[/b] is set long after AIVAS sought to destroy the Red Star, during a time of great political upheaval. As the memory of the terror of Thread passes, the Weyrs of Pern continue to struggle to find their place in a world that no longer seems able to support or need them. Desperation and cultural differences pit the Weyrs at each other’s throats. Meanwhile, the Dragons’ DNA has slowly begun to destabilize, generations of inbreeding giving rise to unusual mutations- and even new Ranks, throwing even more long-standing traditions into disarray.
Traditional Benden seeks only the glory and peace of the past, trying to make nice with the Holds it now serves. Rather than deal with the implications of mutant Dragons, they have simply displaced them all to the remote High Reaches Weyr- far from any aid or help. Ambitious Telgar, far in the wintry north, has carved an empire out of brute strength- while peaceful Southern has made their own way of life- free from the Command of Golden Queen or Bronze King in a tropical paradise. All the while, wild rumors of a rogue Queen spread like fire throughout Pern, and the Holds and Wherhandlers must deal with the threat of a unified Holdless front.
Meanwhile, no longer noticed by the general population, the Red Star has risen unusually bright on the horizon…[/ul]