This describes mainly details about Atricis’ Whers and the things they do here. For a general description about things not covered in here, check out >this<

The best way to begin describing the Whers of Atricis is by stating they are somewhat more unique than whers from other areas of Pern. Overall, they are treated differently and thus tend to act differently and even have different types of jobs to do for the Weyr they live in/near.

>Wher Size Chart<

Whers and their Handlers
Everyone knows that Whers are much less intelligent than Dragons and don’t have the ability of mental communication. Their bond with their handlers is considerably weaker and sometimes a wher can even attack their own handler or turn wild for no apparent reason due to the weaker bond. However, Atricis’ Whers don’t appear to be like this. The bond with their handler seems to be stronger and this isn’t because the whers bred at Atricis are different from other whers. The reason is because Atricis, being more open to the whers, have discovered the true capabilities of the whers.

To start off, when a wher and a new handler bond, during their lessons they are given exercises and challenges to help deepen the bond between them. This method is how the limited mental speech of the whers to their handlers was opened up to allow the whers and handlers to communicate with each other just a bit easier. The handlers are taught to treat the whers as more than dumb animals, which seems to help with the bond.

Of course, the bond can never be made as strong as a Dragon and Rider bond, but it seems the Whers and Handlers of Atricis are rather pleased with their deepened bonds with their whers.

Wher Colors
Green Whers
Size: 3 – 4 feet at the shoulder (7 – 10 feet in length)
Female Wher
Clutch Size: 1 – 5 eggs
Green Whers, as to be expected, are the smallest and most common of all whers. Like dragons, green whers make up roughly around half of the wher population. Of course, taking into consideration that dead eggs in wher clutches are much more common, the idea that green whers make up half the wher population like with green dragons and the dragon population might be incorrect.
While Green Whers Run to Mate and can clutch, Green clutches aren’t too common. It is common, in green whers, for a Mating to not produce a clutch. It is also common, if a Mating does result in a clutch, for most of the eggs, if there is more than one, to be dead. Also, because Green Whers have very little maternal instinct they often will forget and abandon the clutch. Green Clutches usually only produce up to a brown, if lucky, bronze being extremely rare, depending on the sire’s color.
While because wher eggs are handed out and because they Impress to the first person to feed them, there really is no gender preference with whers.
Speech Example: ‘Gresk think thing eat stuff.’

Blue Whers
Size: 4 – 5 feet at the shoulder (10 – 13 feet in length)
Male Wher
Blue Whers are the second smallest wher overall, and the smallest male wher period. They are the second most common color of wher. They are slightly more intelligent than green whers, but other than that they aren’t all that smart either.
Blue Whers, due to their size, only Chase Green Whers, and really have no chance of Catching a Gold Wher, however that doesn’t mean they won’t try. A Green Clutch sired by a blue will only produce a blue wher at the highest.
Speech Example: ‘Blusk think thing eating food.’

Brown Whers
Size: 5 – 6 feet at the shoulder (13 – 16 feet in length)
Male Wher
As to be expected, Brown Whers are the next largest in the line. They are the third largest of the whers and the second smallest male wher overall. They are not quite as common as blue whers, but definitely not as rare as bronze whers. Compared to the wher population, there appears to be a decent number of these ones. Of course, they are a bit more intelligent than the lower colors, and are considered mid-range for wher intelligence.
Brown Whers have a bit of a better chance in Catching a Gold Wher. However, this isn’t very common since they are usually outlasted by their bronze brothers. Really large Brown Whers seem to hold a much better chance. Because of their size they can Chase both Green and Gold whers. A Green Clutch sired by a brown will produce up to a brown if lucky, while a Gold Clutch may even produce a bronze if lucky, but up to brown is the most common.
Speech Example: ‘Browsk think something eating food.’

Bronze Whers
Size: 6 – 7 feet at the shoulder (16 – 19 feet in length)
Male Wher
The largest out of the male whers and the second largest overall, Bronze Whers are relatively rare. In fact, because of dead clutches and such, they are almost as rare as Gold Whers. Intelligence wise they are rather smart, but of course aren’t as smart as a Gold Wher.
Bronze Whers are meant to Chase the Gold Whers, so it is they who usually Catch the Golds. A clutch sired by them can produce anything up to a Gold Wher if lucky. Also, a Bronze sired clutch seems to produce less dead eggs.
Speech Example: ‘Bronsk think creature eating supplies.’

Gold Whers
Size: 7 – 8 feet at the shoulder (19 – 22 feet in length)
Female Wher
Clutch Size: 4 – 15 eggs
Gold Whers are both the largest of the whers and the most intelligent as well as the rarest. As to be expected, Gold Whers are the most respected out of the wher population and their handlers.
Being the true clutchers of the whers, Golds produce the largest clutches. Their clutches, while still commonly contain dead eggs, tend to be larger and have fewer sickly or dead eggs. Gold Whers have a very high meternal instinct and thus are very protective over their clutch, sometimes making it difficult for even their handler to get too close.
Speech Example: ‘Gosk thinks creature been eating supplies.’

Uncanon Wher Color
Prismatic Whers
Size: 4 – 6 feet at the shoulder (10 – 16 feet in length)
Male Wher
At first appearance, Prism whers, as they are called for short, look like blue whers with glossy hide. When one is actually paying attention it is obvious that these whers are quite something of their own. Their hide, which seems to usually be dark blue (sometimes with purple undertones) in color. What sets them apart from normal blue whers is the iridescent coloring of their hide. At different angles and lighting a play of different colors such as red, oranges, and yellows can most commonly shine across their hide. Sometimes other shades of blue as well as greens also shine across their hide. It is also common for the colors to blend at certain spots, which is probably where the oranges and greens tend to come from. Size wise, Prismatic Whers can be the size of a blue up to the size of a brown. As to be expected they usually Chase Green Whers and perhaps it is possible for the larger ones to Chase Queen Whers as well.
Because of their intelligence and size range they are ranked right above blue whers, and below brown whers.
Speech Example: ‘Prisk think something eat food.'


Jobs
Because Atricis’ Whers live in/near the Weyr they are often given supplies to feed themselves and live a decent living. Because of this living, the whers work and do different jobs for the Weyr that the dragons and riders cannot or won’t do.

Night Patrol
This is a very expected job that whers have for Atricis. Since dragons are day creatures rather than night creatures and cannot see in the dark well at all, it is harder to dragonriders to keep watch during the night. So, the whers do this. However, they do it a bit differently.
While a Watchdragon has a point they watch everything from, the whers don’t. They walk around Atricis during the night, keeping a look out for visitors of any type. Because the Weyr is so large there are usually several whers and handlers assigned to this job per night while two wherhandlers pair up during their patrol. In a bit more detail, due to the number of whers living within Atricis Weyr’s boundaries, there are five patrols wandering the area until sunrise. A ‘patrol’ is a pair of two whers and both of their handlers, so because of this there are ten whers and handlers patrolling the area during the night at once.
Because Whers have a lot of energy and for the handlers the Night Patrol can be very tiring on foot, it is common for the handlers to be mounted on their whers to the whers can trot at a decent pace, or even run if they wish, around the area, which allows them to keep everything up to date.

Supply Moving
This is job is actually for themselves. Since the whers and handlers live in a series of tunnels just outside of Atricis Weyr the supplies given to them by Atricis have to be transported from the Weyr to the tunnels. This job is usually handled by larger whers, such as bronzes, golds and large browns, though smaller colors also help out with this as well sometimes.
Because usually there are a large number of heavy supplies to transport, they are usually transported on a sort of wagon that the larger whers pull along. Sometimes they carry packs of some supplies on their backs as well.

Cave-in Digging
This isn’t a very common job for the whers really, since cave-ins in the Weyrs Lower Caverns or the private weyrs don’t happen very often at all. However, when a cave-in does occur the whers are brought in to dug through the rubble and help carefully clean out what they can without causing more to cave-in. Fixing the cave-in is usually the job of miners and smiths.

Search & Rescue
Another job that isn’t too common, the whers also help with searching for those that go missing. Some sometimes a weyrbrat or other weyrfolk might, for whatever reason, leave the Weyr, sometimes they can become lost. While the dragons will search from the skies, this isn’t always a very reliable way to find someone, especially at night or during dark storms.
When night hits or the clouds are thick enough to make the day dark, the whers will be sent out to find the missing person. This can be very reliable since they have a highly developed sense of smell and if the person had run off recently they can see the faint heat trail left behind.

Hunting
Not always a very common job for the whers, but it is rather helpful for both themselves and the Weyr. This job is rather simple. Several whers and handlers are sent out after dark to hunt for whatever they can find and catch. This is usually used when the Weyr is a bit low on food or when the Weyr can’t supply the whers with as much as they usually do. Of course, because wildlife around the Weyr isn’t very plentiful, this isn’t used all the time, only when the extra food is needed, since the whers can hunt more without scaring away the prey like the dragons tend to do.