Blackrock Weyr

[Seraph]

Blackrock Weyr

Blackrock Weyr is one of the older weyrs of the southern continent, built at the mouth of the Blacksea, the south’s sub-Antarctic region. The Blackrock river, which almost bisects the southern continent, was a natural choice for settlement, and some of the oldest holds of the south were built along its length. Blackrock Weyr was established in an inert volcano caldera prior to the migration north, and evolved to become a large weyr that protects the entire Blackrock River valley. The area is fertile, but the region is prone to earthquakes and severe storms at the beginning of summer, which begins in the final month of the year. Winter begins mid-year, due to being south of the equator.

The weyr overlooks an enormous inland sea, the Blacksea, which feeds rivers and streams all through the south. The Blacksea is kept liquid all year round, and has a huge population of fauna and flora. It is freshwater, with the river becoming saltier towards the sea. The fertile basin at the coast grows the region’s food, supplying the weyr through the harsh winters. Blackrock Weyr is known to have some of the strongest dragons in the south, due to the frequent fierce winds that blow over the Blacksea and whip over the mountains. Wiry and tough, they have been an effective force for 124 turns before recent events brought the weyr low.

The weyr has had a fairly peaceful history, punctuated by the usual politics and occasional tragedies that plague such places. Blackrock, due to its remote location, is fairly insular, well guarded and tightly managed. The last weyrwoman, Rhena, was aging, and her dragon Hulroth had not produced many queen eggs over her life, however, that did not stop an ambitious young bronzerider, M’ler, from having his bronze Iromyth fight tooth and nail to have her. Power-hungry and devious, M’ler was also strong, and Iromyth flew Hulroth consistently for two turns, deposing the old weyrleader. He did not love his weyrwoman for herself, but made a good show of it, concealing the better part of his dictatorial inclinations but carefully removing or demoting any opposition to his rule. M’ler was a strong, decisive weyrleader, and so went unchallenged.

In the summer of the last turn, the first signs of plague were being carried on the wind: not knowing the result of their actions, Blackrock took in trade from the doomed Peron Hold, the closest hold to the weyr. Tainted supplies are the suspected culprit for introducing the disease to the weyr: within weeks of the traders, and then many of the staff succumbing, most of the weyr was infected and the occupants were panicking. M’ler ordered the gates of the weyr shut, and sent warnings to the holds further away, and Blackrock went into quarantine lock-down, allowing only a stream of healers into the weyr to try and cure the disease before it could spread out. However, their efforts were mostly in vain, and a full 400 people were struck down with plague: most of the riders and their dragons died, along with a full contingent of weyrlings. Most tragically, all of the queenriders, including Rhena, fell ill and died. The disease knew no rank or position, and swept through all levels of the weyr, leaving only a scattering of bronzes, a disproportionate number of browns and greens, and sadly few blues. The dragonriders of Blackrock, once 250 strong, were decimated to 30 riders. One clutch of eggs was impressed in that time, but only three of the weyrlings survived. Egg-heavy before her rider succumbed to disease, Hulroth laid a final clutch not long ago before going Between, 15 thin-shelled eggs that are hardening on the sands.

M’ler was one of the survivors, but the experience of having to live in a plague-infested has caused the ambitious, power-hungry man to go a little bit…strange. Determined to bring his weyr back to power, he has come up with several increasingly desperate schemes now that the plague has finally subsided and there are no new infections. After having his weyrwoman interred ‘to watch over the weyr’, he declared that the riders were to go on candidate and supply raids, collecting any child they could find regardless of gender or status for the hatching. His other scheme is to have the bronzes compete to fly one of the surviving weyrling’s green dragon, who has not chewed firestone in her life and who he presumes to be fertile. The weyrleader has been snappish, demanding and churlish, not listening to his remaining advisors and spending most of his time giving orders from his weyr. Since Hulroth’s death, no one has been allowed in the queen’s quarters.

As of winter in its 125th Turn, Blackrock Weyr is in a precarious position indeed. The plague has subsided, leaving the once bustling weyr a haunted shadow of its former self. The coastal holds are beginning to resent M’ler’s draconian tactics, and there are rumours of rebellion, though what the holds plan to do against a fortified weyr manned by 30 riders is a matter of speculation. People are fleeing the south in droves, terrified of disease and made edgy by the very visible Red Star burning balefully in the sky overhead. It is mid-winter: food and tempers are beginning to run short, and it is going to take a concerted effort to rebuild the weyr to its former glory.

[Seraph]

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