A Guide to Whers

[Dragonflight Pern]

Watchwhers
Information Take from Here

Watch-whers were originally an attempt to create more dragons after the first batch (engineered by the late Kitti Ping) hatched. Wind Blossom Ping unfortunately did not have the same grasp of genetics as her mother. The hatchlings that came from Wind Blossom's attempts were referred to as 'ugly' and 'malformed dragons'. However the creatures were healthy, so the colonists decided to utilize them; they named them "whers."

The whers were found to be Impressible (Or rather, 'bondable') by humans. 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.

It soon became apparent that the whers could serve several different purposes. The most common jobs that whers are used for are night guards for holds and aids to miners.

Watch-whers that serve as night guardians for Holds (both major and minor, though major holds tend to be more able to afford watch-whers) are generally treated like watch dogs. Trained from their hatching, watch-whers are taught to attack any humans except for a certain few. Depending on the trainers, this training could consist of prodding and teasing to make the watch-wher hate most people. Generally watch-whers that serve this purpose are kept on a chain leash at night, and inside a 'lair' during the day. Watch-whers that serve as hold guardians are the most aggressive types of watch-whers.

Another common job for watch-whers is serving as aids to miners. Because of their ability to see so well in the dark mine shafts, their heightened sense of hearing and smell, and their intelligence, watch-whers are ideal companions for miners. Watch-whers are able to spot small changes in the air and can warn miners of gases that could possibly be flammable or toxic. Also, because of their great strength, watch-whers are excellent diggers and can rescue miners from cave-ins. Watch-whers that aid miners are often the most docile because they are trained to care for and watch over the humans they work with.

In the last couple of turns whers have become a subject of controversy since Masterhandler Keller overthrew two of Pern's Weyrs largely thanks to whers who had been trained for war. In Benden and Malvren Wherhold whers take on a wide range of roles including guards, scouts, messengers, beasts of burden, and much more besides.  

[Dragonflight Pern]

Colours

There are five colours of Whers. The Golds are the largest while the greens are the smallest. Because Whers are bred as workbeasts and Atypical colours tend to be weak in their youth, atypical dragons were never pursued. Some consider this to be the maintenance of pure lines while others simply think that atypical whers are worth neither the effort nor the time.

Gold: They grow to be the size of a large horse as adults (think clydesdale) and can sit a few riders. All golds are female.

Bronze: They are second largest and are all males.

Brown: All males, middle of the spectrum size wise.

Blue: Second smallest colour. All blues are male.

Greens: Smallest colour, all greens are female. Greens do not breed.

 

[Dragonflight Pern]

Traits and Personality

Watch-whers are similar to dragons in many ways, but drastically different in others. Their skin is colored like dragons (green, blue, brown, bronze and gold), however the hide is thick, strong, and does not flake. Therefore watch-whers do not have to be oiled like dragons, just scrubbed. However, their hide is sensitive immediately after hatching and it takes a few months before they develop a tougher second coat. Whers also have the same green ichor that dragons and firelizards have for blood.

Whers are more muscular than dragons, and their bodies appear to be badly designed, with feet that only sport two claws and a single pad for balance. However, this actually allows watch-whers to move with surprising speed and agility. Their senses of smell and hearing are keen, and they are able to effectively see in the dark. Their sight is two-fold, with an ability to shift between 'modes': one that is light-based, and one that infra-red based. The light based vision is most frequently used in conditions with some measure of light. Where there is absolutely no light, their vision naturally shifts into infrared - it's not a controlled shift. Regardless of which mode they are seeing in, Whers are highly sensitive to light and send to hide during the brightest parts of the day. Whers' eyes also change color depending on their mood like dragons and firelizards.

They have wings that appear to be functional, and there have been a few rare cases of watch-whers actually flying (sometimes even with a rider) in the evening when the air is heavier. There have also been a few rare cases in which whers have gone between like dragons and firelizards. Watch-whers can go between on their own, or with directions from a human.

Whers are very vocal creatures and can make a wide range of noises. While they can speak to dragons and vice versa through telepathy, they are not quite as empathic as dragons. More intelligent than firelizards, watch-whers communicate telepathically through images and feelings with their bonded humans, but tend to vocalize more often. Watch-whers can communicate with a wide range of clicks, chirps, grunts, and many other noises. Watch-whers are intelligent enough to understand human speech and often make up their own noises that translate into human words. A watch-wher and its bonded human often develop a set of code noises in which they communicate. (This is most common with watch-whers that serve in mines.)

It is common for persons of certain bloodlines to be more likely to bond with a wher than others. If an individual's mother or father was able to bond successfully with a wher, then that person is usually a suitable candidate to bond with a wher as well. Also, watch-whers that guard major Holds will always bond with members of the Lord/Lady Holder's bloodline. The colors do not seem to be restricted to certain genders of humans like dragons, and males and females can impress any color.

Sometimes a watch-wher will out-live its human companion and can actually re-bond with another human. Therefore some watch-whers can actually go through several different handlers in their lifetimes. Watch-whers can also switch handlers while their current human partner is still alive if both humans involved in the switch so wish it, and the watch-wher is agreeable. These kinds of switches are rare, however.

Un-bonded whers can be given any name. However, whers who are properly bonded to a human have names that always end in the letters 'sk'. These names are always a variation of their human partner's name, and the more similarity between the two names, the stronger the bond. (Example: Kindan and Kisk; or Nuella and Nuelsk.) Whers do not announce their names upon Impression like dragons; instead the wher's bonded human will simply 'know' the wher's name a short time after hatching.

There are some whers that live in the wilderness, and if a wher hatches away from humans it will return to the wild. Wild whers are solitary and anti-social, and will kill at night if provoked. Generally wild whers will avoid encounters during the day because of their heat-sensitive eyes.  

[Dragonflight Pern]

Care and Feeding

Wher-handlers are not searched like candidates for dragon Impression. Prospective wherhandlers join the craft and are trained until they are deemed ready. The supply of eggs is carefully maintained, though wher eggs can be purchased for a high price.

The general method for choosing a wher egg from a clutch is to first approach the queen wher and bow. Making clicking and chirping noises can help. Queen whers are more likely to hand their eggs over to humans who will 'talk' to them. If the queen decides to allow it, she will reveal her eggs and the wher-handler-to-be may step forward and take his/her pick from the clutch. Once an egg has been chosen the egg-receiver will then bow and walk backwards away from the queen.

Wher eggs are roughly half the size of dragon eggs and have wrinkled, rumpled skin. Like dragon and firelizard eggs, watch-wher eggs must be kept warm until they hatch. However, it is generally the warmth of the queen wher's body and wings that keep the eggs warm, rather than hot sands. Eggs that have been purchased can be kept warm by hot sands, or by beds of straw that are heated with warmed bricks. It is notable that there is no way to tell a gold wher egg apart from others other than its size so Impressing one is more or less pure luck. Many Masterhandlers who have a gold wher will have one either through reimpressing somebody else's gold, or through a lucky - if educated - guess when choosing a new partner from the egg.

Upon hatching, baby whers must be fed, although they are not as voracious as dragonets. Hatchling whers have no teeth, and therefore can easily choke on chunks of meat. The best meal to feed a newly-hatched wher is a porridge of oats, water, and blood. Upon hatching, it is safe to feed a wher as much of the porridge as it asks for, for they do not allow themselves to be over-fed. After hatching, about half a pail of the blood-porridge a day is sufficient food for the first three months. After three months a wher will have enough back teeth to chew meat chunks, and can graduate to a diet of raw meat. However the porridge feedings should continue every morning until the wher develops the second coat on its hide.

While not essential, a baby watch-wher can be 'blooded' and allowed to drink some of its newly-bonded human's blood. Although this has not been definitively proven, blooding does seem to strengthen the bond. Whers can also be blooded to any human to help the wher become more familiar with that particular person.  

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Bonding and Wherhandling

Impression of a Watch-Wher
Similarly to the dragons, Watch-Whers Impress at birth to human partners. Impression takes place to the person who feeds them until they are sated. It is custom that the person cut themselves and let their new bonded partner lick the blood. This helps the pair deepen their bond and keep the wher from frightening off or killing the handler later. Additionally, blooding is required if the pair wish to work in mines or other specialized fields.

Soon after, the new handler may ask the wher of its name, which will always end in 'sk'. Depending on the strength of the bond the wher's name may vary from being vaguely familiar to the handler to incredibly close. A loosely bonded pair may have a human named Yanill and a wher named Yask. A moderately bonded pair may have a human named Yanill and a wher named Yanisk. And a Highly bonded pair may have a human named Yanill and a wher named Yanillsk.

Once bonded fully, a wher becomes incredibly protective of its new partner and will go to any length to protect that person, including the killing of another human.

Wherhandling
Once an individual has joined the Wherhandling Craft, they are trained in the care, habits, and anatomy of a wher. This includes everything from hatchling care to mating 'flights' to specialized duties such as those required for working in mines. It's usually a couple years before a wherhandler is deemed knowledgeable and skillful enough to be given their own wher.

This transition point, of obtaining a wher, is equivalent to earning the journeyman rank in any of the other craft halls. After graduation, the new wherpair are further instructed and trained then sent on to their various assignments.

Master Wherhandlers are usually impressed to golds and are responsible for maintaining the supply of wher eggs. Eggs are only kept when they are needed; that is, when there is not need, wher eggs are smashed to prevent an over abundance of whers. Additionally, there are no atypical whers due to their weakness in comparison to normal coloured whers (though the possibility exists, none are actually kept).

Wher Mating
Whers breed at regular intervals like dragons, but they do not take to the air when they 'rise'. Instead the female will Run, with her suitors chasing after her. Whomever catches her is the victor. Golds will compete and attack one another if two Run at the same time but greens are not so volatile.