Thankfully, her chores for the day were over along with computer classes which she had become rather deft in. So now she stood on a low bluff beyond the weyrlake that overlooked the bay and watched the sun set, a thin trickle of tears streaming down her face, as she saw in the red highlighted clouds the silhouette of a young man with a sword. Two images came to her then, one of her lost love Devrian, the other of the young man she was growing to love, Gaelen, the son of Dragonriders and not of this world. Slowly she sank to her knees as the whispers of the voices hummed in the back of her mind, behind her Vixen stood quietly, her dark brown coat almost black in the growing darkness as she waited for her mistress to take her back to her comfortable stall in the weyr stables.

Suddenly Vyr appeared, the young greens mind images jumbled and confusing. Tiredly Shazi stood, wiping her eyes as she held out her free hand to the flighty creature. Daintily, Vyr alighted and looked deep into Shazis pale gold eyes, her images now crystal clear, and they said only one thing. The eggs are hatching!

After bringing Vixen back to the stables, Shazi set off towards the barracks, Vyr clinging to the front of her shirt. Racing through the large crowds of people, Shazi swerved and almost tripped twice, once by a large man with four children in tow, the second by another candidate, already in his white impression robe. The sight of the other candidate just hurried Shazis steps, for a fear had been nagging at her all day. What if she didnt impress? What then? Would she have to face all those waiting for her back on the Southern Continent in shame, in defeat, unworthy of dragon and prove to all those against her that she truly was crazy? Vyr trilled encouragement as Shazi came to a halt in front of the barracks and opened the door, then fell silent as she realized the same time her mistress did that the barracks were void of any life. Panting with fear and exertion, Shazi stumbled to her bunk and threw open her trunk, searching desperately for her white robe. Upon finding it, she threw it on right over her clothes and without bothering to tie it, raced towards the hatching sands.

When she arrived, Shazi froze and almost ran the other way. High upon all the ledges above the bleachers, almost all the dragons of Falas except those in the Syriol Wing where upset, and the entire sands seemed to have a red tint to it for the many whirling red eyes. Nervously, Shazi rounded the corner into the sands and walked quickly past the regular candidates and joined the six other girls who all looked as nervous and scared as she did. Then everything went quiet as an egg cracked and the first dragonet appeared. By the cheering of the crowd Shazi knew it was a good hatching and when she turned slightly, she noticed a bronze making her way off the sands with, a girl? Shaking her head as if to clear it, Shazi looked back and smiled when she realized that the dragonet was also female. Simultaneously, five other eggs hatched, but Shazi wasnt watching them, a small gold had barred the entrance, not allowing any of the newly impressed to leave. The Niayith bugled and with a great hiss, all the dragons who had been making so much noise vanished along with a good amount of firelizards. Shazi quickly looked around for Vyr until she realized the small green was still clutching at her shirt. It was then that Shazi remembered to tie up her robe over her shirt and breeches, next to her, one of the other girls winked as she too tied up her own over her own clothes.

Fifteen other eggs hatched and impressed, but Shazi hardly noticed the colors, all she knew was that a good portion of them were rares, and that no one was being left standing. Suddenly the small gold at the entrance, Flynnth if her memory served her, bugled and Niayiths head tipped back in a bellow of anguish as all on the sands, including a few dragonets who had still not yet impressed, fell silent. As the large queen spread her wings wide, Shazis eyes widened when she saw three more olden tinted eggs besides the two already known about. But then she looked back up as fairs of firelizards dove from the crevasses, and to Flynnth as she skimmed above her head to land near Niayith as the queen and her rider sprang into the air and disappeared. Shazi had heard briefly what was going on, something about Jtha, the rider of Sunset Zenith, and Lord Laur dueling and had heard Synde, the rider of Flynnth, say this was a bad time for a hatching, but then she no longer noticed, for the gold eggs were rocking.

As she stared, mesmerized, by the rocking eggs, she heard a lull in the cracking behind her, then a sharp crack and clapping, and Shazi smiled, knowing that the new dragonet was sunset, just like his father, but she didnt turn to look. When she heard another boy not to far from the queen eggs talking to an egg, she turned, wondering if the kid was crazy, but she only grinned when she realized the hatchling was just telling him to kick the egg a little for some help, then she gasped when she realized that the dragonet was another sunset. Suddenly cracking behind her made her jerk around as the first gold split her shell and stood proudly as two other emerged. Two were solid gold, like their mother, while another was speckled with white. Eyes wide Shazi held her breath as the other two eggs hatched, and froze when she saw not five, but seven hatchlings before her and the others, two sunset speckled golds were fighting over whos tail belonged to who while two light toned golds where just trying to organize themselves.

The white speckled moved first, going up to Onlilah and butting her legs, and then the twin light colored golds were moving. Shazi, wiped some tears she didnt realize she had shed from her eyes as it hit her at the same moment the mind of another did that no one would be left standing. Slowly she moved forward just as Fallon did, both of them switching paths at the same moment. Hello Shazi, did I surprise you? And why are you crying? At the little golds worried tone, Shazi smiled and scratched an eye ridge, picking off a piece of egg shell, and on a whim, shoved it into her breeches as a souvenir. "Yes, you surprised me Akyth, now how about some food?"

Two weeks after the hatching, Shazi heard through the grapevine of Falas Weyr, that Mhant had been killed and his bronze Jerith had gone between, and that Jtha lay near death but was recovering, and when Shazi, with Akyth in tow, had happened to see Zenith at the feeding pens, she hoped she would never see that beautiful sunset hide such a horrid shade of gray ever again. Later, when Jtha was better, he was promoted to Syriol wingleader and acting Weyrleader. Laur had been banished, and Shazi hoped fervently as she watched the riders who had taken him away return, that they had killed him, scum like that had no right to be on this world.

Akyth nudged Shazis leg again, and trilled softly, her large eyes whirling in soft blue greens. Smiling, Shazi scratched the golden eye ridges as the sun set once again over the Falas Bay, then she turned, one hand resting on Akyths head, and walked back down the bluff towards the barracks, the Weyrling barracks.

It was full night, Shazi was fast asleep, her dreams holding wide open skies and the limitless power of flight. Akyth was awake, but for once not hungry, as she stared at her sleeping riders face she sighed mentally Shazi, someday Ill help you remember your past, and the Fallen will never bother you again, I promise you that. Shazi sighed and rolled over, with Vyr perched on the headboard of the bed chirping a little in her sleep. If she could, Akyth would have smiled, so she just curled back up, her nose pointed always towards the door.