struggling until the gusts die down. Relaxed Dergs Not feeling particularly confident, you find yourself hesitating. You flap your wings, stretch your wings, watch as some of your siblings fail. By the time your rider convinces you to make the leap, the wind has died down, and you manage a successful take off. Sometimes starting late can be beneficial!

Roll a D8 once you've made a successful take off Roll! Keep rolling and/or writing as long as your derg wants to fly!

Aerial Grid

Aerial Grid

1. Woohoo! You made it! You're in the air and flying like a champion! Look at this! Are you seeing this? Are you seeing this!?!? Your dragon takes to the sky like a champion, flying high, and feeling free.

2. Well, you go up, but are quick smacked back down to earth by a gust of wind. Motivated Dergs You find yourself catching yourself, and manage to stay aloft. Woot! Average Dergs You have to fight the wind, and though you wind up low to the ground, you are able to hover, and resume your flight with ease. Relaxed Dergs Unfortunately, you find yourself forced to land!! Roll from the landing grid to see how you manage.

3. You're high up, but you're second guessing yourself. You flap when you're not supposed to, and you're gliding a bit off-beat of the thermals. Flight sure isn't as easy as your older kin make it look!

4. Slow and steady wins the race! Motivated Dergs You're a bit too sure of yourself. As you fly, you decide to show off your mad skills. How hard could this flying thing really be? Instead, you grab onto a thermal that's far too strong, and are pushed high up in the air. There, the heavy winds buffet you around, until you lose control and start to fall. Thankfully, resident adults are able to catch you, and ease you into a soft landing with nothing more than a bruised ego. Average Dergs As you fly, you're feeling pretty good -- up until a strong wind gust blows you well off course. You stumble and fear that you're going to fall, but manage to catch yourself to get into a glide, flying below the buffeting wind and into gentler air. Relaxed Dergs As you fly, you're not taking any chances. You can feel the tug of the thermal, but wisely decide its too strong to conquer, and instead, veer away from the stream of air, wheeling and diving happily.

5. Go go go! Your dragon finds themselves lifted high up on a thermal and they go up, up, up. Thankfully, they wind up in control, and are happy as a clam as they wheel and dive and whirl around the sky showing off their flight skills. Just don't get too cocky...

6. You wheel and dive, finding joy in the long dives, only to catch yourself at the last moment. You spread your wings, and turn the fall into a glide, trumpeting success despite Orioth bellowing a warning. Don't do anything stupid -- otherwise you could get hurt! Don't take needless risks!

7. Hey, this is fun! Your dragon manages to lift off and lay on the ocean breezes. While they are high up n the air, they seem to be a natural, catching a thermal here, and finding a down draft there. They know when to glide, when to soar, and when to wheel. How fun!

8. What had been a glorious time up in the air has now resulted in you taking a bit of a tumble. Help!! Oh Faranth, you're not sure what happened, but you're now out of control and falling. Thankfully, one of the adult dragons has managed to catch you on their back, and is able to get you down to calm themselves and try again.

Once they're ready to land -- or forced to land without an adults help -- roll a D6 to see how they do!

Landing Grid

Landing Grid

1. Success! You actually manage to stick the landing beautifully. You backwing on point, you aren't startled by the kickup of sand and dirt, and you land delicately on your feet. You're a natural!

2. Easy as pie! Sort of. Motivated Dergs You manage to land without too much trouble. You backwinged just a little late, but manage to stick the landing without too much fuss. That was fun! Average Dergs Your a bit wobbly as you come in for your descent, and wind up a little lopsided in your land. Thankfully, though, you catch yourself, and find yourself down on the ground with ease. Yay! Relaxed Dergs You go in for a long glide, a little unsure how to slow your speed, and kind of afraid to reach out to drop to the ground. When you do land, you wind up having to run a few steps to fully catch yourself in a hard stop. Not the best landing, but hey, no broken claws!

3. Failure on all levels! Motivated Dergs Your too confident in landing. Deciding that there's nothing to it, you weren't prepared to handle the speed in which you came down. As you land, you still have too much speed, and wind up tripping yourself up. You go head over heels, and land in a tangle of limbs. Ooph. Average Dergs Though you were doing good to start, a gust of wind close to shore blows you off balance, and instead it pushes you out over sea, where you suddenly panic. In such worry, you wind up crashing a bit far from shore, in a terrible and somewhat painful belly flop. Ouch! Time to swim back and try again. Relaxed Dergs Maybe you should have paid more attention to this lesson, or practiced your wing exercises more. Similar to some of your kin, you crash hard into the ground, tumbling head over heels, and kicking up quite a bit of dust and sand. You wind up dazed, and likely have a broken nail or two and a few bruises from such a hard crash.

4. Flying was all well and good but now you realize you're not really sure how to land. Down you go, and it is a hard landing that sends you tumbling in the sand or water. Yikes!

5. Some mixed results! Motivated Dergs All your practice paid off. You wind up landing with relative ease. That wasn't so bad now, was it? Average Dergs You wind up making the landing, but it does come does require a little bit of a run and hop to stop yourself completely. Relaxed Dergs You wind up spooking at the last minute, and instead of landing, quickly flap and pull yourself back up into the air. Nope. That didn't feel right. Maybe a few more passes in the air before you attempt another landing.

6. A little help here? Motivated Dergs You decide to say to heck with it and try hard to stick the landing. You actually find yourself landing too hard, and find yourself in a tumble on the sound. Ouch! That hurt! Landings are going to take some practice and finesse. Average Dergs Well, you need a few pointers from the Weyrlingmaster and/or their Assistants, but you manage to backwing and stick the landing. You dropped from flight a little too soon, but the sand softened the blow. Good job! Relaxed Dergs Oh snap! You're stuck. You're never going to get down. Help! Flying around, you either wait until one of he Weyrlingmaster's helps you out of the sky, or you crash land into the water. Well. That was at least kind of fun.

Nzambith is an Average Weyrling

Some mixed results on this windy day! Do you wait to see how others manage before making an attempt or do you spread those wings and fly?

Average Dergs Well, you manage to fight your way up through the wind, but find yourself struggling until the gusts die down.

Standing with her broodmates and his peers, Venn and Nzambith both were standing confidently on the sands of the beach. They had been practicing hard and Nzam - thanks to her quick growth due to her green status - had been developing her muscles nicely. She was still quite thin and lean but Vennodren had found she held quite a surprising power to her that was hard to tell from looks alone. She had managed to hover and glide a bit in practice exercises, giving them both the confidence that was sorely needed for a day like today.

You ready, Nzam? Venn asked, glancing over at the dull green dragon. Blue eyes met his own as Nzambith gave a deep but delighted trill. The normally sluggish dragon fed off Vennodren's desire to be a strong addition to the Weyr once they were able to help battle Thread and in training she gave it her all and then some. Today was the day their hard work would be tested and she wanted nothing more than to make Venn and herself proud.

Yes, I am. Today is flying day! she said as she unfurled her wings, letting the wind catch in them a bit. Venn laughed and wrapped his arms around Nzambith's neck in a hug, giving her smooth hide a fond kiss.

It is, dearest, it is! Now, let's go show them how hard we've been working. Although Venn was confident, there was that bit of nerves that was inevitable to happen. It was a windy day, after all, and even grown dragons were known to struggle on days like this. He let his hand trail along Nzambith's back as she strode forward, flapping her wings to get a feel for the air. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly to calm his nerves to let his support and love take over Nzambith's mind to help her get airborne.

All right, Nzam...just like in practice. Get those wings going and then your legs. You can do it!

The green gave a soft bugle in reply, her wings slowly picking up speed before she lumbered into a trot. Slowly her wing beats began to sync with her footfalls, the downward pushes becoming more and more powerful. Finally with a grand leap she pushed off from the ground, wings beating powerfully to bring her higher. Almost instantly, though, the winds caught her and pushed her back. A moment of panic flooded her mind as she struggled to keep herself level, wings akimbo and tail flailing behind her.

Vennodren ran forward a few paces as if that would help his dragon, his eyes on the writhing form as she fought the wind.

Easy, Nzambith! Remember your training! Don't fight the wind, move with it! See the patterns and use them instead of trying to go around them! You can do it, my dear, a little higher and you'll be above the worst of it.

The verbal and emotional encouragement seemed to help steady the green as she stopped beating her wings for a moment, letting the winds push her back and, surprisingly, up as she caught a thermal. Relief flooded both dragon and rider and she used the warm air currents to her benefit, beating her wings hard to help her gain some altitude. As soon as she got to a decent height the winds died down a bit, allowing her to move forward over the sea.

"Oh, Nzam, you did it!" Venn said with a laugh, giving a whoop of delight as he jumped up and down on the beach. Nzambith circled overhead, testing out her wings as she watched her rider, delight and pride swelling both of their chests.

He's plenty big, you worry still?

There was no Wing training that day, so the Wingsecond had fit the flight lesson into her schedule. Certainly, Danzik had no reason to interfere, though the delicate green she was nestled between the shoulders of knew plenty as to why her rider was there. Danzik was there to watch her son's dragon fly for the first time.

And we'll be here again when he's taken aloft as well. Danzik thought back, patting the green's neck affectionately. The greenrider nodded towards Elysia, though it possibly went unnoticed, before she looked back to the Weyrlings assembled on the beach. Were they nervous, perhaps?

You'll do well. Would you please tell L'nik his mother loves him? Eosphoth pushed the thought to the not-so-little brown, watching him on the beach not so far below them. Danzik wasn't nervous for them at all - but if L'nik felt neglected, by all means his mother was going to make her own face seen in support.

Hessianth is a motivated boyo. Up up up!!

If L'nik hadn't reeled him in, Hessianth would have been up in the air before they'd even been given permission to lift off. And they only would have been upset I didn't wait! Hessianth reminded his chosen with a clack of his jaws. The boy reached out to run a hand along one of the brown's headknobs, smiling with satisfaction as his dragon leaned into his palm approvingly at his touch. None of your siblings would have seen it. What if they need your example to help get off the ground? L'nik appealed to the good part of Hessianth's heart - which was a very large part, but quite a bit of it was also mired in ego. He clacked his jaws again as he stewed on this thought.

Well, if he must.

His head turned towards Eosphoth as she spoke out to him, eyes whirling a mix of orange and blue at her bidding. She'd taken his demands to heart - not talking to his boy - but he also didn't quite fancy himself a messenger. Never the less, he passed the thought along, given there was no other option. Your mother is here. he gave it no flourish or extra attention - after all, no matter how much Danzik loved her son, she couldn't possibly have loved him more than Hessianth did. L'nik took the blandly presented statement with a grain of salt and understanding of the brown's overly affectionate and possessive state of mind and offered a hesitant wave to the greenrider.

Stretch your wings out for me, let me feel. L'nik asked and Hessianth complied with a sudden snap of wingsails, spreading them taught. It felt like the kind of stretch one would have after waking up to try and put all their bones back in the right place. He ran a hand over the dragon's shoulders and the brown watched him with a half turned head as he did his inspection.

He was too focused on L'nik to even care what the Weyrlingmaster was saying. He often didn't care what the Weyrlingmaster was saying, however. L'nik continued to go over the brown carefully pulling the joints of his wing in and out to feel them out in what felt like a task that took forever. Hurry up! Everybody else will be up in the air before you're done! I will not be the last! Hessianth snapped his teeth impatiently with a nasal bugle of impatience.

L'nik took his face and pulled it to look eye-to-eye with him.

"Be good. Watch out for your siblings and take care of them." he was firm on this and Hessianth rumbled at the young man. He knew L'nik meant it to keep him from wandering off - and of course he was very much inclined to - but the boy wasn't wrong either. It was his duty as a strong big brother to watch out for the rest, after all.

"Ready?"

Hessianth rumbled and stretched his wings out, barely tethered in place by his rider. "Alright then. Go."

Your dragon manages to take off! Motivated Dergs They not only make it into the air, but they look to be a natural! They catch a thermal and rise high up! Yeee haw!

It always surprised L'nik how quickly the brown could move for his bulk, but Hessianth was quite the runner - something that had terrorized the poor penned up Wherries until he'd been made to put a stop to it (and all the better). However, with as bulky as the brown was, L'nik wondered how easily he'd take to the air.

Do you doubt me? Hessianth asked with a sort of teasing tone as he finally coiled himself to leap from the ground. There wasn't even a falter as his wings caught the air without even a hitch, sending the brown skyward.

And with him, L'nik's mind sailed up with him - or at least part of it. He was still very aware that he was firmly on the ground, yet the higher up Hessianth went, his heart rose in his chest, threatening to come out of his mouth. In fact, L'nik was wondering if he was ready to go quite that high. Stay close and watch your siblings, L'nik reminded, like an invisible leash that caused the brown to bugle loudly before he descended - still higher than his currently aloft siblings, but close enough that if he and the others had been aloft as well they could have shouted to each other and been heard easily.

The air is fine! Hessianth sent the thought out to all of his still sand-bound siblings reassuringly.

Loreleth is a a Relaxed dergo.

Do I have to?

Yes.

But I can't... I don't know how. And what if someone gets hurt? And what if someone falls? Those older dragons might not make it in time, you know. Someone could get hurt, or DIE. The blue dragon let a small, anxious creel escape his throat as he walked slowly behind his rider.

J'lar sent soothing encouragement, well accustomed to his blue dragon's anxiety. The little creature, who was not quite as little anymore, was still feeling miserable about this entire endeavor. Flight was a bit terrifying to the blue, who understood what achieving this milestone would mean. Things would never be the same once they all could practice flight, and they would be that much closer to inevitable doom and demise. How many of his siblings would make it to graduation? How many more would become Threadfodder?

"Come on now. This looks as good a spot as any. Let's see you get up there," J'lar encouraged quietly. Loreleth looked at him with what could only be called a pained expression, not bothering to budge.

J'lar, though patient, remained firm in his resolve. "You were born to fly, Lore. I know you'll have fun up there. Look, doesn't Hessianth look like he's enjoying himself?" He pointed to the brown dragon that seemed to take to the skies with ease. Loreleth peeked up at his brother, his anxiety spiking. He flies too high! What if he falls!? Loreleth wanted to tell Hessianth to return to the ground, but refrained -- it was not his job to interrupt such fun, even if he feared for his brother's safety.

Though he gave one last long entreaty to J'lar, he knew when he had no choice but to try. Sometimes Loreleth could get the mercenary to melt, but in moments like today, the blue knew when he was beat. He would have no choice but to try. A-alright. I'm going. I don't want to go, but I'm going. It was almost a pout.

So it was, the heavy blue spread his wings, and gave a few test flaps. He saw Strigonth leaping and landing, and not getting particularly far; but that was okay. There were others that weren't yet in the air, so maybe he'd be good at this. Maybe he'd be all right.

"You can do it, love!" J'lar sent as much encouragement and support as he could, knowing full well how loathe Loreleth was to fly. Thankfully, it was all Loreleth needed. As if he'd been struck by a whip, he took off, running a few paces, wings spread, before he launched himself high into the -- nope, nope, that didn't work. For just a moment he thought he had caught himself, but instead, he came back down in the sand, and found he had gone no where. He was still on the ground, and he was no more closer to flight than he had been earlier. Craning his neck behind him, he creeled piteously at J'lar. It's over. I can't fly. There's no way I'll manage to get high in the air, Mine. We should just go back.

Strigonth took a few moments after being forced back to the ground to once more assess the air. The buffets were a bit more than he'd expected...but really, he should have known better. Perhaps anticipating the stinging twitch of disappointment from his rider, the blue bunched to leap again, pushing away the faint tingling of soreness from his wrist..

"A moment, Strigonth." The blue froze as D'mar crossed to his side, kneeling to take the blue's claw in his hands. Slim, probing fingers felt here and there, checking the bone, the feel of the joint. He wasn't a healer, but he knew the feel of his dragon. And he could feel when his own fingers caused discomfort. Even a more firm squeeze prompted little more than the same very mild soreness, so at last the young man released his hold on the blue. The entire time the blue sat, poised to bear the blame for his failure. Though he felt his rider's frustration, and his own yearning to manage this task reflected back from the man, he did not feel that. He did not feel blame.

The next time, D'mar. I do believe, the next time will do it.

D'mar stepped back, giving the blue room to spread his wings, the faintest nod of reassurance tipping his chin. This time. He reaffirmed. They would NOT fail again. They would not be the last dragonet in the air. They'd practiced, they'd prepared, and while they were at the mercy of luck (of all the sharding things, to turn their effort and hard work into nothing!) they were better than giving up or asking for help. Still firmly looking only at his blue, ignoring any words of reassurance or comforting glances from the rest, D'mar nodded again, a signal as curt as it was confident. He WOULD take flight this time!

And he did. It was as easy as stepping into the air.

No rogue gust to foil them this time, no misaligned cogs, nothing. Strigonth's flight this time was steady and sure. As if I could be anything but a paragon of determination, patience, and prowess, once the wind was under me. The blue all but trilled in his rider's mind. Now that the task was done, what was the use in wasting time thinking back on the stumbles that came before? Come then, Loreleth, Aleyath, Dokkaeth. Hessianth is quite right about the quality of the air, once it's all around you, so when you're ready to join us, I promise you won't regret the effort. The blue wheeled gracefully, turning on a silent wingtip overhead of his rider, the pair of them radiating pride.