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History
History / Rules / Writing Guide / Writing Requirements / Persona Sheet
Cascade Sea Weyr is a mainstream Fifth Pass timeline. Much to the surprise of many and to the dismay of the unprepared dragonriders, Thread has once again begun to fall. As this is a mainstream timeline, AIVIS does exist. But we on the Southern Continent won't be finding it. It's safely buried under mountians of ash, deeper than in the Ninth Pass. And Ruth is a long way from Hatching. Join us in the Fifth Pass as the bumbling young Weyrleaders attempt to lead their weyr of reluctant heros without killing themselves or each other!
From the weyr archives...
In the third Turn after the Fourth Pass, a fungus infected over half of the grain crops in the Northern Continent. This bad grain, unsuitable for human consumption, was fed to many beasts, which then grew ill. Many herds were lost and people were hungry that winter. Many looked
hopefully towards the Southern Continent, full of bounty. In the spring, inland holders and farmers who had experienced the worst of the famine contracted ships to take them south. With small settlements sprouting up along a stretch of coastal area of the Southern Continent and moving inland, the Weyrleaders of Pern agreed the new weyr must be established in the Southern Continent to protect these new holds in the next Pass.
Several locations presented themselves as possibilities. Since most of the newly established holds were centered in an area directly south of Ista, and the weyr there could not be expected to extend its territory, a new weyr was established at the mouth of a great river, in a cliffside. See the map.
The weyr itself is located at the river's delta, directly south of Ista Island. The weyr is carved out of a cliffside, above a beach. It is crescent shaped, following the sea west and curving south along the river's mouth. There are accomodations for six hundred-fifty dragonpairs and about three hundred are now in use, most dragons under twelve Turns and only in the last Turn have there been weyrlings. The queen's weyrs are located on the ground level on either side of the Hatching Grounds, which are on the bend so as to allow the maximum amount of sunlight to warm the eggs. A few weyrs set aside for families are also on the ground
level. With fostering a grand tradition on Pern, these weyrs are usually inhabited by the rare rider with an acrophobic weyrmate. Most riders are given the weyr of their choice, so many of them empty. Each wing tends to situate their weyrs together in one area.
The Hatching Grounds are not very large and dragons attending the Hatching usually gather around the wide enterance. The entrance to the lower caverns is on the western cliff face, the weyrling barracks on the northern face. A series of caves connect the ground level- the kitchens, the queens weyrs, the barracks, the store rooms, the dining hall... The Weyrleader's Weyr is located directly above his Weyrwoman's, which is on the northern ocean side, next to the Hatching grounds. Stairs were painstakingly carved out at the rear of both weyrs, making them accessible to one another. The weyrleaders offices are located down a
tunnel off of these stairs. They are also accessible from outside. The feeding grounds are located at the top of the cliff, where beasts are kept in a large corral. It is a special day for weyrlings when they are allowed to fly up to the feeding grounds to hunt for themselves.
As Turns passed, the weyrs of the two continents grew distant. The southern weyr was less dependent upon holders to tithe. The southern weyr still Searched the Northern Continent for Candidates. Ill feelings began to ferment. Almost two hundred Turns after the retreat of Thread, with its return appearing imminent, many of the weyrs had fallen under poor leadership and mismanagement. The north applied to the south to supplement the scant tithes they received. The southern weyrleadership
lorded this over the north. To make matters worse, Thread failed to fall and the weyrs found no common ground to unite them.
The remainder of the long interval was marked by the complete communication breakdown between North and South. Over time the southern weyr, which once boasted seven queens, dwindled down to one. Only a
small fraction of the weyrs were occupied, the majority of the dragonpairs past their prime. Each new clutch of weyrling pairs was given less training than the last and deaths from poor visualizations soared. Thirty-five Turns before the next anticipated Pass, Selvi Impressed the golden hatchling Tolorth, the last daughter of the only laying queen, Bahirth. Eight Turns later, Bahirth went between with her sick, aging rider, Carynis. Distressingly, Tolorth had yet to provide the weyr with another queen. Many riders wanted to appeal to the northern weyrs for another gold, but the majority refused to acknowledge their estranged brethern. It did not help the weyr any that the Weyrleader was constantly changing, sometimes three times in a single Turn. Although her mating flights were long and high, Tolorth was still did not produce a queen egg. Many people blamed this on her rider, Selvi, who was a weak Weyrwoman in a long succession of weak Weyrwomen, never taking control of the situation.
Ten Turns before the dreaded return of the Red Star, after a particularly riotous flight, Tolorth deposited her first golden egg on the sands of the Hatching Grounds. Mavith and her rider were the pride of the weyr. Unfortunately, four Turns before Thread was due to fall, Mavith and her rider were lost when the young woman contracted firehead and died. With the Hatching weeks away, the egg-heavy Tolorth fostered Mavith's orphan clutch, including her first and only gold.
The golden Catlieth was Impressed by Kalysto, the daughter of the Masterharper of Pern. The weyr was elated. Such a woman would no doubt be a strong Weyrwoman to succeed Selvi. The weyr was doubly elated when Tolorth laid a second gold egg. Weeks later, the tiny gold Sadirith looked to Phedre.
Many riders expressed doubts about Sadirith and Phedre. Although well proportioned, the golden dragon was smaller than her bronzes. There was much fear that she would be endangered in her mating flights, that she would not produce many eggs... And her rider was the daughter of a trader caravan. She was hardly what people would look for in a queenrider. Her style of dress, her manners, her morals... what sort of person had Sadirith chosen? Would she be up to the task of aiding Kalysto in weyr management when the time came? For it was certain that Kalysto would succeed
Selvi as the Senior Weyrwoman of Cascade Sea Weyr. Kalysto was groomed as the future Weyrwoman and Phedre, the "extra" goldrider, was left alone. As soon as Sadirith was old enough to fly, the pair was more often out of the weyr thn in it. Tolorth failed to rise again...
Nearly three Turns passed by, leaving but one more before Thread will or will not put in an appearance. In late afternoon on a hot summer day, bronzes were spotted moving in on the feeding grounds. Selvi alerted Kalysto, assuming it was Catlieth who was about to rise. The two weyrwomen were not prepared to find Sadirith on the feeding grounds, Phedre willing her to leave her carcasses whole and untouched. Kalysto and Catlieth were spirited away from the weyr as the small younger queen sprang into the air, followed by numerous bronze figures. The flight was long and furious, the diminutive Sadirith much faster than her suitors and in possession of queenly stamina. At long last bronze Aith insinuated his neck about hers and in that instant A'drin became Weyrleader. Scantly a week before Sadirith would deposit her clutch on the long unused sands of the Hatching Grounds, a terrible flood inundated the weyr's lower level. As the clean-up progressed, many fervent looks were exchanged. Was this not the sort of thing portended in the records? Did the Red Star not loom closer every night? Some who had fervently believed Thread would never return began to express doubts. With the Hatching sands clean and fresh, Sadirith produced a splendid clutch of 27 eggs. They hatched in their time and now Cascade had their first weyrlings in three Turns. They've been entrusted to E'lysa and blue Serth. Though only a bluerider, E'lysa is one of the few who is actually qualified to teach the weyrlings what they need to know about being dragonriders. Catlieth rose and was caught, much to Kalysto's disappointment, by Kearith. Although he was a northern rider, J'ron had captured the young goldrider's heart and bronze Zephyrinth had lost the flight they so desperately hoped he would win. No reconciliation between the continents would come of the mating flight. But even as Catlieth's eggs lay on the sands, Kalysto made her appeal. With hopes of fostering good relations, Kalysto and Catlieth were allowed to transfer to Fort Weyr. Cascade is uncertain what sort of woman the north will agree to send to them in exchange... Sadirith once again settled onto the sands, this time with a gold egg she desperately tried to hide from all. Phedre conducted her own quiet affair with a transferred northern rider- Assistant Weyrlingmaster T'vorin. Two days before the Hatching, Thread was sighted and met over Cascade's territory. The records had not lied. Sadirith refused to leave her clutch and Selvi was forced to lead the Queen's Wing into Fall. While Phedre is no more apt to lead a wing, it was to the relief of all she and Sadirith were present to lead their wing into the next Fall. Perhaps it was a carry-over of the celebratory mood everyone found themselves in- gold Deliath had looked to Talia only the day before. Still, it will be two Turns before Talia and Deliath could join the Queen's Wing and at least three before the gold would rise and provide the weyr with yet another generation. The Weyrleaders are beginning to wonder if the north will ever send them another goldrider or will they have to call Kalysto and Catlieth back home?
Recent major events in our timeline: 1222.02.16 (February 13, 1964)- Selvi Impresses gold Tolorth
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