Post by Whim on Oct 7, 2012 23:30:19 GMT -5
Winglets at Cat's Paw Weyr
Winglets are the riders of young dragon, from when the dragons hatch to when they are two turns old, and ready to take up their full duties. Dragons grow quickly, reaching their full size at eighteen months (one and a half turns), at which point males also begin to chase, while females begin rising at two turns. It does, however, take the full two turns for dragons and riders to complete their training, so they are only considered adults after they graduate.
Winglet pairs spend their first year in a barracks, divided into large rooms that house four dragon and rider pairs per room. The barracks is unisex, but each room only contains riders of the same gender. Once the dragons are a year old, pairs are moved to their own weyrs, where they will continue to live after they graduate.
The first few weeks after hatching dragons grow even more quickly than they do later, and so rarely have time to do anything but eat and sleep. The new riders, similarly, don't have much time to do anything but eat, sleep, and care for their dragons, and so their lessons for the first month cover feeding, oiling, and bathing their dragons.
After the first month young dragons are better able to stay awake, and can eat less frequently, so lessons shift to focus on life in the Weyr, the duties of various riders, common illnesses in young dragons, and how to make and repair riding harnesses, as well as why the harness is designed the way it is. These and similar lessons continue until the dragonets are about eight months old, at which point they begin to fledge, and focus shifts to dragons' abilities, biology, a more thorough study of all dragon illnesses and injuries, and teaching the dragons to fly and land.
At around twelve months, all dragons will be large enough to support their rider in extended flight, and a month will be spent getting the dragons used to flying with their harnesses and riders. After that, the dragons and riders begin to learn to go Between, thread-fighting maneuvers, how to breath fire, and anything needed for any specialized duties they may have (search skills, leadership if the dragon is a prince or lieutenant rank). Queenriders generally begin to break off from the rest of their weyrling class around sixteen months, devoting increasing amounts of their time to studying under and assisting the Weyrwoman.
Winglets, like Candidates, are under strict rules, enforced by the Winglet Master; no fighting is allowed, nor is any other behavior that may damage the Weyr's operation or image. Sex is forbidden until dragons are at least a turn old in Cat's Paw Weyr (longer in some other weyrs), and relationships of any kind tend to be frowned upon. A winglet's duties are to their dragon and their dragon only, and anything that may harm their dragon is forbidden.
As the nocturnal dragons are happier being awake at night, and their riders need to adjust to staying awake at night anyway, two Weyrling classes result from any given hatching. The nocturnal weyrling class wakes in midafternoon to evening, and from there follows a similar schedule to the diurnal class.