Resources
Just a few resources to help if you want to get involved with writing or illustrating as part of the Dragonchoice project.
- About Pern – the setting in brief for newcomers to the world
- The dragons of Pern – the distinctive features that make these dragons unique
- Anne’s rules – Anne McCaffrey’s rules on Dragonriders of Pern fan fiction and fan art
About Pern
Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders novels chronicle the history of the eponymous planet Pern, a colony of a futuristic Earth that has reverted to a pseudo-medieval society over hundreds of years’ separation.
Seeking a simpler life far from war-torn Terra, the original colonists were decimated when, seven years after the founding of the colony, a mindless space-borne organism – later dubbed ‘Thread’ – began to fall on the planet, devouring all organic material in its path. Only stone and metal were impervious to the stuff, and hundreds of people died in the first Threadfalls.
When the remaining scientists realised that the parasite would fall on their undefended planet in waves for fifty years out of every two hundred and fifty, a plan was devised to combat the menace. Creatures native to the planet, known as ‘dragonets’ for their resemblance to the mythical Earth beasts, were used as a basis for the genetic engineering of true ‘dragons’. Capable of flight, instantaneous teleportation, and fire-breathing, the dragons would be used to intercept and burn the Thread before it touched the ground. The inherent empathy of the diminutive dragonets was enhanced in the engineered dragons to ensure a full telepathic bond between the dragons and their riders – chosen at the moment of Hatching in a ceremony called Impression that left dragon and rider with a life-long bond.
Forgetting their origins in the struggle to survive, the Pernese reverted to a feudal model of society, with three distinct cultures evolving to meet their needs: the Holds, home to most of the populace and governed by their ruling Lords; the Halls, where skilled artisans learn the crafts of smithing and healing, teaching and animal-care, or one of any number of other disciplines; and the Weyr, where the dragonriders and their beasts live apart, supported by the tithes of the people they were sworn to protect.
For fifty years at a time Thread rains down upon Pern, and the dragons rise to meet it, risking injury and death in their defence of the planet. When the Pass of Thread is over Pern enjoys two hundred years of clear skies. But the Intervals always come to an end – and dragonriders watch and wait, holding their vigil until their planet and their people need them to combat Threadfall once more.
The Dragonriders of Pern® is registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Anne McCaffrey, used here with permission. Use or reproduction without a license is strictly prohibited.
The Dragons of Pern
According to Anne McCaffrey herself, no artist has ever managed to capture Pernese dragons quite as she sees them. There’s much debate on various aspects of dragon appearance, but these are the basics.
Body, limbs and tail
Pernese dragons have six limbs – two wings, two hind legs, and two forelegs or forearms which are shorter than the hind limbs with five-fingered ‘hands’. This makes for a very awkward walking gait, although dragons are comfortable sitting upright. They have ridges along the spine – riders sit between the last two ridges at the base of the neck – less prominent between the wings than along the neck and tail. Their tails are forked at the tip.
Head and eyes
Their heads are somewhat horse-like in appearance, with ‘headknobs’ rather than horns or ears (no one is wholly sure what headknobs are – perhaps short, blunt horns would be the best approximation), and prominent eye-ridges. The eyes themselves have no pupils, are faceted like jewels, and change colour depending on the dragon’s mood – generally, blue or green shades for contentment, with the red and orange end of the spectrum for anger and agitation.
Colour
The five colours of Pernese dragons are green, blue, brown, bronze, and gold. Greens and golds are female; blues, browns, and bronzes male. There can be dramatic difference in shade between dragons of any colour – a blue dragon, for instance, could be anything from duck-egg blue to sea blue to almost navy blue – but not in the hide of any one particular dragon. There are no markings, though dragons may appear to be dappled with a different shade of their own colour.
Skin and blood
Dragons have smooth, glossy hides, not scales, and dragon blood (ichor) is green.
Size
One of the biggest ongoing debates concerns the size of Pernese dragons. Various figures have been suggested, putting the largest dragons anywhere from 45 feet to 45 metres in length. Personally, I think of them as somewhere between the two extremes. What is certain is that the greens are smallest and the golden queens almost twice as large.
My approximate mental image puts green dragons at 30-37 feet, blues at 37-45 feet, browns at 45-52 feet, bronzes at 52-57 feet, and queens at 57-63 feet. (This is the x1.5 scale, for anyone who’s followed the debate at the Kitchen Table, and makes the most sense to me – but it’s just my opinion on the matter!)
Anne’s rules
Pern fan fiction and art used to be very tightly regulated. In the old days, fanfic writers were only allowed to operate within private clubs, distributing their stories and drawings to fellow members but not openly on the web. Several other limitations also applied – no use of Anne’s characters, no use of Benden Weyr, Ruatha Hold or the Harper Hall as settings, no gay queen or bronze riders. And, of course, the cardinal rule: no making any money off Pern through art, writing, or anything else!
The non-commercial rule naturally still applies, but otherwise the rules have relaxed since the introduction of the official Anne McCaffrey Kitchen Table fan fiction forums circa 2001. Pern fan fiction and fan art may now be published openly on the web as long as it remains non-commercial and notices recognising Anne McCaffrey as the owner of the Dragonriders of Pern® trademark and concept are posted. There are no longer restrictions on the use of Anne’s characters or settings.
Dragonchoice and Dragonchoice 2 were originally posted on the Kitchen Table forums and graduated to their own site once it was permitted for fan fiction to be openly published. Both stories and every piece of art were created on a non-commercial basis for all to enjoy as a celebration of Anne McCaffrey’s magnificent creation.