MAP
Dragon's Eye Weyr
(map & descriptions by jylnn518, layout update & correction by Rivi 8/20/06)
*This image was done on paint. Please refrain from laughing, as it is... well, just plain ugly and to the point.
Places
Weyrling Barracks
These are where newly hatched dragons and their riders are housed. A dragon is not actually allowed a weyr (or, a dwelling that houses a dragon and their rider-- a "lair") until it attains flight, at roughly a month of age. Until they are taught to fly, weyrlings (new riders and their dragons) are kept here, trained by volunteers who teach the new riders aerial manuevers, the making, maintaining and strapping on of a harness, the bathing and oiling of a dragon, and other such duties.
Hatching Ground
The heated sands of the Hatching Grounds are perfect for the process for which they were named. Though uncomfortably warm to the human Candidates-- those chosen to Impress a dragon-- who are forced to go out on the sands bare foot, dragon eggs hatch quickly here. It consists of three levels:
-The first is the sands
-The second is a series of stone seats encircling the Grounds so visitors and dragon riders can watch the new eggs hatch without getting in the hatchling's way.
-The third level is high above the hot sand. Large steel rods nearly two meters thick had been set in place when the Weyr was first founded by technology now lost to it. Upon these the dragons perch, at every Hatching, humming to welcome the new dragons into the world.
The Grounds are fully large enough to house five clutches, but there are no more than two at a time, as queen dragons are very possessive, and the mile-and-a-half wide "bowl" is usually split into two seperate territories. This is not a worry to other mothers though-- dragon females can "absorb" their own eggs back into their body if there's no room, much like rabbits do if there is not enough food for a mother to feed her babies.
Infirmary
Injured dragons and humans are housed here. Technology is not very advanced in the Weyr, but all Healers know basic healing spells, and a dozen are trained in extensive "surgery" spells. Should a dragon be torn from navel to nose in a battle with another (a rare occurance, but it happens) these are the people your dragon's life-- and in turn, your own-- depend on.
Kitchen
Much like a medieval kitchen and somewhat like a modern-day cafeteria, there are no less than fifty staff members on duty. Large furnaces line either wall, and in front of these, the bare rock forms abnormally square "tables" of about waist height, on which fresh food and drinks are served during the breakfast, lunch and dinner hours. A mile long and half a mile across, it can house over a thousand people for food, drink, dancing and other festivites should there be a Hatching or holiday.
At night, the furnaces are left on, constantly fueled by the volcanic activity below the extinct crater. Any late night snacks need to be prepared by the person looking for them, for the Weyr keeps a strict policy on leaving food out, tunnel snakes (see under "Dragons/Other Creatures") being the greatest of our worries.
Of course, cold drinks are kept in large, open-aired cellars in the back of the mile-wide kitchen.
Feeding Ground
Dragons take a lot to feed, and the Weyr knows this. Over four hundred heads of cattle are kept here at any given time, along with large, domestic wherries (again, see under "Dragons/Other Creatures"). Let your dragon stretch its wings and play with its food a little! Nothing is more amusing than to see a bunch of dumb cattle running from one end of the secluded crater to the other chased by a dragon. Keep in mind, however, that that does provide them with a workout, making their meat muscely and stringy instead of juicy and tender.
Passes
Dragon's Vein Pass
This "Vein" leads to the outside world. Unless visitors can fly or teleport, this is the only way into the Weyr.
Feeding Ground's Entrance
During mating flights, female dragons go to the Feeding Grounds, where they suck the blood of multiple cattle in preparation for the Chase (see Terminology). This tunnel allows the dragonriders to follow so they can watch the spectacle. It also helps the Weyrlings whose dragons have not yet learned to fly well enough get into the Feeding Grounds.
Land Features
Dragon's Eye Lake
A large lake formed in the crater of the volcano. This water source makes life possible inside the Weyr, allowing vegetation to grow and providing clean, fresh water for the Kitchens. It is also a very good place to give your dragon a bath.
Dragonrider Weyrs
- While the main volcano crater is called the Dragon's Eye Weyr, the walls of the crater are dotted with smaller "lairs", also called weyrs. These weyrs are where the dragonriders and their dragons dwell, as only a dragon and his rider could reach these weyrs. Most of the weyrs are high up on the cliff walls, reachable only by flight or teleportation. A dragonrider and his dragon are not given a weyr until the dragon matures (usually around one month of age).
*Again, done on Paint. You get the idea, though.
- This is a general idea of your typical dragon weyr.
These weyrs are old, and have been used by generations of dragons and riders, making the stone floors smooth. The entrances are generally scarred by years of dragon's launching into flight from them. They are meant to resemble the natural den of a dragon while still allowing a human to live comfortably alongside their life-long partner. Weyrs are inaccessible from the ground-- visitors must be ferried up!
In any weyr, there is an alcove directly across from the entrace (that gap in the black at the left), which houses a simple queen-sized bed. Stuffed with goose feathers, if it's a little too soft, stick some wood or stones beneath the mattress. That, or sleep with your dragon in a large trench in the floor (bottom of picture; speckled) perhaps four feet deep. Indeed, it's the only place in the weyr where your dragon can fit comfortably!
The other "room" is the bathroom. The baths are large pools fully six feet across, where warm, clean water is circulated constantly thanks to the volcanic activity below heating the water pipes and pressurizing it enough to reach even the highest weyrs along the extinct volcano's rim.
Weyrfolk are very natural people, so do not worry about the openness of your weyr. You will have privacy if you so wish. The bathroom's entrance is a tunnel four feet wide, and although the tunnel is angled so that people in the weyr beyond can see the bath, there is a curtain that can be drawn across the inner part of the tunnel. The same goes for the alcove.
