Since people have been asking and I feel we need to elaborate, I’m going to give a brief break down of the ranking system in the Weyr. Weyrs are composed of an extremely hierarchical society and breaking from your rank or going outside your boundaries can result in punishment. Accordingly, each rank has certain duties and requirements that must be met. Please take these into consideration when RPing or seeking a certain rank with a character. If your character does not meet the criteria for a rank, he/she may never achieve it. Know it. Live it. Move on.



Weyrleading:

Weyrleader:
The Weyrleader is the military leader of the Weyr. Leadership is determined through chance, the first gold dragon to rise to mate after the previous Weyrwoman's gold dragon has died or ceased to mate becomes Weyrwoman, the rider of the bronze dragon that catches that dragon becomes Weyrleader. This system was established by the first Weyrleader, Sean Connell, in the short story The Second Weyr.

This system can (and in the books has) produce inept or otherwise unsatisfactory leadership. There is no way to remove a bad Weyrwoman and the only way to replace a Weyrleader is for a different bronze to fly the Weyrwoman's gold dragon. During an Interval it may be as long as a decade between mating flights.

When a new Weyr is opened the first among the newly assigned gold dragons to rise to mate becomes the first Senior gold at that Weyr and the rider of the bronze that catches her is the new Weyrleader. Often when the golds are assigned to the Weyr they assign only a single gold at first, to insure the chosen leadership, or they wait until the chosen goldrider's dragon is about to rise to mate to assign golds to the new Weyr.

A retiring Weyrwoman may choose her successor by timing her retirement to occur just before her chosen successor's dragon is about to rise to mate. However, this may not be possible if her choice of successor is not going to rise to mate in a reasonable amount of time. A Weyrwoman who fails to retire in a reasonable amount of time after her gold has failed to rise to mate may be forced to step down by force of the junior goldriders, the bronzeriders and/or the weyrfolk. This method of choosing a successor is also no guarantee of a quality replacement, as the Weyrwoman herself may choose her successor based on cronyism, personal bias against an otherwise capable goldrider or on poorly thought-out criteria.

If a Weyrleader dies "in office" the Wingleaders rule by committee until the Weyrwoman's gold rises to mate. However, in the book Dragonquest when a Weyrleader is incapacitated the Weyrwoman Mardra takes his place in the Wings, an action met with shock and outrage by other Weyrs.

His duties:

• Backing up the senior Weyrwoman in all her endevors. Not all Weyrleaders are weyrmates with the senior Weyrwoman but they are all required to have a working relationship and to be able to responsibly cooperate with each other to fulfill their duty to the Weyr. He needs to provide both physical and moral support to her and her dragon at all times to help prevent the structure of the Weyr from crumbling out from underneath them. If there is tension between the two ruling parties, it can negatively impact everyone in the Weyr.
  
• Diplomacy! The Weyrleader needs to be good at dealing with problems and ready to compromise if a solution requires it. Likewise, he may be required to put his foot down and needs to have the steel required to punish those who need to be punished. He must also deal with Lord Holders and Craft Masters, working with them to keep the Weyr supplied and alive. While the Senior Weyrwoman and her Jr. associates deal with most of the domestic aspects of the Weyr, he is at least required to help.
  
• Responsibility! Besides his duties to the Holders and Crafters, it is the Weyrleader’s job to keep tabs on everyone in his Weyr. He must know who is fighting fit and who is out of commission. Which weyrlings are ready to graduate and which need a little more training. It is his job to consistently meet with his wingleaders and asses the state of his Weyr and keep it fighting fit, even in times of no thread.

Weyrwoman and Junior Weyrwomen:
The domestic head of the Weyr is the Weyrwoman, the rider of the ranking gold (“queen”) in the Weyr. If the Weyrwoman dies, or if her dragon ceases to mate due to old age or serious injury, the rider of the next gold to rise to mate will take the position. Though she and her gold are called "senior pair" they are senior in rank, not necessarily in age or in experience.

Her Duties:

• The Weyrwoman is in charge of all matters that pertain to housing, food, the raising of children living in the Weyr, training, organization and discipline of the support staff of the Weyr, as well as the day-to-day living requirements of the dragons and their riders. The Weyrwoman is also a diplomatic ambassador, responsible for relations to other Weyrs, Holds and the Crafthalls. Most of her duties are administrative, delegating responsibilities to her Headwoman or junior goldriders.
  
• Keeping track of the health of her Weyr. A Weyrwoman must be a responsible and mostly level-headed person, capable of remembering vast amounts of information when needed. She keeps track of the records and the general health of the dragons in her Weyr. Likewise, her Queen is needed to help manage the Weyr’s dragons, keeping them calm especially during times of crisis.
  
• Junior goldriders are also assistants to the Weyrwoman. All dragons will obey the orders of a queen, unless they contradict the orders of the senior gold. Because of this, all goldriders must act as leaders. The junior goldriders are typically assigned to record keeping, lower level diplomatic duties, training gold weyrling pairs and fostering teenage girls who are likely to rise to a leadership position within the Weyr. This provides them with important experience for future leadership positions, as each junior pair has the chance to become Weyrwoman on very short notice. This means that junior Weyrwoman must share the same traits as their Senior. They do not simply languish on a living gold pillow with all the power of the Weyr in their lap. They work. And they work hard. They are expected to be responsible and reliable. Young queens look for these traits in the girls presented to them at a hatching and will typically scorn those they feel are not up to the task of potentially leading a Weyr.

Wingleaders and Wingseconds:
A Wing is lead by a Wingleader, who is almost always a bronzerider. The Wingleader is responsible for ensuring that his Wing is capable of safely fighting thread. He also appoints Wingseconds and recruits newly graduated weyrlings. Ideally a Wing has two Wingseconds, which are also typically bronze or brown dragons. They fill the Wingleader’s position in the case of an emergency, and help to convey the Wingleader’s orders to the rest of the Wingriders. A healthy Wing contains thirty Wingriders and their dragons, of which more than 3/4 are blue or green. The smaller blue and green dragons do not have the stamina to safely fly an entire threadfall and must be rotated out in two or three shifts. If a Wing falls to fewer than 12 healthy dragon/rider pairs, the Wing is disbanded and absorbed by other Wings.

Their Duties:

• A Wingleader and his second are expected to know their riders. It’s important that there is at least a good working relationship between every rider in the wing. If they cannot work together, they are transferred or disciplined. Wingleaders should leave no room for discord underneath their watch.
  
• Wingleaders and seconds must be in constant contact with the Weyrleader. Meetings are either daily or every other day. Stratagies must be planned out, formations picked over and information shared for the Weyr to run like the well-oiled machine it is. People do not simply blidly obey, they must earn the respect of both their fellow Wingleaders and seconds and the Weyrleaders.
  
• Wingleaders and seconds are generally considered the most responsible and capable dragons in their wing. If at any time the Weyrleader feels that they cannot perform their duties as required, he can and will remove them from their position and replace them with someone far more capable.

Wingriders:
These dragonriders make up the bulk of a Weyr’s population and have few duties other than to attend to their dragons and follow orders. These orders may include anything from watchduty, sweeps, expeditions, to helping with the Weyrlingmaster and his charges. Brown and Bronze wingriders have the potential to be promoted to Wingleader or Wingsecond status should they prove themselves fit for the task. While the Weyrwoman and the Weyrleader hold the same rank as a Lord or Lady Holder or Mastercraftsmen, even the lowest ranked adult dragonrider is equivalent to a senior journeyman in a craft, and are given the respect due any dragonrider as the protectors of Pern.


Weyrling Masters and Weyrling Master Assistants:
One of the most important ranks in the Weyr, below the Weyrleaders and Wingleaders, is that of the Weyrlingmaster. He is in charge of the training and discipline of the young dragonpairs known as weyrlings. While under his care, weyrlings learn everything from basic dragon husbandry to advanced threadfighting techniques. The Weyrlingmaster must be appointed by the Weyrleaders. The Weyrlingmaster must have a good deal of experience, and thick skin, because as many as 25% of all Weyrlings can die before the end of their training.

His Duties:

• Keeping track of all his weyrlings. The weyrlingmaster must be aware of the state of his charges at all times. This applies for his assistants as well. Weyrlings are generally fragile and insecure at first, questioning their bond and confused at the role they have been thrust into. It is the Weyrlingmaster’s job to keep them calm and confidant and to nurture them through the various stages of their dragon’s growth.
  
• Lessons! The weyrlingmaster and his assistants are responsible for the teaching of each new generation and the must make sure that every weyrling they are watching over understands and learns the material they are being presented. If a weyrling is falling behind or not understanding it, it is also their job to give that individual special attention until he/she does.
  
• Communication with the Weyrleaders is essential for this position. Whether a weyrlingmaster or simply an assistant, the progress of each batch of weyrlings must be constantly reported to the leaders of the Weyr so that they may keep track of their ranks. Likewise, it is also the duty of the Weyrlingmaster and his assistants to report potential wingleaders and wingseconds to the current Wingleaders so that they may more confidently choose weyrlings to join their ranks at graduation.

Weyrlings:
Young, immature dragons and their riders. Young dragons generally fly for the first time at about one Turn (year) and train with the Weyrling Wing until mature enough to join a Fighting Wing, usually between 1 1/2 to 2 Turns. Weyrling dragonriders may not join a Wing until they have been offered a position by the head of a current wing after their weyrlingmaster declares them worthy of graduating. They do not have adult level rank/status until they have been accepted into a Fighting Wing.

Their Duties:

• Take care of their dragons! Young dragons are nutourously fragile and insecure creatures. Though they are born intelligent and capable of speech, weyrlings are still infants at first and must be constantly reassure and have things explained to them. They must grow into the inate wisdom that dragons seem to possess. They are not born with it. Their dragon is now their life. Romantic relationships are strictly forbidden until the dragon is old enough to comprehend them and not panic over the attention not being paid to them.
  
• Obey the Weyrlingmaster and his assistants. In the world of the weyrling, the weyrlingmaster is law. And any discord in his ranks will be punished severely, usually with latrine duty. Impressing a dragon is an honor and must be treated as such. Weyrlings need to realize that they are there to learn not to mess around.

Candidates:
Young people who are given the opportunity to become a dragonrider. They are chosen through Search, where a sensitive dragon, usually a blue or green, seeks mentally sensitive boys and girls who are of the correct temperament to match minds with a dragon hatchling. Usually those searched are young males, aged 10 - 18, although older girls (aged 16-22) are sometimes searched if there is a gold egg available. With the addition of any Weyrbrat aged 1o-18, the Searched are familiarized with the eggs and are present when the eggs hatch.

The Hatchlings choose, or Impress a Candidate who suits his or her temperamental and/or other (still unknown) needs. The minimum age of the Candidates is decided by the Weyrleaders and may be changed according to the Weyr's needs. If there is a greater need for older more responsible riders, the age may be pushed back, if there is a lack of Candidates, the age may be lowered. The minimum age may also be changed depending on whether Pern is experiencing Fall or Pass. The youngest anyone has Impressed a dragon is aged 10 (F'nor), the oldest seems to be in their early twenties.


Lower Caverns Staff:
Often, but not always, the Candidates who failed to Impress a dragon, or those who have run away from home to live in the more liberal, accepting atmosphere of the Weyr. Lower Cavern staff are often the grown children of dragonriders. This includes cooks, servers, cleaning staff for common areas, those who care for the beasts that will feed the dragons, and many others. Lower Caverns workers often satisfy the sexual needs of riders who have lost a mating flight. They are lead and organized by a headwoman, who is usually ranked just under the weyrleaders in authority.


Craftsmen:
Assigned to the Weyr by their Craft, Craftsmen serve the dragonriders and support staff as they would serve any Hold. The position is usually a high prestige assignment, and they are autonomous from Weyr structure. However some craftmen gain their position as a Weyr by being Searched and proficient in their craft discipline, at which point they are appointed by their Mastercrafter as the official representative.


Weyrbrats:
The children who are born in the Weyr are called (affectionately) Weyrbrats. Weyrbrats may be the children of Dragonriders, Lower Cavern staff or Crafters. It is the tradition in the Weyr that children are not raised by their natural parents, as dragonrider parents do not have time to raise a child while caring for a dragon. This community model also serves to reduce parental favoritism. Children are Fostered as soon as they are weaned from their mother's milk, and initially sent to the Weyr's creche.

Once the child has grown to show distinct personality and talents, they are matched with a Fosterer (foster parent) who suits the child's temperament. Every male Weyrbrat has the right to become a Candidate and stand for Impression at age 10. Female Weyrbrats may become Candidates if there is a gold egg in the Hatching Grounds. By the end of the Ninth Pass, female Greenriders have become more common, so female Weyrbrats may be allowed to join the ranks of Candidates even if there is no gold egg in more progressive Weyrs.


(Alot of this information came from Wikipedia but I also wrote a good deal of it. This write up is free to use anywhere. You do not need to ask my permission.)