Queen dragons, also referred to as gold dragons, were the dominant females of the dragon species. Queens were generally imperious, demanding, quick to anger, and easily riled up.
Characteristics and personality[]
Queen dragons were the largest of all colors of dragon, but were also the rarest, making up approximately 1% of the dragon population. A queen's coloring could be any shade of gold, which could change according to the queen's state. A queen's color often became brighter during mating or pregnancy. Queens were the dominant females of the dragon species, and any other dragon would obey the orders of a queen even against the will of their own riders. Queen dragons would only impress women, and often had a preference for women born outside of the weyrs. An egg that would hatch a queen dragon was especially noticeable, being larger in size and having a distinct golden color. As the largest size of dragon, queens had impressive stamina, with only bronze dragons being able to keep up with them in flight.
Queen dragons were the only fertile females; the other female dragons, green dragons, were sterile. Thus, queen dragons were solely responsible for perpetuating the species. The people of Pern believed that firestone induced sterility, so queen dragons were forbidden from ingesting it. Meanwhile, green dragons, which were smaller and more numerous, ingested firestone, preventing them from overpopulating the weyrs with undersized dragon offspring. It was implied, however, that queens might in fact have been genetically unable to ingest firestone, due to the outdated beliefs of Kitti Ping Yung regarding gender roles.
Reproduction occurred during a mating flight, where a queen was pursued by one or more bronze dragons, the only males with the necessary stamina to keep up during a flight. Mating occurred on a regular basis, more often just before or during a pass, less often during an interval. Queens typically rose for the first time shortly after reaching maturity at two years of age. An aging queen, however, would eventually stop rising to mate, though the exact time was undefined. The onset of estrus was marked by a sudden change in temperament and the hunting of prey by the queen in question. Weyrwomen were encouraged to have their queens blood their kills for a quick burst of energy. Gorging was discouraged and was believed to result in smaller clutches. The queen mated with whichever bronze managed to catch her during a flight. In the event of a senior queen rising, the rider of the winning bronze became Weyrleader. It was tradition that all other queens in a weyr leave when another queen rose to mate. The emotion involved could induce other queens to rise, and could result in a fight to the death between the two.
Following the mating flight, queens had a short pregnancy, after which they would lay eggs in their Weyr's Hatching Ground. When laying eggs, queens were known to have a strong maternal instinct and would protect the eggs from any perceived threat. This instinct was the only known exception to a dragon's urge to suicide at the death of their riders; the queen would remain just long enough for the eggs to mature and hatch before going between forever.
Role in the Weyr[]
Within a Weyr, queen dragons served as leaders alongside bronze dragons, and were responsible for the continuation of the species. Because any dragon would obey the order of a queen, all queen dragons and their riders were expected to serve in leadership positions regardless of actual status. Typically, a healthy Weyr had multiple queens. One queen served as senior queen, while her rider was Senior Weyrwoman, usually with multiple junior queens below them. A lack of queens not only caused difficulties in keeping a Weyr populated, but could result in inbreeding due to the reduced population.
When a queen rose to mate, the choice of eligible males was typically limited to those bronze dragons who resided in the queen's Weyr. However, both the queen's rider and the Weyrleader had the ability to call for an open mating flight, allowing male dragons from other Weyrs to participate in the mating flight. The queen and Weyrwoman then had the option of transferring to the winning rider's Weyr.
The mating flight of a senior queen was of particular importance due to its influence on Weyr Leadership; a Weyr's Weyrleader was the rider of the dragon that flew the queen. Meanwhile, Weyrwomen stepped down when their queen ceased to rise for mating flights. The replacement Weyrwoman would be chosen by one of two methods. Either the most senior of the junior Weyrwomen was promoted, or the new Weyrwoman would be the rider of the next queen to rise to mate. The latter practice was often used in the formation of a new Weyr, as it was considered to be the fairest method.
Because queens did not ingest firestone, they were unable to flame thread and so did not fly with the fighting wings. Instead, they flew in the queens' wing, which flew at low altitude with their riders bearing flamethrowers to char any missed thread from above. This practice was forgotten during the Eighth Interval, as the number of queens decreased until there was only one living queen at any time. Queen's wings were reintroduced in the Ninth Pass, when Lessa brought back the five missing Weyrs.
Notable Queens and Their Riders[]
- Alaranth — Torene Ostrovsky
- Arith (Third Pass) — Lorana
- Faranth — Sorka Hanrahan
- Holth — Leri
- Minith — Tullea
- Nemorth — Jora
- Orlith — Moreta
- Prideth — Kylara
- Ramoth — Lessa
- Talenth — Fiona
- Wirenth — Brekke
Gallery[]
