Post by Neeq Machine on Dec 13, 2011 15:09:42 GMT -5
Dragon Colors
In order of decreasing size.
Gold.[/size][/font] Also known as "queen" dragons, gold dragons are the largest dragons on Pern. By the fifth Pass, gold dragons measure between 21 and 29 feet; by the tenth Pass, they range in size from about 35-45 feet, with matching wingspans. Gold dragons are powerhouses in the sky. However, due to genetic tampering by Kitti Ping, unlike gold fire-lizards, gold dragons are completely incapable of digesting firestone, as their second stomach is incompletely developed. As a result, gold dragons must fly on a lower "Queen's Wing" during Threadfall, with their riders using flamethrowers in lieu of dragon fire.
Gold dragons have naturally strong mental powers, to the point where they can command the obedience of other dragons without hesitation. Dragons will obey a gold dragon even if they, or their rider, disagree with the command. An older and more powerful gold dragon is capable of countermanding a younger and weaker queen's orders, and queens are also capable of bolstering a command with their own abilities. In times of great distress, it is also possible for queen dragons to "link up" across great distances and work together, though this is rarely done. Gold dragons are known to Impress to heterosexual women of similar temperaments to themselves.
The leadership of a Weyr is determined by a gold dragon's Flight. At the founding of a Weyr, junior queenpairs from other Weyrs go as the founding queens. The first to Rise becomes the Senior Queen, and her rider the Weyrwoman, in charge of the Weyr. The rider of the bronze dragon who captures the Senior Queen becomes the Weyrleader, in charge of combat and the Wings. Some queens will select a different mate each Rise, while others are loyal to their mate; as a result, the Weyrleadership of each Weyr is slightly different. When a Senior Queen dies, or steps down due to infertility, the next gold to Rise becomes the Senior Queen. In many cases, however, the new Weyrwoman will defer to the experience of the old. Gold Clutches are highly influenced by the number of dragons in a Weyr, the time of the Pass/Interval cycle, time of year, and her own physical condition. As such, gold sizes range from one or two eggs to as many as 50+. However, must Clutches are between 15 and 20 eggs.
Grulla / non-metallic gold.[/size][/font][/b] The rarest type of dragon, grullas are technically just green-bred golds. They can only be sired by bronzes, and as it’s incredibly rare for a green to throw a metallic-type dragon at all, grullas are among the rarest of the dragons. Because they are green-bred, grullas are approximately the size of brown dragons. Because of the wonky genetics with fertile greens, grullas may sometimes be infertile and capable of flaming, like a regular fighting dragon. Fertile grullas do not lay as many eggs as gold dragons; they generally produce five to eight eggs. In the Tenth Pass, grullas are sometimes referred to as amber.
Ohaguro queen. Ohaguro queens are not a different color, per se, though they express a very unfortunate recessive condition. Ohaguro queens are very pale, with white-gold coloration. Strikingly, however, they have both black talons and naturally black teeth. Though an ohaguro queen appears perfectly healthy, she is incapable of laying a viable queen egg. Any queens which manage to Hatch from an ohaguro queen’s Clutch will be very sickly, with serious heart conditions, and it is rare for them to survive more than a few days. Because it is recessive, dragons may carry the condition without any expression.
[/li][li]Xezpheth of Wilailian, 4th Interval / 5th Pass[/li][/ul][/blockquote]
Bronze.[/size][/font] Occasionally referred to as "king" dragons, bronze dragons are the mates of the golds. Though ranging in size from 19 to 25 feet in size, it is considered unusual for a bronze to gain a length greater than 23 feet in length. However, most bronzes have a wider wingspan than their length. A 20-foot bronze might sport a 26-foot wingspan. Tenth Pass bronzes range between 32-40 feet in size, with few greater than 38 feet in length. As a result of their large wingspans, most bronzes have more endurance than gold dragons, particularly at high altitudes. However, they are also the least agile of the colors. Bronzes tend to have an intense stream of flame which lasts only a short period of time. In Threadfall, they tend to fly at high altitudes and clear swaths of Thread.
Bronze dragons are often portrayed as being arrogant, which can be a correct stereotype. Like golds, bronzes are often in leadership positions, particularly as Wingleaders and Wingseconds. Due to tradition, a lot of pressure is put on bronzeriders to "measure up", and extra tactical training, responsibilities, and privileges can quickly inflate the ego of both man and dragon. Bronzes tend to be good at sending messages to large amounts of dragons at the same time, but generally find the minds of humans other than their rider's distasteful (or "beneath them." It's an ego thing). Bronzes are known to Impress to heterosexual men, usually of aggressive or alpha-type personalities.
Grullo / non-metallic bronze. Like grullas, grullos are just green-bred bronzes. They can only be sired by bronzes, and as it’s incredibly rare for a green to throw a metallic-type dragon at all, grullos are among the rarest of the dragons, though not quite as rare as grullas. Because they are green-bred, grullos are approximately the size of brown dragons. Without any color or size distinction from browns, grullos are virtually the same, and it is impossible to tell a grullo from a brown. For all intents and purposes, they are brown dragons, and nothing distinguishes them except their genetics.[/i] [li]Trilliaenth of Kes'len, 4th Interval / 5th Pass
Ohaguro bronze. Unlike ohaguro queens, ohaguro bronzes do not have black fangs, only black talons. They are capable of siring viable queens, but have a chance of passing on the ohaguro trait to their queen daughter. Like ohaguro queens, the bronzes are very pale. They may be more prone to heart issues, but it is not common.
[/li][li]Nyth of T'kaggan, 4th Interval / 5th Pass
[/li][li]Jimoniath of B'shan, 4th Interval[/li][/ul][/blockquote]
Brown.[/size][/font] Brown dragons are often referred to as the backbone of the Weyr. Almost twice as common as bronze and gold dragons put together, brown dragons range from 17-22 feet in length, with most browns around 19 or 20 feet in length. Tenth Pass browns are between 27-37 feet, with most between 30-35 feet. Most browns have a wide wingsail, with the trailing edge further down the hip than in many other colors. Their strength is endurance, but browns are also a relatively agile group of dragons. In Threadfall, they are usually placed with bronze dragons, using their wider, longer-lasting flames to blaze paths through the silver Threads. Smaller browns, however, may need to fly at lower altitudes, and may be Wingseconds or even Wingleaders.
Brown dragons are just as intelligent as their bronze brothers, but traditionally are not leaders. Browns seem to have a wider range of personalities than the metallics, though this may simply be a result of training, rather than breeding. Much more down-to-earth in general than the larger dragons, browns are more likely to be willing to contact other humans than their rider, but seem to have a dependency on others, moreso than other dragons. Certainly they are trained to be "team players" and work well together with dragons of all colors. Browns generally Impress to heterosexual males, but Impressions to strong-minded men and women of other orientations are not unheard-of. They seem to prefer hardworking individuals, but this is not always true.
Blue.[/size][/font] Another male color, blue dragons are smaller than all other males, ranging between 15-19 feet in length. The average for blue dragons is around 18 feet, but outliers are common and overlap with both the brown and green range is not unusual. Tenth pass blues range from 23-33 feet, and are generally between 25-30 feet. Blue dragons tend to have a proportional wingspan to their length, if not a little shorter. While they lack endurance, blue dragons make up for it in agility. Far more agile than brown or bronze dragons, blue dragons tend to Chase (and win) green dragons for their mates. Many blues are sterile, but still fully capable of Chasing and Catching.
Blue dragons are usually very skilled at reading Impression potential in humans. While any color dragon may be a Searchdragon--and skilled at that--blue dragons have a knack for finding Impressionable humans. Similarly, many are quite willing to talk to those they Search, to the point where a frustrated Searching blue may just inform the person that they have been Found and they might as well just come quietly. While blue dragons are not known for their leadership, more recently blue dragons have been taking Wingleader and Wingsecond positions in the lower altitudes, freeing up bronzes and browns to use their strengths at high altitudes. Blue dragons seem to pick bisexual and homosexual men and women. While gender and orientation doesn't matter much to blues, they tend to Impress to riders who are partly similar and partly opposite to them. They will almost never pick someone just like them.
Glaucous blue. In blues and greens, there is a region of PNA where copy number variants (CNVs) can have dramatic affects on the developing dragon. Usually, repair mechanisms prevent unusual CNVs from appearing. However, on occasion, two similar CNVs will be matched up during fertilization, causing their effects to show. When the copy number is unusually low, its affects appear in blue dragons. They are hatched an odd gray-blue color, but as they mature, they also pale, because they are incapable of producing the proper pigmentation. Within a few months, they will be almost uniformly a chalky white color, with the occasional greyish-blue marking. Glaucous blues exhibit a suite of changes from the cascade affect of the CNV, including dwarfism (rarely grow larger than 13 feet in the Fourth Pass or 16 feet in the Tenth Pass), a complete lack of aggressive response, and a highly temporal memory structure. By the Tenth Pass, glaucous blues are commonly referred to as whites, despite being unique from true white dragons.[/i] [li]Werth of A'varo, 10th Pass
[/li][li]Jonguuth of K'nan, 9th Interval[/li][/ul]
Hybrid glaucous blue x darkling green, male / steel. When a glaucous blue and fertile darkling green mate, the mismatched CNVs cause a new set of characteristics in the offspring. Hybrids are entirely infertile, with incomplete sexual development. They are generally grey-scale, with pale or dark markings. A male hybrid is called a "steel" from the Tenth Pass. Hybrids are larger than their parents, usually reaching the size of an average green dragon. They may have any combination of their parents traits, but tend to have normal aggressive responses as opposed to either of the extremes.
Green.[/size][/font] Occasionally referred to as the "lovers of the Weyr," green dragons are the most common of all dragons. Ranging in size from tiny 12-foot dragons to blue-sized 18-foot dragons, most greens still fall between 14-17 feet in length. Tenth Pass greens range between 17-27 feet. The smallest Tenth-Pass green recorded was 14 feet, 7 inches; the largest was 31 feet, 2 inches. Renowned for their agility, green dragons tend to have narrow wings and fly much like falcons. In Threadfall, green dragons dance through the air, chasing Threads which make it through the high altitudes. They are capable of incredibly feats of agility, including wingtip turns and corkscrews. Some greens will literally fly circles around Chasers during Flights!
Though often regarded as fairly silly and flirtatious, greens come in every personality one could imagine. They do, however, tend to be creative creatures, unbounded by rules about what should and should not be possible. Some greens are capable of telekinesis; indeed, this fact is unremarkable to other greens, who are always surprised when their abilities are remarked upon. While greens rarely lead, those with stronger personalities occasionally take positions as Wingseconds and very rarely Wingleaders in the lower altitude. Greens generally Impress to women and homosexual men, though the can and will pick a variety of people. Impression to greens can be almost impossible to predict!
Most green dragons are sterile due to a genetic twist put in place to prevent overpopulation; the ova of green dragons do not mature correctly, so even though a green goes into heat every 3-6 months, she has no ova to fertilize. However, on very rare occasion a chromosome translocation occurs which renders a green dragon very like a gold dragon. While most chromosome translocations are either of minor influence or are fatal, causing a dud egg, this particular translocation (when matched with a similar translocation from the sire) makes it impossible for a green dragon to chew firestone due to a lack of a developed second stomach (she will refuse instinctually), but also makes it possible for a green to ovulate. Like green fire-lizards, a green dragon cannot have metallic offspring. But unlike a green flit, green dragons can be very good mothers. A green dragon will lay between 2-5 eggs which, depending on the sire, may or may not be fertile. It is highly unlikely for her offspring to be fertile greens.
Darkling green. In blues and greens, there is a region of PNA where copy number variants (CNVs) can have dramatic affects on the developing dragon. Usually, repair mechanisms prevent unusual CNVs from appearing. However, on occasion, two similar CNVs will be matched up during fertilization, causing their effects to show. When the copy number is unusually high, its affects appear in green dragons. Darkling greens express hyperpigmentation, being a matte black in coloration, with occasional dark green markings. Like glaucous blues, darkling greens exhibit a suite of associated traits, including dwarfism (rarely grow larger than 11 feet in the Fourth Pass or 15 feet in the Tenth Pass), an extreme aggressive response, and a highly spatial memory structure. By the Tenth Pass, darkling greens are commonly referred to as blacks.[/i] [li]Wuth of Ellara, 9th Interval
[/li][li]Morelkyth of D'jen, 9th Interval / 10th Pass
[/li][li]Psitterallkourrith of Kaedryn, 10th Pass[/li][/ul]
Hybrid glaucous blue x darkling green, female / silver. When a glaucous blue and fertile darkling green mate, the mismatched CNVs cause a new set of characteristics in the offspring. Hybrids are entirely infertile, with incomplete sexual development. They are generally grey-scale, with pale or dark markings. A female hybrid is called a "silver" from the Tenth Pass. Hybrids are larger than their parents, usually reaching the size of an average green dragon. They may have any combination of their parents traits, but tend to have normal aggressive responses as opposed to either of the extremes.
White. White dragons are sport dragons -- an unusual mutation which is unlikely to happen more than once. They are small, about the size of a large runner, and measuring around 12 feet in length. White dragons are similar in form and function to blue dragons, but unlike blues, they do not Chase, nor feel any desire to. They lack draconic telempathy, which is natural to all other dragons, but are highly sensitive to human emotion. White dragons are extremely talented at between and are capable of finding their way through time and space quite easily. It is said that a white dragon always knows "when" he is. True white dragons actually contain all the dragon colors, which can be faintly seen in different lights. They are very attractive to fire-lizards for unknown reasons, but cannot communicate with them except to temporarily banish them from the area.
[/i] [li]Ruth of Jaxom, 9th Pass[/li][/ul][/blockquote]
