Post by Shori on Aug 7, 2008 23:05:22 GMT -8
Gold dragons, also called queens, are the largest dragons (38-42 meters long) and the only notable fertile females, in most traditional Weyrs. Gold dragons are by far the second rarest dragons on Pern, at just less than 1% of the population. They are dominant over all other colors; any non-gold dragon will invariably obey a queen's orders, even against the wishes of its own rider, except in the case of white dragons. Queens are incapable of digesting firestone and producing flame; however, they do fight Thread - they fly in the lowest wing, with their riders armed with specially designed flamethrowers to flame any thread missed by the above wings. An egg that is going to hatch a gold dragon is notable -- it is gold colored and larger than other eggs. A gold tends to chose a young woman that is strong willed/minded, and of a large mind that their opinion is important.
Clutches: 20 - 40 eggs though 30 is usually the largest seen
Impresses: Heterosexual women only between the ages of 16 and 22
Rises: Once a turn if the only Queen and every other turn if more than one Queen
Bronze dragons are the largest males (35-40 meters long), although they are significantly smaller than the queens. Bronzes only comprise of about 5% of all dragons. They are almost always the ones to mate with queens, as the smaller colors generally lack the stamina to chase and catch the gold dragons when they rise to mate. Due to the 5-1 bronze/gold ratio and the infrequency of gold mating flights they often mate with greens (the losers of a gold flight almost always seek a green for their needs), but their size often puts them at a disadvantage in chasing the agile smaller females. The senior bronze of a Weyr is determined through which bronze wins the mating flight of the senior gold. In canon Pern the rider of a bronze dragon is always a heterosexual male.
Rank Possible: Weyrleader, Weyrsecond, Wingleader, Wingsecond
Impresses: Heterosexual men of all ages
Brown dragons are the next largest color (30-37 meters long). About 15% of all dragons are brown. They may occasionally mate with queens, although this is rare, and becomes even more rare as the dragons increase in size; by Ramoth's time in the Ninth Pass it is unheard-of. All brownriders in the Pern novels are men, most are straight but bisexual or masculine homosexual brownriders are not rare. But it is not unknown, but still rare for females to impress a brown dragon, more oft to naught, these females are bi-sexual with a tendecy towards homosexuality or masculine homosexuals.
Ranks Possible: Wingseconds, Wingthirds, WeyrlingMaster, CandidateMaster
Impresses: Hetero/Bi men and the rare homo/bi woman
Blue dragons are the smallest males (25-32 meters long) and make up about a third (30%) of all dragons on Pern. They are nearly as agile as greens, but unlike the greens, they often have enough stamina to last for an entire Threadfall. They mate only with greens, as they are simply too small to keep up with a massive queen over a long mating flight. There are few prominent blue dragons or blueriders in the books. Some assume the position of teaching the new riders after their impression. Canon blueriders are typically masculine homosexuals, though some are bisexual or heterosexual. Female Blueriders are not uncommon and can be hetero, bi, or homo though the latter two are probably the most common.
Ranks Possible: Wingriders, WeyrlingMaster, CandidateMaster, Searchrider
Impresses: Homo/Bi/Hetero men and Bi/Homo/Hetero women
Green dragons are the smallest normal color (20-27 meters long), and make up about half of all dragons on Pern (50%). They are female, but unlike the queens, they are infertile and can produce flame. They are extremely valuable in Threadfall because of their agility, but they lack the stamina to last an entire Fall and generally fly in two or three shifts. Originally, greens Impressed to girls, however, after various natural disasters and plagues decimated Pern's population, women were needed to help repopulate the planet. Since going between during pregnancy can induce miscarriage and because removing pregnant riders from the Wings reduced the effectiveness of the Wings, it became impractical to present large numbers of women as candidates for Impression. Thus, green dragons began Impressing feminine homosexual boys; by the time of the end of the 2nd Pass female greenriders are becoming rare. By the time of Moreta in the 6th Pass female greenriders are entirely forgotten, although greens gradually begin Impressing to women again in the 9th Pass. It is now acceptable for greens to impress females.
Ranks Possible: Wingriders, Searchrider
Impresses: Homo/Bi men and Hetero/Bi/Homo women.
Rise: Up to five times a turn but most commonly three to four times
Whites are the little enigma of Dragonkind. They never show up in flitt clutches because thevery recessive traits that cause albinism were not introduced until Kitty Ping engineered the Dragons. Whites are highly selected against, and they are rarely conceived. Over the millenia, almost all Whites that have been clutched did not survive to hatchingday. Only three Whites are known to have survived, two of whom currently reside in Akum Weyr, originally from Aziel. Whites were created because of Kitty Ping making Greens infertile and Golds unable to chew. On the rare occasions that a Dragonet inherits both genes, the genome is instructed to terminate the embryo, causing stunted growth (making the Whites as small as they are), lack of color disposition (giving them their White hides), and a thick shell to develop (to prevent the Dragonet from hatching - hence why all Whites must be helped from their eggs). Additional, unintentional side-effects only add on to the strangeness of the Whites. They have shown much better memory recall than other Dragons, and are faster learners. They also have the uncanny ability of knowing when and where they are, making them expert Betweeners and the best at jumping Between times. Whites are very small, only twelve to sixteen meters in length and all have pristine white hides.
It has been shown that faint traces of the other Dragon colors can show up on the hide, making some claim that a White is a mixture of all colors, rather than a lack of any. Because they are so tiny, a White's rider must be very careful not to overwork them, as they do not have much endurance and are comparatively very fragile. Although one would think they couldn't, Whites have been known to chew firestone and flame with accuracy. When they are allowed to Threadfight, they stay to the Queen's Wing, much too delicate to fly with the more powerful fighters. They appear to Impress kind, strong candidates, as it's these types that dare to face the wrath of the Queen and smash open one of her eggs. Whites are indiscriminate on who they impress, sexuality usually doesn't matter. Whites are not known to rise, or chase, but there has been a few rare occurrences. Such occurrences are the two whites currently in residence.
It has been noted that White Females can rise, they don't do so often, and they can clutch. Their clutching capacities do not exceed Ten eggs, and those are mostly fighting dragons. So White females can clutch anywhere from 1-10 eggs. It is known that the offspring of a WhitexWhite pairing will result in color mutations. It has also been proven, that if a white female can manage to stay in the air longer then 30 mins, and the dragon that catches her is a Bronze, she can produce a Bronze hatchling. Further studies will hopefully provide whether a white... can clutch a queen.
Gender: Male and female equally
Impresses: Regardless of gender of sexuality
Clutching: Can clutch but rarely. Rises ever three turns and not every Flight results in a clutch. 1-10 eggs. 5 the norm.
These are a rather startling new discovery for the dragon world. Probably will be for many turns and centuries of turns to come. Like Celestials and Eclipses these dragons where introduced in the first double white flight known in the history of Pern. White Hopeth and White Yaasith are the creators of the clutch that first turned out the Lunar dragon. Lunars are sometimes considered to be a metallic white, but they are far from such assumptions. There hides usually tend to be a milky white to a pure and solid white. They have shadowing of silver that dance all along the undersides of their wings. This silver can be anywhere from a bright almost white silver to a dark gray silver. Their silver shadings are best seen when they flare out their wings. Built more apparently delicate and slim then golds, a Lunar has a figure that is slim but you would be surprised at how strong one of them can be. Their wings are larger, adding to their flight capacity and their ability to maneuver in the air. The manner of a Lunar seems like a rapidly mixed version of a gold and a white. They have all the wisdom and intelligence of a white, and their smooth ability to solve problems. Yet they have all the commanding air of a gold, without all the aggressive draw backs. The only time they get aggressive is in the protection of their bonded. They are good at peace making, but seem rather slow to take up on their threats. They are apparently the more mellow of the mutations.
Ranks Possible: Wingriders
Impresses: Unknown. First Impression to a heterosexual woman.
Rise: Unknown
What you really notice about the Eclipse is their size. These males can reach the size of a Queen although their bodies are more slender then the Golds and their Bronze counterparts. Normally, the Eclipse can range from 37 feet to 42 meters, but they can be smaller or larger then the estimated range. It is possible for an Eclipse to grow larger then a Queen, but this possibility is rarely seen. With the help of his almost pure black hide, an Eclipse will appear larger then he actually is, a lurking shadow in the bright sun. Along with its size and the obvious fact that it are Bronze mutations, the Eclipse has the endurance that could surpass a Queen if properly used. Eclipses are named for their extremely dark black hide, and stripes (or swirls) of purple either mar or compliment the dark hide depending on other opinions. The purple coloration can range from very dark to medium, but it is never a bright shade. The underside of an Eclipse's wings are not black as one would expect, but the same shade of purple that ranges across the dragon's body. Despite the differences in body shape and color, an Eclipse would be considered a normal male except for one strange difference. An Eclipse sports a strange mane-like growth that starts at the head of the beast and slowly fades away before finally disappearing at two-thirds down the neck. No one knows what this anomaly is, and since it appears useless, no one really cares.
As for the mindset of an Eclipse, these males are basically Bronzes in temperament except for a few things. A normal Eclipse is very possessive of his mate (if he manages to get one that is) and any Queen in the Weyr. If any male, from Brown on up, gives any special attention towards a female mated to an Eclipse, the male with become very agitated and warn the offending male to leave, but the Eclipse will never go as far as to physically attack another dragon. Instead, he might give a warning strike, but he never intends to harm the male, just get him to leave. When it comes to the Queens, Eclipses are more subtle in warning other males to back off. He don't want to affront the Queen by sending away her possible mates, but the male also doesn't want his chances for breeding with her ruined by the off-chance that she would prefer a different male. The Eclipse also has an enhanced intelligence because of the pairing between White Hopeth and White Yassith, but it will never be as great as the Lunar and White dragons.
Ranks Possible: Weyrleader, Weyrsecond, Wingleader, Wingsecond, Wingrider
Impresses: Unknown. First Impression to a heterosexual man.
For the most part, celestials are typical blues. Usually born smaller than their near-twins, they can range anywhere in size from a large green to a small blue - though as they become more common their sizes will probably start to range from a medium green to a medium blue. Celestials are always female, something that doesn't seem to quite fir their color. Barring anything but that base color, celestials are a dark blue - anything from a dusky gray-blue to a vibrant shade of navy. They will never be anything lighter than a medium blue, though even that light of a shade will be rare. What makes these dragons different from their blue brothers is their extra bit of color. In addition to being blue, celestials have added silver markings. These markings tend to visualize in swirls and loops, mostly in lines of varying thickness, though a spattering of spots is not completely unheard of. Sometimes these markings are patterned and sometimes they are random. The silver is always a similar shade from dragon to dragon, always light. It can be gray-silver, white-silver or just plain silver, but it is always pale with a very slight sheen.
Their body structure is similar to a blue, sharing the stocky bodies with more power than greens, possessing a larger wingspan. And yet they have traces of femininity to them to remind everyone that they are truly females. Celestials carry themselves with a grace that has never been seen in male dragons, are breath-taking in their flight, and having a rounder body shape than blues have. They usually have delicate necks that are just a smidge longer than normal, adding to that natural grace they have. Celestials are like a calm green or a wild blue - usually a pleasant mix of their two closest sizes. Probably due to their gender, these dragons tend to be mysterious and yet occasionally playful. Ranging on the quiet side, they will more often choose to watch a fight take place than to get involved in it. It's not that they lean towards pacifism, they just have their own way of solving problems. Watching the world with a seemingly all-knowing smile, only their riders will ever know what's going on in the mind of a celestial.
Ranks Possible: Wingrider, Searchrider
Impresses: Unknown. First Impression to a heterosexual woman.
