Post by Kitsuneko on May 30, 2012 22:38:09 GMT -5
To the person Impressing, becoming a dragonrider is still as special an event as ever, and dragonriders still command some respect, though nowhere near the amount given when Thread was still falling. Regardless of their origins prior to Impressing, upon becoming a weyrling, the new rider is shown how to feed and clean their dragon directly after the hatching, and then sent to the weyrling barracks, where they will live and learn for the next twelve to fifteen months before moving into their own private weyrs.
Large clutches are taught together as one class, but multiple clutches of ten eggs or less tend to be grouped together for lessons even if they were hatched two or three months apart. There will typically be no more than four separate weyrling classes put together for each turn.
Each weyrling is assigned a room in the weyrling barracks with another rider of their gender. Sexual relationships are strongly discouraged during this time period; it is thought that the strong emotions involved could damage or panic a young dragon and cause them distress, if not send them between. By the time the dragons have grown large enough to move to an adult weyr, generally by a turn old, this restriction has been lifted.
In the early months, the dragonets do little more than eat and sleep, and the lessons are mostly focused on teaching the riders how to care for their dragons as well as telling them what they'll need to know about life as a rider. By six months, the dragons are getting to the point where they are preparing to fly and building up their muscles, though first flight won't usually start until eight or nine months, and flight with their rider is around a turn old. During this time, the pairs will also be working with firestone--there is no Thread to fight anymore, but fire-breathing dragons can occasionally be useful for other purposes; besides that, it's also important for sterilizing the greens.
After the first turn of weyrling training, the smaller dragons are nearing their full growth, and all of them will be moving into the adult weyrs with larger sand wallows of their own and private huts for the riders. Greens and reds will start rising to mate around this time as well, though purples generally take closer to two turns to rise, and golds rarely mate before three turns of age. All of the male dragons should be mature enough to chase at this point, as well. Their training is not over yet, however. In addition to continued flight training, the riders are drilled on visualizations for going between, and the first jump is taken, with supervision, at fifteen months. By eighteen months, most weyrlings have graduated from weyrling training.
Now that the dragon is considered an adult, the pair as several options. They can join Quindell's wings; they act as diplomats and helpers to nearby holds, trading goods and services in exchange for food, and since the attack of the aliens a turn ago, they've started to become defenders of the holds again, as well. The rider can also utilize whatever crafts they already have experience with in order to earn a living, or provide the sort of services only a dragonrider can provide. Dragons provide a source of strong labor, not to mention instantaneous travel that people will pay good marks for.
Dragonrider pairs can either stay at the Weyr they Impressed at or transfer to another Weyr or Weyrhold, but they tend to still live among other dragons. It turns out the dragons are highly social creatures and most don't like living in solitude. There are always exceptions, though; some riders do strike out on their own entirely with their dragon, unaffiliated with any Weyr or Weyrhold and responsible only for themselves. These loners tend to be looked at rather oddly by others, as they have a reputation for turning a bit weird from the solitude. Even loners tend to show up at Weyrs and Weyrholds from time to time to trade, as well as socialize with other dragons--particularly if their female dragon is close to rising. The small, black tirchid dragons have been noted to do better as loners than most other dragons, and make up a larger percentage of loners than usual.
Large clutches are taught together as one class, but multiple clutches of ten eggs or less tend to be grouped together for lessons even if they were hatched two or three months apart. There will typically be no more than four separate weyrling classes put together for each turn.
Each weyrling is assigned a room in the weyrling barracks with another rider of their gender. Sexual relationships are strongly discouraged during this time period; it is thought that the strong emotions involved could damage or panic a young dragon and cause them distress, if not send them between. By the time the dragons have grown large enough to move to an adult weyr, generally by a turn old, this restriction has been lifted.
In the early months, the dragonets do little more than eat and sleep, and the lessons are mostly focused on teaching the riders how to care for their dragons as well as telling them what they'll need to know about life as a rider. By six months, the dragons are getting to the point where they are preparing to fly and building up their muscles, though first flight won't usually start until eight or nine months, and flight with their rider is around a turn old. During this time, the pairs will also be working with firestone--there is no Thread to fight anymore, but fire-breathing dragons can occasionally be useful for other purposes; besides that, it's also important for sterilizing the greens.
After the first turn of weyrling training, the smaller dragons are nearing their full growth, and all of them will be moving into the adult weyrs with larger sand wallows of their own and private huts for the riders. Greens and reds will start rising to mate around this time as well, though purples generally take closer to two turns to rise, and golds rarely mate before three turns of age. All of the male dragons should be mature enough to chase at this point, as well. Their training is not over yet, however. In addition to continued flight training, the riders are drilled on visualizations for going between, and the first jump is taken, with supervision, at fifteen months. By eighteen months, most weyrlings have graduated from weyrling training.
Now that the dragon is considered an adult, the pair as several options. They can join Quindell's wings; they act as diplomats and helpers to nearby holds, trading goods and services in exchange for food, and since the attack of the aliens a turn ago, they've started to become defenders of the holds again, as well. The rider can also utilize whatever crafts they already have experience with in order to earn a living, or provide the sort of services only a dragonrider can provide. Dragons provide a source of strong labor, not to mention instantaneous travel that people will pay good marks for.
Dragonrider pairs can either stay at the Weyr they Impressed at or transfer to another Weyr or Weyrhold, but they tend to still live among other dragons. It turns out the dragons are highly social creatures and most don't like living in solitude. There are always exceptions, though; some riders do strike out on their own entirely with their dragon, unaffiliated with any Weyr or Weyrhold and responsible only for themselves. These loners tend to be looked at rather oddly by others, as they have a reputation for turning a bit weird from the solitude. Even loners tend to show up at Weyrs and Weyrholds from time to time to trade, as well as socialize with other dragons--particularly if their female dragon is close to rising. The small, black tirchid dragons have been noted to do better as loners than most other dragons, and make up a larger percentage of loners than usual.