Post by Onyxaeon on Jan 18, 2009 0:19:32 GMT -5
Something akin to diamonds in the resilience of it, Riosian so closely resembles firestone it is almost impossible to tell the difference: and that's what brought on the trouble in the first place. It has a cruel and twisted legacy in Solainoti Weyr, but every rider knows the story, though the same cannot be said for the dragons hatched after the end of the addiction.
In the beginning, those first dragons that came to establish a new Weyr were charged with exploring the territory and eventually stumbled across the vast deposits of what would later be called Riosian. It had been formed through the enormous pressure brought by the impact of meteors crashing into the Eastern continent, and is found only around Solainoti Weyr: where the greatest impacts occurred to form the land. It is an impossible sturdy gem that burns endlessly when lit by dragon flame (the various chemicals a dragon's body produces coat the mineral in a thin film that seeps into the gem and into its very molecular structure, creating a form of 'eternal flame'). When the first dragons came across what was believed to be vast deposits of firestone they were, of course, elated, and one Blue was daring enough to ingest the mineral in celebration of the finding. For all accounts, it seemed to work perfectly well, even better than the common firestone they had come with because it allowed for a dragon to flame far longer than they normally could. So they harvested the shattered fragments of the mineral and brought it back with them. After the Weyr was established with the normal cannon dragons, each ingesting the mineral-even the queens because the taste of it was literally that intoxicating and did not sterilize them. Riosian became an addiction to the dragons who used it, and they grew needy for the substance. Their bodies would go into withdrawal if they were denied it, horrible seizures ensuing and violent fits of rage that could only be ended with another dosage of the mineral. Once the queens had fallen to it, it only went downhill from there. The Weyr had to harvest more and more of the mineral to keep the peace in the Weyr, and many dragons were greedy with their share of the gem, sometimes even stealing shares from other dragons. That was, until the stores ran dry. Riosian seemed to disappear from the Weyr's territory (it never truly vanished, for it still lies in the darker caverns in vast quantities, just in case, and in an underground storage unit that isn't large enough for even a small runner to get through. Only the smallest of humans can get through to pass the stores out; children.) and the dragons took to it badly. The withdrawal symptoms rushed in torrents across every infected dragon of the Weyr, and the healers were ran ragged trying to care for every tormented and plagued dragon. It lasted for months until the senior queen, despite her agony, rose in madness, plagued Bronzes rising to chase after her. Her flight was terribly short, but the clutch she bore was enormous. A clutch of about fifty two eggs, only slightly smaller than Pern's lasting record of sixty, was laid and, with it, the intense cravings of Riosian fled her body to plague her eggs. Those males who had risen to chase after her gradually recovered and, as it was later discovered, the lust from flights drew out the cravings. As soon as this became widely apparent, those suffering females rose, endless suitors chasing after her, and a victory wasn't important. If it would end the pain, each would succumb to their wings being clipped. Before the clutch had even hatched, the Weyr's dragons had been 'cured' of their addiction. Or, at least of their fits of rage and withdrawal symptoms. But the clutch was still suffering.
Inside, their bodies were craving the mineral, and each dragonet was slowly dying. Reluctantly, riders brought in the damned gem and poured it over the sands, letting each egg be caressed by the dozens of gems. And they improved. The gem had become a form of life support system for the eggs; when it was there, they fared best, and when it was gone, they began to die. They did not consciously know their blood craved the mineral, and so the hatchlings never ingested it once they hatched, several new colors formed in the process of the mineral contaminating the DNA, but each dragon did drag their rider to a certain gem, and refused to walk off the sands until they had the gem drilled through and placed around a leather thong on their necks. So long as they never ingested it, all was well, and the riders who knew the cravings never spoke of it. Hopefully, no dragon will be curious enough to eat their precious birthstones, as they called them, and create another terrible outbreak to occur. The Sands to this day are coated over in Riosian, and those queens who lay their eggs there who do recall those times are oh so tempted to revert back to that way of life. Of endless addiction and perpetual high.
In the beginning, those first dragons that came to establish a new Weyr were charged with exploring the territory and eventually stumbled across the vast deposits of what would later be called Riosian. It had been formed through the enormous pressure brought by the impact of meteors crashing into the Eastern continent, and is found only around Solainoti Weyr: where the greatest impacts occurred to form the land. It is an impossible sturdy gem that burns endlessly when lit by dragon flame (the various chemicals a dragon's body produces coat the mineral in a thin film that seeps into the gem and into its very molecular structure, creating a form of 'eternal flame'). When the first dragons came across what was believed to be vast deposits of firestone they were, of course, elated, and one Blue was daring enough to ingest the mineral in celebration of the finding. For all accounts, it seemed to work perfectly well, even better than the common firestone they had come with because it allowed for a dragon to flame far longer than they normally could. So they harvested the shattered fragments of the mineral and brought it back with them. After the Weyr was established with the normal cannon dragons, each ingesting the mineral-even the queens because the taste of it was literally that intoxicating and did not sterilize them. Riosian became an addiction to the dragons who used it, and they grew needy for the substance. Their bodies would go into withdrawal if they were denied it, horrible seizures ensuing and violent fits of rage that could only be ended with another dosage of the mineral. Once the queens had fallen to it, it only went downhill from there. The Weyr had to harvest more and more of the mineral to keep the peace in the Weyr, and many dragons were greedy with their share of the gem, sometimes even stealing shares from other dragons. That was, until the stores ran dry. Riosian seemed to disappear from the Weyr's territory (it never truly vanished, for it still lies in the darker caverns in vast quantities, just in case, and in an underground storage unit that isn't large enough for even a small runner to get through. Only the smallest of humans can get through to pass the stores out; children.) and the dragons took to it badly. The withdrawal symptoms rushed in torrents across every infected dragon of the Weyr, and the healers were ran ragged trying to care for every tormented and plagued dragon. It lasted for months until the senior queen, despite her agony, rose in madness, plagued Bronzes rising to chase after her. Her flight was terribly short, but the clutch she bore was enormous. A clutch of about fifty two eggs, only slightly smaller than Pern's lasting record of sixty, was laid and, with it, the intense cravings of Riosian fled her body to plague her eggs. Those males who had risen to chase after her gradually recovered and, as it was later discovered, the lust from flights drew out the cravings. As soon as this became widely apparent, those suffering females rose, endless suitors chasing after her, and a victory wasn't important. If it would end the pain, each would succumb to their wings being clipped. Before the clutch had even hatched, the Weyr's dragons had been 'cured' of their addiction. Or, at least of their fits of rage and withdrawal symptoms. But the clutch was still suffering.
Inside, their bodies were craving the mineral, and each dragonet was slowly dying. Reluctantly, riders brought in the damned gem and poured it over the sands, letting each egg be caressed by the dozens of gems. And they improved. The gem had become a form of life support system for the eggs; when it was there, they fared best, and when it was gone, they began to die. They did not consciously know their blood craved the mineral, and so the hatchlings never ingested it once they hatched, several new colors formed in the process of the mineral contaminating the DNA, but each dragon did drag their rider to a certain gem, and refused to walk off the sands until they had the gem drilled through and placed around a leather thong on their necks. So long as they never ingested it, all was well, and the riders who knew the cravings never spoke of it. Hopefully, no dragon will be curious enough to eat their precious birthstones, as they called them, and create another terrible outbreak to occur. The Sands to this day are coated over in Riosian, and those queens who lay their eggs there who do recall those times are oh so tempted to revert back to that way of life. Of endless addiction and perpetual high.
