The Hatching Ground was the part of a Weyr where the queen dragons would lay their eggs. It is also the site where Hatchings occur, where newborn dragonets are attached to their lifelong riders.
Description[]
Hatching Grounds in Weyrs were usually a very large, enclosed space attached to the ground level of the Weyr bowl with heated sands on which the eggs lay until Hatching. There was usually enough room for other dragons to enter and watch a Hatching from above, and for spectators to come and view hatchings. A queen would usually not leave the Hatching Grounds for long when she had a clutch there, except to hunt for food.
The sand of Fort Weyr's Hatching Ground was heated by careful piping of heat from a magma chamber beneath the weyr, a system designed by Egend Raghir during the First Pass.
History[]
Dragonsdawn[]
The first artificial Hatching Ground was set up in Landing for the first engineered dragon eggs. The scientists responsible for creating the eggs transferred the eggs to the Hatching Ground from the laboratories.
Dragonflight[]
Shortly before the Ninth Pass begins, Lessa attends the hatching of the last queen on Pern (Ramoth) in Benden Weyr's hatching grounds.
The White Dragon[]
Some of the banished Oldtimers sneaked into Benden Weyr's Hatching Grounds to steal one of Ramoth's queen eggs while she was out hunting. The egg was later recovered by Jaxom and Ruth.
The Smallest Dragonboy[]
Keevan impresses Heth at Benden Weyr's hatching grounds at the end of the short story.