Post by Tabula Rasa on Apr 30, 2008 18:23:43 GMT -8
Dragons
Dragons in Tempus Fugit are the five traditional colors established in the books and are measured in feet (not meters). Because dragons in the sixth interval are somewhat smaller than dragons in the novels' ninth pass, adult sizes have been a bit modified to reflect this difference:
The following is a brief summary of each dragon color:
Gold
Sometimes referred to as 'Queens', golds are always female and the largest of the dragons. They range in hue from frosty pale to amber rich and all shades in between, but all golds are some variation of, well, gold. Their hide has a shimmering sheen to it and because if this, they and bronze dragons are known as 'metallics'. They're the only color that lays eggs, but they're unable to ingest firestone and so cannot breathe fire. Golds are also the least common color, as there's only one gold egg in a clutch and many clutches have none at all. They tend to be somewhat territorial, and too many queens in a Weyr (more than four) can lead to frequent spats and even bloodshed. Dragons seems to have a natural pecking order, and golds are at the top. They have a stronger force of will than the other colors, and unless an order from a gold would cause direct harm to a dragon or his rider, those dragons of other colors must oblige a gold's command. Queens rise to mate roughly once every 1.5-2 turns during a pass and every 2-3 turns during an interval. How often they fly also depends on how many other golds are living in the same Weyr.
Gold dragons impress to girls.
Bronze
The second-largest dragons, bronzes are male. They have the same shine to their hide as golds, but there tends to be a green overlay that turns what would otherwise be golden hues to brassier and bronzier colors. Known for great stamina and generally high intellect, the draconic hierarchy has them second only to the queens. Bronzes are thought to be natural leaders, and it does seem to be true that the chromatic colors (and even young queens) will defer to a bronze dragon's requests. Bronzes are the only color that is seen as acceptable mates for a queen dragon. They also chase greens, though tend to be less successful in such flights, as the smaller greens can usually fly circles around the larger, stronger and less agile bronzes.
Bronze dragons impress to boys.
Brown
The middle-sized dragons, browns are always male. They tend to be known for calm, even temperaments and are just as comfortable taking orders as giving them. While brown dragons have hides that hold a subtle sheen, they don't gleam as golds and bronzes do. Because of this, browns, blues and greens are known as 'chromatic' dragons. Browns are middle-of-the-road sorts. Their stamina isn't as great as a bronze, but it's enough to allow them to fly a full fall. They're not as agile as a blue, but they're quick enough to be more dexterous than the larger colors. Though physically capable of chasing queens, it's considered a social taboo for them to do so. They chase and catch greens, instead.
Brown dragons impress to boys.
Blue
The second-smallest dragons, blues are male and range in color from light baby blue to deep indigo. The stereotype of the blue dragon is that they are characters. Mischievous and youthful, dark and brooding, cocky and proud, blues don't seem to do anything halfway. Though there's no particular personality that fits them all, it's said that whatever temperament a blue has, it's a more extreme version than what might be found in the other colors. They're quick and agile, second only to greens, but they also tire more easily. They show no interest in chasing queens, but frequently chase greens when they rise.
Blue dragons impress to boys.
Green
The smallest dragons and the only other females, greens are sterile. They are the fastest dragons and the most dexterous in the air. They also tire the quickest, and while greens are invaluable in 'fall, they can only manage half of one before becoming over-exhausted. They're the most prevalent color, and while some believe this makes them common and inferior (or even disposable), any wingleader worth his salt knows that these little dragons are hatched so often because their quickness and speed are vital ingredients to a successful wing. Greens have a reputation for being flirtatious and a little dim-witted. They rise to mate roughly every 3-6 months.
Green dragons impress to boys and, rarely, girls.
Flights
Greenflights happen on a fairly routine basis, and excepting the participants, most Weyr residents and riders don't notice much when they occur. (This is probably a good thing, as with the number of greens in a given Weyr, flights happen a couple times each week.) A green will rise as often as once every three months or as infrequently as every six. How often they rise seems to be a matter of internal chemistry. Their cycles aren't different in a pass than an interval, and it makes no matter to a green how many other greens live in the same Weyr. Greens can rise in the company of other greens without incident. Blues, browns and bronzes all chase greens, though the smaller colors tend to win their flights more frequently.
Greenriders may have flights at any time (no staff approval needed).
Goldflights happen about twice a turn in a pass and once a turn in an interval (that is, each gold rises every 1.5 turns or so in a pass and 2.5 turns in an interval, and with three golds in the average Weyr, that means there's one flight every six months or every turn, respectively) and their occurrence causes significant disruption to the Weyr. A gold's fight has a psychic effect that affects everyone in the vicinity, though riders are more influenced than non-riders and those participating in the flight get hit the worst, of course.
Golds are chased by bronze dragons, and while browns could technically pursue and catch, it's considered incredibly improper for brown dragons to chase a queen and the rider of a brown who tries is likely to be treated poorly by the bronzeriders whose bronzes are pursuing. Blues show no interest in chasing golds.
When a queen rises, riders of any other golds in the Weyr take their queens and leave. It's said that golds will fight if they remain present while one is rising to mate. Though such a thing has never happened in memorable times, the tradition is so entrenched that nobody questions it. It's simply 'what is done'.
Staff will contact the players of goldriders when a queenflight is to be scheduled.
Catching
Flight lust can't really be trumped, and the idea of 'stand-in' lovers, while a decent one in theory, never really pans out in practice. It's mostly only those fresh out of weyrlinghood that even try to arrange for such things, and older, more experienced riders quietly roll their eyes whenever it's attempted. A rider wants who his dragon wants. Winding up next to someone you don't know (or who's the 'wrong' gender) after a flight is just part of being a rider.
A flight does not make a pair of riders weyrmates; weyrmating is a longer-term living arrangement between two riders (or a rider and a non-rider) usually based on romantic involvement, not just flight sex.
Candidates
Though Pern has seen over twenty girls impress green dragons in the last two decades and the number seems to be bent on increasing, at many Weyrs girls are still searched only when a gold egg is on the sands. At the hatching, the girls may even be herded close to the gold egg, which a responsible weyrwoman will have asked her dragon to move away from the other eggs in the process of turning them as they harden. The first girls to impress greens (at Fort Weyr, almost twenty turns ago) were picked by enterprising hatchlings from such groups near queen eggs. As the idea of women in the fighting wings has become less strange, some Weyrs now permit weyrbred girls who want to stand to do so at any hatching, regardless of whether a gold egg has been clutched. Most Weyrs still do not search girls from Holds and halls unless a gold egg is present, however, as the idea of girls riding fighting dragons has not become 'normal' to the beholden folk quite yet.
Candidates are searched traditionally from holds and halls in each Weyr's coverage: young men (usually of ages roughly 13 to 23) are brought out in a lineup and from them the searchrider(s) select those to whom the offer of standing is made. In the current time, most persons are permitted to refuse search if they wish; however, it's still considered improper to do so without very good reason.
Weyr residents of appropriate age are permitted to stand for a hatching if they wish; formal search is not conducted within the Weyr walls. For a rider to suggest to his child or friend that they stand is not uncommon, however.
Candidates are only considered as such (and only wear candidate knots) during the period of time between clutching and hatching. After a hatching, candidates who did not impress return home or become weyrfolk, taking on appropriate work in the Weyr's caverns. For ease of OOC matters we don't ask people to change their profile titles after every hatching, but please RP appropriately!
Sexual Orientation
While dragons do seem to follow the rule of 'girls on gold and rarely green, and boys on everything else' and the general population thinks each color will select a rider of 'appropriate' sexual orientation, the truth is, they don't. Sometimes, a bronzerider likes boys. Sometimes, a bluerider likes girls. And while a male greenrider who only enjoys the intimate company of women will regularly wind up in bed with a man anyway, the social atmosphere of the Weyr is such that... well... flights happen. You get up, you put on your pants, you go home and you move on.
Communication
Dragons communicate with one another freely through telepathy. Dragons do not generally contact humans other than their own riders; should a dragon feel a need to convey something to another human, their rider will be asked to 'forward' the message. In emergencies - where life of dragon or human is threatened and no other alternative exists - a dragon may contact a human other than their own, but such circumstances are incredibly rare and the communication is minimal. It is also not unheard of for a dragon to share an emotion, idea or a few words with an individual of great importance personally, usually their rider's weyrmate or child. Such contact is reserved for the closest of acquaintances.
Rare humans are born Hearing-All-Dragons. Dragons, if they choose, may communicate freely with such an individual. We are not accepting HAD characters at this time.
The Wings of Telgar Weyr
As clutches have become small during Interval (Pelegaoth's recent clutch of 26 being uncharacteristically large), Telgar Weyr currently has only six fighting wings. Each fighting wing is 30 to 40 riders strong. The Weyrling wing and from 20 to 50 retired sweeps and watchriders round out the Weyr's complement.
Light wing
Composed mostly of blues and greens, with browns or bronzes for 'seconds, light wings fly outer parts of formations or low in the sky where speed is useful for charring stray bits of thread (or rope).
Standard wing
The standard wing is made of a balanced mix of the light dragons and the heavy ones, though there's often a little variation of numbers in any given wing. This wing flies the middle of a formation and sometimes rear, where a speed and agility are called for almost as much as a thick, long-lasting flame.
Heavy wing
Heavy wings are composed mostly of browns and bronzes and fly the top and forward edges of most formations, plowing through the majority of thread (or rope) with thick and steady flames.
Other wing types may exist. Such specialty wings will be added to this list if necessary.
Dragons in Tempus Fugit are the five traditional colors established in the books and are measured in feet (not meters). Because dragons in the sixth interval are somewhat smaller than dragons in the novels' ninth pass, adult sizes have been a bit modified to reflect this difference:
| Color | Size |
| Gold | 27-30 ft |
| Bronze | 24-27 ft |
| Brown | 20-24 ft |
| Blue | 17-20 ft |
| Green | 14-17 ft |
The following is a brief summary of each dragon color:
Gold
Sometimes referred to as 'Queens', golds are always female and the largest of the dragons. They range in hue from frosty pale to amber rich and all shades in between, but all golds are some variation of, well, gold. Their hide has a shimmering sheen to it and because if this, they and bronze dragons are known as 'metallics'. They're the only color that lays eggs, but they're unable to ingest firestone and so cannot breathe fire. Golds are also the least common color, as there's only one gold egg in a clutch and many clutches have none at all. They tend to be somewhat territorial, and too many queens in a Weyr (more than four) can lead to frequent spats and even bloodshed. Dragons seems to have a natural pecking order, and golds are at the top. They have a stronger force of will than the other colors, and unless an order from a gold would cause direct harm to a dragon or his rider, those dragons of other colors must oblige a gold's command. Queens rise to mate roughly once every 1.5-2 turns during a pass and every 2-3 turns during an interval. How often they fly also depends on how many other golds are living in the same Weyr.
Gold dragons impress to girls.
Bronze
The second-largest dragons, bronzes are male. They have the same shine to their hide as golds, but there tends to be a green overlay that turns what would otherwise be golden hues to brassier and bronzier colors. Known for great stamina and generally high intellect, the draconic hierarchy has them second only to the queens. Bronzes are thought to be natural leaders, and it does seem to be true that the chromatic colors (and even young queens) will defer to a bronze dragon's requests. Bronzes are the only color that is seen as acceptable mates for a queen dragon. They also chase greens, though tend to be less successful in such flights, as the smaller greens can usually fly circles around the larger, stronger and less agile bronzes.
Bronze dragons impress to boys.
Brown
The middle-sized dragons, browns are always male. They tend to be known for calm, even temperaments and are just as comfortable taking orders as giving them. While brown dragons have hides that hold a subtle sheen, they don't gleam as golds and bronzes do. Because of this, browns, blues and greens are known as 'chromatic' dragons. Browns are middle-of-the-road sorts. Their stamina isn't as great as a bronze, but it's enough to allow them to fly a full fall. They're not as agile as a blue, but they're quick enough to be more dexterous than the larger colors. Though physically capable of chasing queens, it's considered a social taboo for them to do so. They chase and catch greens, instead.
Brown dragons impress to boys.
Blue
The second-smallest dragons, blues are male and range in color from light baby blue to deep indigo. The stereotype of the blue dragon is that they are characters. Mischievous and youthful, dark and brooding, cocky and proud, blues don't seem to do anything halfway. Though there's no particular personality that fits them all, it's said that whatever temperament a blue has, it's a more extreme version than what might be found in the other colors. They're quick and agile, second only to greens, but they also tire more easily. They show no interest in chasing queens, but frequently chase greens when they rise.
Blue dragons impress to boys.
Green
The smallest dragons and the only other females, greens are sterile. They are the fastest dragons and the most dexterous in the air. They also tire the quickest, and while greens are invaluable in 'fall, they can only manage half of one before becoming over-exhausted. They're the most prevalent color, and while some believe this makes them common and inferior (or even disposable), any wingleader worth his salt knows that these little dragons are hatched so often because their quickness and speed are vital ingredients to a successful wing. Greens have a reputation for being flirtatious and a little dim-witted. They rise to mate roughly every 3-6 months.
Green dragons impress to boys and, rarely, girls.
Flights
Greenflights happen on a fairly routine basis, and excepting the participants, most Weyr residents and riders don't notice much when they occur. (This is probably a good thing, as with the number of greens in a given Weyr, flights happen a couple times each week.) A green will rise as often as once every three months or as infrequently as every six. How often they rise seems to be a matter of internal chemistry. Their cycles aren't different in a pass than an interval, and it makes no matter to a green how many other greens live in the same Weyr. Greens can rise in the company of other greens without incident. Blues, browns and bronzes all chase greens, though the smaller colors tend to win their flights more frequently.
Greenriders may have flights at any time (no staff approval needed).
Goldflights happen about twice a turn in a pass and once a turn in an interval (that is, each gold rises every 1.5 turns or so in a pass and 2.5 turns in an interval, and with three golds in the average Weyr, that means there's one flight every six months or every turn, respectively) and their occurrence causes significant disruption to the Weyr. A gold's fight has a psychic effect that affects everyone in the vicinity, though riders are more influenced than non-riders and those participating in the flight get hit the worst, of course.
Golds are chased by bronze dragons, and while browns could technically pursue and catch, it's considered incredibly improper for brown dragons to chase a queen and the rider of a brown who tries is likely to be treated poorly by the bronzeriders whose bronzes are pursuing. Blues show no interest in chasing golds.
When a queen rises, riders of any other golds in the Weyr take their queens and leave. It's said that golds will fight if they remain present while one is rising to mate. Though such a thing has never happened in memorable times, the tradition is so entrenched that nobody questions it. It's simply 'what is done'.
Staff will contact the players of goldriders when a queenflight is to be scheduled.
Catching
Flight lust can't really be trumped, and the idea of 'stand-in' lovers, while a decent one in theory, never really pans out in practice. It's mostly only those fresh out of weyrlinghood that even try to arrange for such things, and older, more experienced riders quietly roll their eyes whenever it's attempted. A rider wants who his dragon wants. Winding up next to someone you don't know (or who's the 'wrong' gender) after a flight is just part of being a rider.
A flight does not make a pair of riders weyrmates; weyrmating is a longer-term living arrangement between two riders (or a rider and a non-rider) usually based on romantic involvement, not just flight sex.
Candidates
Though Pern has seen over twenty girls impress green dragons in the last two decades and the number seems to be bent on increasing, at many Weyrs girls are still searched only when a gold egg is on the sands. At the hatching, the girls may even be herded close to the gold egg, which a responsible weyrwoman will have asked her dragon to move away from the other eggs in the process of turning them as they harden. The first girls to impress greens (at Fort Weyr, almost twenty turns ago) were picked by enterprising hatchlings from such groups near queen eggs. As the idea of women in the fighting wings has become less strange, some Weyrs now permit weyrbred girls who want to stand to do so at any hatching, regardless of whether a gold egg has been clutched. Most Weyrs still do not search girls from Holds and halls unless a gold egg is present, however, as the idea of girls riding fighting dragons has not become 'normal' to the beholden folk quite yet.
Candidates are searched traditionally from holds and halls in each Weyr's coverage: young men (usually of ages roughly 13 to 23) are brought out in a lineup and from them the searchrider(s) select those to whom the offer of standing is made. In the current time, most persons are permitted to refuse search if they wish; however, it's still considered improper to do so without very good reason.
Weyr residents of appropriate age are permitted to stand for a hatching if they wish; formal search is not conducted within the Weyr walls. For a rider to suggest to his child or friend that they stand is not uncommon, however.
Candidates are only considered as such (and only wear candidate knots) during the period of time between clutching and hatching. After a hatching, candidates who did not impress return home or become weyrfolk, taking on appropriate work in the Weyr's caverns. For ease of OOC matters we don't ask people to change their profile titles after every hatching, but please RP appropriately!
Sexual Orientation
While dragons do seem to follow the rule of 'girls on gold and rarely green, and boys on everything else' and the general population thinks each color will select a rider of 'appropriate' sexual orientation, the truth is, they don't. Sometimes, a bronzerider likes boys. Sometimes, a bluerider likes girls. And while a male greenrider who only enjoys the intimate company of women will regularly wind up in bed with a man anyway, the social atmosphere of the Weyr is such that... well... flights happen. You get up, you put on your pants, you go home and you move on.
Communication
Dragons communicate with one another freely through telepathy. Dragons do not generally contact humans other than their own riders; should a dragon feel a need to convey something to another human, their rider will be asked to 'forward' the message. In emergencies - where life of dragon or human is threatened and no other alternative exists - a dragon may contact a human other than their own, but such circumstances are incredibly rare and the communication is minimal. It is also not unheard of for a dragon to share an emotion, idea or a few words with an individual of great importance personally, usually their rider's weyrmate or child. Such contact is reserved for the closest of acquaintances.
Rare humans are born Hearing-All-Dragons. Dragons, if they choose, may communicate freely with such an individual. We are not accepting HAD characters at this time.
The Wings of Telgar Weyr
As clutches have become small during Interval (Pelegaoth's recent clutch of 26 being uncharacteristically large), Telgar Weyr currently has only six fighting wings. Each fighting wing is 30 to 40 riders strong. The Weyrling wing and from 20 to 50 retired sweeps and watchriders round out the Weyr's complement.
Light wing
Composed mostly of blues and greens, with browns or bronzes for 'seconds, light wings fly outer parts of formations or low in the sky where speed is useful for charring stray bits of thread (or rope).
Standard wing
The standard wing is made of a balanced mix of the light dragons and the heavy ones, though there's often a little variation of numbers in any given wing. This wing flies the middle of a formation and sometimes rear, where a speed and agility are called for almost as much as a thick, long-lasting flame.
Heavy wing
Heavy wings are composed mostly of browns and bronzes and fly the top and forward edges of most formations, plowing through the majority of thread (or rope) with thick and steady flames.
Other wing types may exist. Such specialty wings will be added to this list if necessary.