Our Story
After the discovery of the supercomputer AIVAS, and the presumed destruction of Thread, Pernese culture entered a period of rapid, overwhelming change. Helped along by historical records and relics of Earth culture pulled from AIVAS’s databanks, the previously community-minded global culture fractured, and with land and resources that had previously been too dangerous to settle, explore, and exploit no longer needing the protection of dragonriders, a take-what-you-can attitude developed in the Holds and Weyrs. Expansion was rapid, poorly planned, and frequently contested.
War and religion, two things the original colonists had hoped to leave behind, found new life in the fertile ground of a changing world. Things grew so bad on the main continents that a group of desperate, determined people formed a company to attempt to colonize Far Western- two large islands anchoring a long string of smaller islands that spread nearly the full longitude of Pern.
The colonists landed, and first founded Forlorn Hope Weyr, which remains the oldest of the active Far Western settlements. A decade later, they founded Ironfall Hold, named for the red waterfalls which pour out of the cliff-face below the Hold, colored by rich iron deposits nearby. For nearly seventy Turns, Far Western developed, grew, and thrived, trading with the Holds and Weyrs of Northern and Southern for whatever they could not produce.
Then, Threadfall. No one expected it; for a time, those not directly affected refused to believe it. Fishing fleets and trade ships were lost by the dozens. Outlying cotholds, built of wood in the wake of the triumphs of earlier centuries, fell in waves. Tens of thousands of lives were lost, infrastructure was destroyed, and Pern was brought to its knees. Dragonriders, long since having taken on different roles, taking up crafts or working transport, suddenly found themselves in the position of having to relearn much that had been lost. Dynasties fell; new powers rose. Slowly, slowly, the people of Pern rebuilt, but what was did not strictly resemble what had come before.
Far Western, still relatively young, weathered the transition with determination, if not grace. Half of Forlorn Hope had to be rebuilt, and much of the population of Ironfall retreated into the tunnels carved between the docks and the clifftop Hold. They persevered, however, and found they had an advantage that even few of the Weyrs had. Far Western’s dragons bred quickly, and laid large clutches- and several of the islands closest to the main islands had easily accessible firestone. With time and practice, their dragonriders were able to cover not only the critical population centers, but some of their ships as well.
Far Western began to expand, while other Holds and Weyrs struggled just to maintain patches of the immense territories they had claimed. For a time, there was a relative level of peace, with the people of Pern too busy trying to survive to make war. But with recovery came renewed hostility, and tensions began to rise once more. People from war-torn regions of Northern and Southern fled to Western, and a new Weyr was founded on a large island well to the south of the two main islands. Sanctuary Weyr greeted the new arrivals, and Far Western’s alliance grew stronger.
This was not to the liking of everyone; several of the old powers began to view Far Western as a threat. Direct military attacks were difficult; Far Western’s abundance of Gold dragons made flying in enemies all but impossible, and Far Western’s well-protected navy was easily the equal of any other. Southern Hold, seeing this, tried a different approach- sabotage. ‘Refugees’ arrived from Southern, and in their wake, food stores were spoiled, clean water reserves poisoned, dragon eggs cracked.
Outraged, Far Western retaliated by closing their borders, and implementing new safeguards. Refugees seeking shelter in Far Western had to seek out those members of the Trade Guild who were still permitted passage; a series of checkpoints was established along a particular route to Sanctuary Weyr. Anyone who approached from a different route took their lives into their own hands; Far Western grew zealous about their security, and it soon became clear that the path referred to as Sanctuary River was the best option for anyone genuinely searching for refuge.
Five hundred Turns after the return of Thread to Pern, the political landscape is shifting once again. New threats have grown within the borders of even the most secure Holds, a subtle power is seizing control of Holds and Weyrs alike, Thread remains unpredictable and immensely destructive, and the strength of Far Western- the strength of the alliance between its major Weyrs and Hold- is faltering for the first time in its four-century history.
What the future holds, no one can be certain.
