Setting, Selenitas/Inverness

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Pern, 3023
Map by Ruby, updated by Ember

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Selenitas Weyr

Climate

Selenitas weyr is built inside a hollowed out mountain and at the mountain's base sprawls a very thick and lush jungle.

As such the climate in the area around the weyr is predominately tropical with very hot humid summers and mildly cool rainy winters. In the dead of winter freezes are rare but do happen on the rare occasion. In the highest parts of the mountain range, Selenitas is based in, it does snow on a fairly regular basis. But for the most part Selenitas seems to have two seasons.

The entirety of the weyr is nicely thermo-regulated due to it basically being one gigantic cave. The weyr interior stays pleasantly cool in the summers and holds warmth in the winters so residents should be subjected to little in the way of extreme temperatures while actually inside the weyr. Outside in the jungles and mountains surrounding it however it is obviously a different story.

Layout

Easily twice the size of the Old Selenitas on the interior, New Selenitas/Burimyu is a very large Weyr. The whole weyr exists inside the base of a mountain, in an enormous, hollow cavern created by endless dripping water. The form of the weyr's living spaces is four stacked concentric circles, surrounding the cavernous weyr bowl, with the largest ring on top.

Currently the top three rings of the weyr are in use. The bottom-most, unexplored underground ring (the fourth ring) can only be entered through the extensive library on the third ring directly above it. It is smallest and lowest of the rings and actually travels underneath the weyrbowl, being totally subterranean save for it's entrance.

The Hatching Caverns and Weyrling barracks are located on the ring directly above the subterranean ring, like the library. This third ring is level with the floor of the weyrbowl as are the weyrfolk apartments, the kitchens, main hall, and store rooms. These are all located on the ground floor ring, very close to the human entrance to the outside, where tithe caravans and the like would pull in. The wherhandler apartments are located on an off shoot from the weyrfolk apartments on the ground floor third ring.

The rider weyrs make up the entirety of the topmost first ring and more weyrs, and the candidate barracks are located on the second ring. Making those two rings mainly solely living quarters.

It’s entrances and exists hidden by dense foliage, New Selenitas/Burimyu is nearly impossible to see from the sky; only a carefully trained eye can spot anything out of the ordinary. The ground-level entrance, for use by those on foot, is a short, wide tunnel (big enough to drive a single wagon through) that connects to the main ring directly opposite the waterfall. Dragons enter and exit via several twisting tubes that lead from the ceiling of the weyr bowl cavern to the outside a few dragon-lengths up the mountain from the ground entrance; the area around the tunnel entrances is terraced, making perfect ledges where dragons can socialize and sun, although trees and foliage can grow to obscure the ledges the dragons do not use often for sunning.

The inside of the weyr is all perfectly smooth walls: it’s clearly from a day and age when stone carving was a much easier craft. The main parts of the weyr are all smooth and well-finished, despite the confusing layout, but those who follow old abandoned paths far enough might eventually run across more cave-like areas beyond the weyr's actual rooms.

The rider weyrs overlook a fairly sizeable waterfall, which flows from deep within the mountain, cascading down the giant steps made by the stacked rings to pool in a lake that takes up the center of the weyrbowl.

Even the main areas of the weyr are hard to navigate if unfamiliar, though, and it is advised that people new to the weyr get a ‘buddy’ to move with them everywhere – just to avoid getting lost. This is intentional, as the weyr is meant to be easily defensible, and confused enemies are easier to kill. Tangled networks of streams extend from the waterfall and lake in the bowl and pass out through underground pathways deep in the stone, eventually flowing from the mountains and out to join streams that lead to Blossom Lake. There are also numerous mini falls within the Weyr, (in addition to the main central one), giving it a permanently wild appearance.

Lighting comes in the form of a type of glowing fungus similar to what is used in glowbaskets, as well as in 'skylights' of a type where the dragon exits let sun and moonlight filter into the weyr bowl interior.

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Inverness Weyr

Climate

Inverness weyr is built inside the cater of a large dead volcano in the very same massive mountain range in which Telgar weyr also was built.

Being far North the climate in the area around the weyr is predominately very cold. However unlike the south the north seems to have four distinct seasons instead of just two.

As can be expected the winters there are bitter cold and though it often snows in the surrounding areas, the weyr itself doesn’t get as much snow as one might expect. Probably because of the closeness of the surrounding mountains and how the weather patterns are arranged around them. Make no mistake, the weyr still gets it’s fair share of snow and ice but the majority of the really bad storms rage at much lower altitudes in the valleys surrounding the weyr.

With spring comes the thaw and it is at this time where the surrounding areas are arguably the most dangerous. Mostly due to the massive snow melt the area has each year. The rivers, streams, and weyrbowl lake all swell to large sizes and rock and mud slides due to the softening ground are a little more common in the surrounding mountains. The temperature rises slowly but steadily and, though one might still need a jacket, spring is pleasant enough. After the majority of the thaw has passed it might even be described as beautiful given the amount of emerging plant and animal life in the area.

Summers here rarely, if ever get too hot, and though they seem rather short it is arguably the most comfortable time of the year. The temperature rarely creeps over 85 (30) degrees and with the lakes, streams, and rivers having shrunken down from the snow melt it is the season where it is most comfortable to be outdoors and exploring. Most of the wild flowers in the mountains and valleys bloom at this time as well leaving the area fragrant and full of life. Most gathers in the north happen around this time due to the pleasant and stable temperatures.

Autumn is arguably the most beautiful seasons in the north. Though the temperatures are starting to drop back down in preparation for the winter they are not so cold as to be uncomfortable. It is not the temperature but the change in the foliage around the area that is remarkable however. Most of the trees in the area, save the pines, are aflame with leaves of bright red, orange, and gold. The scenery at this time is well worth traveling to see and in fact many people do. Towards the end of the fall however one is advised not to travel too far out lest they become trapped in a sudden winter storm.

The temperature in the weyrbowl tends to stay fairly constant depending on the weather outside. When the sun is shining the rocky areas of the weyr, especially the dragon ledges which are made of obsidian and absorb the sun’s rays, warm up very quickly. This allows dragons to bask even in the dead of winter as long as the sun is shining. All weyrs have two fireplaces for the cold weather, one in the main bedroom and the other in the large living area. The entrance from ledge to dragon area can be covered by a thick curtain of leather or hide to keep the elements out. The weyrs warm up quickly and it is fairly easy to regulate the temperatures as long as one keeps a fire lit. In the summer and spring the shadowed stone hallways remain a cool and pleasant temperature, although furs may still need to be used on the more chilly nights.

Layout

Although it is not as large as New Selenitas/Burimyu, Inverness is nevertheless a large Weyr. The weyr exists inside the crater of a large dead volcano. The form of the weyr's living spaces is similar to that of any other weyr built in the north. In fact beside its newness there is little that distinguishes it from the rest of them.

The rider weyrs are spaced evenly along the interior of the volcano, with the larger weyrs located on the east side near the hatching sands and the smaller weyrs on the west side near the weyrling barracks. Each weyr has a dragon ledge made of obsidian jutting out from each one. The largest of the weyrs could easily house a pair of dragons and their human family, but the weyr contains mostly the single units made for one dragon and rider pair. Accessible by weyrledge or staircase, stone couches, running water and private bathing rooms can be found in each weyr, along with any other furnishings its occupant may choose. Hallways and staircases connect the weyrs to each other and to the weyrbowl below.

The Hatching Cavern is located atop a high, broad ledge accessible from the ground only via a long, winding staircase that steams from the craters bottom, the hatching sands mark the easternmost point of Inverness Weyr. The weyrling barracks are located low on the eastern side of the canyon next to the Hatching Cavern to make the trip from Cavern to barracks easy for the newly hatched and impressed.

When a prospective dragon rider is brought to the Weyr, they take up residence in the Candidate barracks on the lower south side of the crater. Also on the south side of the weyr are the Kitchens, Great Hall, and Store rooms.

On the western side of the crater lies the weyrfolk apartments, the crèche and the library.

The ground entrance and exit to the weyr is one single tunnel wide enough for two bronzes to walk side by side though and it lies on the south side of the crater. A worn and winding road leads from the base of the mountain and up into the tunnel and the weyr. It is common for tithe caravans to be greeted by a blue or green rider at the base of the mountain and chaperoned up the road to the weyr, simply for safety reasons.

On the rim of the volcanic weyr, one at each compass point, stands large stone obelisks where the watch dragons sit. Two watch dragons are on duty at all hours of the day and night. The dragons either perch on the north and south and east and west stones.

The inside of the weyr is quite open and spacious, even if the walls are rather rough. The main parts of the weyr are all tastefully decorated and well-finished. And unlike the southern weyr the layout of this weyr is easy to memorize and even easier to navigate.

The rider weyrs overlook the large weyrbowl with it’s sizeable lake, training grounds, feeding pens, and stables. The sunsets and sunrises over the edge of the crater are marvelous. The large lake nearly in the center of the bowl is fed by the rain and melted snow that runs from the mountains and down the crater’s side into the deep water filled depression. The water is rich in minerals from the surrounding rocks and is mildly salty making the water very buoyant. The temperature of the water is always pleasantly warm like bathwater because of the still lava flowing deep beneath the rock at the lake’s bottom. Steam can often be seen rising from the when the weather turns chilly.

Lighting for the weyr comes in the form of glowbaskets which are hung throughout the weyr and changed frequently to keep their brightness. (Candidates and weyrlings are often given this chore) Also by fires which can be found in the many hearths about the weyr. Fires also blaze often in the weyrbowl itself, in the form of fire pits that are used for both recreational purposes and food preparation.