DETAILED HISTORY OF ISLINNE WEYR



950 turns ago

Threadfall ended with aid of AIVAS, then the AIVAS system shut down. The Penal Islands were once more brought into service, housing criminals considered too unsafe for the normal population to live with. As Stringing-out-for-Thread was no longer a viable threat, more and more prisoners were moved to these islands or executed by a drop between. This Penal Transport Wing set up their own Weyr on the biggest of the Penal Islands, being granted aid from the many Halls, Holds, and Weyrs to establish Botany Bay Weyr; the name was dredged up by a Harper with an odd sense of humor.

Dragonriders began to be self-supporting, opening new fields of service for Pern. They started taking marks and goods for services rendered. Over turns, the system evolved into a new way of life for Dragonriders, the old dependant ways a thing of legend. Weyrs would train their weyrlings in the normal ways that millions of weyrlings before them had been trained in, but in only half the time, emphasis on Thread drills and firestone bagging at a minimum now. Rather, the rest of their 18 months was spent learning a Rider Trade in one of the following fields, among others: Cargo Transport, Passenger Transport, Cartography & Exploration, Mountain Rescues, Travel Guides (helping to arrange and transport people wanting a brief vacation), and the elite Display Wing (taught the ancient Thread fighting tactics, as well as Spring Games and stunt flying). Too, those who once held a craft would return to their studies and practices after the 18 months of weyrling training, providing the Weyr with their own crafters, as well. Naturally, a small wing of riders were designated to perform penal runs or execution drops.

600 turns ago

A series of catastrophes befell Pern. Seismic and tectonic activity hit unprecedented highs, causing earthquakes on what was once thought to be stable land. From the Ice Lake of Ruatha to the shore just beyond Ruatha River Hold became an immense gorge in just about 10 turns, the barren rock and raging river were unfit for human habitation, though it made a pretty and awe inspiring tour spot. Ruatha Hold had been in the center of this newly formed gorge, and thus mighty Ruatha Hold was no more.

Benden Weyr's tragedy was so sudden that many dragon and rider lives were lost as the volcano once thought to be extinct erupted. The volcano remains active to date, with only the Vintners venturing to its lower slopes. Ballads have been written and once more lost in the passage of time, the subject the cataclysmic end of proud Benden Weyr.

Another area affected by the high seismic activity was Fort Hold and it's surrounding areas. Many a cave in resulted in unstable areas closed off until a way could be found to shore the areas up and rebuild them. The Harper-Healer Hall was not so lucky. Great rents occurred in the hypocaust systems, leaking toxins into the water supply. Unfortunately, there was neither equipment nor knowledge enough to fix the deep subterranean systems. The hall was abandoned. It eventually fell to ruin and was renamed the Old Fort College Ruins, as the Harper and Healer Halls moved on and evolved in their own ways.

Large underwater earthquakes ripped through the Southern Seas, causing tsunami high enough to engulf as far inland as even Landing School. The results were not as devastating as some of the coastal areas, but Landing was suffering badly. Nearly all computers and equipment were destroyed, including the Admin building that housed the inactive AIVAS system. Fortunately, Landing was able to be rebuilt, and the main Healer Hall now occupies a place of prominence there. The Computer and Plastic Crafts, however, never fully recovered and slowly fell into oblivion over the years and subsequent events.

Due to the decrease, over turns, of the dragon population, the Weyrs were strained for services and supplies. Though riders had been long permitted to live wherever they chose, the majority had decided to remain in their Weyrs, working in their chosen field to support themselves and their great beasts. Therefore, the Weyrleader Conclave made the decision to close down three of their Weyrs: High Reaches, Igen, and Monaco.

590 turns ago

A plague swept the Southern Continent, effectively ending the Computerer and Plastics Crafts permanently. The drastic losses of life, swiftly and horrifically, decimated the population of the Halls as much as the Weyrs and Holds. Masters and Journeymen were just as susceptible as the workers and apprentices. The plague ranged for weeks, ending when someone recalled the vaccination methods, used in 6th Pass, to avoid resurgence. It was decided to change Southern Weyr's name to Islinne Weyr, meaning 'It Is Ours', as a gesture of pride and defiance. Southern Hold followed suit, calling themselves Islinne Hold.

400 turns ago

Two more Weyrs were shut down: Fort Weyr and Xanadu Weyr. Again, this was to ease the burden on those still persistently living in the old Weyrs.

280 turns ago

Another plague swept the planet, this time decimating the North as well as the South. Those untouched were living in the Weyrs and had closed them selves off. The dragons inexplicably started producing larger clutches of eggs for perhaps ten turns, thought even the Dragon Healers had no explanation for the increase of the dragon population. More of the roving dragon pairs started moving back to the Weyr, once the plague was wiped out and health was confirmed. After ten turns, however, the clutches decreased in size once more, producing perhaps ten eggs a turn from the one queen dragon of each Weyr. Botany Bay Weyr, still thriving in the Penal Islands, despite an increase in disease among the prisoners on the smaller islands, had no queen dragon, and was provided the occasional rider to replace an older one that retired or Betweened in death.

Over the many turns, not only had the Weyrs evolved, so had the Halls. New Crafts opened up, especially with the destruction of the Harper Hall so long ago. Other crafts branched out into sub-crafts with minor halls of their own. The age of admittance was lowered creating an entire new class of crafter: the student. From 10 to 12 turns of age, a child would be taken into a craft and taught basic skills that could be applied not only to that craft, but possibly apply to other crafts as well. When the student reached apprenticeship age, it was decided which craft would suit him or her best, and that student would be shifted to the appropriate Hall for further training. In most crafts, once a student reached 15 turns of age, Senior Apprentice level, he or she was required to test for a specialty. If the tests were passed, the Apprentice would train in that sub-craft. If the tests were not passed, the Apprentice would continue in the main craft, a general curriculum provided and stressed.

10 turns ago

The dragon population took another sweep up. Clutches became as large as perhaps 20 eggs once or even twice a turn. More queens started to be produced. The dragon population soared enough that the Weyrleader Conclave opted to reopen two Weyrs: Xanadu Weyr in the Southern Continent, and Fort Weyr in the Northern Continent. Again, healers and riders alike were mystified as to why the dragons were producing more. The answer, though not believed by the majority of Pern, came from the Starsmith Hall.

A Master was called into an observatory to confirm a surprising shift in the heavens. Gravitational wells and other cosmic phenomena had caused the Red Planet to change orbits, forming an Elliptical Orbit around Pern that mirrored something in an ancient record from nearly 1,000 turns ago. The Master, recalling this text, confirmed what the other Starsmith had discovered. The Red Planet was back in its old orbit, right through the Oort Cloud, and heading close to Pern. Threadfall would return. They were able to convince the Dragonriders of the imminence of Threadfall, thus the Weyrs gave up their independence and moved once more into their old protective craters. Starsmiths, Archivists, and Dragonriders were ridiculed for their strange beliefs as they once more pulled out the ancient texts and started to try to adapt the current society to the idea that their ancient foe had returned.

Present: 3408.01.01

It has been 10 turns since that fateful discovery by the Starsmiths, and Pern struggles in a battle of wills: believers are frantically preparing for Threadfall, a foe so old as to be a myth now. Non-believers are rampant, though, making the possible destruction of Pern seem inevitable in their refusal of the ancient proofs.

Solstice will soon be upon us, and with it, Thread may once more ravage Pern.





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