Kaneya opened her eyes, and found herself in a warm, noisy place. The ground under her feet was soft, sandy and extremely hot, but bearable. She moved her arms and saw that she was wearing a light, white robe. The clamoring noise ringing in her ears came from the crowd in the stands, surrounding her, surrounding them all. The deep, vibrant hum from all of the dragons in the Weyr enveloped her.

I’m in the Hatching Ground, Kaneya thought to herself, and it’s… Hatching Day? She shook her head in disbelief. No, wait. It can’t be. I’ve already Impressed a dragon. A blue. I’m a blue rider…

She looked around at the other candidates standing near her, wondering if she’d recognize anyone. She stepped close to one candidate, catching a glimpse of his or her face, and gasped in shock.

She was looking at herself!

Kaneya whipped around wildly, looking through the sea of white robes at the other candidates, and was even more shocked.

Every single candidate on the Sands looked like her!

Impossible!

Kaneya’s fearful thoughts were interrupted by the cracking of shell. She looked back at the clutch, where the first dragonet had already hatched.

It was a midnight-blue dragon, very much like the dragon Kaneya had Impressed. In fact, he looked exactly like the dragon she had Impressed. Kaneya took a step forward, her dragon’s name on the tip of her tongue, but she was immediately overtaken by one of the look-alike candidates. The candidate gave a cry of joy as she helped the blue dragon up. With a smile, she shouted:

“He says his name is Duharth!”

As more of the eggs hatched, more of the doppelganger candidates moved toward the dragonets. Oddly, every one of them was a shade of blue. Bright sky blue. Pale moon blue. Dark steel blue. Bright indigo blue. And many, many more were the shade of deep midnight blue.

The air was filled with Kaneya’s own voice, echoing across the Sands.

“His name is Fumanath!”

“He calls himself Codoth!”

“Dardenth!”

“Eliorth!”

“Ohekath!”

“Tiarth!”

“Aperath!”

Kaneya looked around her as the voices of the other candidates – blue riders, now – called out their dragons’ names. They seemed to multiply the more she saw them.

Then, once all of the eggs had hatched, she looked beyond the remnants of cracked shell and shards and saw an even greater multitude of candidates – all looking just like her – who had been left standing. Some cried, while others fell to their knees sobbing. Still others were silent, but stricken.

Kaneya turned around, trying to leave the disturbing scene, but after walking a dragonlength, she found herself back at the Hatching Grounds, standing among dozens of candidates who looked just like her. There were more eggs hatching, and more blue dragonets emerging, more candidates becoming riders and even more left standing.

Troubled, she tried to leave the Hatching Grounds again, only to end up in the same place, with the Hatching beginning all over again.

How can I get out of here? Kaneya thought worriedly. She looked again at the hatching dragonets and the Impressing candidates. Maybe I should find my dragon…

She pictured her midnight-blue dragonet in her mind. But when she opened her mouth to say his name, nothing came out.

What?

Disturbed, she tried to say his name again.

“_______.”

“W-what’s going on?” she stammered out loud. “_______. _______!”

Tears of frustration sprang to her eyes. “Why can’t I say his name?” She searched her mind, and with a jolt, she realized that the space in her mind that was normally occupied by her dragon was empty. He was no longer there.

She began to panic. “_______!” she yelled, “Where are you? Why can’t I feel you?” She ran, no longer paying attention to the look-alike candidates and hatching blue dragons, and the fact that every path she took looped back to the same scene.

Where is he? Where is my dragon? Where is _______?

The more she ran, the more she saw herself Impressing dragon after dragon, every shade of blue, with every name. Even worse, the more she saw herself as she was left standing, sad and depressed, in a twisted alternate version of the happiest day of her life.

Let me go, she thought wildly, let me escape this nightmare. I can’t take it anymore!

Everything faded as the Hatching Ground fell away, and a bright, glowing light shined ahead, like a glowbasket at the end of a dark tunnel.

Desperately, Kaneya reached out toward the light as her dragon’s name came to mind again…

“Dayiath!”

Kaneya scrambled awake, breathing heavily. She looked around wildly for a moment, not recognizing where she was. Then, as she saw the lumpy shapes of dragons on their couches and girls in their beds, she realized she was in the weyrling barracks. She took deep breaths, getting her pounding heart under control, and looked to the couch beside her.

Dayiath moved his head toward her, humming concernedly. His eyes glowed in the darkness. Are you all right? What happened?

Kaneya lay a hand on the warm, smooth hide of his head. “It was a dream,” she said, stroking his head, “A nightmare. I was afraid I’d lost you and would never find you again…” Tears welled in her eyes.

Dayiath hummed again and mentally reached out to embrace her. You’ll never lose me. You are mine and I am yours, and we’ll always be together.

Kaneya smiled, blinking back her tears. “Yeah. Always.”

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