Chronology

The History of Pern

Editor's Note: This is not the history of Pern as we players know based on reading the books. Where our game's canon diverges from the books themselves (particularly during the events of The Renegades of Pern, The Dolphins of Pern, and All the Weyrs of Pern), our game-canon will be listed instead of book-canon. This also means that Todd-canon will not be listed here as we don't recognize it. If you want to know what your character would likely know of historical events on Pern, please visit the Common Knowledge page. Many thanks to Sariel and Sariel's Guide to Pern for the canonical list of events of Pern up until the end of The White Dragon.

Before Landing

  • ~ 190 BL - The EEC Survey of the planet that eventually gets named Pern. Avril Bitra's ancestress Shavva brings back a ruby and other gems.
  • 17 BL - The colonization project is begun on Earth, colonists selected (or drafted), and the three spaceships built.
  • 15 BL - The trio of ships depart Earth orbit, with most of the colonists in deep sleep. The ships' crews take turns in deep sleep, with none of them staying awake the whole journey.

After Landing

  • 0
    • The Yokohama, Bahrain, and Buenos Aires arrive at Pern and Admiral Paul Benden and Governor Emily Boll formally claim the planet.
    • Sean Connell and Sorka Hanrahan meet aboard the Yokohama.
    • Landing is settled.
    • Firelizards are discovered by Sean and Sorka.
    • Sallah Telgar and Tarvi Andiyar discover the cave system that will eventually become Fort Hold.
    • After its initial need is abated, Landing is mostly abandoned as the colonists set up stakeholds all over Pern.
  • 5 - Torene Ostrovsky is born.

First Pass

  • 8
    • First Threadfall, many die. Benden and Boll return as colony leaders and instigate re-centralization.
    • Kitti Ping begins the creation of the dragons and dies after creating her 42nd egg.
    • Avril Bitra kills Kenjo Fusaiyuki and steals the admiral's gig, intending to return to civilization. Sallah Telgar stows aboard. Avril takes them to the Yokohama and then leaves Sallah to die. Avril dies in the sabotaged Mariposa after leaving an incomplete message about the nature of Thread and crashing into the Red Star.
    • Tarvi Andiyar changes his name to Telgar to honor his late wife's courage.
    • Ted Tubberman steals the homing beacon and launches it. He also bio-engineers grubs that consume Thread.
    • The first dragonriders Impress, including Sean to Carenath and Sorka to Faranth.
    • Shuttle Moth is launched with Nabhi Nabol and Bart Lemos aboard to try and collect live Thread for examination. The shuttle breaks up and falls into the ocean upon re-entry.
    • Construction on Fort Hold is begun.
  • 9
    • Michael Connell (M'hall) born to Sean and Sorka.
    • Mount Garben erupts, Landing is evacuated abruptly.
    • Marco Galliani and brown Duluth accidentally discover between but do not re-emerge.
    • Sean and Carenath discover how to correctly fly between.
    • The Second (Dunkirk) Crossing, Emily Boll is critically injured in a sled crash.
    • Sean presents the Dragonriders to Admiral Benden at Fort after they fly their first Fall.
  • 11 - Aivas logs the last message received before the ash from the volcano covers its sensors and the AI goes into hibernation. The message was from Captain Ezra Keroon.
  • 16 - Emily Boll dies, one of many in the so-called 'Fever Year'.
  • 17 - Southern Boll founded by Emily's widower, Pierre de Courcis
  • 18 - Rua'atha (Ruatha) is founded by Sorka's father, Red Hanrahan.
  • 22 - Michael Connell (M'hall) Impresses Brianth at Fort Weyr. Tillek Hold is founded (but not named until after Jim Tillek's death.)
  • 25 - Jim Tillek dies, the Hold is named after him. Torene Ostrovsky Impresses Alaranth at Fort Weyr.
  • 26 - Paul Benden dies.
  • 27 - The first queens' battle occurs, due to overcrowding at Fort Weyr.
  • 28 - Benden Weyr and Hold are founded, with Torene and M'hall as the first Weyrleaders after Alaranth rises. Telgar and Ista Weyrs are also founded.
  • Before 58 - Fort, Benden, and Ruatha invent the Crafthall structure now prevalent on Pern.
  • 58 - Pass ends.

First Interval

  • 58 - Stev Kimmer and the remains of Kenjo's family are evacuated from Honshu and leave Pern when the rescue mission summoned by the homing beacon arrives. Paul Benden's nephew Ross leads the mission.
  • After 58 - Sean and Sorka die at different times. Faranth doesn't rise again after Carenath goes between.
  • 102 - Dolphin Kibbe rings the Monaco Bay dolphin bell for the last time after humans didn't answer yet again.
  • Between 58 and 257
    • Teacher's College founded.
    • Women are dissuaded from going to the Weyr to Impress because married families could get more land grants.
    • Plastic-making, Earth-based chemicals/pharmacopeia lost.
  • By 257
    • Sean's notes and Admiral Benden's diary are still extant if only as copies.
    • Videos and projectors still exist. Fort Hold still has solar panels. 2 airsleds still exist at Fort, with no power packs left.
    • The term 'dolphin' still exists in the lexicon.
    • 'Turn' is replacing 'year' as standard nomenclature, mostly amongst the younger generation.
    • All of the old Ancient names for places and their locations in the Southern Continent are remembered, including Landing.
  • 257
    • Spring - Many Records are lost due to a flooded storage cavern.
    • College's quadrangle is completed in the shape that will eventually be known as Harper Hall.
    • The last of the working computers crashes and cannot be repaired.
    • Star Stones are invented by the Telgar Foundry.
    • Headmaster Clisser of the College formally revises curriculum to create Teaching Ballads and to set aside Earth/pre-colonization information/history.
    • Crom Hold is founded.
    • Lord Chalkin of Bitra is Impeached by unanimous vote of the other major Lord Holders after it is proven that he was derelict in his duty to his holders and ordered guards to abuse a number of refugees. He is exiled to the Far Eastern Islands along with his accomplices.

Second Pass

  • 258 - Pass begins.
  • 304 - Pass ends.

Second Interval

  • 305 - Interval begins.
  • 507 - Interval ends.

Third Pass

  • 508 - Pass begins.
  • 557 - Pass ends.

Third Interval

  • 558 - Interval begins.
  • 757 - Interval ends.

Fourth Pass

  • 758 - Pass begins.
  • 807 - Pass ends.

Fourth Interval/First Long Interval

  • 808 - Interval begins.
  • Before 1008 - Jaxom and his one wing of bronze and brown dragons deposit one of the Dawn Sisters' engines on the Red Star, causing the Long Interval.
  • 1258 - Interval ends.

Fifth Pass

  • 1258 - Pass begins.
  • 1310 - Pass ends.

Fifth Interval

  • 1310 - Interval begins.
  • 1498 - Interval ends.

Sixth Pass

  • 1498 - Pass begins.
  • 1520 - Moreta Impresses Orlith at Ista Weyr.
  • 1530 - Moreta and Orlith transfer to Fort Weyr.
  • 1539 - Moreta becomes Senior Weyrwoman at Fort Weyr with Sh'gall as Weyrleader.
  • By 1540
    • The theory of Two Crossings is pretty much relegated to the most progressive thinkers, with most of Pern subscribing to the theory that there was only one Crossing (from Southern Continent to Northern).
    • Women no longer ride fighting dragons and not even the most radical of thinker believes this is permissible. Women are only Searched if there is a gold egg on the sands.
    • Most crafts are male-only, with the Healers being one of the few exceptions.
    • Most people know the Southern Continent exists, but they also know that it's forbidden land. All of the Ancient place-names and locations have been forgotten.
  • 1540
    • Alessan is Confirmed as Lord Holder of Ruatha.
    • An erring ship captain lands on the Southern Continent and brings back a strange feline to show off.
    • Illness begins spreading across Pern as people who see the feline become unwittingly infected and go about their business, which helps spread the disease.
    • Moreta and Alessan meet at the first Ruathan Gather under his Lordship, and as the illness spreads like wildfire, the Gather turns into a disaster.
    • Masterhealer Capiam quarantines all of the Northern Continent, but too late. Much of Pern is infected. Lord Tolocamp of Fort breaks quarantine at Ruatha and returns to his home Hold. His daughter Nerilka, disgusted with her sire's behavior after the death of her mother and sisters at Ruatha, goes to Ruatha incognito to help the Hold recover.
    • 5 of the 6 Weyrleaders meet at the Red Butte (Fort's Sh'gall is ill), the Weyrs consolidate to ensure proper Threadfall coverage.
    • The first wave of the illness complete, Capiam orders a vaccination of the vast majority of Pern's people and runners to prevent a relapse.
    • After Telgar's refusal to help deliver the needed supplies, Moreta rides Leri's Holth to the hole-in-the-wall Holds in Keroon. After completing their last run, they go between, too exhausted to visualize correctly and are lost.
    • Nerilka demands that Alessan produce an heir before he commits suicide, and he weds her as his Lady Holder.
    • Leri and Orlith go between the morning that Orlith's last clutch hatches. Oklina, sister of Alessan, Impresses the queen, Hannath.
    • Masterharper Tirone writes The Ballad of Moreta's Ride, changing several facts at the behest of the Weyrleaders, including changing which queen Moreta rode on her tragic journey.
  • 1548 - Pass ends.

Sixth Interval

  • 1548 - Interval begins.
  • By 1553 - Moreta is born to Alessan and Nerilka at Ruatha. Centuries later, she is mistakenly confused with her namesake, but is thought to have Impressed a queen at Benden Weyr and could hear all dragons.
  • 1758 - Interval ends.

Seventh Pass

  • 1758 - Pass begins.
  • 1806 - Pass ends.

Seventh Interval

  • 1806 - Interval begins.
  • 2008 - Interval ends.

Eighth Pass

  • 2008 - Pass begins.
  • 2058 - Pass ends.

Eighth Interval/Second Long Interval

  • 2058 - Lessa and Ramoth arrive from the future and convince the Five Weyrs to jump forward in time. She speaks to Masterharper Creline and lays the seeds for the Question Song.
  • Before 2258 - Jaxom and his second team of bronzes and browns deposit another engine on the Red Star, causing the Long Interval.
  • By 2448 - Benden Weyr stops inviting outsiders to Hatchings, increasingly isolating themselves from the rest of Pern.
  • 2448 - Merelan and Petiron meet at Harper Hall.
  • 2452 - Robinton is born.
  • 2456 - Robinton's musical genius is discovered and quietly encouraged without his father's knowledge or consent.
  • 2467 - Robinton walks the tables to become a journeyman.
  • 2473
    • Fax begins his conquests by usurping High Reaches Hold.
    • Robinton and Kasia marry. Kasia catches an illness and doesn't properly recover.
  • 2474 - Kasia dies. L'tol/Lytol's brown Larth dies in a Spring Games accident.
  • 2475 - Fallarnon (F'lar) is born.
  • 2476 - Merelan dies.
  • 2478 - Famanoran (F'nor) is born.
  • 2484
    • Upon Masterharper Gennell's death, Robinton is unanimously elected Masterharper. Petiron insists on a posting to Half-Circle Sea Hold.
    • Lessa is born at Ruatha Hold.
  • 2488 - F'lar Impresses bronze Mnementh, F'nor Impresses brown Canth.
  • 2494 - Fax invades Ruatha, murdering all the Bloods other than Lessa and making his final Hold tally High Reaches, Crom, Nabol, Keogh, Balen, River Bend, and Ruatha.
  • 2498 - F'nor and his team of riders, staff, and holders arrive from the future and found both Southern Weyr and Southern Hold with T'bor and Kylara as Weyrleaders and Toric as Holder.
  • 2500 - Menolly is born.
  • 2502 - F'nor and the Southern Weyr personnel return to their present. Toric and the Southern Holders remain behind.
  • 2505
    • F'lar duels Fax at Lessa's instigation and kills him.
    • Jaxom is born and declared Lord Holder of Ruatha, with ex-rider Lytol as Lord Warder.
    • F'lar Searches Lessa.
    • Lessa Impresses gold Ramoth.
  • 2507
    • Ramoth rises and is caught by Mnementh, thus making F'lar Weyrleader.
    • The Lord Holders band together an army and march on the Weyr. F'lar has various Hold ladies kidnapped and held hostage until the Lords disperse their army and comply with the ancient Traditions regarding Threadfall preparations.

Ninth Pass

  • 2508
    • Lessa is taught how to fly between and accidentally rediscovers timing.
    • Thread falls on Pern again, first manifesting as crackdust.
    • Ramoth's first clutch of 41 eggs hatches, including Kylara Impressing gold Prideth/Pridith.
    • F'lar sends F'nor and Ramoth's first clutch of weyrlings 10 turns into the past to found Southern Weyr.
    • Thella disappears from Telgar Hold and begins years of predations on primarily Keroon, Igen, and Lemos territories.
    • After examining a formerly lost Ruathan tapestry for coordinates and being inspired by the haunting Question Song, Lessa jumps to the past. After being missing most of the day, she returns with the Five Lost Weyrs.
  • Between 2508 and 2514 - The Oldtimers turn increasingly sour and high-handed to modern Pernese, causing much resentment.
  • 2514 - Petiron dies Menolly takes up his duties to teach the Half-Circle children, with the threat that if she plays her 'tunes', her privileges will be revoked.
  • 2515
    • Menolly watches firelizards mating at the Dragon Stones.
    • Menolly is caught tuning and beaten by her father and removed as Hold teacher.
    • Menolly cuts her hand and her mother deliberately allows it to heal wrong to prevent her from making music again. She is also actively discouraged from singing, so the new Hold Harper Elgion won't discover that she was the one who taught the children after Petiron's death.
    • Thread begins falling out of pattern.
    • After being injured by a proddy Fort greenrider, F'nor goes South and is part of the group who Impress firelizards.
    • More and more reports come to F'lar and Robinton indicating that many of the Oldtimer dragonriders have become haughty and arrogant, willfully ignoring their duty and treating modern holders and crafters poorly, reports that F'lar can't ignore.
    • After picking a fight with F'lar at the wedding of Lord Asengar and Lady Famira at Telgar, T'ron and F'lar duel. T'ron loses, and F'lar assumes the Leadership of all of the Weyrs, exiling the Oldtimers to Southern Weyr.
    • Menolly runs away from Half-Circle and Impresses nine firelizards.
    • Jaxom and Felessan (F'lessan) discover Ancient rooms in Benden Weyr, which include information about the grubs created by Ted Tubberman.
    • Brekke's queen Wirenth rises, and Kylara's Prideth, too close whilst visiting Nabol and being far too near her own mating time, also rises. The queens engage in aerial battle. Despite the intervention of the other queens, bronzes, and browns, both dragons die. Brekke falls into a waking coma, and Kylara loses her mind entirely.
    • Distance viewers (telescopes) are discovered at Fort Weyr.
    • Jaxom Impresses white Ruth at the hatching Brekke was supposed to reimpress a queen at. Brekke comes out of her fugue state when her bronze firelizard divebombs the queen hatchling and refuses to let her impress.
    • Because no one other than Ramoth and Mnementh believed Ruth would survive long, Jaxom was allowed to go back to Ruatha to prevent the Hold from coming into contention.
    • Menolly meets Masterharper Robinton at Benden Weyr and he asks her to come to Harper Hall after he realizes she's Petiron's lost apprentice.
    • F'nor and Canth try to jump to the Red Star, and only Brekke's cry brings them back.
    • Robinton Impresses bronze Zair, and Sebell Impresses gold Kimi.
    • After an intense sevenday at Harper Hall, Menolly walks the tables.
  • 2518
    • Piemur's voice changes and he is secretly assigned to be Masterharper Robinton's new apprentice.
    • Piemur discovers evidence of Oldtimers secretly coming back to the North to bully crafters into giving them precious items.
    • F'lessan, son of F'lar and Lessa, Impresses bronze Golanth. Mirrim Impresses green Path, causing consternation over the notion of a woman riding a fighting dragon.
    • Piemur goes to Igen and then Nabol's Gathers, steals Meron's gold firelizard egg, and is accidentally transported to Southern Weyr. He flees into the jungle to avoid discovery. The gold egg hatches, and Piemur Impresses Farli.
    • On their journey to fetch Piemur from the South, Sebell and Menolly come to an understanding due to Menolly's bronze Diver flying Sebell's Kimi.
    • Piemur meets Toric's sister Sharra and is posted to Southern Hold to keep an eye on things for Robinton.
  • 2519 - Robinton proposes crosscrafting schools featuring young people from Holds, Halls, and Weyrs.
  • 2522
    • Ramoth's queen egg is stolen by Southern riders and taken to the past, nearly culminating in Ramoth and Mnementh leading Benden dragons to fight Southern dragons, but Jaxom and Ruth sneak to Southern Weyr in the past to retrieve it.
    • D'ram retires as Ista Weyrleader and goes South in the past to suicide quietly. Jaxom and Menolly go to the past to find him and deliver their news to Benden, who sends escorts to bring D'ram and Tiroth back.
    • Ista's Caylith rises in an open flight to determine D'ram's successor.
    • T'kul and B'zon crash the flight and let their dragons rise after her. T'kul's Salth dies, and T'kul attacks F'lar.
    • Masterharper Robinton has a heart attack at the Weyr when he tries to mediate. Mnementh and Ramoth bespeak him and keep him alive until medicine could be administered.
    • F'lar kills T'kul and D'ram steps up to the Southern leadership to keep the rest of the Oldtimers in line.
    • The combined crafthalls build a new small Hold in the South for Masterharper Robinton in the cove that was discovered by D'ram. Robinton retires to the beautiful Hold.
    • The Dawn Sisters are revealed by the distance-viewer to be manmade objects.
    • Jaxom, Menolly, Sharra, and Piemur rediscover the Ancients' Plateau, later revealed to be Landing.
    • Jaxom and Ruth discover Ship Meadow and the remains of the three longest-surviving shuttles.
    • Jaxom marries Sharra despite Toric's protests, and Lessa and F'lar dictate the boundaries of Toric's Holding, letting him believe that he's getting the best part of the continent.
    • Jaxom is Confirmed as Lord Holder of Ruatha.
  • 2523 Jayge and Aramina go South, rediscovering an Ancient settlement and taking Hold there.
  • Between 2523 and 2525
    • D'ram and Lytol retire to Cove Hold to keep Robinton company.
    • Robse (Sebell/Menolly), Jarrol (Jaxom/Sharra), and Nemekke (F'nor/Brekke) are born on the same day.
  • 2525
    • Aivas is discovered and brought back online. Discovery of the Catherine Caves.
    • The Dawn Sisters are revealed to be the spaceships Yokohama, Bahrain, and Buenos Aires, having brought the settlers to Pern.
    • Thella stages an attack on Aramina and is killed by Jayge.
    • Someone tries to vandalize the batteries boosting Aivas' power.
  • Between 2525 and 2527
    • New crafts are created due to technological revolution caused by Aivas: Plastic-Craft, Papercraft, etc.
  • 2527
    • Sallah Telgar is revealed to be a direct ancestress of the Telgar Blood. Her body is retrieved from the Yokohama and buried with full honors at Telgar with most of Pern in attendance.
    • Master Glass-smith Norist instigates another attack on Aivas, and the AI reveals its defensive capabilities. From then on, Aivas is guarded around the clock to prevent a recurrence.
  • 2528
    • Traditionalist Oldtimer rider G'lanar makes an attempt on Jaxom's life by weakening his riding straps and nearly kills Sharra in the process.
    • Other incidents of sabotage at progressive crafthalls are recorded.
    • The Thermos is reinvented.
    • Jaxom, F'lar, and Lessa go to the Red Star. On a subsequent trip, they are accompanied by F'nor, Robinton, Fandarel, D'ram, Perschar, Sebell, and N'ton.
  • 2529
    • Jaxom jumps 50 turns into the future on Aivas' suggestion to see if the Plan works. He doesn't tell anyone, even his wife, what he saw.
    • Robinton is kidnapped from Ruatha's Gather.
    • Trial at Ruatha. Convicted of conspiracy and kidnapping are Master Norist, Lord Sigomal of Bitra, and Lord Begamon of Nerat. They and their accomplices are exiled to the Eastern Islands.
    • Deaths of Masterharper Robinton and Zair. Aivas tries to go offline, but the command fails and the AI is still able to speak, albeit in gibberish.
    • After consultation with the Starsmiths and one injudicious jump to the Red Star, it's discovered that the cometary planet's broken in two and furious weeks of calculations determines that the Pass/Interval timekeeping system has in essence been flipflopped, with the next Pass going to last for 200 years, and the next Interval only 50. Blame is cast all around and the progressive movement is dealt a stunning blow as Aivas' grand Plan is proclaimed a vast failure. There's even talk of retrieving the exiles from the Eastern Islands.
  • Between 2529 and 2555
    • Due to the failure of the Plan, anti-Aivas sentiment is at an all-time high, and the Traditionalists either openly destroy or quietly 'lose' many newer devices and technologies, with most Holds, Weyrs, and even some Crafthalls reverting to a more Traditional technological stance. Landing remains the most obvious exception. Nerat Hold remains the only openly progressive Hold, and many others unwilling to take a stand for fear of reprisal.
    • New Holds are still being carved out on the Southern Continent to ease the population issues up North. There is talk of founding a new Weyr to oversee Landing, Cove Hold, and other areas that Southern doesn't cover.
  • 2555 - Original end of the Ninth Pass as predicted by Aivas.

First Long Pass

  • 2556
    • First Long Pass begins.
    • Eastern Weyr is founded. Alara's Rauzath rises first and is caught by bronze Erikath, with J'cobi becoming the first Weyrleader. Randi's Kaseth rises soon after, caught by E'ro's bronze Yzuruth.
    • Lady Isilna of Benden Hold flees her wedding, and her younger sister becomes Lady Holder of Benden.
    • Two of Kaseth's eggs are destroyed by parties unknown, killing a bronze and green. The Weyr is put on lockdown for a goodly time while the riders investigate.
    • Rauzath's and Kaseth's clutches hatch. Ciara Impresses gold Suosith from the former clutch, and Rio (Rocio) Impresses gold Eovarijath from the latter.
  • 2579 - Jaxom and Ruth appear on the bridge of the Yokohama and realize that the Red Star has split in twain and that the Plan has failed.
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License