The Histroy

It's been nearly 600 turns since the last pass. I do not know the method to which our ancestors managed to divert the Red Star from Pern to keep thread from falling upon us. The fact that they did, however, is not disputed. It is obvious, not only in the absence of our old enemy, but in some of the commodities that they achieved during that period of time. The paper we use now is far better than some of the old hides our ancestors use to use and books are much better than scrolls. The energy we've been able to maintain since that time has improved our lives, but sadly the turns have caused us to lose the information and the knowledge to keep such energy makers running as they should. We still have enough hydroelectric plants and wind turbines to allow us lights and cold boxes for our food, but that is about the extent of it. I fear if we do not relearn techniques forgotten one day we will go back to the way we were before our ancestors managed to change things.

As if this isn't bad enough, Pern has seen worse tragedy in the last interval besides the loss of technology. Around 200 turns after the 9th Pass the earth began to change. The north became increasingly cold and barren, sending a lot of people south. However, the Southern Continent was already bursting with people and many holds forced the Northerners back or forced them into the harsh wilds of the South. Since that time the tension between the North and the South has steadily became worse and worse. Especially when the South declared itself closed to Northerners. I do not know what the Northern Holds plan, but I do not doubt that they are planning something. They have tried, on many occasions, to get the weyrs involved. Of course we never did. The weyrs were supporting themselves now and did not wish to interfere in holders affairs. Even now the North has sent by firelizard messages to me requesting our voice in their defense.

I've declined every one. Even if we wished to help the poor sots in the North what can one weyr, a scant 200 dragons do? That brings me to the worse of the tragedies to effect Pern. Only 100 turns ago a plague spread through the weyrs. The illness was not in the riders, though we have always been the fallible ones. Instead it affected our wonderful beasts. The dragons in the Northern Weyrs began dropping quickly and soon it spread to all the weyrs. There was nothing our healers could do to stop it soon enough. Once the plague had finally spread it's course, under a hundred dragons remained. Since then we have converged to one weyr, Faelwen, and have started rebuilding ourselves. Our numbers reach 234, but that is not nearly as many as we use to be.

The dragons are still useful even if thread no longer falls from the sky and to see such wonderful creatures die completely would be a travesty to the entirety of Pern. Since thread we have found ourselves doing all sorts of odd jobs. However, I fear our time of relaxation will come to an abrupt and sudden end. The Red Star has started to become more and more prevalent in the evening and morning sky. Most think of it as nothing, but I can't help but wonder what it could mean. There are few of us riders who are starting to prepare ourselves for the off chance that Thread will return, but even if the whole weyr believed it could happen, I do not see how our small numbers could keep Pern thread free.

These are tough times, but Pern has pulled through tough times before. No matter what lies before us we will pull through. My mother use to always say, 'When hard times come, embrace them. Hard times brings out the bravery in people and history always remembers the brave.'


The weyrwoman died today. Kimeth is still with us if just for the fact she has eggs on the sand. We are all heart-broken for Kimeth was one of our last golds. We still have Perlerith and a queen egg amongst the clutch. At least the clutch was a good size, a healthy 30 eggs. The Weyr, for the moment, is being run by our Weyrleader until Perlerith has her first mating flight. Nadine will be missed sorely, especially with the North becoming more and more irrate. I hope our young goldrider, Aoife will follow in her footsteps.