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.
