A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I -J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z - Curses
The following dictionary contains both Pernese canon terms and Reparation specific terms. If you have suggestions for the dictionary please leave them on the OOC board.
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Agenothree: A common chemical on Pern, HNO3. It was used in flamethrowers to produce a charring gas that burns Thread, now it may be used as a weapon or holders may use it to clear the land.
Airsled: A transportation vehicle used by the Pern colonists. Non-existent anymore, Landing references still refer to them as the main fast transportation and defense against Threadfall before dragons.
AIVAS: Artificial Intelligence Voice Activated System. The computer that gave Pern the plans to sent the Red Star away forever.
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Belior: Pern's largest moon.
Between: The strange, cold, black area of nothingness. A dragon may go between and come out in a different location.
Black Rock: Coal
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Candidate: A person, typically between 12 and 21 years old that stands at a hatching in hopes of Impressing. Those who are Searched are refugees and often forced to come to the Weyr and then given the choice if they want to stand or not.
Convicts: People who originated from Terran Earth and landed in Pern after they were locked in a spaceship. They were convicts on Earth that were inserted with an injection that mutated their genes and made them mutated in either physical or mental ways. More on convicts can be found on the information page.
Crafthall (Hall): Crafthalls are the 'guilds' of Pern. They are still existent but totally dominated by the Valde. There is one Crafthall at the Weyr.
Crawler: Type of Pernese insect that humans find really annoying.
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Day Sisters: A trio of stars visible from Pern. Also called Dawn Sisters
Dragon: Genetically engineered from fire-lizards to better fight Thread, their main purpose is gone - but they are still protectors of Pern. They are highly telepathic and a bit less empathic, and bond to a rider at birth. They need their rider to live (and most of them time, vice versa). They are ranked by color (see Dragon Colors) and size. They are "cousin" to the fire-lizards and the ugly watch-whers. They grow big enough to carry a rider, or even multiple riders, and they have the powers of teleportation (between), telepathy (and empathy), and telekinesis (not known well outside the Weyrs, and in small doses, except for Blacks). They have hide instead of skin or scales, large wings maybe double their length, four clawed feet, and powerful hindquarters and jaws. Their eyes are multifaceted and change colors thanks to their emotions. They need to be oiled often to prevent the hide from going dry and breaking, and their color pales when they are unhealthy.
Dragonet: A young dragon.
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Earth: Where the Convicts originate from and where Pernese are descended from. Now Earth is a very overflowing place and they often invade other planets on Orion’s Arm that have been colonized centuries ago (etc. Mars). The time period on Earth is in the thirty first century roughly.
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Fellis Juice: A narcotic painkiller that can be addictive. It is created from Fellis Tree fruits.
Firestone: A phosphorous-bearing mineral which dragons chew to produce flame.
Firelizard (Flit): They are like miniature dragons, their DNA being the basis of the process that engineered dragons. They are small, usually an arms length at full growth, growing up in a matter of weeks. They have thinner and streamlined bodies than those of dragons, and can only communicate by pictures. They are extremely intelligent, though don't always understand humans. They develop unique personalities, Impressing anyone, usually the first that offers them food shortly after hatching. They are rare. Due to the scientist's injection, firelizards come in the strange colors(link).
Fostering: A system where the young are brought up by a couple other than their blood relatives. Common within the Weyr.
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Glow: a light-source which can be carried in a hand-basket.
Griffin: A new species that the scientist developed. The griffins were created during Turnover 102. For more information look here(link)
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HAD: Hear All Dragons. They are able to hear what other rider's dragon's speak. They are very rare.
Hatching: A public event where a clutch hatches and the dragonets impress
Harpers: The teachers and entertainers. They educated the young of the hall, hold, and weyr through the Teaching Ballads. The Masterharper was responsible for training the younger harpers, the appointment of harpers to Weyr, hold, and hall, and the discipline of the harpers. Now the Harpers still exist but they are controlled by the Valde.
Head Wherhandler: The person bonded to the mate of the Whermaster's queen.
Hold: They are generally built into a cliff or a cave system, and are where the common people live and work. A Hold is administered by a Lord Holder, but now it is generally something of the past.
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Impression: The choice of rider made by a newly-hatched dragon, which occurs at a Hatching. The dragons choose their riders, and the lifelong bond between dragon and rider begins through the joining of their minds.
Interval: The period of time between passes where no thread falls. They were normally 200 turns but therewere the occasional Long Intervals lasting up to 400 turns.
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Jr. Weyr(wo)man: A female or male dragonrider who rides a queen, and is understudy to the Senior Weyrwoman.
Jr. Wherladies: The bonded to the younger queens in a certain area and they work under the Wherlady and her Wherhandler(s).
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Klah: A hot stimulating drink made of tree bark and tasting faintly of cinnamon.
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Landing: The place where the original settlers landed and set up base. On modern day Pern it is the place where most scientists go to first learn, and one of the few places with more than a couple of computers. Most great technological ideas come from the Technicians and Computers Crafts which had a Hall here. However now it is generally a museum exploded by the Valde.
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Month: Four Sevendays
Mutant: They are made from the injections from the Scientist Lucien Hathaway. They can have either one or two mental or physical mutations. There is more on Mutants in the information section.
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Needlethorn: The needles of the plant can be used as syringe for injections and to draw blood.
Numbweed: It's a medicinal cream which, when smeared on wounds, kills all feeling it is used as an anesthetic. If too much numbweed is used it will cause bleeding and scarring. To prepare the salve, it requires 3 days of stewing, then 1 day to strain it, and the juice skimmed to the right consistency for the salve.
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Orion's Arm: The constellation where Earth is located in the universe.
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Pass: A period of time during which the Red Star was close enough to drop Thread on Pern.
Pern: Third of the star Rukbat's five planets. It has two natural satellites.
Puma: A new species that the scientist developed. The pumas were discovered during the celebration of the first anniversary of the convicts landing. For more information click here.
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Currently None
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Red Star: Pern's stepsister planet. It has an erratic orbit. No longer a problem.
Refugee: They are from the Valde camps and are rescued from the Valden caravans or the small camps.
Rukbat: A yellow star in the Sagittarian Sector, Rukbat has five planets and two asteroid belts.
Runnerbeast: Also, 'runner'. An animal adapted to Pern's conditions. There are racing, farm working beasts, and placid riding types that are distinctly bred for these conditions.
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Sevenday: A week on Pern
Sky-broom: The wood is difficult to work, but highly prized in the WoodcraftHall. Its used for some harps and other instruments. It's also the highest quality of material for a painter's 'canvas'.
Star Stones: A figuration of stones set up on the rims of a weyr used to foretell the arrival of a pass, which is when the red star can be seen through the eye rock.
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Thread: A parasitic organism that originateed from spores from the Red Star, which descend on Pern and burrow into it, devouring all organic material they encounter. Only stone and metal are impervious to Thread. The best way to fight Thread was to burn it out of the sky before it can hit ground; but water can also destroy the silver strands by drowning them.
Timor: The smaller of the two moons of Pern
Tunnel Snake: Technically not snakes because they do have six pairs of legs, these creatures are a minor annoyance to the people of Pern.
Turn: a Pernese year.
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Currently None
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Valde: Invaders of Pern, look up in information for more on them.
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Watch-dragon: the dragon whose rider has pulled a watch duty on the Weyr roster. A watch is generally 4 hours long. During a Pass, they watch for any erratic Threadfall that might, by chance, occur. Also watch for anyone entering or leaving the Weyr. Now they are used as guards.
Watchwher: An ungainly nocturnal creature, a cousin to the dragons. They are vicious when aroused, protective of those they see as friends. They are used as a watch dog in the holds and halls, but can also be used in mining ventures. They are newly discovered in new and strange colors found here(link)
Weyr: A home of dragons and their riders.
weyr: The individual living quarters of a dragon and his/her rider.
Weyrhealer: A healer specially trained in dragon anatomy, though of course they do have knowledge of human anatomy, but while their can be many Healers - some Impressed, some assigned there(against their will or not) - Weyrhealers are few and far between and especially covetted. Weyrhealer capitalized is the head of all the weyrhealers.
Weyrleader: The rider of the dragon that has mated to the queen of the Weyrwoman during her flight. The Weyrleader is in charge of the fighting wings of the Weyr, responsible for their conduct during battle, and the discipline of all riders. He is chosen when his dragon flies the Senior Queen.
Weyrling: Dragons and their riders up to about two years old. They are still learning under the Weyrlingmaster and usually have a strict code of conduct.
Weyrlingmaster: Teacher of Weyrlings. Can be male or female, on any dragon but a queen.
Weyrsecond: The Weyrleader's second in command. Chosen by the Weyrleader or if the Weyrleader has no preference, by the next Flight of a junior queen.
Weyrsinger: The Harper for the dragonriders, usually a dragonrider him or herself. They teach the weyrlings and other youngsters with traditional songs and lessons.
Weyrwoman: The rider of a dragon queen, and co-leader of the Weyr, along with the Weyrleader. She is responsible of the conduct of the Queen's wing during battle, under the Weyrleaders orders; for the care of the dragons, riders, and all Weyrfolk. She appoints all subordinates, insures that all tithes are delivered and collected, and mediates disputes among riders. As any dragon or rider will obey the queen dragon of the Weyrwoman, or the weyrwoman herself, she is one of the most powerful people on Pern. She is chosen when her dragon Flies after the old Senior dies or retires, traditionally.
Wherhandler: With a capital this is the bonded of a head male or head males of a certain area. Usually this is the bonded of the most recent mate of the Wehrlady, but the female wher can point out as many as two other favored males. If they are let in on the leadership, this causes less hardship in the case wher the female may mate with a different male next Flight.
Wherlady: The bonded of a queen wher who is in charge of a certain area.
wherhandler: The everyday wherhandler.
wherlings: Those bonded to whers under a turn old and still learning the ropes.
Whermaster: This is the person bonded to the queen watch-wher of the planet. This person is the leader of the watch-whers. This person is currently Richard B. Riddick.
Wherries: a type of fowl roughly resembling the domestic turkey of Earth, but about the size of an Ostrich.
Wingleader: The dragonrider in command of a Weyr's fighting wing, the Weyrleader is in charge of all the fighting wings, usually in the main one.
Wingsecond: the dragonrider second in command to the Wingleader. There are some auditionable and can be on any dragon the size of a Malachite or up.
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Currently None
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Currently None
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Currently None
---|Pernese Curses, Oaths, Explicatives|---
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A dragon among the wherries: a cat among the pigeons
A hunk of firestone: all gas and ash: a blowhard
Begreened
Bend a tail: defecate, take it and lump it
Benighted
By the Egg
By the Egg of Faranth: Really over my dead body: Or I swear it on my grave
By the first egg: Over my dead body
By the shards of my dragon’s egg: over my grandmother’s dead body
By the Shell
Chew it raw and swallow: accept the inevitable. Take it and believe it
Crackdust: equivalent to “horse poop” or said in disbelief
Deadglow: numbskull; dumb poop
Eggshells
Fardles
Great Faranth
Great shells and stars
Hatching fire lizards: building castles in the air
He was born under the Red Star: someone evil or generally disliked.
Like trying to draw an inside straight in Bitra: impossible
Scorch It: Shove it
Shaffit!: irritation expletive, another word for the D word
Shards: equivalent to “horse poop” or said in disbelief
Shells: any one of the four letter words
Smokeless weyrling: useless
Tail fork first: backward
Take a long hop between: Go Away!
That’s well dusted: It’s nasty or unpleasant
Through Fall, Fog and Fire
Wherry hunt: “wild-goose chase”
Wherry teeth: nonsense; I don’t believe you