Weyrlife: General Information
Contents
Weyr Rankers
Information on Rankers in the Weyr.
Dragonrider Duties
Article by: Avery
When the average Pernese citizen thinks of dragonriders, they generally think about their role as fighters of Thread. That was the reason for the creation of dragons and is their primary duty to the world, but there are plenty of other duties that a dragonrider must perform when they aren’t fighting or drilling. Here is a sampling of these duties:
Message Running
These riders are assigned to bring messages from one location to another. Messages can be anything from a verbal message to a bundle of letters or packages of items. This duty often overlaps with passenger transport (described below).
Dragonriders may also volunteer to do this job in their unassigned time in exchange for marks, as /betweening/ to a location and delivering something takes very little time and it’s one of the few ways they can earn marks.
Passenger Transport
A rider with courier duty takes passengers from one location to another. Riders of greens and blues are usually assigned to move one or two people with light loads, while riders of browns and bronzes take larger groups or people with bulky items. Bronzeriders are also assigned to special invitees of high importance (such as ranked holders or crafters). This duty often overlaps with message running (described above).
Sweepriding
A sweepride is flying a long patrol over an assigned territory in order to spot anything unusual that should be reported. Regular sweeprides look for events like natural disasters (such as an avalanche, rock- or mudslide, or a forest fire) or people in distress (structure fires, broken-down caravans). When a sweeprider finds a problem, they should investigate, and if they can’t resolve it on their own they must reach back to the Weyr for assistance.
The post-Threadfall sweepride is slightly different, in that the riders focus on looking for signs that Thread has hit the ground and begun to propagate. If such signs are found, the rider directs the ground crew to the location to burn it out and provides any assistance they may need.
Watch Duty
Watch duty is a vital role, but often considered boring. A watch pair is stationed at a location to observe what happens there. Generally, locations have shifts, with the most desirable ones in the day and the worst ones the overnight ones. At the Weyr, they watch arrivals and departures, whether it’s caravans bringing trade or visiting dragons stopping by. At Holds and Halls, a watch rider keeps track of arrivals and departures, may occasionally be requested for message and transport duty and serves as a link to assistance from the Weyr.
Retired Riders
Article by: Avery
Every Weyr has its share of retired riders. These are riders who through either age or disability are incapable of flying Threadfall ever again. However, these riders still prove useful to the Weyr in many capacities.
Who are retired riders?
Riders can be retired for different reasons. The most common reason before the Pass was old age (need an age limit here?). Since Threadfall injuries have become more common, reasons such as loss of a limb or of a vital sense such as sight or sound- or a dragon's loss of flight- have also risen.
What can retired riders do?
This depends on the nature of their injury. But in general, retired riders may:
- Fly long patrols and post-Fall burrow sweeprides
- Convey passengers and cargo between locations
- Messenger duty
- Watch pair at Weyr, Hall, or Hold
- Assisting other dragons in catching falling pairs during Threadfall
- Provide assistance to crafters
- Be a volunteer for candidate, weyrling, or craft lessons
Retired riders who are younger in age are also encouraged to take up a craft that they are physically capable of doing. Pursuing a craft or hobby is an excellent way of keeping a retired rider busy and happy.
Retirees' Wingleader
1. Retired riders are in an actual, in-character Wing 2. This Wing has a Wingleader appointed by Weyrwoman/Weyrleader (L1/L2). This can be another retired rider of any dragon color, or the Weyrwoman's Second, Weyrsecond, etc, as appointed by the L1/L2. 3. This Wingleader position is an L4 position.
The Weyrlakes at DFW
Watchriders and Watch Duty
Article by: Avery
A watchrider is the colloquial term for a dragonrider assigned to watch duty.
What is watch duty?
A watch pair is stationed at a location to observe what happens there. Generally locations have multiple watch shifts, with the most desirable ones in the day and the worst ones the overnight ones.
At the Weyr, they watch arrivals and departures, whether it’s caravans bringing trade or visiting dragons stopping by. They make a record of everything that happens and provide this report to their Wingleader at the end of their shift.
At Holds and Halls, a watchrider keeps track of arrivals and departures. They may occasionally be requested for message and transport duty, and also serve as a link to assistance from the Weyr.
The duration of watch shifts is usually between 6 to 8 candlemarks. The duration depends on the Wingleader making the schedule and how many pairs are available to send out.
Who can be a watchrider?
Any dragonrider can theoretically be assigned to watch duty.
Riders who are inactive in the fighting wings are the preferred choice for watchrider positions. This means older pairs, pairs who have been retired due to injury, and weyrlings who have finished their training but are too young to go into the wings. Pregnant female riders may serve watches at the Weyr but usually do not travel to the Holds.
If there are more locations to assign a watch pair than there are weyrlingstaff or retired riders, the Weyrleader may ask Wingleaders to pick a few responsible candidates and then assign them to a watch rotation. This typically excuses them from other wing duties like sweeprides.
When assigning watchriders to a Hold or Hall, several additional factors are taken into account. The major ones are the culture of the location, the size of the location, and the characteristics of available pairs (dragon color and rider age). In general:
- Large locations such as a Major Crafthall or Major Hold are more likely to receive experienced riders and bronze pairs if available as a show of respect. *Very conservative locations are more likely to be assigned brownriders.
- More liberal locations would receive green pairs or younger riders.
- Small holdings get smaller chromatic dragons and younger riders.
