Dragon Weyr
The Dragon Weyrs on the planet of Offworld are the homes of The Dragons of Offworld and act as their central operating bases for everything from missions and operations, to raising family or training Younglings. Each weyr has an area of operation and influence roughly five to six hundred miles in any direction from their home base, with exceptions to this rule, such as in the case of Reathrin which patrols an area nearly fifteen hundred miles across. Patrol areas between the weyrs generally overlap, at least a little in most cases, but not always, and can be jointly patrolled. Weyrs are typically built by taking large, extinct volcanoes or large mountains, and carving out their interiors to create a home. They are laid out, in many ways, like gigantic ant hills, with tunnels and chambers filling the entire interior of the mountain. Each weyr is led by one Weyr Master, who oversees and controls all day to day operations of the weyr, as well as the Dragon Orders under its care, and works alongside a cadre of elder dragons who are both oversee and advise to the Weyr Master. However, their primary role within the weyr is as an advisory council to assist him in his duties. Although, if needed, they can also act as control or a buffer to him should he ever get out of line and need reigning in. This would be done more to protect the weyr from their masters, the controllers, than from him.
Dragon Ranks
A normal dragon weyr is broken down into ranks and orders as follows:
- Warrior - Typically a single dragon.
- Squadron - Includes 5 dragons and their commander.
- Wing - Made up of 5 squadrons + 1 commander = 26 dragons total.
- Group - Made up of 104 dragons or 4 wings, plus one commander = 105 dragons total.
- Order - Made up of 8 groups, plus a commander and vice commander. 842 dragons total.
Total fighting dragons per weyr: 1684 (this is the ideal number, but it can vary up and down depending on individual unit strengths)
In the dragon orders, there are typically no ranks like sergeant or lieutenant, etc. If you are in charge of a group of dragons, no matter the size, your rank is classified as a "commander". Only WHAT you command sets you apart from another commander, or makes you of superior rank. Each weyr is home to two dragon orders, equaling approximately 1684 warrior dragons. The total population of a typical weyr is somewhere around 2000 dragons, give or take 20 at any given time. Aside from the 1684 fighting dragons, the remaining 316 dragons generally consist of upper leadership, such as the Weyr Master, the council of elders, as well as medical staff, nursery attendants, instructors, logistics, younglings in training, and so on. Once a weyr grows beyond 2200 dragons, sometimes even as many as 2500 dragons, a group of them are spun off to form a new weyr somewhere else on Offworld, or sent to under strength weyrs to prop up their numbers. This is done in order to maintain the balance of numbers in the weyr.
If a weyr falls below 1600 dragons, it is considered under strength and, if there are extra dragons in other weyrs, those dragons are often reassigned to the under strength weyr in order to strengthen it and balance out the numbers across all the weyrs so that each weyr has as close to 2000 total dragons, and 1684 fighting dragons as possible. The reason behind this is because a weyr with over 2200 or more dragons is considered overstaffed, which puts an unwanted strain on both logistics and leadership. And a weyr with less than 1600 dragons has an insufficient number within its walls to properly do its job, and thus needs to be reinforced in order to be effective in the duties and responsibilities required of it in its area of operation.
Note: The total number of dragons given above DOES NOT include dragons who are not in active service to the weyr. These can include female dragons who are brooding, as well as younglings who are below the age of Keltess. These individuals can easily number upwards of 1000-2000 additional dragons, bringing the strength of each weyr to a total of 3000-4000 dragons each, although numbers closer to the low end of 3000 is typically the largest a single weyr ever becomes.
Known Weyrs
There are six active weyrs, and one abandoned weyr, on the planet of Offworld, only two of which are not yet known by name, but will be eventually.
