Topic: Guide to the Pernese Dragon (Read 177 times)
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Guide to the Pernese Dragon « Thread Started on Jun 22, 2009, 5:54pm »
Dragons: Basic Anatomy Dragons come in five colors: Gold, bronze, brown, blue, and green. Golds and greens are female, while bronzes, browns, and blues are male, with golds (also known as queens) being the largest at 42 feet when full grown, while greens are considered big at 25 feet when full grown. Beyond their varying sizes, dragons are otherwise much the same where conformation is concerned.
Their heads have a primarily equine appearance, with a more or less straight line from forehead to tip of muzzle, which is triangular, and more pointed than that of their firelizard cousins. Their eyes are famed for being multi-faceted, protruding slightly; these whirl and change colors to display the dragon’s emotions, and are protected by eye ridges – bones that grow in a kind of trapezoid-shape above the eye, with the eye being at the base of the trapezoid – and three layers of eyelids, though they lack eyelashes. Dragons are known for their sharp sight, and a dragon and Rider pair is usually able to ‘borrow’ the other’s eyes and see what the other is seeing, even if they’re not together at the time. Head knobs grow backwards from their skull, ending in a bulb, which assists the dragon’s telepathic abilities; just under these, they have a hole that serves as their ear. When full grown, dragons will have 48 teeth; the front teeth are for tearing meat and hunting, while the molars in the back serve for grinding firestone.
Eye Color/Mood correlation is as follows:
Blue or green: Contentment; sleepiness; happiness Yellow: Fear Reddish yellow: Battle Red/orange: Anger Red: Hunger Purple: Lust; love White: Danger Gray: Pain; death
Dragons’ hides are not scaly; rather, they resemble leather in that they are supple, and require oiling to keep the hide from cracking, a potentially fatal condition if the dragon were to go between. As the dragon finishes growing, oiling can become less frequent, but is still encouraged. The hides also relay how healthy a dragon is: A dragon with a noticeable gleam, or glow, to his or her hide, or if the hide is a very bright color, is usually healthy, while a sick or distressed dragon’s hide will show tinges of gray, become lackluster, and, in extreme cases, feel chalky to the touch. Female dragons also tend to ‘glow’ before they’re due to Rise. As dragons age, their hides will change color: Bronzes tend towards brown, while golds tend towards bronze, etc. Dragons come in all shades of their color (i.e. a green dragon can be pale to the point of white, or dark enough to pass for black, or anywhere in between), and can even have markings unique to them (including, but not limited to, stripes, splashes, freckles).
With bones made stronger than that of an average human in order to stand the strain of flight, dragons have ball-and-socket joints, which makes dislocation much less likely. They have ten vertebra in their necks, and fifty-six in the back and tail; along their spine, starting at just behind their head knobs, dragons have a row of neck ridges, which continue down to their tail, which ends in a forked tip. Dragons do not have blood; rather, they have ichor, which is copper-based and is green in coloration. Thus, their mouth and tongues, which lacks pigmentation, are always green due to the ichor, while their muscles are a shiny, silvery-green color.
The hind legs of a dragon are almost always stronger than their front for power during take-off, while the front legs are rarely used and a good deal shorter than the hind legs, making for a lopsided gait while walking. The back legs of dragons have three claws, which are not retractable, while their front paws have five claws – which are retractable. Their foreclaws can grasp things as a human can.
Wings are built with bones similar to that of mammals. Three main ‘fingers’ are visible, but this is because the first and middle ‘finger’ have been fused together for greater strength during flight, while a smaller ‘finger joint’ is also visible. Membrane is stretched between the finger joint and the shoulder, too, called the ‘leading edge’ of the wing, while the wing ends near the base of the dragon’s tail for stability, called the ‘trailing edge’. A dragon’s wings are usually very large in order to support their weight, but can be folded along the dragon’s back so that they don’t get in the way.
Dragons’ internal organs, too, are not the same as humans: They have two stomachs. The first is used to digest food normally, while the second is used to produce flame once firestone is chewed. Dragons also have several hearts, placed, like humans’, in their ribcages. With lungs that are dorsally placed, dragons can hold their breaths for up to ten minutes, and when their lungs are fully inflated, the chests of dragons can inflate to almost twice their normal size.
Feeding Habits Dragons’ feeding habits are usually very simple. As a Weyrling, dragons eat voraciously, often demanding to be fed six or seven times a day, though the meals they require are small, and usually will require for their Bonded to cut the meat into chunks that they can manage to swallow. As they mature, dragons will eat less and less often; a full adult dragon will often eat only once a sevenday, and then eat lightly. Younger dragons are prone to gorging – a bad habit, since it invites their hide to crack from overeating, especially if they’re not oiled regularly; if a dragon gorges, their Bonded is required to prevent gorging, limiting them to only what is necessary to take away hunger pangs. Dragons are typically very messy eaters, though occasionally there are fussy, neat dragons; it simply depends on the dragon, but often, the Rider will end up having to bathe and oil a dragon directly after feeding.
Dragons are carnivores; they feed primarily on herdbeasts, the equivalent to a Terran cow. Runners (a Terran horse) is also not out of the question, and when dragons ‘hunt out’, wherries, an indigenous, six-limbed creature that somewhat resembles a Terran turkey, are often taken down as well. Hunting out is encouraged in the Weyr, as it doesn’t deplete the Weyr’s resources. To ‘hunt out’ simply means to take the dragon outside of the main Feeding Grounds, to plains, or wherever else wild animals may be found, and allowing the dragon to hunt for himself. This usually only works for fully mature dragons, however, capable of flying their Riders around. Dragons are not encouraged to go between, for meat can sour in their stomachs in between, causing sickness and discomfort in the dragon.
Capable of holding their excreta for up to five days at a time in case, for whatever reason, a dragon is unable to go between, where waste is typically released, dragons, once taught how to go between, rarely require to be cleaned up after – though they do throw up firestone after the gases have been used, there is a firestone pit, which serves for this purpose. However, if a dragon cannot go between to release waste, they will eventually go where they must, and in such a case, their Riders will be expected to clean up for them. Weyrling dragons, especially, will depend on their Riders to clean up after them, since they are not allowed between in order to release waste.
Flights and Hatchings Though both golds and greens Rise, greens, who were genetically modified to be sterile so that they could chew firestone, serving as a major part of Threadfighting wings, cannot clutch. This leaves golds (who take up less than 1% of the entire dragon population) as the only ones capable of clutching. Because of their difference in sizing, their flights, too, are very different, though the preliminaries are much the same. Most, but not all, females start to act ‘proddy’ before they Rise. The term ‘proddy’ dictates a change in behavior, be it for the worse or for the better; as a rough rule, they’re liable to be more sensitive, preen, care about what males think more, and their emotions may bleed over into their Bonded. They also begin to glow before their Flight, something of a beacon to let the males know that they are, indeed, soon to Rise, and to prepare duly.
Flights for both of the female colors will result in their Riders sleeping with somebody at the end as a result of what is typically called “Flightlust”; the dragon’s lust is so great that in Flights, Riders may actually think themselves as being in the air with their mounts, though fortunately, most are aware that it’s necessary to make it to the Flightrooms before the lust fully takes them. The one who Rides the dragon who wins the Flight will almost invariably be the one who sleeps with the green or gold’s Rider, unless something prevents the two from reaching each other, whereupon they – along with the losers of the Flight – will take another person, often without regard to whether or not the person is interested at all in them, called a Flightmoth.
Green Risings never ‘force’ any males into Chasing them; blues and browns are their typical mates due to their small size, but it’s not unheard of for a bronze to Catch them. Greenflights are usually short and fast, with the green’s focus being on agility, since that is, most of the time, the green’s strongest point. Very often, greens will use the landscape around them as obstacle courses around which they base their Flight, be it the waterfall, the jungle, or the Weyr itself. Seeing another green Rise doesn’t seem to make the greens around them interested in Rising, fortunately, and since greens’ Flights are so short, they never seen to overlap each other; each green seems to be able to wait till the Flight before them has finished before they go up.
Goldflights are unique in that bronzes who are at the Weyr when she begins to show signs of Rising will often refuse to leave, which means that if a bronze rider didn’t want to take part in the Flight, he would have to take his dragon away a time before. Once a bronze bloods (and they do so before the queen Flies, usually, though occasionally they do it at the beginning of the Flight), they will often refuse to leave the queen. Golds will often sleep before they Rise; when they wake, they will wake up hungry, and will attack the Weyr’s herdbeasts: Her Rider must keep her from gorging on the meat, insisting instead that her queen ‘blood her kill’ – to give her the strength to fly hard and fast. When a queen Flies, her emotions are broadcasted widely, and, if there is another gold within the range, she may Fly, regardless of whether or not her biological clock agrees; this will almost certainly result in a fight between the two, since queens are very possessive and may consider the bronzes and browns in their Flight to be ‘theirs’. Queenflights are usually based on stamina, the gold pushing her males to their limit before she chooses the best one, since queens are usually too big to manage any aerial maneuvers. Because it’s based on stamina, bronzes are usually the ones to catch a gold, since they’re bigger than browns are, and therefore have much more endurance. Goldflights always result in clutches.
Once eggheavy, queens cannot go between, or even fly after a decent amount of time has passed. She will clutch on the Hatching Sands three months after her Flight – which is in a stadium-type cavern, with Stands surrounding the Sands where spectators may watch the Hatching; sands heated almost to burning spreads in the center, making the entire place almost unbearably hot – but this is exactly the type of environment necessary for dragon eggs to Hatch. Once a gold has laid her clutch, she and, often, her mate, will guard the eggs viciously, protecting the clutch day and night. There are only two times when a queen will let people she’s not familiar and comfortable with near her eggs: the Touching, and the Hatching. The Touching is simply that: When Candidates are invited to approach the clutch, get used to the idea of a dragonet being inside each one. They will often be required to bow and ask permission from the queen, who is allowed to throw a Candidate off of the Sands.
On the day of the Hatching, which usually takes place five sevendays after the clutch has been laid, many ranking Holders will gather in the Stands, and it’s likely that the queen will be very agitated, even when Candidates are assembled in a semi-circle around the eggs. If there is a queen egg (notable for its gold coloring: While the other eggs are colored and even have designs and patterns of their own, a gold egg will receive special treatment), female Candidates will be arranged around that instead of the main clutch. Once a dragon Hatches, the first thing on its mind will be to find its Bonded, and then to find food. Occasionally, a frightened Hatchling may maul a Candidate, though deaths are very rare and Healers are on hand to take care of injuries, before it finds its Bonded, contacting them mentally, usually in a demand for food. This link is irrevocable: Once a dragon claims a Candidate, they become a Weyrlingpair.
Weyrling Dragons Hatchling dragons who have paired off with their lifemates are called “Weyrlings” – their Riders known as ‘Weyrlingriders’, or ‘Weyrlings’ as well. When they emerge, there is a notable size difference between the colors, and as they grow, this will become even more noticeable. At two months of age, greens usually range from 9-12 feet; blues 12-14; browns 14-15; bronzes 15-16, and golds 16-19. At four months, greens are 12-15 feet; blues 15-18; browns 18-21; bronzes 21-22; and golds 22-24 feet. At six, greens are 15-19; blues 19-23; browns 23-27; bronzes 27-28; and golds 28-31. At twelve, greens 18-23; blues 23-28; browns 28-33; bronzes 33-35; golds 35-39. They reach full growth by graduation, sixteen months, with greens averaging at 20-25 feet; blues 25-30; browns 30-35; bronzes 35-38; and golds topping them out at 38-42 feet in length.
Due to their extraordinary rate of growth, dragon hatchlings must be bathed and oiled daily, especially considering their tendency to gorge on whatever food they can – they have very little self-control, and their Riders must be able to control them as far as feeding goes, and must cut meat into chunks small enough for their dragons to consume while they cannot rip and catch their own food; this will be taught to them in Weyrling Lessons.
Also taught in Weyrling Lessons is the rules that Weyrling dragon and rider pairs are expected to abide by – a dragonrider and his mount will be in charge of these lessons. Called “Weyrlingmasters”, a Weyrlingmaster is in charge of a Weyrling class; a class is made up of those who Impressed at the same Hatching. Occasionally, a Weyrlingmaster may have to take on more than one class at a time, but usually there is only one to focus on at a time. He, or she, is in charge of making sure none of his Weyrlings get hurt, and will issue punishment as necessary; he or she is also the one who will decide whether or not a Weyrling pair passes lessons and graduates to become a full Rider; missing lessons repeatedly will result in failure, and being forced to retake the entire course with a Junior Weyrling class. Weyrling Lessons will be where dragons are taught how to fly, how to between, how to make straps, and both physically and mentally prepared for the strain of their upcoming responsibilities.
Weyrling dragons are both emotionally and physically depend on their Bonded – more so than a full-grown dragon; if for a moment they think that their Bonded no longer wants them, or loves another more than they, they are likely to panic; for this reason, Impressing Salamandyrs is prohibited among Candidates and Weyrlings both, and having sex while a Weyrling dragon is not mature is also prohibited: The attention being taken so completely away from a dragon (who, as a Weyrling, should be the center of their Rider’s focus at all times) may very well traumatize the hatchling, until they’re mentally mature enough to handle it at ten months of age.
Though they do not graduate until they’re sixteen months old, Weyrlings start to Rise and Chase as they pass their first Turn (twelve months), though some golds and greens have been known to be incredibly late Risers. Weyrling riders are encouraged to have lost their virginity before their dragon Chases or Rises for the first time, or the experience will usually (but not always) be a frightening, violent one, as well as extremely awkward – and that’s not fair to the dragon, since their maiden Flight or first time Chasing should be cause for celebration or congratulations. Graduating is another major milestone, and afterwards, the Weyrlings will be placed on wings. Usually, newly-graduated Weyrlings are placed on the Queens’ Wing, as it is low-altitude, making the risk of getting Scored or hurt lower, until they are deemed ready to move onto a high-altitude wing.
Abilities: Telepathy, Firestone, and Between Dragons are well-known for many of their abilities. These include their mental connection to their Riders, the ability of telepathy, producing flame after chewing firestone, going between places instantaneously, and telekinesis and ‘timing it’ – going between times. The last two – telekinesis and ‘timing it’ are not canon to Selenitas, and will not be played at all unless an admin gives specific permission – this will usually be for a plot, and in such a case, it’s more likely that you will be asked to have your selected pair do ether of the two.
Mental and emotional connections to their Riders occurs at the moment of Impression – at their Hatching. If dragons do not find an acceptable Candidate to Bond with, they will sometimes pick someone out of the Stands, and if they still cannot find someone that pleases them, they will suicide – dragons cannot live without Riders. Dragon and Rider pairs can communicate mentally, and their emotions will usually have some effect on the other. If a Rider dies, a dragon will automatically suicide; if a dragon dies and the Rider, for whatever reason, is still alive, they are capable of surviving past their dragon’s death, but the emotional blow is the equivalent of being literally ripped in two: Many ex-Riders prefer suicide to living without their mindmate. Dragons’ love for their Riders are completely wholehearted, unconditional, constant, even if they might argue.
Further, they are capable of telepathy – communicating to almost any creature they desire, be it a human that is not their Rider, another dragon, firelizard or wher. Usually, dragons are not fond of contacting other humans or whers; the former would typically only occur in an emergency, or if the dragon becomes exceptionally fond of said human, or if their Rider is fond of them; the latter is even rarer, since dragons are not fond of their nocturnal cousins as a general rule and tend to avoid contacting them if they can manage it. They are capable of sending images of what they see, broadcasting to a general area, and giving other dragons ‘coordinates’ to between to.
The ability of ‘belching’ flame depends on two things: Firestone, a phosphine-bearing rock, and the fact that dragons have a second stomach. When a dragon swallows firestone after grinding it between their back molars, a gaseous flame is created; upon ‘belching’, flames emerge – and, flame being one of the few things that destroys Thread, this makes them very well suited to fighting Thread. However, on the downside, firestone can not be digested normally, and must be regurgitated afterwards – which can prove to be very messy indeed if the dragon does not make it to the firestone pit to regurgitate said ‘stone.
Dragons also have the innate ability to go between places instantly. Between is basically nowhere – there is nothing to see, smell, hear, feel, or taste, only complete and total darkness. Going between is very dangerous, though; it’s possible that if the coordinates given to the dragon are not good enough, a Rider and dragon pair, as well as anyone with them, will be permanently lost between. However, provided that the pair has trained well, going between can prove to be invaluable – to avoid Thread, to provide instant transportation, etc. Going between comes naturally to dragons, but due to the danger of doing so, they are prevented from doing so until they’re fifteen months or so of age.
Avu Administrator Master of the Jars and Nets member is offline
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Re: Guide to the Pernese Dragon « Reply #1 on Jun 22, 2009, 5:55pm »
Dragons: Color Specifics Golds/Queens: Pern’s largest and rarest dragons, queens take up less than 1% of the total dragon population at any given time, and, when full grown, range from 38-42 feet in length on average. Golds have the ability to order other dragons to do anything that they wish – and will always be obeyed, regardless of whether or not the other dragon’s rider agrees with the command or not. Dragons forced to obey a queen’s wishes can come from a different Weyr, or be older than the gold in question – regardless, they absolutely must obey. Queens, due to the fact that they’re incapable of digesting firestone, must fly on a lower level “queens’ wing,” with their Riders using flamethrowers to take care of Thread. The eggs from which gold queens Hatch are notable because of the fact that they’re very, very much bigger than the other eggs in a clutch, and usually gold in coloration – which often means that it will receive special treatment from the clutchmother, due to the rarity of gold eggs.
Queens always Impress to heterosexual women, and it’s been vaguely suggested that queens prefer Hold or Craftbred women over Weyrbred, though whether or not it’s true is uncertain. A queen’s rider will often take up the position of Senior or Junior Weyrwoman; the Rider of the oldest, still-fertile queen in the Weyr will be known as the Senior Weyrwoman and in charge of, along with the Weyrleader (who is the Rider of the queen’s most recent mate), the entire Weyr. The Junior Weyrwomen are the Riders of the younger queens, and when the Senior Weyrwoman resigns, or when her gold stops Rising to mate due to age, the next oldest will take over, and so on and so forth.
Bronzes: Bronzes make up about 5% of the population of all dragons. These large males, who, at full growth, reach just under a queen’s size, at 35-38 feet in length on average, are definitely impressive creatures. Their size grants them endurance, though their agility is very lacking usually. Due to the fact that they are usually the only color who can keep up with a queen, bronzes are the typical mates to a queen. Due to the bronze/gold ratio, however, many bronzes also pursue greens, though their size and lack of agility puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to the smaller females. Capable of chewing firestone and belching flame, bronzes usually display leader-like qualities and are, therefore, chosen for the positions of Wingleader and ‘second.
Always, bronzes Impress to heterosexual males. These males typically have some leader-like or king-like qualities, even if they are hidden – arrogant and charismatic are two qualities that are often associated with bronzeriders. Bronzeriders usually occupy the position of Senior and Junior Weyrleaders. The Senior Weyrleader is the man whose dragon Catches the Senior queen, and, because of the fickle nature of some queens, this means the position can change every time she Rises to mate. However, it is typical for a Wingleading bronze to have a better chance at Catching the Senior queen than any other. Likewise, the Junior Weyrleader(s) position is taken by the man whose dragon Catches the Junior queen in her Flight.
Browns: Brown dragons are, size-wise, squarely in the middle. Full-grown, these males, who take up about 15% of the dragon population, range from 30-35 feet in length. They’re basically an all-around dragon: While blues and greens are made for agility, and queens and bronzes for stamina, browns have the best of both worlds, being able to oftentimes keep up in both green and queen Flights. It is, therefore, not unheard of for a brown to Catch a queen, though it is rare – they’re notably smaller in proportion to said queens. Browns occasionally occupy Wingsecond positions, and seem typically content to reside below bronzes as far as hierarchy goes. Capable of producing flame upon ingesting firestone, browns are invaluable in Threadfall, being small enough to avoid Thread easily, and big enough not to be switched in and out of the wing due to lack of stamina – usually.
Browns seem to prefer males, and most brownriders tend to be heterosexual or bisexual, though it’s not unheard of for a masculine homosexual man to Impress to a brown as well; they’re not nearly as picky as bronzes, considering that masculine women can Impress a brown as well, though this is incredibly rare.
Blues: The smallest of the male dragons, blues, when full-grown, average out from 25-30 feet in length. Extremely common, blues take up a good 30% of the dragon population, and are the only males who cannot mate with queens due to the fact that they simply lack the endurance necessary to keep up with the golds. Instead, they mate solely with greens, being able to match their agility easily; indeed, blues are known for their being slender and graceful, though this is a stereotype, and bulkier blues have been known. Blues will rarely, if ever, assume the positions of Wingsecond or Leader, since they’re small enough that some of them will not be able to last a six-hour Threadfall and must be rotated out, though due to their numbers, they play a major part in fighting said Thread.
Blue dragons typically Impress to males – of any orientation; they’re not picky, and homosexual, bisexual, and heterosexual men will all have a chance at Impressing them – but it’s not unheard of for a female – again, of any orientation – to Impress blue. Heterosexual female blueriders are not uncommon, though they do seem to tend towards men.
Greens: The smallest of the five colors, greens at their full growth usually range from 20-25 feet in length, though it’s not unheard of for greens to be bigger or smaller. These small females take up all of 50% of the dragon population, but (fortunately) are infertile, unable to lay eggs. It is theorized that greens are rendered infertile by firestone, which they can chew and use to produce flame, but in reality, they were genetically modified to be incapable of clutching – the reason why green firelizards can clutch, but dragons cannot. Due to their size, and the fact that their strength typically lies in agility, greens will never be able to hold any ranking positions in the wings because they cannot last a full Threadfall; they usually have rotations, two to three per Threadfall, as not to exhaust any of the dragons.
Greens, given the choice, seem to prefer Impressing to girls – of any sexual orientation. However, males are not out of the question, especially bisexual or homosexual males. Personality doesn’t seem to matter in the least to greens, varied as they themselves are.
The leaves are changing colors, through shades of red, yellow, orange and brown and that can mean only one thing: it's Fall. With the changing of the seasons comes a Gather from Blossom Hold that you're sure to remember - and everyone is welcome to attend!
Memorable Occasions
Let's get ready to rock and roll~ Those thirteen eggs on the Sands have begun to hatch and it's time for all of our candidates to frantically scramble find their way to the Hatching Grounds if they want to Impress!
Rumor has it...
... that there's a new clutch coming soon that may or may not spit out little wormthings. Or maybe it'll spit out some of the flying monsters. Who knows.
Death in the Water!
The river was poisoned with fellis, with catastrophic results: countless are dead, both of the pet variation and dragons alike, and no one's quite sure what happened or who did it. The only person who could've told anyone seems to have amnesia - who's attacking Selenitas now?
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