Avangelis Weyr > Pern Info

Pern and the Pernese

Many of us have read the books, so we know a lot about Pern and its people. However, for whatever reason, some of us haven't yet been able to read them and are new to DRoP and Pern. This page has been created in order to assist those RPers who fall into said category.

Note: This is not a complete overview, and is here to help you be a bit more knowledgable when RPing. The best way to fully understand the backstory of Pern is to actually read the books. Which I would very much recommend. Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffery.

Pern
Pern is the third planet in the Rukbat System, located in the Sagittarian Sector of space. The system has five planets and two asteroid belts, plus a rogue planet captured in recent millennia. The system is surrounded by an Oort Cloud.
Pern was colonized in the hope of creating an farming community which only used the technology it required for this way of life. The colonists were not counting on Pern's step-sister planet, the Red Star, swooping close to their planet at regular intervals to drop Thread, the silvery spores which devour all organic material. And so they created dragons: a feat of bio-engineering, enormous creatures who could fly to meet Thread and scorch it before it fell to wreak havoc on otherwise unprotected Pern. When they hatched each dragon would Impress a highly empathic human being, and the dragon and their rider would become companions for life: friends, confidantes, and cherished familiars. The love between dragon and rider runs deeper than any other.
The instability of the Southern Continent forced the Settlers north, where Fort Hold was founded. The nearby extinct volcano provided an excellent habitat for the dragons and their riders, and it was called a 'Weyr'. In the years that followed the population of both Hold and Weyr grew steadily until the Pernese were forced to found new Holds and Weyrs. Over the years and through the Passes of the Red Star, the Pernese forgot their earthly origins and developed their own complex society. The heart of this society was the Weyrs - the dragonmen and their giant companions who protected Pern from Thread. The common people of Pern live in Holds. There are now sixteen principal holds, and each of these is ruled by a Lord Holder. The Lord Holder runs the hold and his holders (those who live on his land) tithe to him and generally do what he wants them to. In return he offers protection from Thread. Most holders do whatever work the Lord wants them to in order to earn their place in the hold. The principal Holds are Fort, Ruatha, Southern Boll, High Reaches, Tillek, Ista, Keroon, Igen, Nabol, Crom, Telgar, Nerat, Benden, Bitra, Lemos and Southern.
The Crafthalls are the home to craftsmen; those Pernese skilled in a particular industry. The Crafts of Pern are: Harper, Smith, Healer, Weaver, Farmer, Miner, Fisher, Tanner and Herder. The Harpercraft is responsible for teaching young children the Teaching Ballads, which provide them with basic knowledge. When a child is ten or twelve, they are sent to be an apprentice at a Crafthall if they show a flair for that particular craft. The Crafthalls train the crafters and send them out all over Pern to provide their skills to even the remotest hold.
The Weyrs are home to dragonmen. They are Fort, Benden, Igen, Ista, High Reaches, Telgar and Southern. The Weyrs are extinct volcanoes, and the caverns within them are perfect for dragons. Each Weyr is led by a Weyrleader and a Weyrwoman, and each is resposible for protecting certain Holds from Thread. The care of dragons and fighting Thread means dragonmen have no time to farm, hunt or fish, and so the Holds tithe to them annually in return for protection from Thread.
Weyr, Hold and Hall are all seperate from one another and Weyrleaders, Lord Holders and Mastercrafters are equal in rank.

Terms To Know-
Between: an area of nothingness and sensory deprievation between here and there. Can take you between two places geographically or two times in history. (The later being called 'Timing it')

Candidate: One who is Searched and therefore eligible to Stand on the Hatching Sands for a chance to Impress.

Clutch: A 'litter' of eggs a female lays. (Dragon or Flit)

Dawn Sisters: trio of stars visible from Pern

Deadglow: Stupid. Also sometimes used to refer to mentally retarded people.

Dragonrider: One who has Impressed and successfully completed Weyrling Training. Congrats.

Fellis Juice: Used to dull internal pain.

Firestone: phosphine-bearing mineral which dragons chew to and swallow to their second stomachs in order to produce flame.

Flits (Firelizards): Cousins to dragons, about the size of a raven. Can breathe fire without chewing firestone. Unable to 'talk' like dragons, instead they show their bonded images and send feelings. Can go between.

Hold: Small villiage like places where non-dragonriders and non-weyr folk live; cut into mountains and hillsides. Holds that are under the protection of a certain Weyr tithe to said Weyr as a sort of payment for protection from Thread.

Honorific: When a male impresses, their name is shortened. I.E.: Deavon - D'von. Usually one drops a vowel, but can drop more if wanted.

Impression: When riders and dragons become telepathically and empathetically connected for life.

Interval: 200 turns in which no Thread falls. Long Intervals last about 400 years. Queens tend to lay fewer eggs during intervals.

Klah: stimulating hot drink made of tree bark and tasting faintly of cinnamon.

Numbweed: medicinal cream which is smeared on wounds and kills all feeling; used as an anesthetic.

Pass: 50 Turns in which Thread falls on Pern. In the few Turns before a Pass, Queen dragons begin to lay greater number of eggs to increase the number of dragons.

Rise: when a dragon begins to fly to be mated with. The female bloods kills, along with the males before she takes off and is chased.

Runnerbeast: animal that is used to plough, race, transport Holdfolk primarily. Resembles a horse.

Sevenday: A week. Sevenday = seven days... Get it?

Thread: mycorrhizoid spores from the Red Star, which are spun off onto Pern and devour any organic material they touch. They can destroy whole fields and forests within minutes.

Touching: when Candidates touch hardened dragon eggs to get a feel and comfortness with them. Does not inhibit the egg.

Turn: a Pernese year

Watch-wher: Nocturnal reptile distantly related to dragons.

Weyr: Home of dragons and their riders

weyr: A rider and dragon's den in which they sleep.

Weyrling: One who was a Candidate, but Impressed. Now you're a Weyrling! Good job.

Wherries: Similiar to a turkey, but the size of an ostrich. Eaten by dragons.

Pernese Oaths/Curses-
"By the Egg"
"By the First Egg"
"By the egg of Faranth"
"Great Faranth"
"Scorch it"
"Shards"
"By the shards of my dragon's egg"
"Shells"
"Shards and Shells"
"Through Fall, Fog and Fire"

Dragons-
By far the most vital creature to Pern aside from man. They breathe fire and char Thread, keeping Pern safe. Dragons are large creatures, especially the Queens, who run this monoarchial animal race. Here are some basic things about dragons.

Anatomy-
Dragons typically look like what many perceive them to be; large reptiles with forked tongues, long tails, huge wings and big heads. Pernese dragons in addition have head knobs, eye ridges which they loved having scratched, eyes which reflect their mood by swirling in a certain color, and second stomachs which are used to flame when having chewed firestone. Eye colorations are as follows:

Dragon Eye Colors:

Blue/green: Calm, Pleasure, Enjoyment
Red: Hunger, Anger
Yellow: Fear
Orange: Suspicion, Uncertainty
Purple: Lust
White: Danger

Dragon Sounds:
Bellow: Alarm, irritation or attention call.
Bugle: Joy, triumph, happiness, Challenge (Rising/chasing) or greeting.
Croon: Pleasure, reassurance or apology.
Growl: Warning, anger.
Humming: Sounded at a Hatching.
Keen: Mournful sound signifying death.
Moan: Sound of distress or anxiety.
Roar: Anger, confusion or pain.
Rumble: Amusement, happiness. Draconic equivalent of laughter.
Trill: Curiosity, pleasure, enjoyment or satisfaction.
Wail: Sadness or worry.
Warble: Self satisfaction or gratitude.

This page is a compilation of information that can probably be found on many other sites, but edited for my purposes. Its also information that can be found in the DRoP books. *nods* I'm not saying that I wrote all this myself, and I'm not saying I stole it either. :-P