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Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 5:09 pm

The Whers of Pern

Key

Gold Wher= Thoroughbred (16 hands at withers)
Green Wher = Pony (11 hands at withers)

- Information (c) Dragonriders Club, Dizzy_Kat & Rhiannon Chandra

Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 9:04 pm

General Information

Whers resulted from an attempt by Kitti Ping's granddaughter, Wind Blossom, to enhance her grandmother's work on the dragons of Pern. An adult wher is roughly the size of a small horse and weighs between six and eight hundred pounds. They have two claws per foot, and rest their weight on a thick pad on the underside of the foot. They do have wings, usually clipped; however, the wings are non-functional, meaning that whers cannot fly, even if their wings are unclipped. They are agile for their size and able to navigate both the mines and the marshes of Serrat with ease.

A wher's hide is similar to dragons in that it is smooth, not scaly, and male whers are either blue, brown or bronze while female whers are either green or gold. A wher's eyes lack the visible faceting that is so obvious in dragon and firelizard eyes, but the eye colors do still shift in accordance with their mood.

While dragons are noted as having a slight spicy scent, some references show whers as being rather more pungent - downright odorous, in fact. This may be somewhat alleviated by watching the wher's diet, regular bathing, and care of the wher's living quarters.

Because of Wind Blossom's attempt to smooth out the faceting of dragon eyes, whers are photophobic; sunlight, or even bright glow light, causes them great pain. They are nocturnal as a result, and see extremely well in low-level light. They can also see in spectra other than visible light, which means they can still 'see' in even total darkness. In addition, whers possess acute senses of smell and hearing. These factors have made them extremely valuable to Pern's miners, as the beasts can sense dangers and bad air that humans cannot detect.

Whers have strong territorial instincts which humans harness; they are extremely effective watch animals, though they must be chained more or less constantly to prevent attacks on people the wher doesn't know. That territorial instinct extends into protecting a human to whom they feel a degree of attachment, and attacks may well come on the wher's own initiative, ie without a specific order being given.

Whers are also very strong, able to carry at least their own body weight. If the wher's temperment is suitable and attachment to it's bonded is strong enough they may allow their handler to ride them much like a runner. In the case of larger whers, they are able to carry multiple passengers as long as the wher is cooperative.

They are omnivorous, and by some accounts, not too cautious about the freshness of what they eat. This may lead to health (and odour) problems for them if they're allowed to eat rotting food.

Whers are 'mortal' - that is, unlike fire lizards who do not seem to age, and dragons who may show signs of growing older but don't seem to die of old age, whers both show signs of ageing (including both physical and mental deterioration), and die of old age.

Whers are not as intelligent as dragons. However, they are intelligent enough to parse reasonably complex commands. They average at about the level of a three year old human child and when they speak mentally to each other or to dragons, it is in two to three word sentences. However, most wher and handler pairs communicate through verbal and physical signals in a code that is individual to each pair, as well as a transmission of emotions and feeling similar to firelizards.

Wher's do not inform their handlers of their names. After some time of bonding, the handler will find themselves knowing what to call their partner, usually a shortened form of their own name ending with -sk. A few rare whers have been known to go by 'nicknames' whether handler given or self chosen is unknown. Most don't argue about it.

WILD WHERS

Wild whers are rare, since only a few eggs of each clutch will actually hatch. Those whers hatched in the wild are territorial, and will attack humans if provoked. The likelihood of a character 'taming' an already-hatched wher is extremely low to zero; there may be a slim chance of a character finding a clutch, killing the female wher (which would, given territoriality and protective instincts, certainly savagely attack an intruder with every intention of killing him/her/them), and taking the clutch away, hoping to Impress or at least establish a working bond with one of the offspring. However, few of the eggs will hatch, and the hatchlings will not necessarily Impress, though being hatched and raised around humans will prevent them from reverting to the wild, and they may be able to form a working relationship later in life.

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Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 9:12 pm

Bonding and Impression of Whers

The bond between a wher and a human is stronger than a bond with a firelizard, but not as strong as the bond between a dragon and rider. However, whers generally adore their human companions, and are willing to defend them if need requires. Whers also tend to be selective about the people they enjoy for company; many whers are only friendly to a handful of humans while being vicious towards all others. This tendency varies from wher to wher.

Whers do have the ability to make Impression, as do their fire lizard and dragon relatives; however, like fire lizards, Impression is not vital for a wher's survival. An unImpressed wher will survive, and can form attachments later in life, even to one not of the Bloodline of the Hold it watches. This attachment is nowhere near as permanent as a dragon-human bond, and is non-exclusive; should it lapse the wher will survive, and can go on to form working relationships with other humans. There is no mention of any particular ritual attached to taking over working with a watchwher; one is simply introduced to it, and it becomes accustomed to working with you and taking orders from you.

Obtaining a Wher Egg

By far the most common and only accepted form of obtaining a wher egg is purchasing it from a breeder. This is done after the clutch is laid and the potential wherhandler has progressed far enough in their apprenticeship to be ready for the danger and responsibility to own a wher.

A ready candidate is presented to the clutch mother and must select an egg for himself in her presence. If she makes a threatening move toward the potential handler showing her disapproval or displeasure he must back away from her quickly and leave the room. His purchase fee will be refunded and he will be allowed to try again at the next clutch.

If he is allowed to take an egg, it is up to the wherhandler-to-be to care for the egg until it hatches. It is also up to them to form the Impression. A wher breeder is not responsible for the failings of those who purchase their eggs. Nor are they responsible if the handler then doesn't 'like' the color of their wher. As with dragons and firelizards it's not up to you what they hatch into.

The only reason a breeder would be responsible is if the egg was a dud. Most trained breeders are able to single duds out early in the clutches development, well before the selection process begins.

Any extra eggs left after a clutch has been divvied out are smashed. It is rare that a wher is left to hatch and grow up unbonded in captivity. The chances of them escaping and going wild are too high.

Gold Eggs
A gold wher egg looks almost exactly like every other egg in a wher's nest. It is brown, mottled, ridged and somewhat ugly. The only difference is its size. In general, gold eggs are noticeably larger than the rest and an experienced breeder will be able to pick it out and reserve it for a higher price. There is always a chance that 'gold egg' could hatch into a large bronze, or that the gold egg is not the largest of the clutch. Unlike duds, sensing which egg hatches the gold can be a very inexact science.

'Other' Eggs
There have been a few reported cases of wher eggs being sold secretly to those outside of the wherhandler craft. This is highly looked down upon and if the handler doesn't lose his wher, or isn't killed by it, they could find their wher being culled if discovered. A breeder found selling their eggs in such a manner will have their wher removed from them and their title and privileges revoked.

Impression

Impression is one of two routes a wher can take once it's hatched in captivity. A wher will Impress similar to firelizards, to the first human who feeds it once it's out of it's shell.

Hatchling whers are born without teeth and must be fed a porridge of oats and blood for the first three months of it's life. It is with the controlled feeding of this mixture by one person that forms the bond between wher and human. A handler may also 'blood' a wher to deepen and solidify their bond. They do this by slicing their own arm and letting the wher lap at the blood.

Within the first sevenday of a hatchlings life, the wherhandler should know their wher's name. In most cases it is a variation of the handlers name ending with -sk. For example, Isuna's wher could be named anything from Isk or Isusk, to Isunask. It is commonly accepted that the longer or closer to the handler's name their whers is, the closer the bond between them.

Bonding

If a wher isn't Impressed by an individual handler, it can be bonded to a group. This is usually only done with whers destined to be stationary location guards, such as for a Hold. Wher's are blooded to each individual in a family line and in that way, 'Impress' to the entire bloodline rather than one member. A wher will then recognize any member bearing that line's blood.

In the case of Hold's, each new generation is presented to the Hold's wher and allowed to blood it so the connection stays strong even as the initial blood tie is diluted.

This can be done with whers guarding mines or storehouses as well. A wher can be blooded only to the individuals who are allowed in that area.

The difference between a wher attacking a human and tasting it's blood, and a wher being Blooded to a person is the mental state of both parties. In the act of blooding the human is opening up and welcoming that bond to form between the two and the wher is usually not out to kill the person trying to form the bond!

Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 9:13 pm

Wher Colors

Gold Whers
Gold whers, also called queens, are much like dragons, the largest of their species and like their flying counterparts, make up less than 1% of the total population. At full growth, gold whers stand about 16 hands high and from nose to tail tips stretch about 15 feet long. They are dominant over all other colors; any non-gold wher will invariably obey a queen's orders, even against the wishes of its own bonded. Gold whers have a reputation for being more tempermental and bloodthirsty than the other colors. In general it seems wher personalities run much like dragons, with no real recognizable patters by color.

Bronze Whers
Bronze whers are the largest males, although they are significantly smaller than the queens at 14 hands high. Bronzes only comprise about 5% of all whers. They are almost always the ones to mate with queens, as the smaller colors generally lack the stamina to chase and catch the gold whers when they Run to mate. Due to the 5-1 bronze/gold ratio and the infrequency of gold mating runs they often mate with greens (the losers of a gold run almost always seek a green for their needs). Their size often puts them at a disadvantage in chasing the agile, smaller females.

Brown Whers
Brown whers are the next largest color (13 hands high). About 15% of all whers are brown. They may occasionally mate with queens though generally prefer to chase green whers. Though personalities vary greatly, it is commonly believed that brown whers are the calmest of the males and are often sought after to guard holds.

Blue Whers
Blue whers are the smallest males (11 hands) and make up about a third of all whers on Pern. They are nearly as agile as greens. Blues mate only with greens, as they are simply too small to keep up with a massive queen over a long mating run. Larger or more outgoing or daring blues have been known to chase after a queen anyways.

Green Whers
Green whers are the smallest females at about 10 hands high and 8 feet long and make up about half of all whers on Pern. They are female but green clutches are usually smashed before birth to control the wher population.

Wher Breeding

A gold wher's egg looks very similar to the rest of a wher's clutch, though it is notably larger than the rest. It is always a gamble though as to whether the largest egg does indeed hold a gold wher, or a bronze or large brown.

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Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 9:25 pm

Wher Jobs

Mining

Halevin Hold is the only mining Hold on Western, but they host a fair number of whers whose sole job is to attend to the business of the mines. Mining whers and their handlers are responsible for checking new mine shafts for dangerous chemicals, daily checks to be sure the tunnels are all sound before the miners enter in the morning, and killing the tunnelsnakes who call the deeper tunnels their homes. One or two whers are also set to a rotating schedule at the entrance to the mines to make sure no one unauthorized wanders in as well as to be certain that back-up is immediately on hand in the event of a cave-in.

Guarding

As is traditional on Pern, each Hold has one wher to Guard it from bandits, creatures and other unknowns wishing to exploit or harm those in the Hold. This wher's job comes with a lot of down time, but the Holds know that if their Guard Wher alerts them even once to danger, its presence has been worth it. Whers also guard the perimeter of Serrat Weyrhold at posts alternating with Watchdragon posts. While their flight-enabled cousins watch from the Heights, whers keep an eye on the goings-on of the ground, including the strangers who come in and out of the Weyrhold on business.

Border Patrol

Western comes with its own unique share of dangerous critters and other problems from the wilds, including but not limited to wild whers, amphibious tunnelsnakes, and spinners. Whers patrol the borders of populated areas and, when necessary drive off or kill the creatures before they can get anywhere near the general population of the Holds or Weyrhold. Generally, border patrollers work in pairs: two wherhandlers and their whers patrol a segment of the border together, so that they can assist one another at need.

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