Pernese Lexicon
Apprentice: The lowest level in a Crafthall, basically a trainee. (see craft)
Belior: The larger of the two moons of Pern
Between: An empty space of sensory deprivation that dragons must go through when they “teleport” from one location to the next. Between is very cold, and you cannot breathe nor see, and can barely feel the dragon beneath you. Going Between usually lasts as long as it takes to cough three times.
Craft: A trade, such as weaver, fisher, potter, etc
Craftmaster: The highest level in a crafthall, a fully trained craftsman.
Deadglow: an insult. Basically, it means 'fool'. (See Glow for more insight)
Firelizard: A smaller version of the dragon native to Pern.
Firestone: Phosphine-bearing rocks which dragons chew to produce a flame. Gold dragons never chew firestone, as they are incapable of producing flame.
Glow: a light source which can be carried in a handbasket. Usually referred to as Glowbaskets, as opposed to just the glows themselves.
Harper: Harpers are responsible for the education of children in hold, hall and weyr. They are the musicians and entertainers of Pern and may also be called upon to arbitrate disputes.
Headwoman: someone selected by the Weyrwoman to take charge of the domestic duties in a weyr: cleaning, cooking, childcare, etc.
Hold: A dwelling cut out of rock so it is safe from Thread. Where common people live, much like a village.
Holdless: people who have no hold for whatever reason, often because of crime.
Impression: the joining of minds between a dragon and their newly formed rider at Hatching. From this point on the dragon will speak to only it’s rider and other dragons, and will refer to its rider as Mine. (example: L’aniMine, or “Dragons understand humans, Mine, but humans do not hear all dragons.”)
Journeyman: The middle level in a crafthall. An apprentice who has reached a certain level of competence and 'journeys' around Pern.
Klah: a stimulating drink made of tree bark. Much like coffee, although some say it is more like a mixture of coffee and cocoa.
Looks to: is Impressed by. (example: Lucieth looks to A’kor)
Mastercraftsman: The leader of a crafthall. There are many craftmasters, but only one Mastercraftsmen. However, all have the title 'Master'.
Mindspeak: Telepathic speech dragons use to communicate between themselves and their riders. It is rare for dragons to mindspeak with any other human than their own rider.
Numbweed: a plant made into a salve which is used as an anaesthetic. Smells terrible when boiling, and the chore of picking the weed is often given to those punished, or those of very low rank.
Pass: the time when the Red Star is close enough to drop Thread on Pern. Usually about 50 years in length.
Red Star: a planet which has an erratic orbit, passing Pern infrequently and dropping Thread on it.
Runner beast: The Pernese equivalent of a horse.
Sevenday: a Pernese week.
Shards: a Pernese oath meaning 'damn!'.
Shells: see 'Shards'.
Thread: a mindless organism, silver in color, dropped from the Red Star which devours all organic material, such as crops, flesh, etc. It can only be killed by starvation, water, extreme cold and fire. While fighting thread, Dragons may go Between to freeze the Thread if they are touched by it. Very dangerous.
Timor: Pern's smaller moon.
Touching: An event upon which Candidates are allowed to familiarize themselves with the clutch of eggs soon to Hatch. This tradition was first brought into effect by F'lar, to minimize casualties on the Hatching Grounds.
"As soon as the eggshells hardened and Ramoth had rolled her special queen egg to one side of the mottled clutch for attentive brooding, F'lar brought the prospective riders into the hatching ground. Traditionally, the candidates saw the eggs for the first time on the day of the Impression. The candidates were to get used to the eggs, touch them, carress them, be comfortable with the notion that out of these eggs young dragons would hatch, eager and watiting to be Impressed. F'lar felt that such a practice might cut down on casualties during Impression when the boys were simply to scared to move out of the way of awkward dragonets." - (an excerpt from the book Dragonriders of Pern, pg 135)
Turn: a Pernese year.
Watchdragon: The dragon and rider who have pulled watch duty on the Weyr roster. A 'watch' is four hours long.
Watchwher: A nocturnal, photosensitive relative of dragons used as a guard at night. Not as intelligent as dragons, nor can they communicate with humans via Mindspeak. Can Impress, however, do not Impress as dragons do.
Weyr: A home of dragons and riders, usually an extinct volcano. The volcano contains artificial tunnels which compose of the Weyr, with large rooms with ledges leading to the open air for dragons and their riders.
weyr: (note the small 'w') a dragon's den.
Weyrleader: Usually the rider whose bronze has flown the senior queen in a Weyr. He is in charge of the fighting wings of dragons and responsible for the training and discipline of dragonriders in his Weyr, and with the Weyrwoman the general running of the Weyr.
Weyrling: A stage in a dragon and rider’s development, usually associated with adolescence. When one becomes a Weyrling, they being training to become part of a “wing” (see wing).
Weyrlingmaster: A rider with good skills who is responsible for the training and discipline of weyrlings.
Weyrwoman: Usually the rider of the senior queen in the Weyr. She is in charge of the queen's wing during a Fall and the care of dragons and riders. She ensures tithes are satisfactory, appoints subordinates and with the Weyrleader is responsible for the general running and peace of the Weyr.
Wing: A group of dragonriders assigned to fight thread. Each wing composes of a Wingleader and a Wingsecond, as well as a bunch of wingriders. Wingleader is flown by a Bronze, and usually Wingseconds are browns who help the Wingleaders guide the Wing during Threadfall.
Wherry: a large, turkey-like bird.
Apprentice: The lowest level in a Crafthall, basically a trainee. (see craft)
Belior: The larger of the two moons of Pern
Between: An empty space of sensory deprivation that dragons must go through when they “teleport” from one location to the next. Between is very cold, and you cannot breathe nor see, and can barely feel the dragon beneath you. Going Between usually lasts as long as it takes to cough three times.
Craft: A trade, such as weaver, fisher, potter, etc
Craftmaster: The highest level in a crafthall, a fully trained craftsman.
Deadglow: an insult. Basically, it means 'fool'. (See Glow for more insight)
Firelizard: A smaller version of the dragon native to Pern.
Firestone: Phosphine-bearing rocks which dragons chew to produce a flame. Gold dragons never chew firestone, as they are incapable of producing flame.
Glow: a light source which can be carried in a handbasket. Usually referred to as Glowbaskets, as opposed to just the glows themselves.
Harper: Harpers are responsible for the education of children in hold, hall and weyr. They are the musicians and entertainers of Pern and may also be called upon to arbitrate disputes.
Headwoman: someone selected by the Weyrwoman to take charge of the domestic duties in a weyr: cleaning, cooking, childcare, etc.
Hold: A dwelling cut out of rock so it is safe from Thread. Where common people live, much like a village.
Holdless: people who have no hold for whatever reason, often because of crime.
Impression: the joining of minds between a dragon and their newly formed rider at Hatching. From this point on the dragon will speak to only it’s rider and other dragons, and will refer to its rider as Mine. (example: L’aniMine, or “Dragons understand humans, Mine, but humans do not hear all dragons.”)
Journeyman: The middle level in a crafthall. An apprentice who has reached a certain level of competence and 'journeys' around Pern.
Klah: a stimulating drink made of tree bark. Much like coffee, although some say it is more like a mixture of coffee and cocoa.
Looks to: is Impressed by. (example: Lucieth looks to A’kor)
Mastercraftsman: The leader of a crafthall. There are many craftmasters, but only one Mastercraftsmen. However, all have the title 'Master'.
Mindspeak: Telepathic speech dragons use to communicate between themselves and their riders. It is rare for dragons to mindspeak with any other human than their own rider.
Numbweed: a plant made into a salve which is used as an anaesthetic. Smells terrible when boiling, and the chore of picking the weed is often given to those punished, or those of very low rank.
Pass: the time when the Red Star is close enough to drop Thread on Pern. Usually about 50 years in length.
Red Star: a planet which has an erratic orbit, passing Pern infrequently and dropping Thread on it.
Runner beast: The Pernese equivalent of a horse.
Sevenday: a Pernese week.
Shards: a Pernese oath meaning 'damn!'.
Shells: see 'Shards'.
Thread: a mindless organism, silver in color, dropped from the Red Star which devours all organic material, such as crops, flesh, etc. It can only be killed by starvation, water, extreme cold and fire. While fighting thread, Dragons may go Between to freeze the Thread if they are touched by it. Very dangerous.
Timor: Pern's smaller moon.
Touching: An event upon which Candidates are allowed to familiarize themselves with the clutch of eggs soon to Hatch. This tradition was first brought into effect by F'lar, to minimize casualties on the Hatching Grounds.
"As soon as the eggshells hardened and Ramoth had rolled her special queen egg to one side of the mottled clutch for attentive brooding, F'lar brought the prospective riders into the hatching ground. Traditionally, the candidates saw the eggs for the first time on the day of the Impression. The candidates were to get used to the eggs, touch them, carress them, be comfortable with the notion that out of these eggs young dragons would hatch, eager and watiting to be Impressed. F'lar felt that such a practice might cut down on casualties during Impression when the boys were simply to scared to move out of the way of awkward dragonets." - (an excerpt from the book Dragonriders of Pern, pg 135)
Turn: a Pernese year.
Watchdragon: The dragon and rider who have pulled watch duty on the Weyr roster. A 'watch' is four hours long.
Watchwher: A nocturnal, photosensitive relative of dragons used as a guard at night. Not as intelligent as dragons, nor can they communicate with humans via Mindspeak. Can Impress, however, do not Impress as dragons do.
Weyr: A home of dragons and riders, usually an extinct volcano. The volcano contains artificial tunnels which compose of the Weyr, with large rooms with ledges leading to the open air for dragons and their riders.
weyr: (note the small 'w') a dragon's den.
Weyrleader: Usually the rider whose bronze has flown the senior queen in a Weyr. He is in charge of the fighting wings of dragons and responsible for the training and discipline of dragonriders in his Weyr, and with the Weyrwoman the general running of the Weyr.
Weyrling: A stage in a dragon and rider’s development, usually associated with adolescence. When one becomes a Weyrling, they being training to become part of a “wing” (see wing).
Weyrlingmaster: A rider with good skills who is responsible for the training and discipline of weyrlings.
Weyrwoman: Usually the rider of the senior queen in the Weyr. She is in charge of the queen's wing during a Fall and the care of dragons and riders. She ensures tithes are satisfactory, appoints subordinates and with the Weyrleader is responsible for the general running and peace of the Weyr.
Wing: A group of dragonriders assigned to fight thread. Each wing composes of a Wingleader and a Wingsecond, as well as a bunch of wingriders. Wingleader is flown by a Bronze, and usually Wingseconds are browns who help the Wingleaders guide the Wing during Threadfall.
Wherry: a large, turkey-like bird.
