J�lin knew exactly what a wher was � almost a quarter of the NightWatch at Kielac had adopted wherlets, and a few had Impressed them, and the rest helped to care for them, lest they be attacked.

Of course, there were exceptions, like the one that had fancied J�lin for his lunch a ways back.

"A wher is a smallish creature, about the size of a very large canine � 11 or 12 hands a the shoulder. They hatch from eggs and can be Impressed like firelizards and dragons." J�lin began as Vemonth ate.

J�lin continued. "Whers look a tiny bit dragonlike � they�ve four cloven feet, two fragile wings (clipped for safety) and their eyes change colors like dragons� but aren�t faceted. Generally, they�re considered very ugly."

So? Vemonth said, waiting for more meat. What�s so important about that?

"Because they�re ugly, most people don�t go aout of their way to meet one. Since whers have smooth eyes, they can�t stand bright light � like sunlight or glows. So they hide in caves during the day, and come out at night. It�s uncommon knowledge that whers come in gold, bronze, brown, blue, and green like dragons and firelizards. There are sometimes white whers, and Kyrrin�s wher, Dyle, is blue and white � his dam was a white wher, you see."

"You�re full of it, J�lin!" someone shouted. "There�s no such thing as a white wher!"

J�lin rolled his eyes. "Go to Kielac and tell that to Kyrrin, you creep! There may not be a white wher anymore, but sure as Vemonth hatched, there was one!"

J�lin�s new firelizard, Vaid, appeared, and came to get his share of Vemonth�s breakfast. The brown didn�t mind sharing. The blue couldn�t eat that much!

Vemonth has grown. Now what?