Weyr Life
Search | Candidates | Hatching | Weyrling Training | Weyrling Graduation | Riders |
Goldriders | Mating Flights | Threadfall | Drudges | Crafters | Culture
When a clutch of eggs is laid in the Hatching Cavern of a Weyr, its riders look for young people who might be good potential dragonriders. This process is called 'going on Search.' Riders (usually blueriders) will visit the Holds and Halls in their Weyr's territory and ask to see those in the Hold who are between the ages of 12 and 21, though most fannish Weyrs prefer to have a minimum age limit of 14 turns. The Searchrider's dragon will look over these young people. If one or more of them appeal to the dragon, it will indicate so to the rider, and the rider will ask those people if they wish to accept Search.
With the exclusion of Hold Heirs, the decision of whether or not to accept Search is left up to the person Searched. Hold Heirs may not be Searched at all, as becoming a dragonrider would remove that person from the line of succession and possibly cause severe political problems.
If the person accepts Search, he or she is then considered a Candidate and is usually taken to the Weyr for the remaining time before the Hatching, to learn about Weyr life. Some candidates choose to stay with their families for a few more days, to make last-minute arrangements. The rider who Searched that person will usually return in a few days to pick him or her up.
People may also request to stand for a Hatching. To do this, a person must present himself to the Weyrleaders and make the request. By tradition, this happens at the evening meal. Usually, the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman will ask the person why he thinks he would make a good dragonrider. This is done mostly for show, but also to test the person's mettle. If the Weyrleaders like the response they get, they will accept that person as a candidate before the assembled Weyrfolk, and that person is then put under the charge of the Headwoman or the Candidate Master, if that Weyr has one.
Writers should note that potential candidates must meet certain physical standards before they can be accepted for Search. Think of it as being similar to the physical standards required of any potential military recruit. Candidates must be in good physical condition--meaning not handicapped. A blind person won't get Searched. A deaf person might, but he or she would have difficulties with some aspects of weyrling training and would be strongly encouraged to Impress a firelizard. A person who has had a limb amputated would not be a likely Search candidate, nor would a person with frequent epileptic seizures.
Once Searched or given permission by the Weyrleaders to stand for Impression, move into the Candidate Barracks, where they receive daily instruction in becoming comfortable around young dragons, dispelling rumors and horror stories, and in learning their way around the Weyr.
For those candidates who have some kind of craft training, they work with the Weyr's crafters in those professions. Those candidates who are not crafted are assigned to the Headwoman or her assistant to do work around the Weyr. This goes for high-ranking Holder children, as well.
People who are Searched have the right of refusal and need not ask permission to accept Search. The Weyr considers this a matter that only the Candidate is fitted to decide.
In Theran, anyone designated as a Lord Holder's Heir may not be Searched and may not request to stand for Impression. The Weyrleaders and searchriders make it their business to know who these people are. An Heir will not even be presented to the Searchrider who comes to the Hold. However, a Lord Holder's other children may stand, with the Lord's permission.
The first sign of an imminent hatching is the humming of all the dragons and firelizards in a Weyr. This occurs for about half an hour before the first egg hatches, and it allows time for riders to travel between to retrieve the families of candidates. It also allows candidates time to change into the robes they will wear for the Hatching, and for everyone to arrive at the Hatching Grounds. The sound is so powerful that it can be felt in a person's bones. In the wild, it was probably a means to keep predators away from hatching clutches of firelizard eggs.
When most of the guests are assembled in the seating area of the Hatching Grounds, the Candidates are then led in. The Hatching Ground of a Weyr is usually a large cavern whose floor is covered by a thick layer of sand or gravel, kept heated by the geothermal energy of a Weyr. Queen dragons lay their eggs in these hot sands, then brood over them until they hatch. If the cavern is large enough as many of the Weyr's dragons as possible will fly into the Hatching Cavern to observe the event. If the cavern is too small for that, then the mate of the gold who has laid the eggs will at least come to watch.
Moments before the first egg cracks, the dragons stop humming. The candidates are led onto the hot sands to stand in a semi-circle around the eggs, facing the queen. It is considered polite for Candidates to bow to the queen or to acknowledge her in some way before taking their places around the eggs.
At this point, the dragonets begin to hatch and look for the candidates who will become their riders. As dragonets are clumsy at hatchling, it is the candidates' responsibility to stay out of the dragonets' way. This is the only time in a dragon's life when it could harm or kill a person, because of its awkwardness. Because of the rare accidents or fatalities, though, stories do spread among the Holder populations about dragons killing candidates or eating children.
When a hatchling finds the person it wants as its partner, the hatchling makes eye contact with the candidate and initiates telepathic contact. This creates a powerful bond that will last for the life of the dragon and its rider, to be broken only by the death of one or the other. During the first moments of contact, the new rider will usually shout out the dragon's name. Dragons hatch knowing their own names, and their names always end in the letters '-th.' Also, from this point on, the new rider will be known by the shortened version of his or her name that the dragon uses. This shortened name is called the rider's honorific. An example would be the name David becoming D'vid. Male riders always use the honorific. Female riders of fighting dragons might or might not use it. Goldriders never use the honorific, as dragons refer to a goldrider by her full name.
When the Hatching is over, the Weyrlingmaster takes the newly-Impressed riders and their dragonets out to feed the young dragons freshly-killed meat, after which the dragonets usually fall asleep in their wallows in the Weyrling Barracks. Some, though, will accompany their new riders to the Hatching Feast.
The Hatching Feast is where the new riders can visit with families they might not have seen for several weeks and introduce their dragons to them. It is also the first important social occasion for a goldrider weyrling, where she and her dragon are introduced to the dignitaries in that Weyr's territory, such as the local Lord/Lady Holders and Craftmasters.
Weyrling training lasts 18 months at Theran. For more detailed information on it, please see our Weyrling Training Schedule.
After a class of weyrlings completes the 18 months of Weyrling Training, its members are ready to be selected by the fighting wings of the Weyr. This selection does not happen immediately, though. Many Wingleaders like to find out how well the newly-graduated riders fly in Threadfall.
Upon graduation, all members of a weyrling class who have not already been selected by a Wingleader will become members of the Queens' Wing, flying the lowest level during 'Fall. Upon being tapped by a Wingleader, a graduated weyrling will then join the Wing he was selected for. Sometimes, the Weyrwoman will choose a graduated weyrling for her wing. When she makes a choice, she will give the newly chosen rider a wing badge, to distinguish the riders who are formally members of the Queens' Wing from those riders who are available to be tapped by Wingleaders. In conversation, this difference is shown by saying that one either flies 'with' the Queens' Wing or that one flies 'in' it.
Members new to this should keep in mind that the following people will not be allowed to fly in the same Wing: parents and their children, siblings, weyrmates. Siblings of opposite sexes who ride dragons of opposite sexes are strongly discouraged from remaining in the same Weyr. Usually, the more experienced of them will be asked to transfer to another Weyr, unless they hold a ranking position that would make transfer a problem. A similar policy exists for parents whose children of the opposite sex Impress dragons of an opposite sex from the parent's dragon.
On a less happy note, it often happens that about half of a weyrling class will die during training accidents or during the first turn that a newly-trained rider pair begins fighting Thread. For a more detailed look at Weyrling Training, see our Training Schedule.
Once a rider completes Weyrling Training, he will be assigned to the Queens' Wing of his Weyr until he is chosen to join one of the Weyr's fighting Wings. A Wing is usually comprised of 12-30 riders. Three Wings are called a Flight.
Riders receive no pay for fighting Thread; it is considered their duty to Pern. However, the Weyr does receive tithes or donations from the local major Holds in its territory, as well as from the major crafthalls. This is done because riders are usually too busy training, fighting Thread, and caring for their dragons, that they don't have time to work at other jobs. Riders who worked in a craft before their Impression can make the occasional handcrafted work on the side. Other riders offer transport of people and cargo for pay.
Goldriders oversee the domestic and diplomatic functions of the Weyr, while the Weyrleader is responsible for training his riders to fight Thread.
Usually, there are at least three goldriders in a Weyr; often there are as many as five. Between them, they handle the Weyr's recordkeeping, maintaining diplomatic relations between Craft, Hold, and Weyr, and they are of course responsible for keeping their dragons in good health so that they can propagate the species of dragonkind.
The senior gold dragon of the Weyr (the Weyrwoman's dragon) can inhibit the actions of any other dragon in that Weyr. This means she can prevent other dragons from leaving the Weyr, and she can prevent other dragons from traveling between time. A junior gold cannot inhibit the actions of any gold more senior than she, but she can still inhibit the lesser dragons. No dragon will disobey a gold.
Gold and green dragons both go into estrus when they reach physical maturity. For golds, this usually happens after 2-3 turns; for greens, it usually happens after one turn. For about a week before a female dragon is ready to make, her hide will begin to shine more brightly; it will look more polished. Male dragons will pay more attention to her. Her rider will begin to experience mood changes. She might become 'proddy'--irritable, more emotional about small things, distracted, and so forth.
As the time comes for her to rise the dragon will fall into a deep sleep. When she awakens, she will be in a raging temper and will fly to the Feeding Pens to kill one or more of the herdbeasts there. A green dragon will often kill one herdbeast; a gold might kill as many as four. During this, the female's rider must maintain telepathic contact with the dragon and force the dragon to only drain the animal of blood and forbid her to eat the meat. If she mates while she's full, she won't be able to fly very high or very far, and she will thus not lay many eggs, if she is a gold.
While this battle of wills ensues between female dragon and rider, the riders of male dragons interested in the rutting female will find their way to the female dragon's rider, while their dragons gather around the rutting female. When the female dragon has finished blooding her kills, she takes to the air, and the male dragons follow her. This begins the mating flight. During the mating flight, the riders of all dragons involved are in close contact with their dragons. On the ground, the riders will mimic their dragons' actions. After the female bloods her kills, she takes off into flight, and the male dragons chase her. Not all of the males will chase, but a good number will. Once a male catches up with the female, the pair entwine themselves around each other, extend their wings as an air-brake, and they mate while falling from the sky. The longer they spend falling, the larger the clutch a gold will lay.
During this event, the riders of the two dragons share what their dragons are feeling, and the humans will have sex just as their dragons do. A dragon's mating flight overrides the preferences of the rider. If a brown dragon with a heterosexual male rider catches a green dragon with a homosexual female rider, the woman has to deal with it. Generally, while the dragons mate, the riders are caught up in their dragons' passions, and they don't mind who they're with. Once the dragons stop mating, though, all bets are off, and the male rider would need to respect the wishes of his flight partner that he not continue.
During a Pass, gold dragons rise to mate twice a Turn. During an Interval, they will rise once a Turn. Their riders must maintain mental contact and control over their dragons during mating flights to prevent their dragons from going between during the flight.
When a gold dragon rises, the other golds in the Weyr must leave, to guard against one of them rising inadvertently and provoking a fight between the two golds for the bronzes who chase them. Greens are not so territorial, and they don't fight when two of them rise at the same time. Also, a Weyr might have two or three green risings a day.
Golds usually rise for the first time when they are three turns old; greens start rising after they are one turn old.
Mating flights, while exciting for the pair of riders involved, do not constitute a relationship. Riders who share a mating flight are not considered weyrmates.
Because dragon passion overrides human inhibitions, parents and children, and siblings who ride mature male dragons are discouraged from remaining in the Weyr when their relatives' female dragons rise. They leave the Weyr at such times, just as goldriders do during the mating flights of gold dragons.
Also, dragons who are about to rise and their riders are discouraged from leaving the Weyr until after the mating flight happens. This is because a mating flight, especially one for a gold, tends to be telepathically broadcasted to everyone in the vicinity. It's not considered polite to inflict this on people who are not dragonriders.
Fighting Threadfall is a difficult, nerve-wracking task that is filled with danger. Riders feel the cold of high altitude seeping through their clothing. They may experience altitude sickness. They may be up on their dragons for as long as six hours, with no breaks, having to be vigilant for Thread that might fall on them, their dragons, or on other dragons and riders. Every rider is likely to lose at least one or more friends during any given 'Fall.
During a Pass, Thread begins to fall on Pern, with its intensity and frequency falling in a bell-curve pattern. At the beginning and end of a Pass, the amount of Thread falling is light, and as many as three days can go by between 'Falls. During the middle turns of a Pass, the 'Fall is heaviest, and the period between 'Falls can be reduced to 14 hours. For a Weyr whose territory is landlocked, a Threadfall can last 6-8 hours. For island Weyrs, a 'Fall might only last 3-4 hours or less. Fannish note: Fan Weyrs usually find it easier to retain the 3-day period between 'Falls.
A rider prepares for 'Fall by putting fighting straps on his dragon, by donning riding leathers, and by giving his dragon firestone to chew so it can belch flame later. Goldriders will ensure that their flamethrowers are functioning properly and that their 'thrower's tanks are full before mounting their dragons for 'Fall.
Riders are trained to predict Threadfalls with the use of Threadfall Charts. Just before 'Fall is expected, the Weyrleader will order the riders to assemble themselves into their fighting wings in the Weyr Bowl, which is the floor of the crater in which a mountain-based Weyr is housed. When all is ready, the Weyrleader and his Wing will take to the air. In an orderly fashion, the other Wings will follow. When all are in the air, they will travel to the location where Thread is expected to begin falling. Once the leading edge of the Threadfall is sighted, the riders and dragons go to meet it.
A Weyr's dragons are usually divided into Wings, comprised of 12-30 riders. In some Weyrs, three Wings are joined together to form a Flight. The Weyrleader's Wing fights at the highest altitude, and the Queens' Wing fights at the lowest altitude. Queenriders use flamethrowers, as chewing firestone renders female dragons sterile. Note: It has also been stated that greens were bio-engineered to be sterile. Take your pick; The Shared Tenth Pass goes with the firestone theory.
The Weyr fights Thread using the strategy devised by the Weyrleader and the Wingleaders, adapted during 'Fall as is appropriate for that 'Fall's circumstances. Tactics for fighting Thread in windy weather will differ from those used in calm weather. Procedures for fighting a night-time 'Fall differ from those used during the daytime.
Back at the Weyr, those left behind are busy, as well. Junior weyrlings fill a constant stream of firestone sacks for more senior weyrlings to transport to the fighting riders. Healers ready their supplies to take care of injured dragons and riders who return early from 'Fall. Kitchen staff prepare food for riders who return early and need a meal. Additionally, a portion of the greenriders and blueriders will have remained behind, to relieve the blue- and greenriders who flew in the first shift of Threadfall. Because blue and green dragons are smaller than the golds, bronzes, and browns, they lack the stamina to fly the entire length of a 'Fall, so they fight Thread in shifts. Shifts rotate every 2-3 hours of a 'Fall.
Once Threadfall ends, the Queens' Wing flies sweep flights over the territory covered by the 'Fall, to check for signs of Thread that has burrowed into the ground, leaving dead vegetation in its wake. When they do find a burrow, they warn the ground crews in that area where it is, so those teams can destroy the grounded Thread.
Once everything is declared Threadfree, all riders return to the Weyr. Riders see to their dragons' needs first, treating their injuries or bathing their dragons before treating their own injuries or bathing, themselves. Following that is usually a meeting of the Weyrleader, Wingleaders, and Wingseconds, to assess how well the 'Fall was flown.
Drudges are often people who are not able to work in any job that requires more skilled labor. Pern is not a politically correct place; it can't afford to be, because life is hard, there. If your character is not able to perform or to conduct himself properly in a regular job, he or she will most likely wind up as a drudge.
Crafters are the equivalent of degreed professionals on Earth. They have usually spent at least 4-5 years in an apprenticeship before attaining the rank of journeyman, at which time they are considered a full professional in their craft. Most crafters on Pern never become Masters. Masters teach journeyman, and they usually do this at the main hall of their craft. Sometimes, though, masters will be posted to prominent Weyrs Holds, or auxiliary crafthalls in supervisory positions. As often as not, though, a senior journeyman (one with three knots on his rank cords) can be placed in charge of more junior journeymen.
Most crafters do not receive their training at the craft's main Hall. For instance, most healers don't go to the main Healerhall at Fort to train, simply because travel is difficult unless you are a dragonrider, or a Lord Holder with access to the Hold's watchdragon. Usually, a crafter will serve his apprenticeship under a journeyman close to home, and might only go to the main crafthall for final examination and training.
Crafters who Impress dragons advance no further in their crafts. Craft advancement requires much study and work, and being a dragonrider is a full-time, exhausting job in itself. Dragonriders don't have the time needed to study and advance in their craft.
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All references to worlds and characters based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are copyright© Anne McCaffrey 1967,2003, all rights reserved, and used by permission of the author. The Dragonriders of Pern® is registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Anne McCaffrey, used here with permission. Use or reproduction without a license is strictly prohibited.
