It is the last Turns of the Seventh Interval, and soon the Eighth Pass of the Red Star will begin, bringing with it the blight of Thread to once again threaten all life on Pern. To combat this menace, the mighty Dragons and their brave Riders will rise from their stony Weyrs to flame the spore mid-air. Despite this image of camaraderie, all is not well in the Weyrs. Infighting and corruption exacerbated by hidebound thinking have led to strife and dissatisfaction among the Riders.

In one of the northern Weyrs, a group of dissatisfied, young and brash Riders grouped together. They were very vocal about their liberal views, earning them the ire of the Weyrleadership, especially that of the Weyrwoman. Finally one member, the spoiled junior Goldrider Embry, confronted the Weyrwoman loudly and publicly and the encounter led to Embry storming out of her northern home. The Weyrleadership decided to do nothing, figuring that Embry and Marilith would return since Marilith was already becoming proddy and would soon fly. But Embry and Marilith didn't leave alone and when Marilith flew, K'vish's Bronze Prath was there to fly her.

Embry, along with K'vish and several other Riders from their group decided that Southern would be their refuge. Here they could prove that they had the right of it and show the northern Weyrs how a proper Weyr should be run. After many sevendays of searching and wandering, they stumbled upon a dormant volcano, lush and nestled just off the coast of the southern wilderness, and the Riders set about making what home they could out of the uninhabited land. More than a handful it seemed were unhappy with the north - the outcasts were soon joined by those exiled both voluntarily and by force as word spread of the 'rogue weyr.' Because their mating flight took place before Green Crater was established, it was not for seniority. Marilith and Prath's Riders do not use the titles 'Weyrleader' and 'Weyrwoman,' choosing instead to be known as 'Weyr Administrators.' That will change when the next Gold rises, for that pairing will be for seniority and will establish the leadership of the Weyr without question, even if the northern Weyrs don't recognize Green Crater as a Weyr at all. Glasena Weyr, which guards the other end of the continent, lends moral support to the plight of Green Crater and its people, but can afford to do little else. Green Crater stands or falls on its own.

Now there is a home for those who are exiled. There is a refuge for those who are hunted. There is a family for those who are disowned. For any who are willing to put the past behind them and start anew, there is Green Crater Weyr.