Dragons are carnivorous, oviparous, warm-blooded creatures. Like all of Pern's native large fauna, they have six limbs - four feet and two wings. Their blood is copper-based and green in color. They have multifaceted eyes that change color depending on the dragon's mood. Unlike the dragons of Terran legend, they have smooth, soft skin rather than scales; the texture of their skin is described as being reminiscent of suede with a spicy, sweet scent when clean. They are described as having forked tail ends with a defecation opening between the forks; however, most artistic renderings depict their tails as having spade-shaped tips. Their wings are not large enough to support their bodies in flight, much of their ability to fly depends on the subconscious use of telekinesis.

Newly hatched dragons are the size of very large ponies, and reach their full size after eighteen months. Because young dragons grow so fast, their riders must regularly apply oil to their hides to prevent the skin from cracking or drying out.

Like their firelizard ancestors, dragons can breathe fire by chewing a phosphine-bearing rock called "firestone," which reacts with an acid in a special stomach-like organ. This forms a volatile gas that can be exhaled at will and ignites upon contact with air. The flame is used to burn Thread from the sky before it reaches the ground.

Despite their relatively low intelligence, fire-lizards communicate through a form of weak telepathy. They also imprint on the first individual who feeds them after they hatch, creating a telepathic bond with them; the Pernese call this phenomenon "Impression". In creating dragons, Kitti Ping intensified the creatures' telepathy and gave them a strong instinctive drive to Impress to a human. Upon hatching, each dragonet chooses one of the humans present and Impresses to that person; from that moment on, the pair are in a constant state of telepathic contact for as long as they both live. Dragons also use telepathy to communicate with each other and with fire-lizards. They are capable of speaking telepathically to humans besides their own riders, but most are disinclined to do so except under unusual circumstances.

Dragons and fire-lizards can also teleport. They do this by briefly entering a hyperspace dimension known as between. Humans experience between as an extremely cold, airless, black void. After spending no more than eight seconds in between, the dragon or fire-lizard can re-emerge anywhere on Pern, along with any passengers or cargo they carried. This ability evolved in fire-lizards as a defense against Thread; not only does it allow them to quickly escape from Threadfall, but the intense cold of between kills any Thread that has already burrowed into them. If a dragon attempts to teleport without a clear mental image of the place where they intend to reappear, they can simply fail to emerge from between and die.

Going between allows dragons to travel through time as well as space, as long as they have a clear picture of what a particular place looked like (or will look like) at the desired time. However, the practice is highly dangerous to both dragon and rider and is severely restricted. Existing in two places at once for extended periods of time, or in close proximity, causes severe weakness and psychological disturbance for humans. In addition, while teleporting through space always takes the same amount of time, when a dragon travels through time, the amount of time they spend in between increases depending on how long ago or how far in the future the destination is. Thus, traveling to remote times poses severe dangers from hypothermia and deprivation.

Contrary to popular concept, dragons do NOT defecate while between. If they did, it would eventually cause serious ecological problems for the planet, as large amounts of Pern's organic matter would be regularly disappearing into an alternate dimension. (It should be noted that The Skies of Pern references the use of dragon dung as a repellent against the large felines inhabiting the southern continent.)

Dragons are also capable of telekinesis, though this ability is unknown and used in an unconscious manner (to augment flight). It is speculated that the undersized wings were intentionally created in the dragons by Kitti Ping to reduce the surface area of a dragon that is exposed to possible Thread injury, and that the telekinisis was intended to make up for the loss of wingsail. It is said in many books that a dragon can carry whatever it thinks it can carry. This is likely an extension of the telekinesis, mentally "lifting" the extra load. This is the most likely explanation as to the great loads that dragons sometimes carry during emergencies.

Unlike their fire-lizard ancestors, dragons are fully sapient. They communicate fluently in human language (although only telepathically), and have personalities and opinions distinct from those of their riders. However, their intelligence does seem to be somewhat lower than that of the average human. In particular, their long-term memory is severely limited.

As a safeguard against the possible damage that could be caused by such powerful creatures, Ping engineered dragons to be profoundly psychologically dependent on their riders. Any dragonet that fails to Impress to a human shortly after hatching will die. If a dragon's rider dies, the dragon immediately suicides by going between without a destination. The only exception in the books is a queen dragon whose rider dies while the queen is gravid; the dragon waits just long enough to lay her eggs and see them hatch before disappearing between. (Humans who lose their dragons typically commit suicide as well. However, some do survive, although the experience leaves profound psychological trauma.)

Ping also designed the dragons to be fairly calm in temperament. They never fight one another, unless two queens come into estrus at the same time. They are also not dangerous to humans except shortly after hatching, when it is common for confused and frightened dragon hatchlings to maul or even kill humans hoping to Impress.

Dragons hatch knowing their own names, and announce their names to their new riders upon Impression. Their names always end in -th.

Other Communications

Dragons communicate "aloud" as well as telepathically with their riders. These methods include vocalizations, posturing, and eye color.

A dragon may make whatever sound it feels like making, whether it's a roar, bugle, rumble, chirr, trumpet, or warble, and for whatever reason. Note that dragons, being larger, aren't as likely as firelizards to make sounds like higher-pitched chirps, trills, or screeches. One of the high-pitched sounds that's common among both dragons and firelizards is a creel, often plaintive, and although dragons' creels are somewhat lower-pitched, they're still just as piercing. Generally speaking, the only sounds made during a flight are bugles (the female may bugle to announce her readiness and males may bugle back in answer) and croons.

There are only two sounds made by dragons and firelizards that have distinct meanings. When all dragons or firelizards hum, it means that eggs of their own kind are hatching. Dragons don't generally hum for firelizard eggs, but sometimes firelizards may choose to hum for dragon eggs as the higher life forms. When a dragon dies, all other dragons keen, an eery, unbroken wailing. It is their way of expressing grief and showing honor. Occasionally, dragons may keen for another creature's death if that creature has somehow impressed the dragons through deeds or honorableness.

Dragons can communicate through posturing in much the same way as canines do, with eyes replacing the expressive ears of the dogs. Head tilted back, lips withdrawn, and stiffness of posture often means aggression or anger. The tail may lash and wings may mantle as well. When surprised or startled, a dragon may sit back on its haunches and raise its head up in the air, ostensibly to get a better look at whatever surprised or startled it. Affection or flirtation may be portrayed by a delicate arching of the neck and light ruffling of wings, and some preening. Curiosity is often shown by pressing close to whatever the dragon is curious about; this can be intimidating for families of newly-hatched dragons when they first encounter the hatchling after the intial eat-sleep routine. There are many other attitudes that can be portrayed by posturing: begging, remorse, guilt, mischief, slyness, and more.

Eye color and rotating speed are extremely important to understanding a dragon. The facets appear to "rotate," essentially each facet sparkles a certain amount, but due to the spherical nature of the orbs, the sparkling appears to be circular in motion, giving the eyes the appearance of "whirling." The speed with which the eye color whirls usually denotes the intensity of the emotion behind the color; slower means less intense and is most frequent when the dragon is drowsing, while faster means more intense. The general meaning of any particular color is relatively fixed, but the specifics will usually only be known by the dragon's rider:

• Blues/Greens
  These are the hardest colors to read, but they generally reflect happiness, contentment, and tranquility
• Reds/Oranges
  This is usually one of the easiest colors to understand, reflecting anger or annoyance and, most frequently, extreme hunger
• Yellows
  This is another difficult color to analyze, but usually denotes alarm or worry
• Purple
  This is a VERY specific color and means only one thing: flightlust; this color only occurs in a rising female and any dragons within affected range
• Gray
  This is another VERY specific color that means only one thing: pain; this is usually representative of physical pain, but in combination with yellows may indicate emotional pain or that the rider is suffering some sort of pain

Code: <span class="gold"><span>
Gender: Female
Impress: Heterosexual females ONLY
Rise: 2-3 times per year
Clutch: 10-16 eggs
Threadfight: Queen's Wing, riders w/ flamethrowers

Gold dragons, also called queens, are the largest of the original dragons (38-42 feet in length and wingspan, 12-14 feet in height, 2,900-3,100lbs. in weight) and are fertile females. Gold dragons are one of the rarest dragons on Pern, at 1% of the population. They are dominant over all original colors; any bronze, brown, blue, green, or white dragon will invariably obey a queen's orders, even against the wishes of its own rider. Queens are incapable of digesting firestone and producing flame; however, they do fight Thread - they fly in a special wing, with their riders armed with specially designed flamethrowers.

Queen eggs are significantly larger than other dragon eggs, and bear a distinctive gilt coloration. Gold dragons Impress only to heterosexual women. A queen rises to mate two or three times per year. Clutch sizes vary from 10 to 16 eggs, with larger clutches produced during a Pass; clutches will produce offspring of ANY color, but no more than 1/3 will be mutation.

Code: <span class="roan"><span>
Gender: Female
Impress: Heterosexual females ONLY
Rise: 2-3 times per year
Clutch: 10-16 eggs, any color
Threadfight: Queen's Wing, bacterial phlegm

Roan dragons, also called queens, are the largest dragons (40-44 feet in length and wingspan, 13-15 feet in height, 3,050-3,250lbs. in weight) and are fertile females. Roan dragons are one of the rarest dragons on Pern, at 0.5% of the population. They are dominant over all mutation colors; any non-roan mutation dragon will invariably obey a roan's orders, even against the wishes of its own rider. They are the only dragon to be DISTINCTLY two-colored; their hides are patterned all over with pale patches and veins ranging in hue from a few shades lighter than the rest of their hide to pure white. Roans are incapable of digesting firestone and producing flame; however, they do fight Thread - they fly in the wing with golds, but placed below because they produce a sticky, watery bacterial phlegm that reproduces exponentially when exposed to oxygen and drowns Thread (but can also act like a giant spiderweb if it comes into contact with anything else, like another dragon and must be used below other dragons to avoid the risk of entanglement).

Queen eggs are significantly larger than other dragon eggs, and bear distinctive coloration, similar to that of a gold egg but in a roan color. Roan dragons Impress only to heterosexual women. Queens rise to mate two or three times per year. Their clutches vary in size from 10 to 16 eggs, producing larger clutches during a Pass; they may produce offspring of ANY color.

Code: <span class="bronze"><span>
Gender: Male
Impress: Heterosexual males ONLY
Rise: After any female, usually golds (will take greens as alternate when gold not available)
Threadfight: Flame w/ firestone

Bronze dragons are the largest original males (35-38 feet in length and wingspan, 11-13 feet in height, 2,630-2,830lbs. in weight), although they are obviously smaller than the queens. Bronzes only comprise of about 3.5% of all dragons. They are almost always the ones to mate with golds (and possibly roans), as the smaller colors generally lack the stamina to chase and catch the queen dragons. Due to the 3:1 bronze/gold ratio and the infrequency of gold mating flights they often mate with greens or skies (the losers of a gold flight almost always seek a green for their needs), but their size often puts them at a disadvantage in chasing the agile smaller females. Bronzeriders are always heterosexual men.

Code: <span class="brass"><span>
Gender: Male
Impress: Heterosexual males ONLY
Rise: After any females, usually golds or roans, occasionally female wines (will take skies or greens if gold or roan not available)
Threadfight: Extremely hot flame w/o firestone

Brass dragons are the largest mutation males (37-40 feet in length and wingspan, 12-14 feet in height, 2,780-2,980lbs. in weight), although they are obviously smaller than the queens. Brasses only comprise of about 1% of all dragons. They are almost always the ones to mate with roans (and possibly golds), as the smaller colors generally lack the stamina to chase and catch the queen dragons. Due to the 2-1 brass/roan ratio and the infrequency of roan mating flights they often mate with skies or greens (the losers of a roan flight almost always seek a sky for their needs), but their size often puts them at a disadvantage in chasing the agile smaller females. They flame like ordinary dragons, but they do not require firestone to produce the blueish flame; this hotter flame vaporizes anything flammable and can burn/melt things ordinary flame cannot, which has the effect of eliminating the risk of ash-burns to their riders. Brassriders are always heterosexual men.

Code: <span class="brown"><span>
Gender: Male
Impress: Males ONLY
Rise: After any female (will produce clutch with gold, but no gold eggs and few bronze will be produced)
Threadfight: Flame w/ firestone

Brown dragons are the next largest original color (30-35 feet in length and wingspan, 10-12 feet in height, 2,330-2,530lbs. in weight). About 10% of all dragons are brown. They may occasionally mate with queens, although this is rare, and becomes even more rare as the dragons increase in size; it is virtually unheard-of. All brownriders are men, most are straight but bisexual or masculine homosexual brownriders are not rare.

Code: <span class="wine"><span>
Gender: Female or Male
Impress: Opposite gender
Rise: One time per year
Clutch: 5-10 eggs (more if caught by male wine)
Threadfight: Chill (ice) breath

Wine dragons are the next largest mutation color (32-37 feet in length and wingspan, 11-13 feet in height, 2,480-2,680lbs. in weight). About 5% of all dragons are wine. They may occasionally mate with queens, although this is rare, and becomes even more rare as the dragons increase in size; it is virtually unheard-of. These dragons force a chilled wind out which creates ice particles in the air (from both ambient humidity and the natural humidity in their breath)--anything solid that the chilled air and ice particles touch develops a thick coating of hoarfrost or, if sustained, ice.

These dragons may be either male or female. Females always Impress to males and males always Impress to females. The female will rise to mate only once per year. A female may clutch, but only if she is caught by a wine or a brass; the clutch will number no more than 10 (if caught by a male wine), and cannot produce brass, roan, gold, or bronze hatchlings. It MIGHT produce a single brass hatchling if the sire is a brass, but there will be no more than 5 eggs in a brass-sired clutch.

Code: <span class="blue"><span>
Gender: Male
Impress: Males ONLY (only one homosexual female allowed, and only with permission from Kes)
Rise: After smaller males (may dare to chase a queen, but will probably not catch)
Threadfight: Flame w/ firestone

Blue dragons are the smallest original (common) males (25-30 feet in length and wingspan, 8-10 feet in height, 1,950-2,150lbs. in weight) and make up about a fifth (20%) of all dragons on Pern. They are nearly as agile as greens, but unlike the greens, they often have enough stamina to last for an entire Threadfall. They mate only with greens or skies, as they are simply too small to keep up with a massive queen over a long mating flight. Blueriders are almost always male though they can be of any sexual orientation; very rarely, a masculine female may Impress (about 0.5% of blueriders are female).

Code: <span class="storm"><span>
Gender: Male
Impress: Males ONLY (one homosexual female allowed w/ permission from Kes)
Rise: After smaller females (may chase a queen, probably won't catch)
Threadfight: Flame w/o firestone

Storm dragons are the smallest mutation (common) males (27-32 feet in length and wingspan, 9-11 feet in height, 2,100-2,300lbs. in weight) and make up about a tenth (10%) of all dragons on Pern. They are nearly as agile as skies, but unlike the skies, they often have enough stamina to last for an entire Threadfall. They mate only with skies or greens, as they are simply too small to keep up with a massive queen over a long mating flight. These dragons flame as ordinary dragons, only without the help of firestone; their flame is standard. Stormriders are almost always male though they can be of any sexual orientation; very rarely, a masculine female may Impress (about 0.5% of stormriders are female).

Code: <span class="green"><span>
Gender: Female
Impress: Either gender (more female than male)
Rise: 6-8 times per year
Clutch: None (unless green has never chewed firestone)
Threadfight: Flame w/ firestone

Green dragons are the smallest normal color (20-25 feet in length and wingspan, 6-8 feet in height, 1,580-1,780lbs. in weight), and make up 35% of all dragons on Pern. They are female, but unlike the queens, they are infertile and can produce flame by chewing firestone. They are extremely valuable in Threadfall because of their agility, but they lack the stamina to last an entire Fall and generally fly in two or three shifts. Originally, greens Impressed to girls, however, after various natural disasters and plagues decimated Pern's population, women were needed to help repopulate the planet. Since going between during pregnancy can induce miscarriage and because removing pregnant riders from the Wings reduced the effectiveness of the Wings, it became impractical to present large numbers of women as candidates for Impression. Thus, green dragons began Impressing to effiminate homosexual boys; now, however, female greenriders have become much more common. They will rise to mate six to eight times per year.

Code: <span class="sky"><span>
Gender: Female
Impress: Females ONLY
Rise: 6-8 times per year
Clutch: 1-5 eggs, only once per year
Threadfight: Weak acid spray

Sky dragons are the smallest mutation color (22-27 feet in length and wingspan, 7-9 feet in height, 1,730-1,930lbs. in weight), and make up 14% of all dragons on Pern. They are female, but unlike the greens, they are fertile. They are incapable of completely destroying Thread; the acid they spit is extremely weak (stronger acid would pose a risk to other dragons and anything below it unless it is mixed with water)--enough of the acid would kill a Thread spore, however the mist skies produce damages the Thread, weakening its voraciously-damaging capabilities. Occasionally, a stronger acid may occur, in which case the sky should be paired with a wine whose icy breath will neutralize the acid before it comes into contact with any other dragons (the sky should fly above the wine). They are extremely valuable in Threadfall because of their agility, but they lack the stamina to last an entire Fall and generally fly in 2 or three shifts. Skies Impress ONLY to females, sexual preferences notwithstanding. They may occasionally produce a small clutch (5 or fewer eggs), but their low stamina rarely provides enough height to ensure a viable mating; they rise to mate six or eight times per year and may only have one viable clutch each year.

Code: <span class="white"><span>
Gender: Either male or female
Impress: Any
Rise: Females may rise 2 or 3 times in their lifetime; males may chase female whites or greens
Clutch: Females do not clutch; males are fertile but generally do not catch females
Threadfight: No

Whites are the smallest and rarest of the original colors (10-12 feet in length and wingspan, 3-5 feet in height, 775-875lbs. in weight, and less than 0.01% of the population). Genetically-speaking, they are homozygous recessive in all genes, making them small in size, stark white in color (with no shadings to speak of), and vaguely sensitive to sunlight (especially reflected sunlight off of water or snow). They can chew firestone and produce a small, weak flame. They have little stamina and are incapable of carrying heavy loads; however, their foreclaws are far more dexterous than other dragons' and make them more useful at the Weyr and at Holds.

Code: <span class="coal"><span>
Gender: Male
Impress: Any
Rise: After whites, greens, and skies, rarely catch, infertile
Threadfight: No (may be used as messengers during Fall)

Coals are the smallest and rares of the mutation colors (11-13 feet in length and wingspan, 4-6 feet in height, 825-925lbs. in weight, less than 0.001% of the population). Genetically-speaking, they are homozygous recessive in all genes, making them small in size, matte gray in color (with no shadings to speak of), and vaguely sensitive to sunlight (especially direct sunlight, though less so for reflected sunlight). They are extremely bulky, appearing more like a wher in build (though not in appearance!). They can produce a small, weak flame without the use of firestone. They are not capable of carrying heavy loads, but they have remarkable stamina, rivaling that of a bronze or brass, and seem to be capable of faster jumps between, accomplishing two jumps for each larger dragon's one jump; however, they lose agility for this stamina. This makes them superb messengers.