Post by sww admin on Apr 26, 2008 8:18:25 GMT -6
Southern Winds Weyr
A Lesson In History
Many turns ago, at least 200 by the records that have managed to survive, Pern thrived. Weyrs and Holds decorated the land and dragons filled the skies. There was a surplus and the people thrived here. After so many turns, however, the enemy known as Thread would come, and a Pass would be at hand. The Red Star in the sky loomed close enough that the parasitic destroyers would rain down in the hopes to devour all that the people knew. For once an infestation had started, so would the land be barren. Sapped of life from that which the Dragon’s protected against.
Thread could be measured, and Fall timed. Shifts could be prepared and dragons would be ready to face the coming enemy.
That was how it had always been, and believed to always be.
The mark of another Pass was noted and the Dragon Riders prepared to fight their eternal enemy once more for the sake of Pern. The star stones, so faithful and correct, showed an alteration. The Red Star was closer. It loomed over them, and those who had been prepared to fight Thread knew something was wrong. There was, however, no time for thought.
Thread fell.
The First Wings took to the sky, using flame breath to burn that which sought to destroy their home. When the larger dragons missed some, the Greens would swoop in to do clean up. None made it so close to the ground, though the Queen’s wing stayed close for the event.
Into the evening they fought. And still Thread Fell. Dragons were called from the sky on account of injures, and quickly the Healer Halls over Pern began to fill as more and more were injured. Thread fell across the Northern Continent, to where all the Weyr’s now turned out to fight. There was something wrong.
It didn’t end.
With the Red Star closer than ever, Thread poured down. Nearly as numerous as rain to sear the flanks, wings, and bodies of the dragons that fought them. The riders that were caught by the searing parasite died quick, and their dragon in a keen of anguish, went between. The battle lasted, and exhausted wings were sent out to replace and fill the previous.
Those in Hold watched as the sun dropped below the horizon, and the dragons fought in the black of night.
It could not be won.
It became a rescue mission. Riders appeared to every Hold, while escorts kept the Thread from falling on those they tried to save. So many were lost during this time. Whole Holds fell as the Thread descended on their home and they had no Dragon Riders to save them. Riders lost their lives as they tried to fight in the dark, and failed.
The sun rose on a disaster. Those that had survived gathered at Fort Weyr. There were precious few. Riders who had braved the night to save Holder and Crafter alike. The folk who huddled together, their homes lost. Nearly half of the population had been lost in a night, and with the Fall pattern no longer known, no one knew when Thread would come again.
The Queen of Fort Weyr, whose name has been lost to the ages, decreed that all the supplies would be gathered. What had survived would be brought to Fort, and they would try to weather out the disaster that had befallen them.
Tired dragons took to the skies once more, going between to retrieve what they could. Precious few were lost in this period as well, as Riders who had worked too hard in the wings during Fall hopped Between, weary from exhaustion, never to reappear anywhere else.
Evening crested on Fort Weyr, and the alarm was sounded. More Thread.
Those that had rested took wing to protect the only spot of land left to them. The Queen watched the fight, and knew hopelessness. For a full Pass, those at Fort Weyr protected the survivors. The land died around them, and supplies were cut short. Medicine was scarce, illness rampant, and those at the Weyr believed their future to be bleak. No one thought they would survive.
But still, the Red Star moved on and left Pern a waste land. Burrows had consumed and destroyed everything that the Fort Weyr Dragons had been unable to protect. Few runner beasts, barely enough herdbeasts to feed what dragons had survived, and too few Holders that had been integrated into Weyr folk survived under the protection of the Dragon Riders.
It was then that several of the emerged leaders through this troubled time came together. A new home would be needed. The Northern Continent could not sustain them, and neither could the Southern. All of it had been destroyed by the Thread and its burrows.
Those Riders who the Weyr trusted the most set out to explore. Hoping that this was not the end, and that something had survived. In the south, far off the coast of the Southern Continent, they found a small island. It consisted of an inactive volcano on the southern side, with a hearty jungle, in the middle, and a large meadow on the north. Paradise, it seemed, to those who had seen nothing but dead earth for so long.
Instantly plans were set into motion to relocate the survivors, to construct a new Weyr and a new home on the only piece of land that had survived.
And so the Relocation was named.
It soon became apparent to those who sought sanctuary here just why this small spot of lush land survived. Beasts, mutated fire lizards that cannot fly and are resistant to dragon fire stalked the land. What’s more, they ate anything they could. People, Dragons even, were taken down by packs of the dark green and brown monsters. They had the build of the Pernese dragon, but were more agile than even a Green. With their camouflage, they were nigh impossible to spot in the jungle. Even in the meadow the beasts could hide, crouched down with dark green eyes whirling red, before charging their prey.
The larger dragons, Bronze and Brown, became the key protectors of this. They could take a fight with the Hunters, as they became known as, and stand up against the brutal assault. Even so, one lone dragon could not hope to take a pack. Escorts became common place as First Hold was built, where they would daily fend off attacks. The smaller dragons became adept at seeking out the Hunters, of finding them and flushing them out for the Escorts to deal with. So, they became named Scouts.
Through the tireless effort of the surviving Dragon Riders, First Hold came to stand and the Weyr was built. More turns came to pass, and the now Southern Winds Weyr helped to settle the second hold on the small land mass, known as Beast Hold. Walls encircled the large meadow, cutting off Beast Hold from the Jungle and keeping it safe from the Hunters.
A supply route was opened up between the two as more herdbeasts were bred and runnerbeasts at the new hold. Life prospered, despite the fact the Weyr had only one Queen at a time.
And so the Southern Winds Weyr stood as protection for the Holds once again. The numbers, steadily, began to climb once more. A large shock came to the survivors when a variation of dragon was born. Black, with scales as dark as night and an attitude as fierce as that of the Hunters. Then, Red, small dragons with a knack for drawing out the Hunters and being quick enough to escape the attacks. While the new additions were met with some protest, the simple fact that every dragon was needed integrated these new types into the Weyr.
It is now marked as the 203rd Turn, After Relocation, and the dreaded Red Star looms close once more. The star stones predict five turns, but the Pernese people have not forgotten the fall of their ancestors, and know that the dragons must soon be ready if they are to save what small land they have now. The Weyr tries to meet the ongoing demands for caravans between Beast and First, while the Craft Halls all race to prepare for the worst in the coming Turns. Hunters have become ever feral and still pose a serious threat to the life and well being of those still in the Holds.
With only one Queen on Pern, and one Weyr, it stands to those Dragon Riders, and the Holders they protect, to weather this new challenge and survive both beast and Thread.
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Southern Winds Weyr is looking for creative individuals who are seeking for a forum to explore and play. Many positions are open and need dedicated players to fill them.
The forum is non-cannon, and offers two new Dragon breeds to spice things up a bit. A new threat to add to the danger, and Fall expected in five short turns. Help the Weyr prepare, and get the Hold ready. They’ll need everyone they can.
Southern Winds is an ever evolving Weyr that will steadily go through the discoveries that were lost during the Relocation. Don’t miss out!
Features
-- Active members, small community.
-- Training Wings open
-- Plenty of open positions
-- New positions such as Escort and Scout for Caravans
-- New threat to face, new training for Hunters
Needed Characters
-- Candidates
-- Holders
-- Crafters, of all Halls
-- Riders, of all Colors
