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A Hatching is a major event in a Weyr and refers to the time when the dragonets emerge from their eggs and impress with their lifelong human partner. 

Significance

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Candidates

Candidates at hatchings are always white clad. It is imperative that a surplus of candidates attend a hatching because if a dragonet does not find a suitable candidate, he or she will not impress and will subsequently die. At the end of the First Interval the records showed five cases in which this happened.

Candidates are said to have natural empathic abilities which initially draw searchdragons to them and can cause hatchlings to find them suitable for Impressions. The cause of the empathic abilities is not known, although many references to "dragonrider blood" making people more likely to be Searched shows it may be possible that there are genetic influences. This is mere speculation, however, and neither the books nor the authors of the series have confirmed or denied it.

Notable Hatchings

First Pass

First Interval

Second Interval

  • Clutching Queen

Third Pass

Sixth Pass

Eighth Interval

Ninth Pass

Dragon and Human reactions to the Hatching

Dragons in the Weyr will react to the Queens maternal croon (see below) with a deep humming (called "a pre-birth lullaby" by headmaster Clisser). The humming gets louder and louder and a chorus of tones will develop when more and more dragons (their throats swelling) join the queen (at the last stages the dragon's chest and belly also start to vibrate). Some of them get so excited that they start aerial maneuvers, flipping here and there on seemingly unavoidable collision courses. People react to this humming on an emotional level with a mix of primal emotions (for example: pride, joy, hope, fear, yearning, sadness and hunger), ranging from utter happiness to fear and sadness. Healers are always attending hatchings because of the injuries that generally occur.




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