History

I learned today that our ancestors trained long and hard for something like this - and that we have been arrogant in thinking that we could ever measure up to the great dragonriders of old. We will not survive this. Prelath has not risen in a Turn, and Creolith won't rise until Turn's End. Not that it matters. We will never be able to keep up with the numbers we lose every Fall. Pern will die under the barrage of Thread, with dragonriders too disheartened by their recent failures to save it.

Junior Weyrwoman Marsena
Narolan Weyr

Welcome to an alternate universe 10th Pass Pern, where Thread hasn't fallen for years - the Dragonriders of Pern went their separate ways. The old Weyrs with their obsolete dragons became a burden for the Hold to tithe, and slowly but surely Holds became autonomous and Weyrs had to look after themselves. Some chose not to - High Reaches Weyr starved itself, riders and dragons shriveling to nothing but shivering shadows of figures, blown away with black dust.

The other Weyrs didn't fare much better, with tensions rising and new stresses added to their lives. Fort Weyr divided itself, crumbling into ruins over the issue of how to deal with its Holds. Igen and Ista, after becoming so small due to fighting and tiny clutches, merged and were never heard from again. Rumors flew about the riders' whereabouts - it was thought that they were all dead, that they'd killed each other off. The more ludicrous claim they fled to the Southern Continent, a place thought to be dead and barren.

The rest split into smaller factions, little groups of riders in Weyrs smaller than Igen and Ista had become. Some riders chose to head off on their own - riders of male dragons, obviously, for females remain dependent on aid in flights - and became known as the "Weyrless," the wandering dragonriders held down by nothing and no one, with no commitments and a boundless planet to discover. But the small groups didn't matter to the people of Pern, and it was easier to maintain themselves that way anyway. Little communication went on between Weyrs, because little communication was needed. Everyone looked after themselves because that was all that was needed to get by.

Turns came and went, Rukbat rose and fell, and people were - if not happy - content with the way life was: easy, simple, serene.

Until now.

On the coast between the places Fort and High Reaches once lay was a little Hold called Kaiden, made up of people whose ancestors' habits landed them just a quick hop from newly formed Narolan Weyr. It could have been lucky they did, if the 'riders of Narolan had been a little more prepared, or had thought Thread was returning any more than the Holders did. As it was, when an unexpected shower of thread rained down on Kaiden Hold, the 'riders hurried to form their ranks and the dragons gobbled firestone, but they were too late. Kaiden Hold was utterly destroyed - along with more than half of Narolan's riders.

The Weyrfolk have been waiting for something like this to happen ever since I assumed office. They all thought I was too young and that I'd never be up to a challenge. Maybe I would have been then. I'm older now, and the challenge has finally arrived - if it hadn't been for the news of Thread from Narolan we would have ended up the same as them. Not that our number of casualties was much lower. Even so, I am indebted to them more than I have been indebted to anyone - and especially any Weyr.

Weyrwoman Risallen
Saramar Weyr

Weyrwoman Damis of Narolan refused to believe Thread was back. She spent the majority of the Fall sitting in her weyr with a plateful of bubbly pies, ignoring the pleads of her dragon and her dragonriders to do something. An exasperated Junior - Marsena - took control. She was quick to send a message to Saramar Weyr, which lay just down the coast, to warn them of the impending threat. Saramar was damaged by inexperience rather than surprise - their ranks were hurt, but not staggered like Narolan's, and most of nearby Isadar Hold had survived (however ungrateful they were to have to rely on a dragonrider's help).

Saramar had always been the larger Weyr. They'd done Searches in the Hold even for their small clutches, which had always turned out better outcomes than Narolan's refusal to use anything but Weyrbred Candidates. The result of fewer betweenings was more hands, of course, and that benefited Saramar that day. Weyrwoman Risallen knew the other Weyr was hurting badly, and in an attempt to absolve the debt she felt she owed to them, she invited the remaining 'riders and Weyrfolk to Saramar. United, she thought, they'd stand a better chance at surviving than would two thinning factions.

She sent her request to Weyrwoman Damis, who chuckled at the foolishness of some 'riders and helped herself to another bubbly pie. The next day, she unwittingly thought to take a stroll and was caught in a Fall - the dragonriders didn't pause to mourn her passing and looked instead to Marsena, who stepped up to the plate admirably. Her first order of business was to accept Risallen's request.

No one was happy about this - not even Marsena or Risallen. The Weyrfolk clashed immediately, and so did their leaders. The Weyrs had customs that were so different it was like running into someone from another planet, and everyone was prideful, too. The Narolan 'riders thought the new Weyr wasn't up to their standard - and the Saramar 'riders thought the Narolan 'riders weren't the sharpest teeth in the dragon's mouth. Marsena wasn't about to give up her power just because she moved Weyrs, and Ris wasn't willing to hand it over without a fight - they are attempting to rule the Weyr together, but it's putting a strain on both of them. It's been decided that the next Queen to rise will determine who's Weyrwoman... but until them, much remains undecided - and much remains in heated flames of fury as 'riders battle thread - and each other.