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
Search
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
- Clutching Queen: None; genetically engineered at Landing by Kitti Ping.
- Clutching Queen: None; genetically engineered at Landing by Kitti Ping.
First Interval
- Clutching Queen: Meranath of Telgar Weyr.
- including Morath
Second Interval
- Clutching Queen
Third Pass
- Clutching Queen Breth of Benden Weyr (32 eggs, 10 stillborn)
- Clutching Queen Melirth of Fort Weyr: hatchlings
- Clutching Queen Talenth of Telgar Weyr (21) hatchlings
- Clutching Queen Tolarth of Telgar Weyr (22) hatchlings
- Mass Hatching, Clutching Queens: Talenth, Kurinth, Tolarth, three other Queens *Clutching Queens: (253 eggs, 23 surviving dragonets), 6 Queens
Sixth Pass
Eighth Interval
- Clutching Queen: Nemorth of Benden Weyr. Ten hatchlings
Ninth Pass
- Clutching Queen: Ramoth of Benden Weyr (41) hatchlings
- Clutching Queen: Ramoth of Benden Weyr.
- Clutching Queen: Ramoth of Benden Weyr.
- Clutching Queen: Ramoth of Benden Weyr.
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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