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 Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:08 am
Favan is to leave Ista, to go to a Weyr without a queen. Favan, a senior queen. Weyrlings aren't allowed to go, but even if we were I'm fairly sure I'd stay. I might not be entirely sure of Helirra and D'tai these days, but better them than power hungry Favan and Cheoth the brute. I wonder how many will go along with her, and if there will be bad feeling over it. I gather quite a lot of candidates are jumping at the chance, and I don't blame them. Favan or no Favan, any chance to get away from the conditions they're enduring must be too good to pass up.
Nobody even knows where it is yet, or what it'll be like. It would be nice to find out; I'm a naturally curious sort, always wanting to know more and more... I suppose once Naedreth and I can fly and between alright we could visit. We could visit all the Weyrs. All the major Holds. We could go anywhere in the world. Where would we go first, once we're allowed to between whenever we like? Southern? Humm. I think I'd like to go north, see what it's like in a different climate.
For now though, I'm just interested to see how this situation plays out. If a large number of people leave, it could solve a lot of our problems. I can only assume a lot of the people who have been sabotaging whatever they can will leave. I can't imagine that any of them who aren't weyrlings will remain, I can only assume the point of their actions was to try to force something out of Helirra. Well, now's their chance to get out and stop making things worse for everyone else. Good riddance; it's still hard for me to believe anyone could be so selfish, so stupid.
One person I do know who's planning to move is my birth mother, she always was the adventurous type. For her sake, for the sake of everyone going in fact, I hope the new Weyr is nice, and that Favan takes well to command. I shall miss my birth mother, but I know she'll come visiting for time to time; she and my father are still close, and she has a lot of good friends who won't be moving. Naedreth is old enough now that I could go with her for a short visit to the new Weyr if I wanted, but I think I'd rather wait until he can take me there himself.
A new Weyr. A new start, for all of us? All of our major problems solved, or at least eased? Could it be so simple, a lucky break for Favan and for everyone else? I suppose time will tell.
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 6:42 am
In the end my mother didn't go, and it's a good thing she chose to remain. Apparently the new Weyr is Igen, and they're not fond of females on blue dragons. They don't even like to see girls on greens! I wonder how many of those who took the plunge and left are regretting it. I expect at least a few are, I suppose I would if I had left. I wouldn't be able to stand a place with the set up I've heard Igen has. Gangs of candidates, power being passed on by blood rather than being awarded based on merit, it's mad! And then there's the issue with female riders. I don't think I could stand to be in a place like that, and I don't think that a place like that would stand for my opinions either.
Well a place like that does not deserve us. A place like that would try to stop us from becoming leaders, just because your father was not a bronze rider!
Yes, indeed. We're better off here, far better off. Better off without Favan too. We still have problems with crowding, though things are a little less critical or so it seems, but I feel more hopeful about a chance for resolution now. We still need more space than we have, but something will be done, and if it isn't done by the time Naedreth is mature, we'll start looking for ways to help find a solution. It'll all come out right in the end. I hope the riders and candidates who went to Igen feel as positive about the future as I do.
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Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:58 am
We flew! It was amazing, the most amazing thing since Naedreth first spoke to me. Everything looked so tiny below us, the rush of the wind, feeling his wings beat... The view though his eyes was spectacular, I've never seen so much of the world in one go before. We didn't do anything too daring, just a few circuits, but it was exhilarating. We're close now, so close to being full riders. I'm starting to wonder about things, like what my wing assignment will be, where my weyr will be, who I'll share it with... Humm, that'll be interesting. I'm sure I can find someone without much trouble.
My own weyr. My own flying jacket with shoulder knots. It's so close I could almost reach out and touch it. Once we're wingriders, we can really start striving to make a difference. We always work hard, I'm sure that will have been noticed, and we'll keep at it. One day all our hard work will be rewarded, and then we'll be able to make changes, do some good. I'm still trying to think of how our space problem could be solved; it's a little better since Favan left but still not great. There is so much to do, and we only have one life to do it in. We can do it, I know we can, we just have to keep trying.
Yes. We are great, Mine, and one day the world will see that. We will be good leaders, we will make sure everyone we are responsible for is well taken care of. We will do it, because we are great, and we will never give up.
Yes. We'll do it. No matter how long it takes, we won't give up. We have potential, and one day... one day we'll get to see just how far that can take us.
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Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 7:05 am
Between.
I've read about it a thousand times, but words can't describe it any more than they can describe what it's like to bond to a dragon. Absolute cold. Nothingness. No air, no feeling, nothing but the cold.
We were only in for a few heartbeats, but that was quite enough for me, for all of us. I imagine we'll get used to it, but that first trip was a bit of a shock. We all came out the other side though which is a relief, no mishaps to speak of at all. We're not allowed to practice on our own just yet, but we will be soon. I look forward to that day a great deal, there are places I want to visit! My parents have offered to take me to various places so I can get a clear image in my mind for them and then go whenever I like. When we're not on duty that is. There's not a lot more to teach us. We'll be riders soon, full riders.
That day cannot come soon enough! We have waited a long time, I am ready, I am more than ready! We could join a wing today and fly well, I know we could Mine!
Haha, well maybe. We'll be patient though, finish this training up with a good report and then... Well, I suppose it'll depend on where we're assigned. Not long until we find out. I can wait. I can be patient. More or less.
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 2:14 pm
Well... It looks like Veyes and I are on our way to being friends again. It wasn't easy, really, really it wasn't. I've never snapped like that before in my life. Everything just suddenly seemed so hard, and I felt so tired and... and old. How can I already feel old? Well, I don't now but I did. It's been about a turn now since I started working day in day out, trying to improve life for other people. I guess I found my limits. Maybe I wouldn't have done if it hadn't been Veyes up there, I might have kept running myself into the ground if all the poison between us hadn't brought things to a head. It's over now though, the bad blood between us and my stupidity. I'm still going to be working my backside off, but not as hard as I was. A candlemark a day, just to relax with Naedreth, not thinking about everything I feel I ought to be doing.
Yes. It will be good to have that. Even you need to rest Mine, and I will see to it that you do from now on. I don't want to see you like that again... and anyway, leaders cannot come apart like that, so you must be sensible.
Right, exactly right. You can overwork yourself for a while with no real ill effects, but in the end the mind just... just won't take it anymore. So, I suppose I've learned an important lesson, and taken an important step not just in the way of my relationship with Veyes, but with regards to growing up as well. I expect I'll always be the kind to bear a grudge, but now... well maybe I can start to work past some of them. it's no good for a leader to have something against his followers without good reason after all. Kyllae then, for example, I feel justified in bearing a grudge against, but not Veyes... Well... Shards. What he did still makes me feel horribly uncomfortable, but he knows he did wrong. He wants to make up for it. I should give him the chance to do that, I want to give him the chance. I want for us to be friends again. I have missed him.
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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:37 pm
What makes a Weyr?
- Dragons in general
- A mature queen with bronzes to fly her
- Territory not belonging to other Weyrs
- Shelter from Threadfall
- Quarters for riders/dragons, candidates, crafters, workers
- Water supply for drinking and washing
- Holds to protect and receive tithes from
So what is needed is new land that, ideally, had an existing cave system that could be expanded as a Weyr expanded. More information on Southern would be useful; which came first, the Hold or the Weyr? I must make for Southern soon to gather more information. I would like to visit the other Weyrs too, see what their histories and so on have to say. What makes a Weyr? Many things, many things that are hard to come by. It would be a massive effort to say the least, but as Southern has demonstrated in (relatively) recent history, it is possible. All of this is very interesting, but not really of much help. Nevertheless, this study is interesting. I think I'll work on it, for interest's sake... And vanity. I've always loved the idea of writing a scroll that becomes well respected. Maybe this is my chance! What makes a Weyr; a study. I'll have to research all the Weyrs in detail, find out anything I can about their history and make a lot of assumptions and do some serious extrapolating. I think I'm really going to enjoy this project, I've been needing something recreational but constructive to work on.
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Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:11 am
All the Weyrs of Pern
Of the eight Weyrs of Pern, six were built so long ago that history does not remember their construction. These ancient six lie on the northern continent, whereas the more recently constructed Weyrs are on the southern. Here follows a very brief account of the structure and capacity of the Weyrs. The ancient six are listed first, in order of capacity from highest to lowest.
Benden Weyr is located to the north east of the northern continent. It's capacity is six hundred dragons. This Weyr was constructed we know not how. The walls of the caverns are unnaturally smooth, the passageways surprisingly well cut. The knowledge of how to work stone in this way has been lost to time.
Fort Weyr lies in the mountains of the southwestern peninsular of the northern continent. It has a capacity of around five hundred dragons. Like Benden Weyr, most of the walls, ceilings, and floors, are perfectly smooth. The lack of tool marks is astounding!
High Reaches Weyr is in the northwestern mountains of the northern continent. Like Fort, it has space for around five hundred dragons and once again possesses very smooth walls. High Reaches Weyr, as its name suggests, has the highest elevation of any Weyr.
Telgar Weyr lies in the center of the northern mountain range. Its capacity is around four hundred dragons. Telgar is the most northerly of all Weyrs.
Ista Weyr is located on the island off the coast of the northern continent, almost due south of Telgar Weyr. It's capacity is three hundred and fifty dragons. Physically Ista is the smallest Weyr, but the construction of 'forest weyrs' out the outer face of the volcano.
Igen Weyr is located in the central desert of the northern continent. It is the smallest Weyr on Pern, able to support a compliment of only around three hundred dragons.
The Weyrs of the southern continent were created within recorded history. As yet I have not been able to discover an exact date for the foundation either; there seems to be conflicting evidence in Ista's library. The southern Weyrs differ from the northern in that they have no fixed capacity.
Southern Weyr was created on the northernmost tip of the southern continent. Longitudinally it is closest to Igen, being only slightly east of the desert Weyr. While there is some little cave space in cliff faces, the majority of dragons live in shallow sand wallows, and their riders in nearby huts.
Monaco Bay Weyr is to the far north east of the southern continent. It was created after Southern, in order to spread the dragon populous across the continent. Monaco Bay has no cliff of cave space at all; dragons all live in sand wallows, and all riders, crafters, candidates and so in live in huts.
What interests me most at this time is the amazing construction of our largest three Weyrs. How were they made, what happened to the techniques used to create them? No doubt riders and masons have wondered that for generations. I doubt I shall ever know the answer to my question, but it's fun to wonder all the same.
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 2:30 pm
Hold/Weyr relations
Riders don't have time to farm or raise herdbeasts, it's just a fact of life. Without Holders, riders as we know them could not exist. Though I hesitate to use myself as a case study for any well thought out paper, I know I could not find the candlemarks to do justice to Naedreth at the same time as growing crops or tending animals. I say it now only because it is so self evident, only because any other rider will tell you the same.
Ever since time remembers, the Holds have supported the Weyrs through tithes of food and other essential supplies. So what do they receive in return? Protection from the Thread. What happens when there is no Thread? Right now, we stand at the edge of an Interval. For two hundred turns, the Holds of Pern have supported we riders and received nothing in return. Oh, some riders are willing to run messages and so on of course, but not in return for the tithes their Weyr receives, they expect extra recompense; payment or services.
So, at the end of an Interval is it not understandable that they resent us? Our differing ways of life don't help matters. To Holds, the way we raise children must seem abhorrent. Parents are almost immaterial, we are raised by the creche until we can be placed with foster parents. Were that not bad enough, there is the matter of sexuality. Man and man? Woman and woman? Man and man and woman all at once? Why not? They don't see it as we do. One man and one woman, bound by marriage. Riders are never so bound, in fact almost no residents of a Weyr will call themselves 'married'. Weyrmates is the closest we come, and to quite a lot of Holders that is not close enough.
So we are feckless, lazy, immoral drains on their resources. And then the Thread returns. All of the greatest songs praising riders were written during or very close to Passes, and that is understandable. We chide dragons for their short memories, but humans are little better. The dangers faced by dragonmen are forgotten within a lifetime once the Thread has ended.
I suppose it will never be easy, the relations between Hold and Weyr, but we must strive to remember why this system exists. They must remember to respect us, but we must remember to respect them. Two hundred turns is a long time to feed hungry men and massive beasts with no reward. Communication therefore are paramount. We must see our differences before we can overcome them. We must recognize what we do for one another before we can build a more understanding relationship despite all the ways we differ. Most of all, the Weyrs and Holds of Pern must remember that they rely on one another for survival. That, above all things, we must keep in our minds in all of our dealings with one another.
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Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 7:02 am
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ C'mor climbed down from his lifemate's back and stepped into his new home. At first glance it looked like quite a large weyr, but it was quickly becoming apparent that the place was all dragon bed and almost nothing else. His living space was about the size of a candidate alcove, but at least he didn't have to share. "Well, it's certainly snug," he commented to Naedreth as the bronze stepped inside after him. "Good sized bed for you though, I guess that must be why we were assigned these quarters." "Yes, must be," Naedreth agreed with a rumble, "I like it. The ledge will catch a lot of sun, and it's big enough for me to have a friend over to sun... Provided it is not a very big friend anyway."C'mor chuckled, nodding his agreement; maybe a small brown could comfortably fit on there at the same time as Naedreth, but nothing larger. "I think I'll have a hammock," he said aloud, "I can store it out of the way while I'm not sleeping, and that way I can fit in a desk. There's space for a clothes chest in that corner there." In addition there were several nooks carved into the walls, varying in shape and size; easily enough to store his few personal treasures. "A hanging on that bare wall," he indicated it with a wave of his hand, "some rugs on the floor, it'll be quite comfortable I think." The only remaining problem was how to get hold of a desk for himself; he didn't exactly have the marks for one on hand. "Maybe we could take some important messages for Holders, or Holders themselves," Naedreth suggested as he cast himself down for an experimental lounge on his new bed. Personally he wasn't all that fond of the idea of being a messenger, but a desk was important to His so they needed to get money somehow. "Thank you," C'mor turned to his dragon with a warm smile and moved to join him on the bed. "Maybe if Gilden takes it into her head to rise I could sell some of the eggs," he mused as he lent back against Naedreth's flank. "There's a few people I'd like to just gift one to, but golds often have pretty big clutches, I might well be able to do both." "Mmmm," Naedreth responded sleepily, "yes. Could we get some sand for my bed Mine? I would like sand to lie in.""Sure," C'mor yawned in sympathy with his dragon's drowsiness, "Later today. Don't know about you, but right now I fancy a nap... 'Dreth? Oh." It seemed his bronze had taken the initiative and dozed off already. Giving another massive yawn, C'mor closed his eyes and allowed his thoughts to drift. ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
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