The Third Pass had ended, and the dragonriders were more than ready for a rest from Threadfall. But times were very different during the Interval than they were in the Pass, as the dragonriders of Pern soon discovered. During the Pass, dragonriders had been discouraged from visiting the Southern continent: it was an unknown factor, with potential unknown dangers. No Weyrleader could condone risking a single rider during Fall on some trivial exploration mission, and the continent was left alone.
But a few Turns into the Third Interval, suddenly bored dragonriders found themselves disobeying the tacit order. Southern was warm and inviting, even if there were the dangers of tropical living and a sort of large, dangerous feline creature that could even injure a dragon. And exploration was preferrable than sitting around in the Weyr for the riders of the Pass who had grown accustomed to the everyday activity of Pass-Weyr life and the adrenaline rush of Fall.
A few Turns later, the Weyrleaders gave in and lifted the ban on southern continent. Dragonriders flocked there, and it was in this time that a suitable site for a new Weyr was discovered. It was coastal, with a gorgeous view of the ocean and streches of fine-grained beach, and backed up to a lush tropical forest spotted with trees bearing delicious fruits. The weather was beautifully warm Turn-round. What dragonman could resist such surrounds? Whether it was needed to protect Pern or not, the Weyrleaders agreed that a new Weyr would be constructed there.
The weyrfolk of Pern set about readying this Weyr as the Interval progressed. Holders were invited to take Hold nearby- so that the Weyr could be supported, although the common man did not know that the Holds were made to support the Weyr, rather than the Weyr made to protect the Holds- and enough families came and survived to form two new, thriving Holds. A hundred years before the Fourth Pass, the Weyr was completed and given the name of the first Weyrwoman there: Bryenne.
Bryenne Weyr grew slowly; the other Weyrs were still recovering their full strength from both Fall and a catastrophic dragon plague, and dragons do not breed as frequently or as prolifically during Interval. As the Fourth Pass approached, more people came to the Holds, and more people wished to branch out- but Bryenne knew that it would not be able to protect them all, and the near Holds grew crowded with people.
Especially adamant in its desire to break free of the Bryenne Holds and found a new Holding was a group of miners that had discovered veins of aluminum, zinc, and iron ores in the inland mountains of Southern. The miners� complaints to Bryenne Weyr grew more and more frequent, until at last the Weyr sent out several of the youngest riders to search for potential Weyrsites near the mineral veins.
One of the riders, C�riz on his brown Perinth, found a site that was near perfect: perched high in the mountains, the site was cooler than most of Southern but still had the lush, jungly environment that had attracted so many people to the continent. Immediately, for Thread was ever approaching, the Bryenne riders and a few from other Weyrs began carving out the old cauldera into a livable dragon Weyr.
Thread fell, and the progress slowed. The Weyr was nearing completion but not habitable enough that dragons could move into it for the first few Turns of Fall. It was a dangerous time for the sole Southern Weyr, and among the tragedies Bryenne experienced was the death of Perinth, C�riz�s brown dragon.
The very boy- now a man- that had found the Weyrsite suddenly threw himself into the final construction, inspiring the few holders and weyrfolk that remained on the task. It took several Turns, but the Weyr was at last ready for dragons to fill its weyrs. Although he disappeared after the construction had finished, the Weyr was named for Cariz in honor of the dragonless man who had taken charge of the effort.
With the introduction of a fertile queen, a new chapter begins for the young Cariz Weyr. While Bryenne Weyr, strengthened by its own young queens, keeps the Threadfall from destroying the miners and their new Hold, Cariz must still lift itself up to protect its own lands and prove its worth. In this newborn Pass with its own dangers, the plague of centuries ago, cured by the manipulation of draconic DNA, has been all but forgotten- but its mark on the modern dragons may yet surface...