DragonForce Ch. 00 - Bibliography 02

BIOGRAPHICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dragonforce/Dragonstorm

This bibliography is designed for the DragonStorm story. It is an addendum to the bibliography provided for the DragonForce story. It includes several characters who do not appear in DragonForce but are significant enough to merit inclusion in this document. Hopefully, it will be of at least some use to the reader.

The Dragons

Pernese dragons are markedly different from those of Terran Legends. Not true reptiles, not true mammals, they have a mixture of the attributes of both. They are extremely intelligent, loyal to a fault, especially to their riders, and aware of and dedicated to their role as Threadfighters. They are gentle by nature but can become belligerent if their rider or some other person is being threatened.

Immediately upon hatching, they find a human with whom they form a permanent telepathic and empathic bond. This is referred to as 'impressing'. Generally, boys of 12-15 years old are presented before the mottled eggs of a clutch (laying). If a gold egg is present, girls of 17-19 years old are offered as candidates for the queen hatchling's rider. By late in the 9th Pass, two Weyrs were offering girls of 12-14 the opportunity to present for the mottled eggs. A few young girls impressed greens. The Weyrs involved in this rather unusual tactic were Eastern and Ista.

There are five major types of dragons, with one totally unique beast, and a transplant from another planet. That dragon, Astaroth, does not share the pacifistic tendencies of his Pernese fellows, and can be a very serious problem at times.

The dragons are:

Golds (Queens) Female 40 -- 50 feet in length, from tail to nose, when lying extended.

Ramoth Female 63 feet The gigantic Ramoth is one of several legendary queens, although the only one still alive. She is larger than any other queen on Pern by about ten feet. Ramoth is generally similar in temperament to all other Pernese dragons, but don't cross her. She has been known to become aggressive, particularly if her rider, Lessa, is involved.

Bronzes Male 35 -- 45 feet

Browns Male 30 -- 40 feet

Blues Male 25 -- 30 feet

Greens Female 20 -- 25 feet

White Asexual 25 feet The white Ruth is a unique dragon. He was rescued from his shell, which he couldn't open from the inside, when a young Jaxom cut the shell open. The pair impressed instantly. Ruth combines many of the traits of the other colors but is incapable of breeding. He is physically capable of mating but, as he was born sterile, he has no interest. Despite his size, he is faster and more maneuverable than the larger Pernese dragons.

Black Male 33 feet Another one-off, this is Astaroth, a Cygnan dragon who arrived on Pern via some very odd circumstances. He is by nature indolent, but he is also a law enforcement specialist and totally intolerant of criminals. His personal creed is "Get the job done and worry about the consequences later." He doesn't worry very often.

Dragons live in weyrs, small caves usually found in dormant or extinct volcanos. They are entirely carnivorous and not competitive, unless a mating flight is involved. The large number of individual weyrs found in a volcano are referred to collectively as a Weyr.

Most queens rise to mate once or twice a turn. Bronzes and the occasional over-sized brown will chase, although a brown hasn't caught a queen in more than 400 turns.

The rider of the senior queen in a Weyr is the Weyrwoman. When the senior queen rises, the rider whose dragon catches her becomes Weyrleader. Don't let these titles mislead you; the Weyrwoman runs the Weyr from behind the scenes. Not even a Weyrleader will cross his Weyrwoman.

Greens rise every two or three months. As they are sterile, their mating instincts are never interrupted by pregnancy. Browns and blues chase greens. Bronzes generally wait for a queen to rise.

The vast majority of green riders are male, which is why boys who display homosexual tendencies early in life are often given the opportunity to become greenriders. Very few offered the chance turn it down. In the past few turns, greens have started to impress girls, which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage in a Weyr.

Early in a pass, a Weyr will generally have about 200 fighting dragons; bronzes, browns, blues and greens. Queens participate as members of 'Queens Wings'. They cannot process firestone, so their riders carry 'agenothree' sprayers, essentially small flamethrowers using nitric acid (HNO₃). When thread gets through the upper wings the queens go into action. This is difficult and dangerous work, and injuries among queens are not uncommon.

As the pass goes on, the number of available dragons slowly increases. By the end of a pass, most Weyrs have between 300 and 400 fighting dragons. Most Weyrs have only two queens, particularly at the start of a pass. By the end of a pass, many have four queens and a few even have five.

A Weyr with 300 dragons will generally break down as:

Queens 3 or 4

Bronzes 12 to 15

Browns 20 to 30

Blues 75 to 90

Greens 150 to 180

Actual numbers will vary, but these are typical. Bronzes and browns are leaders, generally wingleaders and wingseconds. There are occasional variations from this norm, but only rarely. Blues are the jacks-of-all-trades and the heart of a Weyr's fighting strength. Greens are fast and maneuverable but lack endurance. They must be rotated in and out of their wing in a heavy fall. A number of all dragon types are held in reserve, able to step in when fighting dragons need to recover from injury or just need rest.

Dragon wings consist of 20 to 30 dragons, depending on the desires of the Weyrleader and the available mix of dragons. A flight consists of three wings. By the middle of a pass, most Weyrs will have anywhere from six to nine wings, comprising two to three flights. Wings are led by a wingleader, usually a bronze. They can have anything from one to three wingseconds, usually browns, depending on the number of dragons in the wing and the desires of the wingleader. The norm is two wingseconds.

Dragons who are in excess of the number needed for the fighting wings are held in reserve. This isn't vacation time. Injuries are common among dragons and the reserve beasts get plenty of work.

Young dragons, from hatching to anywhere from one to three turns in age, are called 'weyrlings'. This portion of a dragon's life is essentially basic training, involving everything from learning to fly to basic formation flying and basic combat training. The first combat duties of dragons, assigned to senior weyrlings, is to provide extra firestone sacks to fighting dragons during heavy threadfalls. This is strenuous and dangerous work. Injuries among weyrlings are common although serious injuries to weyrlings are rare. Weyrlings are not counted as part of a Weyr's fighting strength. The young riders-to-be also spend this time learning to care for their dragons.

Weyrlings are supervised by a 'weyrlingleader' or 'weyrlingmaster', the title being dependent on the traditions of the individual Weyr. He is usually a very senior rider. The weyrlingleader is responsible for all facets of weyrling training, both dragon and rider. The weyrlingleader will advise the Weyrleader when he determines a weyrling worthy to graduate to the fighting wings. 

The Weyrs

Weyr Weyrleader Dragon Weyrwoman Dragon

Benden F'lar Bronze Mnementh Lessa Queen Ramoth

Eastern T'gellan Bronze Monarth Trelka Queen Regalth

M'kel Bronze Zarth

Fort N'ton Bronze Lioth Deena Queen Kanadrylth

High Reaches T'kul* Bronze Salth Merika* Queen Tirlith

T'bor Bronze Orth Kylara* Queen Prideth (D)

Pilgra Queen Selgrith

M'rand Bronze Tileth

Igen G'narish Bronze Gyarmath Nadira Queen Nenneth

Ista D'ram* Bronze Tiroth Fanna* Queen Mirath

G'dened Bronze Barnath Cosira Queen Caylith

Southern K'van Bronze Heth Adria Queen Beljeth

Telgar R'mart* Bronze Branth Bedella* Queen Solth

M'tarl Bronze Dugarth Lyrissa Queen Safrith

*Retired (D)Deceased

The Holds

Hold Lord Holder Lady Holder

Fort Groghe

Ista Warbret

Lemos Asgenar Famira

Nerat Ciparis

Paradise River Jayge Aramina

Ruatha Jaxom Sharra**

Southern Toric Ramala

Telgar Larad Dulsay

The Crafthalls

Craft Craftmaster Location

Farmer Andemon Nerat

Fisher Idarolan Tillek

Harper Robinton (D) Fort

Sebell

Healer Oldive Fort

Herder Briaret Keroon

Miner Nicat Crom

Smith Fandarel Telgar

**Sharra is also a journeyman healer

Dragonforce/Dragonstorm

Name Dragon Color Position Location

Adrea Beljeth Gold Weyrwoman Southern

Angelena Sovrenth Gold Assistant Weyrwoman Igen

Breeana** Liereth Gold Junior Weyrwoman Fort

Jenira Masterhealer Healer Hall

Kimmel Masterhealer Healer Hall

Laurana Journeyman Harper Harper Hall

L'merik Ergreth Bronze Wingleader Ista

M'noral Xanth Bronze Wingleader Ista

Neldana Yasith Gold Assistant Weyrwoman High Reaches

Nitali Rulith Gold Assistant Weyrwoman Fort

Orrinda Lorith Gold Assistant Weyrwoman Eastern

Pilgra Selgrith Gold Weyrwoman High Reaches

P'ron Helleth Bronze Wingleader Ista

Tamira Adiranth Gold Junior Weyrwoman High Reaches

Toria Varanath Gold Junior Weyrwoman Southern

T'reril Arsenth Bronze Wingleader Ista

**Breeana is Cosira's younger sister

*CraftMaster (R) Retired (D) Deceased