Post by Anna on Sept 6, 2008 14:42:42 GMT -5
Watchwhers
This is a brief guide regarding watchwhers. If you intend to use a watchwher in a story, please keep this information in mind.
History
Watchwhers were a creation of Wind Blossom, granddaughter to Kitti Ping. Watchwhers were intended to be the night time version of dragons. Things didn’t work out quite as intended in the long run, but in the short run there was a great deal of promise that they would fulfill their purpose. During the First Pass and the following Interval, there were instances in which the watchwhers did, indeed, rise during the night to meet Thread. (Refer to books by Todd McCaffrey: Dragon’s Kin, Dragonblood)
Appearance
Watchwhers are clearly related to dragons, but there are physiological differences between the two. First, they’re uglier. There is none of the graceful, fluid lines of the dragon in the whers appearance. They’re bulky, graceless, with stubby wings. Their eyes are overlarge and bulgy. They’re not quite as ugly as the picture above suggests, but put a layer of fat and skin over the too-obvious musculature, and you’ve got a watchwher.
Watchwhers also have thick hides, after the thin hatching hide is shed. Watchwhers do not require oiling; their hide never itches or cracks unless they are injured or ill.
Watchwhers do not have the spinal ridges that dragons do, which make them more comfortable to ride. I know, the picture above does, but the actual book says no spinal ridges.
However, because of their stubby wings, they seldom fly. They are most likely to do so at night, when the air is heavier. They can, and will, carry riders on those rare occasions when they choose to fly.
Green watchwhers are approximately the size of a very large horse, if not larger. It’s safe to assume that when you’re referring to a watchwher, you’re looking at something that’s at least the size of a large Clydesdale – and that doesn’t include the watchwher’s tail or wings. (Dragon’s Kin) Watchwher sizes should increase according to color by the same percentage that dragon sizes increase.
Watchwhers are the same colors as dragons: gold, bronze, brown, blue, and green. Gold and green are the females, and the others are male.
Abilities & Personality
Watchwhers do have the ability to go between. However, only someone with special training should attempt it.
Watchwhers are photosensitive. They see heat, so what they see and what people see are very different. If a human pictures a place for watchwhers to go and visualize it as a human would see it, the watchwher will be lost between.
Watchwhers also form a telepathic bond with their handler, but it’s a very weak bond. They do not communicate in words, but primarily in emotion and verbalized sound. However, with concentration, a handler will just know what a wher is trying to communicate. For instance, when Kindan asked Kisk what her name was, he didn’t hear her voice. He could feel her almost talking to him, but he heard nothing. Only after she apparently gave up trying did he suddenly realize he knew what her name was. He didn’t make the connection then that she had told him, but realized it much later.
Watchwhers are not nearly as intelligent as dragons. They are like a blend of firelizard and dragon: they communicate mostly with emotion. For faster, easier communication, they learn key code words and their meaning, and teach their handlers what their own verbalization is for that particular concept.
Watchwher Names
Watchwhers take their name from their handlers. It’s one way that they indicate who they’re bound to, since the connection with a watchwher isn’t as easily sensed by the handler as a rider’s bond to his dragon. A watchwher’s name is the first syllable of his handler’s name, and ends in ‘sk.’ For example, while Kindan was the green wher’s handler, her name was Kisk. But when Kindan willingly gave up the bond and the wher bound herself to Nuella, her name because Nuelsk. (Dragon’s Kin)
Breeding
Watchwhers do not have the exact breeding cycle of dragon’s, but it’s close. The handler of a gold wher will make sure there are suitable bronze and brown whers available when her wher goes into season. A clutch of 12 eggs is average, and the eggs hatch four weeks, not five, after being laid.
Getting a Wher Egg
Watchwhers do not Impress. However, it is the queen wher who decides who she will let have one of her eggs. Handlers are taught to communicate verbally with whers in soft chirps and trills and brrs. The prospective handler approaches the brooding queen in an entreating manner. Once within a few feet, the handler should present their hand, palm up, and wait for the queen to acknowledge them. The proper attitude is that of one asking permission.
If the wher queen grants the prospective handler’s request, she will lift her wings and reveal her eggs. The prospective handler should choose an egg, thank the wher queen both verbally, with trills, and with body language, and get out.
Bonding, Not Impression
Watchwhers do not Impress, but they do bond to their handlers. They can change who they’re bound to, in special cases. They’re very affectionate and protective of their handlers, but less so with others.
Once the wher hatches, the handler will want to bond to it as soon as possible – but after the first feeding. Whers are born toothless, but they still might mistake the handler’s bloody hand for food. It’s called blooding the wher, and it tells the wher who they are supposed to answer to.
The handler’s hand should be cut, and the wher will lick the blood away. It doesn’t take much, but the blood is necessary for the bond to form.
Again, this is not Impression. There is not the two-way flow of emotions and love that a dragon and rider, or a firelizard and person, share. The wher has affection and even love for the handler, but it is not necessarily reciprocated. Usually it is. It’s very difficult to raise anything from a baby and not love it, especially when they don’t hesitate to show you affection first.
Life with a Wher
As with a rider, being bonded to a wher is a full time job. A wherhandler does not have another job. Tending to the wher takes up all of a handler’s time.
Watchwhers are nocturnal creatures, and so a wherhandler is always on the graveyard shift. This is why watchwhers are used for night guard duty at major Holds and the larger minor Holds, as well as at the major Craft Halls.
The other prime job duty for watchwhers is work in the mines: letting their great strength be used in a variety of ways, rescuing mine workers when necessary, and giving warning of dangers precious minutes before those dangers become inescapable. Without a watchwher, fatalities and accidents in mines increase dramatically. Many miners will choose to put a halt to the mining if they know they can replace their watchwher within a short time.
The Price of a Wher
A wher and wherhandler will make a contract with a Hold or Hall to provide their services. Or, a Hold or Hall will contract with a gold wherhandler – given the honorary title of “Master” – for the change at an egg. A chance only; the wherhandler will keep the fee even if the gold wher refuses to allow the prospective handler to have an egg.
Wher eggs are expensive! Before the start of the Third Pass, Natalon Minehold traded a full winter’s worth of coal to Master Aleesa in exchange for the chance for Kindan to be allowed a wher egg. (Dragon’s Kin)
This is a brief guide regarding watchwhers. If you intend to use a watchwher in a story, please keep this information in mind.
History
Watchwhers were a creation of Wind Blossom, granddaughter to Kitti Ping. Watchwhers were intended to be the night time version of dragons. Things didn’t work out quite as intended in the long run, but in the short run there was a great deal of promise that they would fulfill their purpose. During the First Pass and the following Interval, there were instances in which the watchwhers did, indeed, rise during the night to meet Thread. (Refer to books by Todd McCaffrey: Dragon’s Kin, Dragonblood)
Appearance
Watchwhers are clearly related to dragons, but there are physiological differences between the two. First, they’re uglier. There is none of the graceful, fluid lines of the dragon in the whers appearance. They’re bulky, graceless, with stubby wings. Their eyes are overlarge and bulgy. They’re not quite as ugly as the picture above suggests, but put a layer of fat and skin over the too-obvious musculature, and you’ve got a watchwher.
Watchwhers also have thick hides, after the thin hatching hide is shed. Watchwhers do not require oiling; their hide never itches or cracks unless they are injured or ill.
Watchwhers do not have the spinal ridges that dragons do, which make them more comfortable to ride. I know, the picture above does, but the actual book says no spinal ridges.
However, because of their stubby wings, they seldom fly. They are most likely to do so at night, when the air is heavier. They can, and will, carry riders on those rare occasions when they choose to fly.Green watchwhers are approximately the size of a very large horse, if not larger. It’s safe to assume that when you’re referring to a watchwher, you’re looking at something that’s at least the size of a large Clydesdale – and that doesn’t include the watchwher’s tail or wings. (Dragon’s Kin) Watchwher sizes should increase according to color by the same percentage that dragon sizes increase.
Watchwhers are the same colors as dragons: gold, bronze, brown, blue, and green. Gold and green are the females, and the others are male.
Abilities & Personality
Watchwhers do have the ability to go between. However, only someone with special training should attempt it.
Watchwhers are photosensitive. They see heat, so what they see and what people see are very different. If a human pictures a place for watchwhers to go and visualize it as a human would see it, the watchwher will be lost between.
Watchwhers also form a telepathic bond with their handler, but it’s a very weak bond. They do not communicate in words, but primarily in emotion and verbalized sound. However, with concentration, a handler will just know what a wher is trying to communicate. For instance, when Kindan asked Kisk what her name was, he didn’t hear her voice. He could feel her almost talking to him, but he heard nothing. Only after she apparently gave up trying did he suddenly realize he knew what her name was. He didn’t make the connection then that she had told him, but realized it much later.
Watchwhers are not nearly as intelligent as dragons. They are like a blend of firelizard and dragon: they communicate mostly with emotion. For faster, easier communication, they learn key code words and their meaning, and teach their handlers what their own verbalization is for that particular concept.
Watchwher Names
Watchwhers take their name from their handlers. It’s one way that they indicate who they’re bound to, since the connection with a watchwher isn’t as easily sensed by the handler as a rider’s bond to his dragon. A watchwher’s name is the first syllable of his handler’s name, and ends in ‘sk.’ For example, while Kindan was the green wher’s handler, her name was Kisk. But when Kindan willingly gave up the bond and the wher bound herself to Nuella, her name because Nuelsk. (Dragon’s Kin)
Breeding
Watchwhers do not have the exact breeding cycle of dragon’s, but it’s close. The handler of a gold wher will make sure there are suitable bronze and brown whers available when her wher goes into season. A clutch of 12 eggs is average, and the eggs hatch four weeks, not five, after being laid.
Getting a Wher Egg
Watchwhers do not Impress. However, it is the queen wher who decides who she will let have one of her eggs. Handlers are taught to communicate verbally with whers in soft chirps and trills and brrs. The prospective handler approaches the brooding queen in an entreating manner. Once within a few feet, the handler should present their hand, palm up, and wait for the queen to acknowledge them. The proper attitude is that of one asking permission.
If the wher queen grants the prospective handler’s request, she will lift her wings and reveal her eggs. The prospective handler should choose an egg, thank the wher queen both verbally, with trills, and with body language, and get out.
Bonding, Not Impression
Watchwhers do not Impress, but they do bond to their handlers. They can change who they’re bound to, in special cases. They’re very affectionate and protective of their handlers, but less so with others.
Once the wher hatches, the handler will want to bond to it as soon as possible – but after the first feeding. Whers are born toothless, but they still might mistake the handler’s bloody hand for food.
It’s called blooding the wher, and it tells the wher who they are supposed to answer to.The handler’s hand should be cut, and the wher will lick the blood away. It doesn’t take much, but the blood is necessary for the bond to form.
Again, this is not Impression. There is not the two-way flow of emotions and love that a dragon and rider, or a firelizard and person, share. The wher has affection and even love for the handler, but it is not necessarily reciprocated. Usually it is. It’s very difficult to raise anything from a baby and not love it, especially when they don’t hesitate to show you affection first.
Life with a Wher
As with a rider, being bonded to a wher is a full time job. A wherhandler does not have another job. Tending to the wher takes up all of a handler’s time.
Watchwhers are nocturnal creatures, and so a wherhandler is always on the graveyard shift. This is why watchwhers are used for night guard duty at major Holds and the larger minor Holds, as well as at the major Craft Halls.
The other prime job duty for watchwhers is work in the mines: letting their great strength be used in a variety of ways, rescuing mine workers when necessary, and giving warning of dangers precious minutes before those dangers become inescapable. Without a watchwher, fatalities and accidents in mines increase dramatically. Many miners will choose to put a halt to the mining if they know they can replace their watchwher within a short time.
The Price of a Wher
A wher and wherhandler will make a contract with a Hold or Hall to provide their services. Or, a Hold or Hall will contract with a gold wherhandler – given the honorary title of “Master” – for the change at an egg. A chance only; the wherhandler will keep the fee even if the gold wher refuses to allow the prospective handler to have an egg.
Wher eggs are expensive! Before the start of the Third Pass, Natalon Minehold traded a full winter’s worth of coal to Master Aleesa in exchange for the chance for Kindan to be allowed a wher egg. (Dragon’s Kin)
