Post by Spirithawk on May 19, 2009 17:21:06 GMT -5
In one of the many lush and hidden tree covered slopes of the Southern mountains lies a Weyr by the name of Dark Moon. The Weyr is situated within a crater within the mountains near the coast on the Eastern side of Caspian Lake. Dark Moon is the smallest Weyr on all of Pern, having been built to completion less than a decade of Turns ago. The population is small but growing steadily, and is thriving well.
There is only one entrance to the Weyr by land. The long, wide and winding road that leads from the base of the mountain to the Weyr is aptly made for travelling merchants and any who do not have access to a dragon. It is made of soft, light brown dirt, cared for so that the path remains smooth and easy for runners and humans both to trod upon. By foot, it would take about two hours to reach the Weyr, while by runner the ascent is easier, taking about half of that time. This road comes in from the North so that the visitors end up coming in from the South end of the bowl.
The large bowl is beautiful and appealing to look upon. Lush green-blue grass makes up the better part of it, though the center and closer to the inner section of the weyr itself is laid bare by the constant comings and goings of the people. The bare ground is scratched and marked by dragon claws. A large lake of fresh water takes up the Eastern end of the bowl. It can hold up to a full wing of dragons and their riders. The depth is unknown in the center of the lake. Surrounding this lake there is light colored and soft sand, as well as a few huge, flat rocks where dragons can sun after they come out of the lake. There are a few skybroom trees and other flat rocks along the outer edges of the Bowl, for shade and sunning. The feeding pen is located on the Northern end of the bowl. There the beasts that feed the dragons are kept. A larger herd is kept just outside the actual Weyr, so that the animals don’t become overly stressed. A tunnel through the rock allows the weyrfolk access to the nearby beach. A path has been worn through the brush from the Weyr to the ocean.
The walls of the Weyr are dotted with openings to individual weyrs. The Hatching Cavern is located near the Lower Caverns and there are no individual weyrs above it.
The first entrance that most notice when they come in by way of the lake is the entrance to the Lower Caverns. These caverns are always bustling with life, as most folk who are not dragonriders make their home there. The wide entrance cavern forks off into several tunnels that lead to the extensive cave network beyond it.
One of the largest caverns is the Kitchens. You will enter to see many large, rectangular worktables. There are people around them, busily preparing food while the Head Cook orders them around and keeps everything running smoothly to prepare for dinner. Along the walls of the room there are long, wide working tables with shelves above them. Pots, pans, herbs, spoons, forks and knives as well as all other cooking utensils line the shelves and racks upon the walls here. Hearths are upon the wall beside it, the strong smell of cooking food making ones mouth water in anticipation. You can smell everything from stews and soups to klah and pastries-everything that is made is prepared here. A low-burning night hearth always has fresh klah and stew for hungry weyrfolk. Bowls of scraps are placed for the firelizard owners to feed their charges.
Several small tunnels branch off from the Kitchens. If you enter these you will find Dark Moon’s storerooms. Here one can find stored food, cloths, furs, sweetsand, or anything else imaginable that might be needed by people or riders. Pots of oil for the dragons are also stored here. There is a staircase located at the end of the biggest storeroom. It goes deeper into the earth than the rest of the Weyr and ends in a dark cave, barely lit by glows. Here one can find the foods that spoil quickly if not kept cooler like meat and cheeses, as well as milk and fruits and veggies which are not dried.
The Dining Hall is nearly the same size as the Kitchens. The cavern is connected to the kitchens by a tunnel that allows two people to walk abreast. This helps the drudges serve food during formal Weyr dinners. The table on the Northern end is the ‘High Table’. Here, the Weyrleaders and their esteemed guests sit and eat. It is not a large table, though it still seats many. The table closest to this is the table for the wingleaders and any other ranking individual. There are several smaller tables for the other dragonriders and two tables set aside for Candidates and Weyrlings.
The corridor keeps on going, and there are rooms, varying in sizes, which the drudges and kitchenworkers live in. The smallest are fit for one drudge. They contain only a bed, a dresser, and a small desk. There are medium sized rooms for couples, and then the largest rooms go to families. There are two fair sized bathing rooms at the back end of the corridor-one for males, one for females.
The other corridor leads a little further upwards, working its way up until it reaches the crafter rooms and workrooms. Here, people that are Journeymen and Masters reside. They are bigger than drudges rooms, and can fit more belongings. A crafter’s room is a fair size, the size of a medium couple’s room. Even bigger rooms than the ones kitchen workers and drudges get are for the crafter’s families-about the size of a medium and large room. The working rooms are first and foremost, each large and spacious. There is one for weavers, woodsmiths, harpers, tanners and all other crafts that are needed in a Weyr. They are where the materials are sent to be worked with, and where the crafts themselves are practiced. There are two medium sized bathing rooms at the back, one for the males and one for the females. The Masters, however, also have their own tubs if they wish it. The hot water is provided by drudges for private bathing but the hot springs feed the group bathing tubs. Privies are located in a main room which has several that can be used in privacy.
The individual weyrs vary in size. A green or blue dragon’s weyr is the smallest, providing room for a dragon couch, which is usually an indented section of stone where the dragon curls up. A small corridor passes the dragon couch and then the room widens into the rider’s cavern. A bed and a small table, along with a few chests makes up the rider’s quarters. A curtained section hides a small bathing pool and privy that is fed by the underground springs that the weyr has tapped into. Larger weyrs are big enough to hold more items and the Queen’s weyr is the largest.
The weyrs for the weyrwomen are on the second level, above the ground floor rooms. Stairs lead to the rooms so that the Queenriders can move to and from their weyrs when their dragons are in the Hatching Cavern. The room of the senior queen is by far the largest, with more space than is really even needed for anyone. It has everything a person and dragon could want, and it is afforded all comforts. The bronze rooms are second largest only to the queen’s weyr. Some of the weyrs don’t have stairs leading to them, especially ones on the top level and the riders in those weyrs rely on their dragons to ferry them back and forth.
A large opening in the stone of the weyr leads into a large cavern. Even the largest dragon can fly in with just enough room for its wingspan. This cavern is filled with hot sand with dragon tiers on one side and stone bleachers for the spectators in a semi circle on the other. The sand is hot enough to burn through the soles of thin shoes, and you see the Queen’s mound against the back wall, with stands on the right and the left in a semicircle around the walls. There is a large entrance that would fit any newly hatched dragonet that leads inside to the Weyr itself, a corridor which ends up joining the one to the Dining Hall.
You go back outside and notice another pen, on the opposite side of the one for herdbeasts. These pens seem to hold runners! The runners are all used to the dragons by this time, all except the very new. They have a large, fenced in paddock and there aren’t many of them-only a few in Dark Moon will have one, and those that do ride in their spare time. The Stablemasters, meanwhile, room where the crafters do, and take good care of their charges.
The Candidate and Weyrling Barracks are located outside the weyr in the Bowl. Stone buildings separated by a courtyard stand a few feet away from the western wall of the weyr. When you enter the Candidate Barracks, a central common room holds tables, chairs, and couches for the Candidates to relax on. The room then breaks into two long rooms, one for girls, and one for boys. Beds line the walls with a chest at each end for the Candidate. Their robes and clothing are kept in this chest. A bathing room and privies is located in each room, one for the girls, one for the boys.
The other stone building is larger but set up almost exactly like the Candidate Barracks. There is a couch for a dragon, and a bed directly beside it. The barracks are not large enough for a full grown dragon but after the hurricane, the Barracks are being extended. All the doors to the rooms are big enough for a dragon that is approximately a year of age.
There is only one entrance to the Weyr by land. The long, wide and winding road that leads from the base of the mountain to the Weyr is aptly made for travelling merchants and any who do not have access to a dragon. It is made of soft, light brown dirt, cared for so that the path remains smooth and easy for runners and humans both to trod upon. By foot, it would take about two hours to reach the Weyr, while by runner the ascent is easier, taking about half of that time. This road comes in from the North so that the visitors end up coming in from the South end of the bowl.
The large bowl is beautiful and appealing to look upon. Lush green-blue grass makes up the better part of it, though the center and closer to the inner section of the weyr itself is laid bare by the constant comings and goings of the people. The bare ground is scratched and marked by dragon claws. A large lake of fresh water takes up the Eastern end of the bowl. It can hold up to a full wing of dragons and their riders. The depth is unknown in the center of the lake. Surrounding this lake there is light colored and soft sand, as well as a few huge, flat rocks where dragons can sun after they come out of the lake. There are a few skybroom trees and other flat rocks along the outer edges of the Bowl, for shade and sunning. The feeding pen is located on the Northern end of the bowl. There the beasts that feed the dragons are kept. A larger herd is kept just outside the actual Weyr, so that the animals don’t become overly stressed. A tunnel through the rock allows the weyrfolk access to the nearby beach. A path has been worn through the brush from the Weyr to the ocean.
The walls of the Weyr are dotted with openings to individual weyrs. The Hatching Cavern is located near the Lower Caverns and there are no individual weyrs above it.
The first entrance that most notice when they come in by way of the lake is the entrance to the Lower Caverns. These caverns are always bustling with life, as most folk who are not dragonriders make their home there. The wide entrance cavern forks off into several tunnels that lead to the extensive cave network beyond it.
One of the largest caverns is the Kitchens. You will enter to see many large, rectangular worktables. There are people around them, busily preparing food while the Head Cook orders them around and keeps everything running smoothly to prepare for dinner. Along the walls of the room there are long, wide working tables with shelves above them. Pots, pans, herbs, spoons, forks and knives as well as all other cooking utensils line the shelves and racks upon the walls here. Hearths are upon the wall beside it, the strong smell of cooking food making ones mouth water in anticipation. You can smell everything from stews and soups to klah and pastries-everything that is made is prepared here. A low-burning night hearth always has fresh klah and stew for hungry weyrfolk. Bowls of scraps are placed for the firelizard owners to feed their charges.
Several small tunnels branch off from the Kitchens. If you enter these you will find Dark Moon’s storerooms. Here one can find stored food, cloths, furs, sweetsand, or anything else imaginable that might be needed by people or riders. Pots of oil for the dragons are also stored here. There is a staircase located at the end of the biggest storeroom. It goes deeper into the earth than the rest of the Weyr and ends in a dark cave, barely lit by glows. Here one can find the foods that spoil quickly if not kept cooler like meat and cheeses, as well as milk and fruits and veggies which are not dried.
The Dining Hall is nearly the same size as the Kitchens. The cavern is connected to the kitchens by a tunnel that allows two people to walk abreast. This helps the drudges serve food during formal Weyr dinners. The table on the Northern end is the ‘High Table’. Here, the Weyrleaders and their esteemed guests sit and eat. It is not a large table, though it still seats many. The table closest to this is the table for the wingleaders and any other ranking individual. There are several smaller tables for the other dragonriders and two tables set aside for Candidates and Weyrlings.
The corridor keeps on going, and there are rooms, varying in sizes, which the drudges and kitchenworkers live in. The smallest are fit for one drudge. They contain only a bed, a dresser, and a small desk. There are medium sized rooms for couples, and then the largest rooms go to families. There are two fair sized bathing rooms at the back end of the corridor-one for males, one for females.
The other corridor leads a little further upwards, working its way up until it reaches the crafter rooms and workrooms. Here, people that are Journeymen and Masters reside. They are bigger than drudges rooms, and can fit more belongings. A crafter’s room is a fair size, the size of a medium couple’s room. Even bigger rooms than the ones kitchen workers and drudges get are for the crafter’s families-about the size of a medium and large room. The working rooms are first and foremost, each large and spacious. There is one for weavers, woodsmiths, harpers, tanners and all other crafts that are needed in a Weyr. They are where the materials are sent to be worked with, and where the crafts themselves are practiced. There are two medium sized bathing rooms at the back, one for the males and one for the females. The Masters, however, also have their own tubs if they wish it. The hot water is provided by drudges for private bathing but the hot springs feed the group bathing tubs. Privies are located in a main room which has several that can be used in privacy.
The individual weyrs vary in size. A green or blue dragon’s weyr is the smallest, providing room for a dragon couch, which is usually an indented section of stone where the dragon curls up. A small corridor passes the dragon couch and then the room widens into the rider’s cavern. A bed and a small table, along with a few chests makes up the rider’s quarters. A curtained section hides a small bathing pool and privy that is fed by the underground springs that the weyr has tapped into. Larger weyrs are big enough to hold more items and the Queen’s weyr is the largest.
The weyrs for the weyrwomen are on the second level, above the ground floor rooms. Stairs lead to the rooms so that the Queenriders can move to and from their weyrs when their dragons are in the Hatching Cavern. The room of the senior queen is by far the largest, with more space than is really even needed for anyone. It has everything a person and dragon could want, and it is afforded all comforts. The bronze rooms are second largest only to the queen’s weyr. Some of the weyrs don’t have stairs leading to them, especially ones on the top level and the riders in those weyrs rely on their dragons to ferry them back and forth.
A large opening in the stone of the weyr leads into a large cavern. Even the largest dragon can fly in with just enough room for its wingspan. This cavern is filled with hot sand with dragon tiers on one side and stone bleachers for the spectators in a semi circle on the other. The sand is hot enough to burn through the soles of thin shoes, and you see the Queen’s mound against the back wall, with stands on the right and the left in a semicircle around the walls. There is a large entrance that would fit any newly hatched dragonet that leads inside to the Weyr itself, a corridor which ends up joining the one to the Dining Hall.
You go back outside and notice another pen, on the opposite side of the one for herdbeasts. These pens seem to hold runners! The runners are all used to the dragons by this time, all except the very new. They have a large, fenced in paddock and there aren’t many of them-only a few in Dark Moon will have one, and those that do ride in their spare time. The Stablemasters, meanwhile, room where the crafters do, and take good care of their charges.
The Candidate and Weyrling Barracks are located outside the weyr in the Bowl. Stone buildings separated by a courtyard stand a few feet away from the western wall of the weyr. When you enter the Candidate Barracks, a central common room holds tables, chairs, and couches for the Candidates to relax on. The room then breaks into two long rooms, one for girls, and one for boys. Beds line the walls with a chest at each end for the Candidate. Their robes and clothing are kept in this chest. A bathing room and privies is located in each room, one for the girls, one for the boys.
The other stone building is larger but set up almost exactly like the Candidate Barracks. There is a couch for a dragon, and a bed directly beside it. The barracks are not large enough for a full grown dragon but after the hurricane, the Barracks are being extended. All the doors to the rooms are big enough for a dragon that is approximately a year of age.