Weyr Map
Fort Weyr is the First Weyr that ever existed on Pern and as such it shows signs of polish and finesse that the others do not- and some rather awkward hangovers from days gone past that no one has done anything about as yet. It is situated in the mountainous area to the north of Fort Hold in a natural caldera of a rather impressive size that had all the amenities dragons could desire, even back in the First Pass.
The Fort Road leads directly up to the weyr and enters through the Holdside entrance, that is big enough to take herds of livestock, wagons and the like- there are ledges high up above this for Watch Dragons to keep an eye on the road- and it provide a good view of all the cotholds down to the main Hold and the sea beyond.
This road doesn't go directly through to the weyr however. The Road leads into the temporary accommodation and informal trading area that exists in a network of natural caverns and quarters. Travellers hearths exist here- and in harsh winters and Fall they are often overflowing with people one way or another- and their beasts. When you make it to the entrance of the weyrbowl itself, the volcanic walls of the weyr rise up high and comparatively sheer around you. There has been little erosion as yet, though there was an ancient large rock fall at the west end of the weyr, above the lake. The inner walls of the weyr are liberally pocked with the entrances to weyrs, rather high up everywhere possible. Space is at a premium and it shows! The weyrbowl is a little like a long oval shape and the Fort Road enters halfway up the south side. Most people who enter head up to the eastern tip. In this section are the guest quarters and crafter areas. A little way around from there is the entrance to the rather showy Hatching grounds, complete with naturally raised Stands. It's a BIG area - just as well with all the Queens that Fort has!
Continuing around from there, in the Eastern tip of the Weyr, where the Starstones (the largest on Pern) are situated High on the Rim, is the immense and somewhat labyrinthine tangle of the Kitchens and Lower Caverns, Stores and living quarters of the Support staff of the weyr. Here the design of the weyr can be seen to have "evolved" rather than designed as there are rather unbelievable complexities of steps cut into rock and tiered out from level to level. Not even people born at Fort know all the rooms there are. Some have been lost to rock falls, some corridors blocked off or left abandoned. There are numerous dark corridors and chambers that never see the light of a glow riddling this area and this is partly due to the horror stories that weyrbrats and workers use to warn people away from certain areas. The Kitchens themselves are huge however, and the hearths always have something on the boil. There is a specific night-hearth area for people coming in late where klah and refreshments are always available.
This area links into the main Dining Hall area. It's huge. It can take most of the inhabitants of the weyr at one time (albeit in a bit of a crush) so meals tend to be served nigh on in shifts to cope. But if there are important announcements, people gather here...and if there is Fall, people frequently muster here as well. Next to it are the also rather sizeable Candidate and Weyrling Barracks. The Weyrlings get most of the room and the Candidates are stacked up in rather military style dormitories. You can distinctly see the large entrances to the Dining Hall and the Barracks almost opposite you as you enter from the Fort Road. They are on the long North Wall and off a little to the west are the Weyrling training grounds and following the curve at the west tip of the weyrbowl is the Weyr Infirmary - also sizeable for its sizeable patients. Covering the West tip however is the main freshwater lake of the weyr, the rock fall behind it having made the water source a mass of trickling water rather than a proper cascade. The Weyr herds mass in this area, there is some local crop growing, though not much and the runners and "stable" area's are on the ground level back once again on the south west side of the bowl.
It is worth mentioning that when Fort was built there was no limit on the access to the lost technologies of stone cutting... and seemingly no end to the ancients enthusiasm for linking things together and creating what seem like pointless exploratory shafts. It also means that some of the quarters have over time become somewhat...decadent. Others are rather spartan, but there are some that have lots of space, their own bathing pools and the works. Needless to say you have to be a ranker - and one in favour to warrant one of those.
Fort also has the official "Conclave Chamber." Rich in tapestries and with a rather ostentatious Conclave round table that is inlaid with semi-precious polished gems and essentially designed to remind all other weyrs that Fort was the first, and all things pale in comparison. If Anywhere on Pern could be said to be a throne room it is here...the heavy, rare but wonderfully carved formal chairs are one step shy of being throne like. This chamber is situated high on the eastern tip with a full view over the entire weyrbowl down to the lake and has a magnificent window that allows anyone in it to see the sun set over the weyrbowl and turn the like to fire with its last rays.
In all, the weyr is somewhat overcrowded, certainly for the dragons at least though the technologies for easily developing weyrs are lost, there are ALWAYS members of the Smithcraft painstakingly chipping away at new weyr sites in an effort to make them habitable...but it takes so long you are better off working your way up the allocations lists through bribery or...natural fallout.
The Fort Road leads directly up to the weyr and enters through the Holdside entrance, that is big enough to take herds of livestock, wagons and the like- there are ledges high up above this for Watch Dragons to keep an eye on the road- and it provide a good view of all the cotholds down to the main Hold and the sea beyond.
This road doesn't go directly through to the weyr however. The Road leads into the temporary accommodation and informal trading area that exists in a network of natural caverns and quarters. Travellers hearths exist here- and in harsh winters and Fall they are often overflowing with people one way or another- and their beasts. When you make it to the entrance of the weyrbowl itself, the volcanic walls of the weyr rise up high and comparatively sheer around you. There has been little erosion as yet, though there was an ancient large rock fall at the west end of the weyr, above the lake. The inner walls of the weyr are liberally pocked with the entrances to weyrs, rather high up everywhere possible. Space is at a premium and it shows! The weyrbowl is a little like a long oval shape and the Fort Road enters halfway up the south side. Most people who enter head up to the eastern tip. In this section are the guest quarters and crafter areas. A little way around from there is the entrance to the rather showy Hatching grounds, complete with naturally raised Stands. It's a BIG area - just as well with all the Queens that Fort has!
Continuing around from there, in the Eastern tip of the Weyr, where the Starstones (the largest on Pern) are situated High on the Rim, is the immense and somewhat labyrinthine tangle of the Kitchens and Lower Caverns, Stores and living quarters of the Support staff of the weyr. Here the design of the weyr can be seen to have "evolved" rather than designed as there are rather unbelievable complexities of steps cut into rock and tiered out from level to level. Not even people born at Fort know all the rooms there are. Some have been lost to rock falls, some corridors blocked off or left abandoned. There are numerous dark corridors and chambers that never see the light of a glow riddling this area and this is partly due to the horror stories that weyrbrats and workers use to warn people away from certain areas. The Kitchens themselves are huge however, and the hearths always have something on the boil. There is a specific night-hearth area for people coming in late where klah and refreshments are always available.
This area links into the main Dining Hall area. It's huge. It can take most of the inhabitants of the weyr at one time (albeit in a bit of a crush) so meals tend to be served nigh on in shifts to cope. But if there are important announcements, people gather here...and if there is Fall, people frequently muster here as well. Next to it are the also rather sizeable Candidate and Weyrling Barracks. The Weyrlings get most of the room and the Candidates are stacked up in rather military style dormitories. You can distinctly see the large entrances to the Dining Hall and the Barracks almost opposite you as you enter from the Fort Road. They are on the long North Wall and off a little to the west are the Weyrling training grounds and following the curve at the west tip of the weyrbowl is the Weyr Infirmary - also sizeable for its sizeable patients. Covering the West tip however is the main freshwater lake of the weyr, the rock fall behind it having made the water source a mass of trickling water rather than a proper cascade. The Weyr herds mass in this area, there is some local crop growing, though not much and the runners and "stable" area's are on the ground level back once again on the south west side of the bowl.
It is worth mentioning that when Fort was built there was no limit on the access to the lost technologies of stone cutting... and seemingly no end to the ancients enthusiasm for linking things together and creating what seem like pointless exploratory shafts. It also means that some of the quarters have over time become somewhat...decadent. Others are rather spartan, but there are some that have lots of space, their own bathing pools and the works. Needless to say you have to be a ranker - and one in favour to warrant one of those.
Fort also has the official "Conclave Chamber." Rich in tapestries and with a rather ostentatious Conclave round table that is inlaid with semi-precious polished gems and essentially designed to remind all other weyrs that Fort was the first, and all things pale in comparison. If Anywhere on Pern could be said to be a throne room it is here...the heavy, rare but wonderfully carved formal chairs are one step shy of being throne like. This chamber is situated high on the eastern tip with a full view over the entire weyrbowl down to the lake and has a magnificent window that allows anyone in it to see the sun set over the weyrbowl and turn the like to fire with its last rays.
In all, the weyr is somewhat overcrowded, certainly for the dragons at least though the technologies for easily developing weyrs are lost, there are ALWAYS members of the Smithcraft painstakingly chipping away at new weyr sites in an effort to make them habitable...but it takes so long you are better off working your way up the allocations lists through bribery or...natural fallout.