Color Information

While they are called dragons, Pernese dragons are not quite the same as the tales of dragons you’d see on earth. Rather than scales, they have tough hide which feels not unlike velvet to the touch. They also have some form of psychic abilities, which they use to communicate with humans, whers, and firelizards alike.

When a dragon hatches, they will either bond to a human, or between and die. If they successfully bond to a human, they will be attached to that human for life. They cannot survive without a bonded human, and should their human die, the pain of the lost bond will drive them mad, and they will suicide between.

While humans can survive their dragon dying, it’s an extremely painful experience. Since humans and dragons can share their emotions and pain through their bond, a human whose dragon died will have experienced all of their bonded’s last moments as well. Many are driven mad by this and never recover, but in some rare cases rehabilitation is possible.



Golds are the largest of Pern’s dragons, and they are the “queens” of the dragon world. They have the ability of command, and are often the highest in the dragon hierarchy. They are the main clutchers among dragons, and clutch 12-20 eggs. Golds range in colors from all shades of gold and yellow, to varying oranges.

Height: 20-25ft
Length: 80-100ft
Wingspan: 100-125ft




The second largest of Pern’s dragons, and also queens in their own right. They do not hold the ability of command as golds do, but their size and clutching ability make them very important in the color hierarchy. When a Pearl clutches, they lay 8-15 eggs. Their colouration ranges from whites to slightly pinkish white shades, and even beiges or ivories. They often have an iridescent sheen to their hides.

Height: 20-23ft
Length: 80-92ft
Wingspan: 100-115ft




The largest males, bronzes boast a wide variety of colourations and a metallic sheen to their hides. While color isn’t as important as it used to be, many still look up to bronzes as the best leaders among the male dragons. They do not have strong command ability, but they are much better at resisting a gold’s command than any other color except golds themselves.Their hides range from almost greenish colors to overlapping with browns in coppery metallic shades.

Height: 18-22ft
Length: 72-88ft
Wingspan: 90-110ft




Garnets are mid-ranged females, similar to browns in size. Capable of laying small clutches of eggs, they may lay anywhere from 5-10 eggs. Their hides have a metallic sheen to them, and they come in all shades of red, purple, and pink.

Height: 15-18ft
Length: 60-72ft
Wingspan: 75-90ft




The mid-sized males, browns are seen as rather sturdy and capable. While not necessarily as respected as bronzes, browns are seen by many as good, solid dragons worthy of some respect. Their hides come in all shades of brown, and some may be slightly orange. They are seen as the equivalent of garnets in both size and power.

Height: 15-18ft
Length: 60-72ft
Wingspan: 75-90ft




Some of the smallest male dragons, many traditionalists look down on blues. They’re one of the most common colors, and many see them as ordinary, dime-a-dozen sorts. However, they play a very important role in threadfall, and tend to be more agile than browns or bronzes.

Height: 12-15ft
Length: 48-60ft
Wingspan: 60-75ft




The smallest female dragons, greens are often overlooked for their larger and more fancy Gold, Pearl, and Garnet counterparts. The most common of all colors, they are small and agile, and fly the highest altitude wings during threadfall. While uncommon due to fertility issues, a green has a roughly 5% chance to lay a clutch after rising. Greens clutch 3-5 eggs at most, and are incapable of producing any color above brown even with a bronze mate.

Height: 8-12ft
Length: 32-48ft
Wingspan: 40-60ft




The newest and smallest of the recent color mutations, jets have only come into existence in the last 10 years. Jets can be either male or female, and come in all colors of black and grey. Some jets may have white markings, but are never fully white. Jet females do not clutch or rise. Jet males do not chase.

Height: 8-12ft
Length: 32-48ft
Wingspan: 40-60ft

Whers, unlike their dragon cousins, are a bit more independent. They can choose to bond with anybody at any age, and may break off any bonds they see as unfit at will and choose a new handler. Though not as eloquent with their mindvoices, they are still very intelligent.

They are much stouter than dragons, and cannot fly, though they have wings. Their hides are far wrinklier, and they are made for nighttime work, often having to wear specialized goggles during the daytime to protect their eyes from daylight. They are also fairly smaller than dragons, closer to the size of a draft horse than anything.

While color matters somewhat to dragonriders, whers do not have a true color hierarchy. A blue is just as valuable as a gold or pearl as far as whers are concerned. Unlike dragons, multiple whers may be also bonded to the same human, though the norm is two, and very rarely, three.




While gold whers don’t really have the same level of command ability as dragons, they’re queens the same as their cousins. Large, tough, and powerful, gold whers are by fair the smartest (and cruelest) of the whers. Wild golds are considered to be a danger to humans, especially when one gets too close to the gold’s nest. Gold whers clutch between 8-12 eggs on average.

Height: 6-7ft
Length: 18-22ft




Slightly more maternal than golds, Pearl whers are one of the bigger clutchers of the Weyr. Unlike their dragon counterparts, Pearl whers can actually produce more eggs than a gold, and are fiercely protective of their younglings. Pearls can clutch anywhere from 10-15 eggs.

Height: 6-7 ft
Length: 18-22ft




The largest of the male whers, Bronzes are often bulky creatures. Their powerful builds make them ideal for hard, heavy lifting. While still not quite on the level of the bigger pearls and golds, a large bronze can rival smaller ones in size.

Height: 6-6.5ft
Length: 16-20ft



Only slightly smaller than bronzes and in the same size ranges as browns, garnet whers tend to be very sturdy, dependable creatures. Garnet whers have a roughly 25% chance to clutch, and when they do produce between 3-8 eggs.

Height: 5.5-6ft
Length: 14-18ft



The mid-sized males, brown whers are slightly more common than their garnet counterparts. Many see browns as a dependable, hardworking sort. While not quite as large as bronzes, many who have browns will use them for hard labor.

Height: 5.5-6ft
Length: 14-18ft



Some of the smallest males, blues are fairly common. More agile and slender than many of their larger brethren, many blues end up in the squads for hunting or defensive work, rather than taking on heavy labor.

Height: 5-5.5ft
Length: 12-16ft



A counterpart to blues, greens are by far the most common color of wher you’ll run into. Small and agile, they work best in areas of work where they can but that agility to the test, and make up large portions of the hunting squads.

Height: 5-5.5ft
Length: 12-16ft



Even smaller than blues and greens, jets aren’t built for heavy lifting or combat. Instead, many handlers who have a jet work as scouts, as jets are the fastest color of wher by far. Like their Dragon counterparts, jet males and females are both infertile.

Height: 4.5-5ft
Length: 10-14ft