~ MORLEVAN GUIDE TO FIRELIZARDS ~

Newly hatched firelizards bond with humans in much the same way that dragonets do, however, they do not require the human bond to survive. If they hatch in the wild with no humans around, they can and will survive.

Humans wishing to bond to a newly hatched firelizard should think happy, warm thoughts and have plenty of small pieces of raw meat on hand to feed them. Flitters, like dragons, are born very hungry and will eat ravenously when first hatched. There have been instances of cannibalism among flitters if there is not sufficient food available. (We will not be experiencing anything like that!)

Like young dragons, flitters must be bathed and oiled daily while they are growing. Their skin is not scaly, but is a leathery hide that can be tough. The cold, dry air of *between* is very hard of firelizard and dragon skin and if there are any rough patches on their hide, it can easily become a painful tear. For this reason, human bondmates of flitters should ensure that their flitter is well-oiled at all times.

Miniature versions of their larger dragon cousins, flits are almost identical to dragons except in a few major ways: First, their minds are not as developed as dragons. Firelizards send only emotions and distorted mental images to their "owners." Even a highly intelligent flitter will only think at about the level of a three-year-old. Second, green firelizards are not sterile, but they are notoriously poor mothers, often leaving their clutches to the elements or tunnel snakes. Firelizards have ridges leading from behind the head knobs down to the shoulder muscles, forked tail, multifaceted eyes, a triple set of eyelids, and the colors of their eyes represent their moods.

At Morlevan Weyr, flitter impressions are open to all participants. We will announce a clutch ahead of time and anyone may apply to have the chance to Impress one -- from drudge to Lords. No one is guaranteed a flitter, but we will make every effort to see that they are fairly distributed. As with dragons, approximately half of each clutch will be green. Characters who do not have a dragon or other flitter will have first priority, except that candidates and weyrlings are not eligible for firelizards. We also have a limit of 5 firelizards per person. After that, it's simply too much work to keep up with all the posting for your little NPCs. Also, no one may have more than one metallic -- gold or bronze.

When we hold a hatching, participants receive an email a day or so ahead of time informing them that they have Impressed and what color. They are then expected to post about the Impression within 7 calendar days of the event (unless prior arrangements have been made with J'rek, our flitter guru). If a participant does not post about the hatching within that time frame, their flitter will have gone *between* forever.

We expect those people who request flitters will use them in their posts. This is an NPC you are responsible for, so please consider whether you have the time, energy, and imagination to post for yet another NPC.

Some suggestions about posting for flitters:

-- Do not send them somewhere they've never been. Even with coordinates from a dragon, it would be too risky.

-- Flitters are not reliable at message delivery -- they may do it, but only if they feel like it.

-- Firelizard mating flights should be cleared with the Board of Directors just as green dragon flights are -- this is simply to avoid conflict with other flights that may be scheduled or major events planned by the BOD which may not yet be public knowledge. Under normal conditions, we will simply say "have fun with your flight." But occasionally, we must ask a player to wait. We hope everyone will be understanding.

-- Flitters can be trained, but it is hard work and they are prone to "forgetting" when it suits them.

-- Do NOT have your flitter speak or communicate clearly with you -- it simply doesn't work that way. You may get impressions and confused pictures, but it will not be too comprehensible.

-- If you have a dragon, try to develop a relationship between your dragon and your flitter. This could be an interesting storyline.

-- Make every effort to have your flitter's personality be different from the others we already have in the Weyr. One way to do that is to develop one major character trait and to play that out in your posts.

-- Neither flitters NOR dragons are all-knowing. They cannot see what you see (dragons can on rare occasions) so a flitter or dragon who is dozing in their weyr will not know that someone else is sneaking up on you. While this may be tempting... just don't do it. It wouldn't happen.

-- Flitter mating flights are a fact of life. After 2 Turns, golds and greens will begin to rise to mate. Please be prepared for this facet of life in Morlevan. A flitter rising may mean that Joe's gold is flown by John's bronze, and the two men... well, you get the picture. If you are not mature enough to handle the possibilities, please do not ask for a firelizard. Flitter-induced passion is not as strong as that of dragons, but it can and does happen. Please consider this when requesting a flitter.

-- Players who refuse to have their flitters rise to mate after being reminded will lose their flits; they will simply go *between* and no longer exist.

-- There will be no clutches from green firelizards resulting in live offspring. Greens are careless mothers and lay their clutches where predators can get them or simply forget to care for them properly. No clutches that hatch from green flits! Period.

-- J'rek is the flitter guru and the final word on enforcing all of these rules. We want this to be a fun experience, but we also want it to be true to Anne McCaffrey's Pern. Please help us to maintain our adherence to her world.

As always, if you have any questions or if any of this is unclear, please contact any member of our Board of Directors. We'll be happy to explain!

~ MORLEVAN FIRELIZARDS ~

Firelizard clutch: I

Elora = bronze Ember
K'raina = brown Brok
Lanivar = blue Flash
Lucaren = gold Vaille
Jessany = green Jini - green Joy
T'gan = blue Tracker

Firelizard clutch: II
Hatched: 13-26-60
Dam: wild gold
Sire: wild bronze

Almene = gold Auvry
Arissa = bronze Acharaid
D'haan = blue Pip
J'rek = brown Fidget
Keliras = blue Mathas
Romar = blue Ranger
Sarack = bronze Kildor
T'rial = green Dandy

Firelizard clutch: III
Hatched: 4-22-61
Dam: wild gold
Sire: wild bronze
Almene = brown Taig - green Fliri
Arissa = green Beryl
Lynliss = bronze Russ
M'rydin = blue Tass
R'dyn = brown Spaz
Reitze = brown Dusty
T'lain = bronze Trouble
T'lina = green Dreamer

Firelizard clutch: IV
Hatched: 12-18-62
Dam: gold Auvry
Sire: bronze Trouble

Alessa = brown Fallon
J'rek = green Trinket
Jerras = blue Toli
Jh'mar = brown Twerp
Katli = blue Syltar
Kayzi = green Zara
Lyra = blue Lyric
M'ki = green Asami

Flitter Lexicon by J'rek-player

There are other, more obscure sounds only a few flits have mastered. Some of the sounds include:

Links & Information