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[Wolf Tears]

Normal
These are the dragons of the Weyrs, and while not all can be considered “normal,” they are certainly not feral. Unlike their wild brethren, they need riders, with the candidates for such falling between the ages of twelve and eighteen Turns. A few- emeralds, blacks, and turquoises- have not occurred outside of the Sinthera bloodlines that first produced them, and are still something of an enigma, though much has been learned about them in the Turns since the first emerald was hatched. These new colors have been mostly accepted throughout Pern, though those outside of Sinthera do tend to view them as extremely odd.


The true queens of the Weyrs, golds are the largest and most intelligent of normal dragons, and are the only ones that can become senior queens (the instance of an emerald in a Weyr with no golds is one that has not been discussed, and will hopefully never come up). They cannot produce flame, as their second stomach rejects firestone; when Thread still fell, they had to fight in the lowest wing, with their riders wielding flamethrowers. Even now, with the dragons' original purpose eliminated, they hold power over the other dragons; their commands cannot be ignored. They can be aggressive and arrogant, but are excellent leaders, and most are wonderful clutchmothers. Golds are often stocky, but still retain a feminine grace, and their colors range wildly, from deep, rosy gold to the pale gold made famous by lunar ferals.

Sex: female
Size: 33-40 meters
Clutch Size: 5-20
Flown By: bronzes, large browns
Impress: heterosexual females


The largest of males, these are usually the dragons that mate with golds, only occasionally being beaten out by browns. Though known for being arrogant, not all bronzes have such overinflated egos, and many are intelligent and collected, loyal to and good leaders of their Weyr. They can command respect from lower-ranked dragons, though never to the extent that a gold or emerald would, and they never disobey a direct order from a queen. Their coloration is more limited than some, though still with an impressive range, from true bronze to a more brassy color to grayish or olive bronze.

Sex: male
Size: 30-35 meters
Chase: golds, emeralds, blacks, turqoises, greens
Impress: heterosexual males


The first Emerald was thought to be the last, but all of Pern has been shocked to find that this is not so. Originally thought to be an unusually large green, the first emerald dragon was treated as such until she Rose and was subsequently diagnosed as pregnant; in fact, the world may never have known, had firestone training not been pushed to much later in a hatchling’s life thanks to the end of Thread. In any case, she lay nine eggs, one of which hatched into a second Emerald, and a third was born a few Turns later but failed to find Hers among the candidates and went between. Since then they have established themselves as the junior queens of the Weyr, unable to bend golds to their will but with definite power over the lower ranks. As far as anyone knows they are always deep green, and while they are not fully metallic like true queens they do have patches or markings that shimmer like a dragon of higher rank. Calmer than queens, they are definitely as secure in their power, but are better at subtlety than force.

Sex: female
Size: 28-32 meters
Clutch Size: 3-12?
Flown By: bronzes, browns, sometimes blacks
Impress: hetero-/bisexual females?


Known for being steady and level-headed, brown dragons are princes beneath their bronze kings, and while one might think that would rankle, few tend to mind their lower authority, preferring to work from behind the scenes. Rarely do they receive the spotlight positions often granted to bronzes; they're usually found as wingseconds rather than wingleaders, and are usually (though there are exceptions) not big enough to Fly golds, so almost never become Weyrleaders (though with the emergence of smaller emeralds a few brownriders have become junior Weyrleaders). A brown dragon's hide can range from chocolate or dark brown to cinnamon brown or even tan.

Sex: male
Size: 24-28 meters
Chase: golds (if large enough), emeralds, blacks, turqoises, greens
Impress: hetero-/bisexual males, very rarely homo-/asexual females


All blacks have the same coloration, a perfectly plain, unblemished black, and because of this some people think at first that they are boring. However, as anyone who spends three minutes around a black will know, this statement is about as true as calling Rukbat purple. They are adventurous, some harboring a deep love of thrills while others enjoy trying new things. They are not always brave, however, and have a reputation for breaking down under confrontation, though some are excellent peacemakers. They will always stand by those they care about, however, their loyalty shining through any doubts.

Sex: either
Size: 21-26 meters
Flown By: bronzes, browns, blacks, blues, turquoises
Chase: greens, blacks, small emeralds
Impress: unknown


The lowest-ranked and most numerous males of the Weyrs, blues have agility secondly only to that of their green sisters- but, thanks to their larger size and slightly more bulky build, greater stamina; in the days of Thread, they were able to last an entire Fall. Usually empathic and gentle, sometimes known as being bubbly and energetic, blue are usually the dragons to Search candidates, as their sensitivity to others' minds is unparalleled. Their hides can be almost any shade of blue, from pale blue to nearly black, greenish blue to violet-blue, and anywhere in between.

Sex: male
Size: 18-23 meters
Chase: greens, turquoises, blacks
Impress: males, bi-/homosexual females


It didn't take long for the first few turquoises to raise havoc in the Weyr. Not that they're malicious, not at all, but they have definitely proven themselves to be playful, energetic, and almost dengerously mischevious. Besides that, trouble just seems to follow them around; it's not their fault- trouble comes looking for them, not the other way around- but the fact cannot be denied that they seem to be under a curse, and while they rarely bring harm to anyone being around one can become... inconvenient. Larger than the average green but smaller than the average blue, they seem to be something of a mix between the two, their hide is always a composite of the two colors and their sex varying from one dragon to the next.

Sex: either
Size: 16-20 meters
Clutch Size: N/A
Flown By: bronzes, browns, blacks, blues, turquoises
Chase: greens, turquoises, blacks
Impress: any



Sex: female
Size: 15-19 meters
Clutch Size: N/A
Flown By: bronzes, browns, blacks, blues, turquoises
Impress: females, bi-/homosexual males


White dragons are the smallest of all eighteen colors. They make up for this, however, in intelligence; though you wouldn't expect it from their rank, they have excellent recall and betweening skills, often reaching the level of a bronze. Incredibly agile, almost as much as greens, and stronger than they look, they are nonetheless very lacking in stamina, and this is what usually brings them down. These dragons tend to be thoughtful, playful, and generally nice, though not always, and are always white, though some may be more of a cream color of have some form of iridescence.

Sex: sexless, identify as either
Size: 12-16 meters
Impress: any?

[Wolf Tears]

Normal Ranks

High
Gold
Bronze
Emerald

Middle
Brown
Black
Blue

Low
Turquoise
Green
White

Templates drawn by Kit
Reference pictures for dragon ranks colored by Mellody
Size reference chart compiled by Kit