The Weyr is the home of dragonriders, and the people who support them.  A full strength Weyr will have at least 500 dragon/rider pairings.  There is two to three times that many support personnel.  The population of a Weyr is between 1,500 and 2,000 people, including children and the elderly.  A mere fifth of the population in just one major Hold, which averages around 10,000 bodies.

Dragonriders depend heavily on the Weyr support staff.  Dragons are large creatures.  They take up a lot of their rider's time.  Any craft a rider might have had prior to Impression becomes nothing more than a hobby afterwards.  It is the crafters that are assigned to the Weyrs by their Halls and the people of the Lower Cavern's who really keep the Weyr running every day.

The Weyrwoman is the ultimate authority in the Weyr.  She is responsible for the domestic running of the Weyr, as well as the political and diplomatic liaisons with Hall and Hold.  Her junior goldriders are her direct assistants, each serving as best suits their abilities.  Each Weyrwoman will determine what duties to put to her juniors and what duties she herself will perform.  A Weyrwoman who isn't the most tactful will often assign her Weyrwoman Second the duties of being the Hold and Hall contact and liaison while she herself oversees the running of the Weyr itself.  However, more often than not, it is the Weyrwoman Second who keeps the home fires burning while the Weyrwoman deals with the politics.

The Headwoman and Steward report directly to the Weyrwoman and/or Weyrwoman Second.  The Headwoman and Steward are jointly responsible for the running over the Lower Caverns and the supervision of all uncrafted personnel.  They are probably the most overworked and underappreciated people in the entire Weyr.

The Weyrcrafters also report directly to the Weyrwoman and/or the goldrider assigned as the Weyr's crafter liaison.  Each Weyrcrafter is responsible for the running and administration of their craft hall within the Weyr.  The Weyr supplies their needs, but the crafters have contracts that outline specifically where obedience to the Weyr and craft autonomy lie.  Because the Weyr must pay for all craft personnel, Weyrcrafters must seek the Weyr's permission to request more staff.  However the Weyr cannot dictate to the Weyrcrafter's how they will run their halls.

The Weyrleader's responsibility is to ensure that the Weyr is ready, willing and able to rise to meet Threadfall.  Often he and the Weyrwoman will share the political and diplomatic responsibilities, but a Weyrleader's only real job is the all important one of keeping the dragonriders under his command able to rise and flame Thread.  He coordinates training with his Wingleaders, researching and instituting new methods and ways of combating the silver rain.  He oversees wingdrills and structures training.  He keeps the wings fresh and versatile and agile with frequent wing reassignments so that riders learn how to integrate quickly with new riders.  It is the Weyrleader's responsiblity to promote and place able and effective leaders in the wings, as well as to discipline riders who have caused trouble within the wings.

The Weyrlingmaster reports directly to the Weyrleader regarding the training of the weyrlings.  Once the dragon pops from the shell, they cease being the Weyrwoman's concern and become the Weyrleader's newest generation of fighters.

The Weyr is a military organization, but is more relaxed that one would think.  However, there are clear and precise chains of command and rank and there is little confusion among the Weyrfolk regarding who one goes to.  Below is a rank heirarchy.

Weyrwoman
     Weyrleader
          Goldriders
               Wingleaders
                Headwoman/Steward
               Weyrcrafters
                    Wingseconds
                    Department Heads (Cook, Nursery, ect.)
                    Masters in a craft
                         Wingriders
                         Lower Caverns senior staff
                         Journeymen
                              Weyrlings
                              Apprentices
                                   Candidates
                                    Weyrbrats

Contact Sable Weyr's Leadership at irilyn@yahoo.com