Just finished reading the latest book (which I enjoyed for the most part), and I noticed while browsing this board that I never made a thread for it!

Anybody read these books? It's usually described as "the Napoleonic Wars with dragons", which it is, but's it's a lot more than that. In this world, the dragons are used as an air force, but they're not dumb creatures; they're fully sentient. There's a short story on the official website that gives you a vague idea of what the series is like; http://www.temeraire.org/feast-or-famine/

EDIT: Have to add this image someone made based off the scene; it's just perfect; http://www.deviantart.com/art/Breakfast-Mishap-197479773

I can't really think of a way to describe it any better without giving away plot points, so just read it if you haven't already! Be aware though, book three is a bit slow, and book six is that and worse (nothing beats wandering through wilderness for 2/3 of the book), but the rest are much better.

This is something that flew into my head while flicking through one of the Third Pass books while writing up synopses for the Pern Wiki, which I wrote quickly one night. It's...an odd concept, but it deals with something that was never satisfyingly dealt with for my likings. Actually, that doesn't sound right. Basically, I just thought someone hadn't had their story properly resolved. Just read, and you'll hopefully understand by the end.

Oh, and sorry for the overall tone of the story, but it's necessary for the plot to work.

---

Rukbat rose across the Northern Continent of Pern, illumating the mountains that surrounded the vast structure of Telgar Weyr. Inside, on a ledge on the north side of the Weyr Bowl, K'dan paced outside his weyr, too anxious to enter. He could hear the cries from the inner quarters all too well from where he stood, as they echoed off the stone walls of the weyr. Lurenth lay beside him, his eyes whirling red as he picked up on his rider's distress for his mate.
   Footsteps behind him alerted K'dan to another's presence, and he turned to see the Weyrwoman ascending the steps to his weyr. Fiona had insisted that K'dan and Lorana be housed in a weyr near hers, which they had accepted, although K'dan had briefly protested when he had realised she intended for them to occupy one of the weyrs normally used by a junior queen. Fiona chuckled at him as she drew closer; seeing the look on his face. "Come now, K'dan," she began, patting his arm in a soothing way. "Be calm. This should be a joyous occasion for you."
   K'dan tried to force a smile, but couldn't hold it for long. He was too worried, although he kept telling himself things would be alright; he knew Lorana was under the watchful eye of Bekka, who had been delivering babies since she was a child, but he couldn't help but panic for Lorana's sake. She had seemed overly fragile over the past few sevendays, and K'dan knew she secretly feared losing a second child.
   "Listen!" Fiona suddenly said, breaking the silence, which K'dan suddenly realised had fallen over them. The cries from the inner chamber had ceased. K'dan stared at the door.
   "Do you think-"
Before he could finish, Bekka strode out of the room and towards the pair; a bundle in her arms. K'dan tried to speak, but was having trouble finding the words to say.
   "Is it...is she...should I-"
   "She's fine, K'dan," Bekka said, cutting him off. "She just needs to rest." She lifted her arms; raising the head of the newborn she held. "You have a beautiful son, wingleader."
   Stunned, K'dan reached out to take the baby from her arms. Without warning, Lurenth whimpered and scrabbled to his feet; startling them all. Before K'dan could ask his friend what was wrong, he arched back his head and began to keen loudly.
   Bekka's smile instantly vanished . She turned, and looked towards the door; the sound of the other dragons of the Weyr joining the keen echoing around them. Fiona staggered, as if she'd been hit. "It...she...no..." she began feebly.
   Bekka stared at the door in horror. "B-but she was-"
   K'dan didn't wait to hear her finish; he was already on his feet and running into the tiny quarters that made up his and Lorana's rooms; Fiona following after him. He rushed to the side of the bed which Lorana lay across; a serene expression on her face. From where she stood beside the head of the bed, Shaneese regarded him with sorrow. K'dan fell to his knees, and grabbed one of Lorana's outstretched hands.
   "Lorana?" he said, holding her hand tighter. There was no sign that she had heard him, or even that she had felt his grip. Tears welled up in his eyes, and a chill went down his back, causing him to shake. Beside him, Fiona had begun sobbing. Others began to enter the room; first Bekka, trembling even as she held the child - Lorana's child - next T'mar, who ran to Fiona's side and held her, before looking in K'dan's direction, a look of dismayed sadness on his face. K'dan looked back at Lorana's face, and then lost control; bowing his head and weeping over the bed.
   "Lorana...please, don't go..."

---

Lorana had felt something was wrong almost immediately after waking. Normally she was constantly aware of a voice of some sort in the back of her mind; the echoed thoughts of the dragons whom she made her home around, but now it was as if they had been silenced. In a panic she had tried to reach out to them - Lurenth, Talenth, any dragon - only to find herself blocked, as if a mental barrier was separating her from them. Before long, the silence had given way to a number of muffled voices; many sounded familiar, but none were strong enough for her to tell who they belonged two.
   After that unnatural silence, Lorana's next thought had been for her child, which she realised she was no longer carrying; her body was flat, and she was no longer in pain. Remembering with horror the emptiness she had felt after the loss of her first child, Lorana moved to pull herself up - strangely easily, she thought - only to see K'dan rushing towards her.
"K'dan!" she called, but he ignored her and collapsed to his knees beside their bed.
   "Lorana..." he called.
   "K'dan? Where's our child?" Lorana said, grabbing him by the shoulder. K'dan trembled, but otherwise made no sign he'd heard her. Before she could say anything else to him, she looked and saw Bekka enter, a small bundle in her arms. It was small, but Lorana could see it was moving; it was alive, their child was alive!
   The muffled voices grew louder, but Lorana ignored them, focusing on her mate; who had begun to cry. "K'dan? It's alright, it-" she began, but K'dan wasn't listening. Behind him, T'mar and Fiona stood; the Weyrwoman was sobbing against the Weyrleader, who was looking towards her, but not at her.
   At last, Lorana turned and saw; lying motionless on the bed was her own body. Lorana couldn't believe it, but it was her own body sprawled against the bed, her own face lying against the pillows, and her hand that K'dan was clutching; begging  her not to leave him. Lorana began to panic. She wasn't dead, she couldn't be dead, it must just be a horrible dream! Lorana began breathing heavily; the voices around her becoming louder and louder, but remaining incomprehensible. Abruptly, one voice cut through the noise; immediately clear amongst all the others voices, which promptly faded away.
   There you are! I've been waiting for you!
   Lorana gasped. The voice had been one of someone she'd never expected to see again, but who was always in her dreams.
   ...Arith? she tentatively thought towards the voice, which seemed to be coming from outside the weyr.
   Yes, she responded, sending waves of love her way. You didn't think I'd forget you? Arith's voice paused. You didn't forget about me, did you? she asked.
   No, of course not, said Lorana, torn between two emotions; overwhelming happiness at the thought of being reunited with her dragon, and unbearable sadness for K'dan's pain. He had seen more sadness than one man should have had to. Lorana watched as Bekka; still holding their child, came to his side and helped him to his feet, whereupon he turned and strode past Fiona, T'mar and the others; out of the weyr.
   Lorana? Arith called. I need you to come to me now; we have to go.
   Go? Lorana called back. She looked back at her body on the bed; which Shaneese was now covering up with the bed furs. She supposed she didn't really have a choice, and got to her feet. To her right, Bekka had gone over to Fiona and T'mar, who were now holding her child so that the junior weyrwoman could properly grieve. Her heart ached at the thought that she wouldn't be able to watch her child grow, but happiness bloomed with the knowledge that her child would not grow up alone; her dearest friends would ensure her child was the most-loved child in the Weyr.
   Lorana? Arith called again. Are you coming?
   I am, but I'm not sure where to go. Where are you? Can you show me where to go?
   I can't come to you, but you'll be able to come to me! There was a pause. Marco says to follow my voice.
   Marco? Lorana had no idea who that was, but she did as she was instructed; walking out of the small quarters and into Lurenth's weyr. K'dan was standing at the ledge, with his arms around his mount's neck; Lurenth gently crooning to him and supporting his weight. That sight reassured her. Lurenth would look after K'dan, they all would, just as the Weyrs had looked after her when she had first arrived. Beyond him, the light in the Weyrbowl was almost too bright to look at. Lorana blinked. Was it getting brighter?
   Nearly there, Arith called. Keep going!
Not entirely sure what her dragon meant, Lorana continued forwards; pausing only as she reached K'dan's side. Taking one last look at his face, Lorana leaned over and kissed his cheek. K'dan paused as she did; moving his hand up to touch his cheek.
   "I love you," she said, smiling, before turning back to the light, and continuing onwards.

---

Standing in silent embrace with Lurenth, K'dan tensed. His cheek tingled, as if something cold had touched him. He reached up to feel his face, and in doing so, looked forwards. He choked, unable to believe what he was seeing; the faint figure of a person standing before him; Lorana. Before he could react or say anything, she smiled at him and turned away, vanishing into the morning light.
   K'dan stood there; tears momentarily halted by the spectacle of what he'd seen.
   Lurenth? he thought to his dragon. Did...did you see...?
   I...did? Lurenth's confused voice echoed back. What did I see?
   K'dan had no answer for him, and the pair simply stared ahead, as dragons appeared out of the sky; their riders come to pay their respects to the dead.

---

As Lorana had taken more steps forwards, the Weyr had gradually faded away from her; brighter light taking its place. Looking back, Lorana found that Telgar Weyr was nothing more than a faint series of shapes behind her. Lorana slowly became aware of another shape moving towards her; separate of the Weyr, and before she realised it, Arith was beneath her; thrumming with happiness, and the two of them were flying forwards; Lorana sitting astride the young queen's neck, her feet brushing against the very riding straps she had tied on her queen the day she'd gone between.
   Arith stopped thrumming. I am sorry I had to go.
   It wasn't your fault, Lorana thought to the young queen, looking down at her side, which was still splotchy and marred from the fateful mixture Lorana had tried to save her with.
   It was not yours either, Arith suddenly said, picking up on her rider's thoughts. You could not have known.
   But I...Lorana struggled to think of an answer, but was silenced by Arith's chiding mental tone. Lorana looked back down at Arith's side, which had begun to glow amidst the light that surrounded them both. Without warning, Lorana suddenly saw that Arith's hide was changing; healing.
   It doesn't matter now, the young queen said calmly; her hide returning to its healthy gold shine. You did all you could.
   Torn between awe and a lingering sense of guilt, Lorana tried to respond; to apologise in some way, but Arith rumbled with displeasure, and Lorana gave up; gradually leaning forwards and stretching herself across Arith's neck so that she could better hold her, as the young queen carried them both onwards to whatever awaited them in the distance.
   I missed you.
   I did too.

---

As the sun began to set over Telgar Weyr, the various dragonriders from other Weyrs who had arrived to pay their condolences at last dispersed, leaving the Weyr quiet once more. Lurenth had left his ledge and returned to his weyr, and K'dan now sat on his forearm; staring out at the darkening sky. K'dan had not moved since then; not even when they came to take Lorana's body away to be interred between.
   A noise to one side alerted him to someone's presence; Bekka, climbing the steps to the weyr and walking towards him with something in her arms; his child, K'dan realised. "K'dan?" she said as she neared him; her eyes reddened. "I...I just thought you'd..." she began, but then broke off, unable to find the proper words to say, and then sat down beside Lurenth's forearm. K'dan turned to look at the child she held, and gradually got up from his perch to be closer to his son; in response, Bekka carefully handed his child to him.
   In silence they waited; K'dan cradling his child in his arms. Bekka looked at his expression, and was reminded of her own father; his incredible sorrow at the loss of Serth, and his gradual semi-recovery over time, surrounded by the love of those around him. K'dan was already faintly smiling at the child he held; it was early days yet, but Bekka knew he would recover one day. They all would in time, although they would never forget Lorana. Her son might never meet her, but he would know from an early age all that his mother had done for Pern.
   "Did you have a name planned?" Bekka asked; breaking the silence. She wasn't sure if K'dan had heard her, but after a while, he responded with "Danoran". Bekka nodded, and got to her feet. K'dan slowly responded, and allowed Bekka to lead him out of the weyr, and down the steps to the Weyr Bowl; towards the warmth of the Dining Caverns, where the others were waiting for him.
   
FIN

---

http://amcalmaron.deviantart.com/art/The-B...10%3A1353276812

And that's that story; written not for Lorana, but for Arith - although it sort of ended up becoming a lot bigger than I originally planned. I don't abide with horrible things happening to dragons; especially not when they're only being cute, so I gave Arith the happy ending she didn't get - or at least the closest one she could get with the story being what it was (and I ended up killing off Lorana, so I guess that's a bonus to those who couldn't stand her).

Like with my story about Larth, I based this off the logic used in the short "Beyond Between", so something like this could very well have happened when Lorana shuffled off the mortal coil - which seems to have happened fairly early on in the Third Pass, if you'll recall the mentions in Dragonheart and Dragon's Time...

Pern and all the characters, locations, etc in this story copyright Anne and Todd McCaffrey.

A few days back I was browsing a Spyro RP page, and I got annoyed at the fact that I didn't have any pictures to represent my characters with. In the end, I decided to remedy this by making pixel versions of the characters in the Legend Of Spyro games; ones that could be edited by anybody to make new characters. And here it is!

Pixel Spyro Characters
There's more information on my DeviantArt page - check it out there.

By the way, would you believe that despite me being a fan of it, I've never actually played one of the Spyro games? I got into it one day while browsing DeviantArt and discovering the fandom. I soon plan to remedy this problem of never having played a game (suppose technically I have seen ONE being played by a friend years ago); just need to get the proper game console...already found some of the games at a second-hand store...

Anyone here read the Temeraire book series? I do the odd bit of work for the Wiki every now and then, and I recently decided to try and fix up my horrendously inaccurate map of the world as it appears in the series for people who aren't familiar with geographic history.

The series takes place in an Alternate Universe - Napoleonic Wars with sentient dragons acting as an Air Force. I've probably made a few mistakes, but have a look anyway. Several of these will be fixed shortly, as it notes on the page.

Temeraire World Map

INTRODUCTION
What can be called the "Spyro Canon" is made up of three distinct series of video games: the Original Spyro series, the Legend Of Spyro series, and the Skylanders series.
   While these series are not explicitly said to be direct continuations of events; each series being technically a reboot of the last, it is in fact possible to logically unite the three into a grand unified universe, using some clever thinking to explain the various discrepancies between the three.
   For several reasons; some of which will be discussed in greater detail further on, I have come to the conclusion that the Legend Of Spyro series takes place before the Original series, and the Skylanders series takes place in another world some time after this. These reasons include the following:

*Technology and relations with other species appears to be much more advanced in the Original series than in the Legend Of Spyro series.
*The Dragons of the Original series are largely bipedal while the Legend Of Spyro series Dragons are quadrupedal, suggesting that this method of standing evolved over time.
*The title of "Legend" coupled with the fantastical setting suggesting that the series is an older one - the story of Spyro, Cynder and Malefor may be a well-known story that every dragon in the Original series knows.

This article will thus attempt to explain the primary conflicting issues of the two series - specifically the Original series and the Legend Of Spyro series. Minor discrepancies such as characters or species having different appearances in different games can be simply passed off as a retcon, but some of the more confusing differences will of course require analysing to be properly dealt with.

1.1 REALMS
Drawing a map of the world in the two Spyro series would be a daunting task indeed, due to the sheer amount of locations, and the fact that their relation to one another varies from game to game, which can make in-game maps unreliable, although still useful for orienteering.
   In the Original series, several "Realms" are depicted. In order of appearance, they are;

   *The Dragon Realms:
   As the name suggests, it is the home of all the    Dragons.

   *Avalar:
   A vast realm, home to many different species of    sentient beings, but not to Dragons. It is odd that    the Dragons seemingly had no knowledge of Avalar,    despite being allied with the Fairies who certainly    knew of its existence, but this could perhaps be    Ripto's fault in some way; isolating Avalar from the    rest of the world to prevent them calling for    outsider help to overthrow him.

   *The Forgotten Realms:
   The original homes of the Dragons, until they were    forced to leave - the exact history is unclear; but    it seems like the Sorceress forced the Dragons to    leave, and a dragoness who was posthumously given    the title of “Great Sea Dragon” inadvertently    discovered the Dragon Realms.

   *The Fairy Realms:
   A realm inhabited by Fairies. Fairies are known to    inhabit Avalar, so the Fairy Realms may be located    nearby, or they may even be a part of Avalar or some    other world - the information surrounding it is not    consistent.

   *The Shadow Realms:
   Presumably, the Shadow Realms are another dimension    of the world that the Dragons live in, as they are    identical to the other realms, but are monochrome    and inhabited by strange creatures.

   In the Legend Of Spyro series, no Realms are actively identified, but a small part of the "Valley Of Avalar" is shown; inhabited by Cheetahs - it can be assumed that the unexplored areas of the valley contain the same regions and inhabitants that they do in the Original series - along with the un-named area that Warfang, the Dragon Temple, and all the major areas of the series exist in. There is also "Convexity", which is less a location and more of a gap between worlds.
   So how do these two series of Realms fit together? The answer lies with the moles; in the original series, they only inhabit Avalar and the Forgotten Realms, while in the Legend Of Spyro series, they live alongside the Dragons.
   This suggests that the un-named lands of the Legend Of Spyro series and the Forgotten Realms of the Original series are the same location. The lack of Fairies in the Legend Of Spyro series also suggests that they had not established strong relations with the Dragons at that point - it could be that the un-named lands at the time did not border the Fairy Realms. This can also be used to explain the absence of many of the species seen in the Original series; their homelands hadn't been explored at that point.
   At some time in-between the two series, the Dragons branched out and founded more cities, and the Sorceress established herself as a formidable power alongside the Dragons, and eventually banished them for some unknown reason, whereupon they founded the Dragon Realms, using their magic to build their cities quickly - it is not clear whether this magic is linked to the Elemental Powers, or whether it is Fairy Magic, or if it is an entirely different magic altogether, but it is arguably linked to the magic used by the aptly named "Magic Crafters" and "Dream Weavers". One wonders why the Dragons fell so easily; had they become overly peaceful by this point? Was there no Purple Dragon to stop the Sorceress, or did she best the Purple Dragon of that time - did he become the "Sorceror"; trapped in the Shadow Realm?
   With the death of the Sorceress, the Dragons are of course free to return to their ancestral lands and re-establish their cities - something that never happened in the original series, but which is a logical turn of events.
   It seems that despite having the ability to create portals between various areas of their world, a complete map does not exist, otherwise Avalar would have been a well-known location, and the Fairies could have "reminded" the Dragons of the Forgotten Realms - alternatively, it could be that the Dragons knew of them, but had no desire to return to the Sorceress.

1.11 SKYLAND REALM
What is known as the Skylands is of little relevance to the Dragon Realms of the other two Spyro series. The Spyro of that world is said to be descended from a line of "Rare Purple Dragons" from a faraway land.
   It is highly possible that the Skylands are an entirely different world that was colonised by Dragons - one of which was a descendant of one or both of the Spyros from the other series - at some point in time, quite likely through the use of Portals.
   The vast physical differences between the Dragons of the Skylands and the Dragons of the other two series suggest that they have evolved in some way - perhaps breeding with a Draconic species native to the Skylands.
   
1.2 DRAGON TYPES - REGIONAL VS ELEMENTAL
Different types of Dragon are shown in the two series;
In the original series, there are five, each referring to a different cultural region of the Dragon Realms; Artisan, Peace Keeper, Magic Crafter, Beast Maker, Dream Weaver.
   In the Legend Of Spyro series, there are also five, but these refer to what special ability the Dragon has; Fire, Earth, Electricity, Ice and the many other abilities that are achievable only by a Purple Dragon (Elements will be discussed in greater detail later on).
   If, as suggested above, the Legend Of Spyro series predates the original series, than all these different Elemental "breeds" should still exist as a part of the Regional divisions, which would have first appeared when  the Dragons first colonised the Dragon Realms following their banishment by the Sorceress. This would make Flame and Ember of the original series both Artisan Fire Dragons.
   As for Purple Dragons, it would seem that their numbers have remained low over the years; given that the Skylanders series states that the Spyro of that world comes from a "rare line of Purple Dragons", although this suggests that they are no longer born "once every ten generations", but that a small family of them exists - presumably Malefor never bred in his lifetime, but Spyro and Cynder did, passing on the Purple Dragon "gene".

1.21 DRAGON ELDERS VS GUARDIANS
Two distinct types of authority figure appear in the two series; the Original series has "Dragon Elders", while the Legend Of Spyro series has "Guardians".
   The Guardians are dedicated to raising young dragons in the Dragon Temple and training them to use their Elemental Powers in a Dojo. The Elders appear to be Diplomats, responsible for keeping things calm across the Dragon Realms from the Dragon Dojo - this does not mean they rule the areas; each region still has its own leaders - although this doesn't prevent them from passing on their own knowledge about Draconic Abilities to the next generations.
   The similarities between the two groups could suggest that the Guardians eventually became the Dragon Elders, but there are differences enough in terms of their duties to suggest that the two remained separate. The Dragon Elders seem to have come into existence following the establishment of the Dragon Realms, as a way to maintain relations between the different regions - they might just be a group of the oldest and wisest dragons who are thus thought of as the ideal leaders of the Dragon Realms, as their numbers don’t always seem to conform to the amount of Regions. As for the Guardians, they are never actually identified as Dragon Leaders; perhaps the Dragons with the title were considered important due to their many duties, but were not in charge of Draconic Affairs.
   If the Guardians still exist, each region may have a Dragon Temple with its own set of Guardians - perhaps these are linked to the Dragonfly Dojos, which train Dragonflies for bonding with young Dragons - or there may be one large Temple with Guardians chosen from across the Dragon Realms.

1.3 DRAGON ELEMENTAL POWERS
An Elemental Power refers to what special ability a Dragon has - whether they can breathe Fire or any other substance. In the Legend Of Spyro Series, a Dragon has one Elemental power based off the colour of their scales - Red/Fire, Green/Earth, Yellow/Electricity, Blue/Ice - with the exception of Purple Dragons, who have the ability to learn and use all these elements and more.
   The Original Series differs from this by seemingly depicting all Dragons as having the Element of Fire - this can easily be ignored as a minor inconsistency caused by retcons, such as the green-scaled Elder Tomas offering to aid Spyro with Fire & Ice Breath, unless, as unlikely as it sounds, Purple Dragons mated with the Elemental Breeds, resulting in a new Dragon Breed able to use any Element regardless of scale colour - with the ability to temporarily use other Elements through the use of "Powerup Gates" or Fairy Magic.
   Assuming that these two methods of powerup are not restricted to Purple Dragons - that is to say, that any Dragon can use them, regardless of scale colour - then it can be assumed that these temporary Elemental powerups were invented by the Fairies, and that the Dragons started using them when their two species came in contact with one another.
   Several powers are granted by a Dragon Spirit to Spyro, but since these are temporary, it is possible that the Spirit - perhaps a past Purple Dragon - was channelling powers from the ancestors directly into Spyro, giving him the ability to use them without training.
   One question arises here: why wasn't the Spyro of the Original series taught to use all the Elements? This is of course the result of a retcon, but it can be explained in-game as one of the following;
   
   A: The Dragons had forgotten the significance of    Purple Dragons.
   B: The Dragons knew of the Purple Dragon's powers,    but decided not to educate him as he was young,    and/or there was no urgency for him to learn them.
   C: The Dragons were attempting to prevent Spyro from    walking down the same path as Malefor.
   D: The Artisan lands where Spyro lived were largely    populated by Fire Dragons, and as such they could    only teach him the one element.
   E: Fairy Magic had become a common way to grant any    Dragon a Temporary Elemental Power, and as such the    Dragons decided it would be easier and less time-   consuming than actually training Spyro.

   On another note, Spyro's status as a Purple Dragon could be one of the reasons he is the one required to save the day instead of another Dragon - despite it being attributed to his tiny size, it could be that Spyro escaped being frozen inside a Crystal by an unknown-to-him power linked to his Purple colour.

1.31 CLASSICAL ELEMENTS
The four colour system used for these elements - Fire, Earth, Electricity and Ice - suggests that these were the first four elements identified, or at least the most common of them.
   In the Original series, Fire appears to be an ability common amongst all Dragons, although this is likely an inconsistency caused by retcons. Interestingly, it also states that Fireflies are linked to the ability to breathe Fire - without them, the Dragons can only breathe Ice.
   This could suggest that the Fire & Ice Dragons are closely linked in terms of genetics - perhaps something in an Ice Dragon's body makes them immune to the effects of Fireflies, and their Icy body physiology reflects this.
   Alternatively, given the fact that the Fairies are evidently able to grant Elemental Powers to Dragons, it could be that they used the Fireflies to grant Fire Breath to all Dragons, and as such the temporary loss of the Fireflies weakened the spell. However, this wouldn't explain the side-effects causing the Dragons to breathe Ice. It is more likely that the incident only affected a quarter of the Dragons - those who had Fire as their Element.
   There is little to mention about Electricity and Ice, which appear in both series, and whose powers are self-explanatory. Earth, however, does not appear in the Original series, meaning all we know about it is what is shown of it in the Legend Of Spyro series.
   Oddly, what constitutes the Earth Element varies from game to game; in the first game, the element mostly summons Wind storms, in the second, it consists of a Green Energy attack, plus physical attacks that affect the ground surrounding the user, in the third, it involves manipulating rock with Green Energy.
   This suggests that an Earth Dragon does not summon its Elemental "breath" from within itself to use as an attack, as the other Elemental Dragons do, but instead uses a Green Energy that can be used as an attack on its own, or to influence Earth - and possibly also plants - around it; either channelling it through the ground, or using it to bind bits of Earth together into a boulder. It is worth noting that concept art for the Four Guardians shows them all breathing a "smoke" the colour of their scales, which could suggest that all their Elements; not just the Earth Element, are connected to some form of underlying Magical Energy which manifests itself differently depending on the Element.

1.32 PURPLE DRAGONS
Purple Dragons are said to be born once every Ten Generations - whether this is still valid is unclear, as mentioned above. The exact length of a Dragon Generation is not known, as it is still unclear whether or not the Chronicler lived at the same time as Malefor, which would mean that Ten Generations are equal to many Millenia.
   A Purple Dragon's birth could also indicate the beginning and ending of an Age, and as such, the handing down of the mantle of Chronicler to a noble Dragon of the Age. It is not clear whether the rarity of these births were due to magical occurrences, or whether the genetic combination of Elemental Dragons that resulted in a Purple Dragon was so rare that it only came along ever so often.
   Purple Dragons have the ability to use any Element, including the Four Classical Elements. The ability to manipulate time is one such Element that appears to be exclusive to the Purple Dragons, although its origins may lie with the Chronicler - that is to say, whoever created the Chronicler's position may have bestowed this power upon whoever held the title.
   The Element of Convexity is another Element believed to be exclusive to Purple Dragons - it might in fact be the natural element of a Purple Dragon, considering how a Dragon's scale colouring generally reflects the colour of the Element they use.
   Convexity itself - the "Realm, as opposed to the Element - is described as an "airlock" between worlds, so the Purple Dragons are harnessing the mysterious energy of this place every time they use this Element. The Element of Convexity might
   Convexity is shown to have many different versions of attack, generally appearing as raw energy, but also showing throughout the games the ability to summon a portal - which makes sense, given that Convexity exists between worlds - the ability to turn an opponent to stone, and the ability to use a form of fire and bombing attacks.
   This could suggest that the energy of Convexity can in fact be manipulated to achieve any number of attacks, and it may be this that gives Purple Dragons the ability to use all Elements; they are using their natural Element of Convexity to shape raw energy into replicas of the other Elements.
   Although not necessarily one of their powers, it was believed that a Purple Dragon would "put a stamp on [their] Age". Malefor believed that this meant a Purple Dragon's destiny was to renew the world by awakening an ancient machine known as the "Destroyer".
   At this point in time, it is still unclear for what reason the Destroyer was built. Was it intended to be used by Purple Dragons to cleanse the world, or did it have some other purpose; perhaps one linked to the equally mysterious Stone Golems of Tall Plains? It's worth noting that Malefor appears to have equipped the machines with Dark Crystals, which may have corrupted them.
   If the world had indeed been destroyed and rebuilt by Purple Dragons many times - and it is worth noting that Spyro did have the ability to restore the world, although this could have been him manipulating the Convexity Element - then this could explain why the Chronicler said Malefor was the first Purple Dragon; his archives only went back to the beginning of the present age - the Chronicler does also remark when he first meets Spyro that his archives contain most of the history, but not all.
   On that note, he also says that the records date back "to the beginning of time…nearly", so it is more likely that the Chronicler is the proper authority on the subject, and that Malefor merely believes that his purpose is to destroy the world - provided of course the Chronicler is not lying to Spyro to prevent the world being destroyed.
   Malefor's corruption, and his desire to destroy the world could have begun with him discovering the existence of the Destroyer - since its only purpose appears to be to destroy the world, Malefor might have ultimately concluded that the world was meant to be destroyed and rebuilt every few generations, and that a Purple Dragon was meant to activate it.
   In his eyes, this would have justified any crimes committed by him - the world needed to be cleansed, and all would perish anyway, and the end result would have been a new world free of evil.
   It is not clear how Malefor intended for the world to be repopulated following its destruction; perhaps he assumed that the various life forms on the planet would be restored when the world reformed.
   On a final note, the "Sorcerer" from the Original series appeared to be a Purple Dragon, and claimed to be the only "true dragon". What this means is up for debate - it could be that Purple Dragons come from the Shadow Realm, or the Sorcerer could be a Shadow version of the Purple Dragons of the Dragon Realms, or he could even be a past Purple Dragon who became trapped in the Shadow Realm.

1.33 UNCOMMON ELEMENTS
Many more Elements than the Four Classical Elements are known to exist, but it is not known whether there is a Dragon Breed for each Element, or whether there are only the five Breeds known thus far. If they do exist, it is likely that their Scale Colour will match the colour on the Elemental Symbol used to represent it.
   Four elements are all bestowed upon Cynder as a result of Malefor's influence - something that could also be responsible for the unusual colour of her scales - Poison, Fear, Wind & Shadow. With the exception of Wind, all these Elements are arguably dark ones, and they were likely discovered by Malefor upon his corruption. It is unclear exactly how Malefor bestowed these Elements upon Cynder; as it seems the only other way for Non-Purple Dragons to learn other Elements is to have them temporary granted to them by Fairy Magic - which presumably briefly alters their internal Elemental Energy to accomodate another power - but it could be a result of some form of Malefor binding itself with Cynder, causing some of his Elemental Powers as a Purple Dragon to spill over into her.
   Wind is first described by the Chronicler as being one of the Elements learnt by a young Malefor. It has been suggested by some that Wind and Earth are linked, due to the "Tornado" attacks demonstrated in the first game, but this is unlikely first of all due to the fact that the two Elements are identified separately from one another, and also because Earth appears to use Energy to manipulate its surroundings, as discussed above, whereas Wind would probably involve a Dragon's lungs and breathing capabilities.
   Water is an Element that only appears in the Original series, and is made possible by Fairy Magic. As such, it is not clear how this Element works; if a "Water Dragon" existed, it is not known whether they would have a bladder inside the body for the storing and expelling of water, or whether they would manipulate and summon water to attack with, like Earth Dragons.
   There is also a "Bubble Breath" used in the Original series, which allows a Dragon to create large bubbles to trap small creatures - specifically Dragonflies - in safely. This is likely linked to one of the other Elements.   

1.34 SKYLANDERS ELEMENTS
As the Skylanders series takes place in an entirely different world to the other two series, its Elemental powers might not be bound by the same laws of the Elements in the other series, such as scale colour reflecting a Dragon's Element - for example, a Blue Water Dragon is shown to have Electricity Elementals. Despite this, they can still be useful as they give a greater look into what Elements can exist.
   The Skylanders Elements are; Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Life, Undead, Magic, Tech, Light, Darkness. Of these, the first four can be seen as variants of known Elements, "Life", "Undead" & "Magic" could all be explained as being specific areas of Magic; such as healing and necromantic powers. "Tech" is an artificial element, and it's worth noting that not all of the Skyland inhabitants are Dragons, and as such, they may be using machines or a different form of magic to the Dragons. Light and Dark could also be other forms of magic, or they could be energy-based Elements similar to Convexity and Earth.

1.4 YOUNG DRAGONS
1.41 EGGS
In both the Original and the Legend Of Spyro series, Dragon Eggs are shown as hatching in the "Year Of The Dragon", which is every twelve years. While the latter series does not discuss the subject, the former series flat-out states that Dragons only hatch in the Year Of The Dragon.
   This slow cycle of reproduction could be due to some sort of custom, such as a ritual calendar - perhaps it is considered good luck for a Dragon to hatch in the Year of its species - or it could be something like a form of population control, or it could be that Dragonesses are only fertile once every twelve years, or it could be that some form of magic only present in the Year Of The Dragon is required to let the Eggs hatch.
   The Dragon Eggs themselves are dealt with differently in both series. In the Legend Of Spyro series, all the Dragon Eggs are placed inside the Dragon Temple, and are kept safe by the Four Elemental Guardians who reside there. In the Original Series, Fairies bring the Eggs to the Dragon Realms.
   Presumably, reproduction occurs for Dragons in the normal fashion, but the Fairies delivering the eggs could be an intentional ceremony; where the Fairies make a big show of delivering the new eggs to their nesting place.
   It would seem to be common practise to leave Dragon Eggs in a Nursery of sorts, as both series have a form of this - the Nursery in the Original Spyro series, and the Dragon Temple in the Legend Of Spyro series.
The reasons for the change could be one of several:
   A: Dragon Temples fell out of use in Dragon Society,    and were replaced by Nurseries.
   B: Nurseries were founded as an off-shoot of    the Dragon Temples.
   C: Nurseries were founded for smaller Dragon    settlements without a Dragon Temple nearby.
   D: Dragon Eggs were never meant to be kept at Dragon    Temples; this was merely done as an attempt to    protect the next generation from Malefor.

1.42 DRAGONFLIES
Dragonflies are fairly important in the Original Series. At the time of their hatching, a Dragon is bonded with a Dragonfly who is supposed to protect it; having been trained in a Dragonfly Dojo, which may, as mentioned above, be connected to the Dragon Temples/Nurseries.
   A dragonfly's life expectancy is not known, and none of the adult dragons are seen with them - this doesn't necessarily mean they are deceased or on their own by this age; the dragonflies may just be keeping out of sight.
   It has been suggested that a Dragonfly's purpose is merely to guard the young Dragon until it reaches adulthood, and is such capable of looking after itself, which could suggest their absence is indeed due to death or them leaving their "wards".
   In the Legend Of Spyro series, no dragons are bonded with Dragonflies, but the young Spyro is raised by a family of Dragonflies who live in a swamp.
   This legend could be the origin of the custom of bonding Dragonflies with young Dragons - many reasons could be said as to why; the Dragon parents might have copied Spyro, thinking it a clever thing to do, or it could have been a result of a misunderstanding of Sparx's role in the Legend.

1.5 GEMS
In the Original series, Gems are used as a form of currency. In the Legend Of Spyro series, "Spirit Gems" are introduced, and are said to be the "Life Force" of Dragons. From what has been observed of their nature, it seems that when a Dragon dies, their body disappears and is replaced with a Spirit Gem, which then can be shattered to obtain the Energy within. The same thing happens to the Apes under Malefor's control, but this might be due to them "artificially harnessing" the Gems - in other words, it might be that only Dragons collapse into Crystal, and all other creatures die and decompose as normal, unless of course they have absorbed a Spirit Gem, at which point they will expel it.
   It's not too hard to imagine over time that Spirit Gems started being used as items of barter; being a highly desirable item due to their healing and replenishing abilities.
   Dragon Spirits are said to "bind themselves with nature"; whether this means Spirit Gems are Dragon Spirits in solid form, or merely just the Energy that a deceased Dragon had in life is unclear.

DeviantArt Page

Don't remember exactly how, but ages ago I got the idea for a series of tiny ocean liners. Picture a cross between a student flat, a classroom & and a yacht. That's what these ships are.

Academic Class Ocean Liners


Basically, a fictional company (from a story I haven't quite finished) offers a form of Tertiary education in a vaguely Montessori style. Students/Recruits are divided into small groups of around 12 (at least two of these will already be studying Medicine and Catering, to aid onboard) and gifted one of these ships - the aptly named Academic Class - and basically they sail this ship from port to port, and pick up their skills along the way, through either working in one of the ship's many specialised rooms, or helping out in one of the ports they stop at. Over time, once they've figured out their desired future area of work, they graduate on from the ships, go on to the next phase of learning, and the ships get passed on to the next set of students.

Not only does this build strong friendships and aid in learning skills, it also teaches the students how to use these ships, which, in the world I've designed, are the most common form of transport. In case of war-like situations, any person who trained on one of these ships will be able to come forth as a militia of sorts, and use the offensive weapons on board to defend whatever needs defending.

All of these ships have names that end in -ic; something that seemed clever originally, but over time the good names have run out and you're more likely to see a ship entitled "Eccentric" than "Majestic".

It's also worth noting that although these ships have a lot of rooms on board, it's not a luxury liner. The rooms are a bit small, the furniture is bit old, the wallpaper is out of date - it's a student flat.

INDIVIDUAL DECKS:

The Boat Deck; not much to note here. Several areas lack labels, due to the fact that the text couldn't fit in them. Luckily, I can annotate them via the description! The tiny room behind the Bridge is the navigation room - it has a large map on the wall of the ocean, and various lights representing different ships move across it. The tiny rooms near the Funnel are just deckchair stores and the like. There's a raised roof over the Lounge, inbetween the two lifeboats.

A Deck; now here's where things get detailed. This deck is mostly for recreation, so there's a lot of large rooms. However, there's a good bunch of alcoves here too, which people on board can use for work purposes or if they just want to sit and blob.

A miniature pipe organ rests in the Lounge; this is in fact a synthesizer with some adjustments. Not only can a person use it to play music, it can play back existing music, and can even be used as a recording studio, by recording multiple sessions, and then playing them together. Finally, the pipes are largely for show, and they flash a certain colour and release a puff of smoke on some songs, to create a sort of visual spectacle for those listening to it.

The Palm Court at the back is simply a room with a few tables and a tiled floor. It can be used as a verandah, or the tables can be moved aside so it can be used for something else.

The Bar at the front of the ship is basically another Lounge, except this one has a drinks counter, and a better view.

B Deck; the cabin deck. As you can see, it's here the size of the ship becomes apparent - the bedrooms are pretty tiny, with a bed and a wardrobe taking up a good deal of the room. The four bedrooms to the front of the ship are not generally used by the regular students; they're reserved for guests, and in other times used as a sick bay.

Beyond these extra cabins is a large open space used as a Workshop - here the students can tinker with and build stuff using whatever materials are loaded into this room via the nearby Cargo Hatch.

At the other end of the ship is a Library, a Reading Room, two interior Promenades, and a large Greenhouse/Conservatory at the back, containing various plants and a fountain. A skylight above provides illumination.

C Deck. This deck is largely dominated by the Galley - the six tiny rooms around it are Storerooms, and the tiny alcove near the Funnel is where finished food is left until the rest is ready. Next to that is the large Dining Hall, which is part of the Main Staircase.

In the fore part of the ship is the Pool and Baths - a large swimming pool dominates the main room, with doors on either side leading to various bath rooms. Further on are four Steam/Sauna rooms, which all open on an alcove next to the Pool; intended to be a place for cooling off. Although not marked on the map, for emergency purposes, a hidden door exists in two of the Steam/Sauna Rooms, to allow access to the Cargo Hold.

At the aft of the ship, which can only be accessed through the Aft Staircases, is a Court, which can be used for playing games, or simulations. Next to that is a Games Room, which largely consists of a Pool Table (not much use on choppy seas), several tables for smaller games, and a large cupboard full of games.

Here's where the format gets a bit confusing - normally, to indicate the sloping walls of a ship as the shape changes, you put a dotted line to indicate where the floor meets the wall. Since I modelled this thing in Lego, doing that became a bit difficult. The interior walls you see from now on immediately inside the exterior walls are where the floor meets the wall. Imagine that the wall slopes between the two marked wallls.

The Orlop Deck. This is below the waterline. There's not much down here; mainly Cargo to the fore, and Engine Controls to the Aft. A large Switchboard room exists near the Control Room; this allows an Engineer to control where power is directed to onboard the ship - very useful in emergencies. The large rectangular rooms on either side of the ship are known as "Carpenter's Chambers", and are designed with multiple uses - if the hull fails on one of the chambers, it can be sealed off to prevent sinking, if the ship is sinking, these rooms can be sealed off to trap oxygen inside and aid in keeping the ship buoyant longer, etc (if you go into blatant Sci-Fi territory, they could also be used as ballast tanks, so the ship can travel underwater, and so on).

The Tank Top. The bottom of the ship. Everything down here is either Cargo or something to do with the ship's Engines.

And I think that's pretty much everything.

Academic Class Ocean Liner Design Copyright ME!

This was an idea that I had after finishing the article I wrote for another forum about a mysterious element of the Pern series - Between; you can read what I wrote here. - and realising that there was an entire plot element that hadn't been explored fully.

So as not to give the storyline away, I'll only say that I came up with the storyline one night and spent the next week writing it, and that it concerns the character Lytol and his deceased dragon Larth...

Dragonriders Of Pern, and all characters and locations are copyright Anne McCaffrey. Veleth, Forth, Folyth, L'mel, Tereth & Ricsen are characters I created for the purpose of this story. Hope you enjoy it! Please read and review!

PARADISE WEYR
On the shores of the southern continent of Pern, a dragon lay amongst the warm sands. If anybody had been around, or in fact, able to see him, they would have been horrified at his condition; how a few shreds of charred membrane that was all that remained of the main part of his wings, and the vast amount of unhealed brown hide along his back which bore the unmistakable sign of firestone scarring. Despite this, the injuries were old ones, and caused the dragon no pain at all, not since he had first gone Between all those turns ago.
   His name was Larth, and he was one of many dragons who, as Marco, their only human companion put it, were presently “being patient” at a place called Paradise River Stake, although most of the dragons simply called it Paradise - whatever that meant. Larth only knew Marco as “Duluth’s rider”, and as far as he knew, he was slightly older than he was, as he had been here as far as he could remember - which was not very far.
   A shout rang out, and Larth lazily moved to face away from what he knew were the sounds of the nearby seaholders returning with their catches. Dragons did not normally have good memories, and Larth was no exception to this rule, but since the seaholders repeated their task every day, Larth had become accustomed to hearing the triumphant yells of a good catch and the peaceful quiet of a mediocre catch. In addition to this, the sheer monotony the dragons endured by “being patient” at Paradise meant that there was little else to remember except the unusual.
   Up until a few turns ago, Larth and the other dragons at Paradise had weyred a lot closer to the river, until the holders had suddenly begun appearing from the bushes. At first there had only been a talonful, and Larth and the others had all watched in interest at the visitors to their weyr, but after it became clear that the people were unable not their riders, nor were they able to see the dragons, they quickly lost interest. Over time, more and more people had arrived, and Duluth’s rider had seen fit to suggest that they move a little further up the coast, “so as not to hassle the settlers”. Larth did not quite understand what he had meant by this; it wasn’t their fault that the holders had housed the herdbeasts so close to their weyr, but he had decided to move anyway - especially once Prideth had forced him to.
   Beside him, a blue dragon stirred. What is it? came the voice of Forth. Duluth had retrieved the young dragon from Between the previous night, his reasons for being there becoming all too-clear when the others had seen the horrendous threadscores marring his neck. It is nothing, Larth rumbled, turning to face the tiny blue. The people have just returned home. Go back to sleep.
   Forth made no further noise, but he trembled visibly as he lay down. Larth understood the young blue’s unease, knowing it all too well. Different dragons handled “being patient”, as Marco put it, in various ways. Some dragons did nothing but curl up upon themselves and huddle away from the dragons, others keened occasionally, but most of the dragons, Larth included, simply tried to make the time pass in whatever way they could.
   Reminded of his grief again, Larth let his head rest on the sands. Where was his rider?  When would he find his L’tol again?

***

“Hold steady, my lord,” the young rider said as he and his elderly passenger took to the air. “We shouldn’t be much longer. Only a few short-”
“Breaths. I know.” Lytol muttered, before looking off into the distance. He preferred to make little contact with the riders sent to ferry him from place to place, instead choosing to focus on the tasks that had been set him. He felt slightly annoyed that the Weyr had sent a young rider who, despite meaning well, obviously didn’t realise that the person he was retrieving knew plenty about dragons, having…
   Lytol shifted such thoughts from his mind and began focusing on the task at hand; Jayge, the Lord Holder of Paradise River, was considering re-establishing the former provinces of the first stakeholders. As one of the few inhabitants of Kahrain Province, Lytol was needed to not only give his opinion on the matter, but to discuss a potential change in borders if the plan was accepted, as Jayge’s holdings already stretched far beyond that of the original stake. Only this morning had he learnt of these plans, when young Lëmel on green Tereth had arrived from Monaco Bay Weyr to both deliver the news and transport Lytol to the proceedings - D’ram and Wansor having decided to remain at Cove Hold.
   L’mel raised his arm in a silent signal, and Tereth went between, before emerging over the clear skies of Paradise River. Tereth bugled happily, as she backwinged to land neatly in the sunny clearing not too far from the main hold building, where several other dragons were lounging. L’mel dismounted easily from Tereth, and Lytol followed suit, as Lord Jayge arrived in the clearing.
   “Lord Lytol!” Jayge called, strolling towards the green dragon. “I trust you are well?”
Lytol nodded in acknowledgement. “Have the other Lords arrived?” he enquired.
“Yes, you’re the last one we expected,” Jayge said. “Come, we should begin the proceedings.”
Lytol made to move towards the main hold building, but Jayge pointed to a small shelter on one side of it, not unlike a small gather tent with the walls rolled up. “Thread’s not due for another two days, and with the weather being fine, we decided to hold the meeting outside.”
   Leaving L’mel in the clearing to wait for his return, Lytol followed Jayge towards the shelter that had been set up for the occasion. As he got closer to the structure, he saw that the various holders and dragonriders were sitting around a large table.
   Reaching the table, Lytol took his seat and began speaking with those sitting around him. T’gellan and Talina had come from Monaco Bay Weyr to represent Jordan, along with Rency, who he was told was the holder of Cardiff Stake. Readis was also present, having arrived dolphinback from Rubicon River Hold earlier in the day to represent Araby alongside his parents and the holders of South Bend Hold. Lytol alone would represent Kahrain - no other holdings had been established there thus far.
   Several other visitors lined the edges of the shelter; various seaholders with minor holdings along the Jordan coast, and several journeymen from the Harper Hall. Lytol noted that they were carrying rolled-up sheets of paper - presumably maps for the holders to peruse.
   “Shall we begin, then?” Jayge said suddenly, gesturing for the journeymen to begin unfurling the maps. “I imagine we’ll have much to discuss.”
   Lytol and the other holders nodded agreement, and began examining the maps that had been prepared for the occasion - detailing the eastern part of the Southern Continent as it was currently believed to exist, with both the modern holds and the ancient’s stakes marked in differing colours. Lytol found he had no complaints about his own borders as they were marked, and thus sat back as the other holders began to debate areas of the maps. He had a feeling that the meeting would be a long one.

***

Larth was roused from his sleep by noises coming from the holding. These weren’t the usual noises of the people and their ships; the sounds were unfamiliar to him.
   Slowly, he opened his eyes and began to look around himself. There was no sign of Duluth - he and Marco were probably Between - and the few dragons of their “Weyr” were all sitting at the edge of the river holding and looking towards its centre with some interest. Larth got to his feet and began moving towards the other dragons, curious as to what had attracted their interest. What is going on? Larth enquired of the dragons nearest him.
   A queen dragon turned her head towards him, causing the sunlight to illuminate the brutal gashes in her neck, still visible many years after the original wound had stopped bleeding. Larth had always thought it odd that a queen dragon would consider a brown dragon like him to be worthy of acknowledgement, but Wirenth had always been kindly towards him since her arrival some…Larth struggled to remember...time ago.
   There are dragons at the river, Wirenth said, before looking back at the events that were unfolding in the distance. They bring new people to the hold.
   Shuffling past Forth, who was watching from the back, Larth moved to where Veleth - the only Bronze at Paradise - stood at the head of the group. Dragons rarely came to Paradise River - unless Duluth brought them - and as such the ëvisitors’ were watched with interest by the Paradise dragons, although none of them knew their visiting kin from the younger Weyr.
Look over there, chimed Folyth, a green near Veleth. All the people are under a sheet!
   Veleth snorted, as several heads swung to look. It is nothing special, he said to the other dragons in a bored tone. They are just sitting down.
So? Wirenth called back. It is more exciting than watching the fishermen in their boats each day. If you are not interested, then go and sleep in the sun and we shall watch instead.Veleth grumbled, but did not move from his spot at the lead. Larth suspected that like the other dragons at Paradise, the large bronze secretly hoped that his own rider might be one of the newcomers, although he’d never say as much.
   What do you think they’re doing? Forth called from the back of the group.
They are discussing things, Larth responded, looking closer at the visitors. The meeting will be a long one.
Larth blinked. Where had that thought come from? That didn’t sound like something he’d say.
   Before he could give it much thought, Folyth began talking again. The people on the left wear riders clothing! she announced excitedly. Heads collided as every dragon moved quickly to better see the people on the left part of the shelter, who were unmistakably dragonriders. The excitement quickly faded away as the dragons saw that the riders were not their own. Several dragons rumbled their displeasure and abandoned the group, returning to the warm sands of the beach.
   Larth continued to watch the ëmeeting’, as he’d called it. He did not recognise their Weyr markings, and the riders were wholly unfamiliar to him. To the right of them, a fat man was shouting at a tall man over some problem, and another one was looking down at something on the table. Larth squinted. The man looked familiar. He suddenly moved, revealing a face marred by a scar caused by some unknown accident, and in the instant that he saw the man’s face, Larth recognised him.
   L’tol! Larth shouted mentally, startling the others, who all looked at him in confusion. The connection was faint, but it was him! His rider! Here! But why hadn’t he come? He was here and Larth was here, so why wasn’t he coming over? Did he not care about him anymore?
   Without a second thought, Larth began running towards the tiny shelter, his companions, having realised the reason for his sudden outburst, began to follow him. L’tol! Larth called again, as he came ever closer to his beloved rider. L’tol! L’tol!!!

***

Lytol looked back at the map in front of him. Jayge had just proposed that they alter Araby’s borders so that they reached to the hills on the Kahrain side of the river. This was of no concern to him - Jayge’s holders certainly needed the land more than he did, and he had no desire to make things difficult.
   Prior to this, Lytol had only briefly become involved with the discussions when young Readis and the South Bend holder had noticed the placement of the Tuareg stakes differed on their maps, and had begun discussing whether Kahrain’s borders ended at Paradise River or not. Although nothing would be officially decided by this, Jayge would take the results of their debating to the next Council meeting, and propose that the changes be carried out.
   L’tol, a voice suddenly called from across the table. Lytol paused, looking up at those sitting around him.
“Did someone call my name?” he said, abruptly speaking into a rare silence that had fallen across the table. To his right, T’gellan chuckled. “I don’t think so. Are you imagining things, old friend?” Lytol ignored him, and looked back at his map. “My mistake, then”, he said.
   As the conversation resumed around him, Lytol made to call Readis over, having noticed a cove near the present hold that could be put to good use, when he heard the voice call his name again, urgently.
   Lytol looked around the table again. “Are you sure nobody called me?” The other holders either shrugged or shook their heads; none of them had said anything. “I could have sworn…”
   L’tol! The voice called again! “There! Who said it?” Lytol shouted in a sudden anger. Who dared torment him with his old name? Did they take delight in reminding him of his loss? The other holders evidently did not hear this voice, as they regarded Lytol with confused looks on their face.
“Are you feeling alright, Lytol?” Readis spoke first.
“Should we adjourn for the time being?” Jayge offered.
Lytol waved his hands at them. “I’m fine, I-”
   The cries of panicked herdbeasts suddenly echoed from a nearby paddock. “What’s going on out there?” one of the journeymen said, looking over at the fields. L’tol, the voice sounded again! Lytol grimaced. He didn’t feel right. He must be unwell; perhaps dizzy from his trip between. Lytol stood up from his chair. “I’m sorry,” he announced to the other holders. “I think I need to-“
   L’tol! Again! The voice came again in his mind, relentless…L’tol, L’tol, L’tol! Anger arrived to replace sorrow, and he felt a rage building in his body. Lytol clasped his hands over his ears, his eyes becoming wet with growing grief. “Stop it! Stop shouting at me!”
   “Lytol, my friend! Be calm!” Jayge called, getting out of his seat. T’gellan had already risen, and the two anxiously watched for Lytol’s next move.
   Before Lytol could say anything in response, he was struck with a wave of oncoming emotions. The voice…so familiar, and yet so distant…It couldn’t be. Not here. But he was feeling sensations he hadn’t felt in many a long turn. Something in his mind…something like…
   Tears began flowing from Lytol’s eyes as an equal mixture of confusion and understanding came to him. He collapsed to the floor, openly weeping.
 “Shards! Lytol!” Jayge shouted, rushing over to him, along with T’gellan.
Lytol tried to plead that he was fine, but his mouth wouldn’t form the words, his mind still too shaken by his last thoughts. He waved his arms in an attempt to push the others away, to get to his feet, but strong arms grabbed him and held him still. “Please be calm, Lord Lytol!” yelled Ricsen, one of the journeymen holding him. Lytol ignored him, and continued to resist their grip. They did not understand! He must go!
   Voices echoed around Lytol as the other holders closed in around him.
“What’s going on?”
“Is he alright?”
“He’s not well, get him out of here!”
“Where’s that blasted rider?”
“Drink this, my lord,” someone said to Lytol, as a set of hands pushed a cup towards his face. Lytol attempted to push the cup away, but another person forced the drink upon him, and he had no choice but to drink, recognising the taste of wine laced with fellis juice. As the world before him began to blur, Lytol had the faintest sense of a familiar voice yelling in protest. Then the drowsiness overtook him and he knew no more.

***

L’mel? Teleth called as her rider rushed towards the clearing, followed by two journeymen carrying the unconscious figure of Lord Lytol.
Something is not right. Teleth told her rider, as he began strapping Lytol into the flying harness. Monarth and Arwith say they hear voices.
L’mel looked to one side; next to Teleth, Monarth and Arwith were moving about restlessly, their eyes whirling yellow in anxious confusion. L’mel had been calmly resting in the clearing moments before, when all of a sudden the herdbeasts had begun panicking, and a journeyman had rushed from the shelter to inform him Lord Lytol had had a breakdown of some sort, and was to be escorted home.
   Things seemed to have gone wrong all at once across the holding, L’mel thought to himself. Let’s move quickly, my dear, L’mel called, mounting his dragon after he checked that the unconscious Lord Lytol was safely strapped into the harness.

***

Unable to fly ever since the accident that had forced him Between in the first place, Larth could only thrash his wings uselessly and watch as the green dragon took to the sky, taking his rider away with her.
   NO! NO! L’TOL! DON’T GO! L’TOL! Larth wailed, his eyes madly flashing red and purple in distress.
   The dragon did not hear him, or if it did, it paid him no notice, as it abruptly disappeared Between. Larth fell to the ground, keening in despair. Wirenth and the other dragons joined in his keen, understanding all too well the pain a dragon felt to be parted from their rider. But to be separated again…

***

Marco returned from his daily journey Between to find the entire ëweyr’ downcast; the various dragons all resting on the beach; a visible grey tone marring their hides. Marco squinted. Not too far from the Paradise River Stake, one dragon sat alone, essentially sprawled out on the surface…Larth? Marco was used to this sort of thing; every now and then one of them would sink into a melancholy about their rider, but ever since he had retrieved him from the greyness of Between, he had thought Larth to be one of the more steadfast dragons, at least when compared with dragons of his past such as the panicky Arith, who had caused him much trouble until she had finally disappeared Beyond. To see him so low was unusual.
   Duluth? Marco thought to his dragon. What’s happened here?
After a few seconds of silence, Duluth responded. Riders were here, and Larth’s rider was with them. Duluth hesitated for a moment before continuing. His rider did not come to him.
   Marco looked again at the stricken dragon, before telling Duluth to land beside him. “Larth?” Marco called, unsure of what to say to the poor creature.
Larth responded by opening one eye that slowly whirled grey with sorrow.
“Come away from the river, Larth.” Marco said, aware that nothing he could say would be enough to soothe the old dragon. He was about to ask Duluth to call Wirenth over - he had often seen the two dragons together, and Larth would not refuse a queen’s request - but Larth had feebly rumbled in acknowledgement and begun picking himself up from the ground.
“That’s the way.” Marco said softly, as Duluth began to walk towards their main camp. He knew of a secluded spot, near where the queen dragon Prideth had often rested before she’d disappeared ëBeyond’. Larth could lie there in peace until he’d forgotten the events of this day. Draconic memory was blessedly short. “Follow us, old friend.”

***

Lytol woke from his fellis-induced sleep to find himself in his bed at Cove Hold. A young journeyman dozed in a chair opposite the bed, presumably having been set there by whoever had brought him home from Paradise River. ëNo!’ Lytol thought in anger. Why had they taken him away? For a second, he had been complete again! His mind had been whole, restored.
   Lytol threw the blankets aside, and moved to sit upon the edge of the bed. He was no longer confused; emotionally overwhelmed to the point of madness as he had been at the hold, and was able to think rationally. He had not been hallucinating - he couldn’t have been! Somehow, in some way, he had felt his dragon’s presence, his voice, his touch. His dragon, HIS Larth was there. He couldn’t explain it, but Lytol didn’t care. All he knew was that he had to get back to Paradise River.
   A yawn coming from the other side of the room signalled the journeyman was beginning to stir. Lytol got to his feet and walked over to where the young man sat.
“You there! Where is D’ram?” he said, already making plans as he spoke.
“Lord D’ram?” the journeyman said, rubbing his eyes. “He was in the main hall last I saw him.” The journeyman must have suddenly realised just who he was talking to, for he added, “Please, my lord, you must rest.” Lytol ignored this, making his way for the main hall. Finding it empty, he pushed open the large doors and walked onto the hold porch.
   Not too far from the hold proper D’ram was visible, leaning against his dragon; bronze Tiroth, who thrummed in acknowledgement as Lytol began walking over to them.
“Lytol,” the elderly bronze rider said, noticing Lytol’s arrival. “Are you feeling better, my friend?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine…D’ram, I need you to take me back to Paradise River.”
“What?” D’ram said, confused. “Lytol, you’ve had a shock of some sort; the last thing you need is unnecessary travel.”
“I didn’t, I…” Lytol paused. “Something happened at Paradise River. For a moment, I heard…a voice.”
“What do you mean?” said D’ram.
“He called to me, D’ram. I heard…”
“What?”
“Larth! I heard my Larth!” The words burst out of his mouth. D’ram stood there, shocked at what he’d just heard. Then he shook himself, and stared at Lytol with a gaze the ex-Weyrleader must have once lectured his Wingleaders with.
   “Lytol, listen to me,” he began slowly. “You know…better than anybody that…Larth…“ He stopped. “You’re not thinking straight, Lytol, you must be-“
“Do you think I would make such an easy mistake?” Lytol suddenly snapped. “That I would be so easily fooled by my own wishes that I would hear voices in my head?”
“No dragon can return from Between once they flee there, you know that as well as I do!” D’ram retorted, his voice rising in response to Lytol’s. “Shards, man, what do you think you’ll find at the river?”
   “I don’t know! But I will damn well get there if I have to build a raft and sail there myself!” Lytol finished angrily. Behind D’ram, Tiroth trumpeted defiance, his eyes whirling red as he felt his rider’s anger. Lytol stopped himself. He knew he must calm down, else D’ram would think him unwell and think his words nothing more than ramblings. “I must go,” he began, in a softer tone. “D’ram, you must understand! If I do not, I will drive myself to my grave with thoughts of what might have been.”
   D’ram made to say something, but paused in thought. “There are no records of something like this ever occurring, Lytol,” he began after a while. “Do you not realise that if there was such a way to undo the pain of loss the Weyrs would know about it? I don’t know what you expect to find at the river, Lytol, but I fear you’ll only bring yourself fresh grief.”
   “I know,” Lytol said. “But I must do this. Would you not do the same in my place if you thought Tiroth…” he trailed off, not willing to finish the sentence.
“Lytol,” D’ram began, “You need to rest…”
“I need to do this, D’ram.”
   D’ram looked over at Tiroth, his eyes losing focus as the two engaged in shared thought. “Alright, then,” he said after a while. “I will take you to the river. But if you do not…find anything, then you must return home with me, and turn these thoughts from your head once and for all.”

***

The sun had already been setting at Cove Hold, so by the time Tiroth and his passengers emerged from Between over Paradise River Hold, the sun had vanished below the horizon and given way to darkness. Lytol had brought a basket of glows with him, in case he needed to search the thick forests near Paradise River. D’ram, not realising how far Lytol was prepared to search, had assumed that Lytol had simply thought ahead and brought the basket to prepare for the oncoming darkness.
   D’ram had guided Tiroth to land on the outskirts of the hold, so that Lytol could search the surrounding area in secret, without being harassed by Jayge, who would undoubtedly insist he come into the hold and remain inside, so as not to risk repeating his fit the day before. After dismounting, D’ram had told Lytol that Tiroth would be listening out for him, and if he sensed any harm befalling him, the two of them would take him back to Cove Hold, regardless of what Lytol might say.
   As D’ram disappeared into the open doors of the holding, presumably making up some story to the Lord Holder about why he had chosen to visit the hold at this hour, Lytol started along the path to the herdbeast paddock, which he remembered had become highly agitated around the time he’d felt the ëpresence’.
   He arrived there to find it otherwise serene; there was nothing to suggest a dragon had been here in the past day; no footprints leading away, no sign of disturbed greenery, nothing. Lytol continued onwards - not far from the herdbeast paddock was the beginning of the long beach that stretched across Araby’s coast, and the rocky cliffs along that held forests large enough to hide a full-grown dragon.
   Lytol rushed out on to the beach, dimly illuminated by the glow of Belior. It seemed to stretch on forever, and he could see nothing out of the ordinary about the sand dunes. Already he was starting to think that he had embarked on an impossible quest. D’ram had been right, it was impossible, what he’d claimed to have heard.
   No! He hadn’t been imagining things…he couldn’t have been imagining things…it had felt real…He took a step forwards. “Larth!” Lytol yelled into the night. “Larth! I’m here! Larth!”

***

The other dragons had given Larth a wide berth when Duluth led him across the “Weyr” to the isolated area of the beach where he now lay, far from the banks of the river and the tiny settlement that had caused him such woe. Curled up upon himself, Larth attempted to go to sleep, without success. He could not stop thinking about what had happened at the holding - his rider had abandoned him, disappearing between on another dragon.
   A terrible thought gripped Larth’s mind; perhaps his rider did not care about him anymore. It had not been Larth’s fault that he had gone Between in the first place, but did his rider know that? Maybe L’tol blamed him for leaving him behind, and thus he now did the same to Larth in return; no longer wishing to have anything to do with him.
   Larth shuddered. He knew his L’tol would never do such a thing, but he couldn’t forget what he had seen. He tried once more to sleep, so the thoughts would not torment his mind, but was unable to do so. The normally pacifying sounds of the waves lapping against the beach sands and the wind blowing through the trees of the nearby jungle had become infuriatingly repetitious.
   Larth! Larth! Wirenth suddenly spoke to him from the distance. There is a man on the beach!
So? Larth called back bitterly. Men come to the beach all the time. Why should I care if one decides to in the night?
No, Larth, look! Wirenth repeated, urgently.
Larth grumbled. I am sleepy, Wirenth. This was a lie; he could not have been more awake right now, but he had no interest in watching the actions of some erratic seaholder.
Larth! Look at the man, now!
   That last sentence had been an order, and Larth swung his head around grumpily, unwilling to disobey the commands of a queen dragon. In the distance, he could indeed make out the shape of a man walking along the river, a glowbasket in one hand.
   “Larth!” The figure called, waving the glowbasket from side to side.  “Larth!”
Larth’s low mood vanished in an instant. It was his rider! He’d come back! He did care! Larth scrambled to his feet, and began rushing across the beach sands. He briefly heard the sounds of the other dragons reacting as he ran through the “Weyr”; Wirenth’s happy bugle, Veleth’s disgruntled snort, Duluth’s rumble of confusion.
   Looking again at the figure, Larth realised with joy that the man was now running towards him as well. He had seen him! He was here! He had come back!
L’tol! I am here! Larth called once more. L’tol!

***

Lytol didn’t realise he had started running until he noticed that he appeared to be making great strides across the beach. In the very moment that he had seen the familiar shape illuminated by Belior’s light and heard the voice echo in his mind, he had begun moving without thinking.
   As both dragon and rider crossed the final barrier keeping them apart, Larth frantically slowed to a halt to avoid crashing into his rider. Lytol did not stop, and leapt against his dragon, clutching his hide tight and only just managing to hold back his tears as Larth joyfully thrummed back at him. His head almost ached at the sensation of Larth’s consciousness flowing back into his own. What was this? Impression? Re-impression? In that moment he was Lytonal again; the young boy who had impressed the creeling brown hatchling Larth in the vast Hatching Cavern of Benden Weyr and become L’tol, Dragonrider of Pern!
   “But…h-how?” was all that Lytol could manage to say. Larth had no answer to this, and simply crooned back at him. Larth either didn’t comprehend the full weight of his rider’s words or he didn’t mind - perhaps both, Lytol thought for a moment. Lytol quickly found that he had no overwhelming desire to know how his dragon could have returned to him after so many years since…
I did go between, Larth stated, finishing Lytol’s thought. And now I am here.
   Lytol looked all over his dragon in a mixture of love and pride - he hadn’t changed at all since the day of the accident! He was still the most magnificent dragon that had ever lived on Pern; his hide a rich brown, his wings-
“Your wings, Larth!” Lytol shouted.
What? Larth said, turning his head to look. Is something wrong with them?
Lytol stared at his dragon in horror. “Larth, they’re in pieces!”
The wings still bore the ghastly marks of Tuenth’s flame, even after all these years! Lytol could not believe that they had not healed, or why they were not bleeding!
   They do not pain me, Larth attempted to tell his rider, but Lytol would not be dissuaded from treating his beloved dragon. Having no bandages or medical supplies with which to care for Larth, Lytol instead pulled off his tunic, and made to wrap it around a particularly nasty burn on Larth’s wing-
   To Lytol’s astonishment, the shirt passed through the wing. Lytol blinked, unsure of what he had just witnessed, before reaching out to touch the membrane, finding it to be quite solid. But when he went to place the tunic on the damaged wing membrane, it once again fell through the dragon, as if he was made of air.
   Lytol suddenly remembered with a sickening feeling a concept he had discussed once with AIVAS, when the ancient machine had still been active. A Keroon holder had discovered records in his hold purportedly describing an event where the figure of the queenrider Moreta had appeared outside a hold long after her fateful trip between. AIVAS had compared the occurrence to an old earth superstition about the spirits of the deceased returning to places significant to them, but had also explained that these “ghosts” were nothing more than illusions, caused by reflections of light or some other “unidentified phenomena”.
   ëAIVAS was wrong then,’ Lytol thought bitterly. Was that it, then? He knew that his dragon was dead; he had accepted it long ago - he had seen his dragon go between before his very eyes! - so was Larth no more than a shadow?
   I do not know? Larth said, having picked up on his rider’s thoughts, his eyes now swirling yellow in confusion. But it does not matter to me, he said after a moment’s concentration. I can feel you, and you can feel me, and that is what is important.
   Larth moved his head to nuzzle Lytol where he stood. Lytol stroked the soft hide, and felt his dragon’s warm breath on his skin. No, Lytol thought to himself. Larth was here, he could feel him; he wasn’t a shadow. He was just…different now. He could accept that. He had faced many hardships in his life; so many of those that he had loved were now deceased, would he now spurn the miracle of one of them returning to him just because they were not quite the same as they had been when they lived? Larth was right; what was important was that they could sense each other once more.
   What now, Lytol thought? Should he return to D’ram and the others and tell them of his discovery? His only fear was that the others might not see Larth, and believe him mad. Perhaps he had gone mad already, Lytol thought pessimistically. Perhaps he had dreamed this whole turn of events. Larth suddenly rumbled his displeasure, showing what he thought of that thought.
I am here and you are here, Larth said, asserting his earlier statement.
   “I must fetch D’ram,” Lytol began, breaking the silence around them. “We must go home.
Larth’s mental tone was confused. Home? Where is home?
“Not too far from here, my beloved brown,” Lytol continued. “It’s just a short trip Between.”
I cannot go Between, Larth suddenly said.
“What?” Lytol was confused. “But you-“
I cannot go Between, Larth repeated. Why would I still be here if I could leave?
“But then-“ Lytol paused, sitting on one of his dragon’s forelegs. But what? He couldn’t go home because his dragon couldn’t go there instantaneously? Was it required of him that he live at Cove Hold, and that he must return to it at the end of the day? He was in control of his own life! If he was forced to abandon the Cove for the sake of his dragon, then so be it! He could live here, at the river - Jayge would not refuse him the use of one of the hold buildings.
   On the other hand, perhaps he could travel overland to the Cove. Piemur had done such a thing many years before; perhaps he could send for him, and get him to guide the ëLord Holder of Kahrain’ across the beaches so that he could appropriately survey the area for Jayge’s proposed borders, or some similar excuse.
   Larth interrupted his thoughts by laying his head down on the ground, his neck stretching out before Lytol’s feet.
You would not leave me again, would you? Larth softly called. Because I cannot go between?
Lytol threw his arms over his brown’s neck; miraculously unmarred, having somehow avoided the heat from the firestone that had burnt so much of his back.
   No. Lytol said. I will never leave you again, my love.
Larth rumbled in pleasure, his eyes whirling green, before he closed them out of sleepiness. Lytol settled down on his dragon’s forearm. His plans could wait until the next day. He leaned against his dragon’s soft neck, and fell asleep in the arms of his dragon, the reunited pair sharing their most peaceful night’s rest for the first time in many turns.

FIN.

This was a silly idea that I got while tinkering with ship designs - some cruise ship lines have all their ships share a pattern of names; White Star Line's ships all ended in -ic, Cunards all ended in -ia for a while, etc.

Anyway, I was toying with the idea of a thousand tiny tugboats doing jobs for one company, and how the names of these ships could get a bit silly after a while.

This started with only a few jokes, and eventually I got carried away writing lots of them. Some are good, some are bad. Eh, have a look anyway and tell me what you think.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The harbourmaster leaned back in his chair. "So, what are today's reports?"

"Um..." the assistant flipped back through the printout of the day. "According to this, the Neurotic and the Frantic erroneously reported several sinking ships, the Moronic has run aground, the Symbolic is currently delivering a shipment of model ships, the Hygenic reportedly had an outbreak of flu onboard, although the Psychosomatic later sent word this was false, the Strategic crashed into the Ironic, the Hubristic has lost its fourth funnel, the Generic and the Realistic have nothing much to report, the Fantastic and Chic are currently undergoing redecoration, the trainee crew of the Kinesthetic failed the written part of their exam, the Anorexic is low on ballast, the Ergonomic's crew is reportedly suffering back problems, the Critic reports that the Egocentric appears to be sinking, although the Egocentric claims otherwise, the Dyslexic is reportedly sending out OSO messages, witnesses state that the Schizophrenic is apparently patrolling both the North and South shores, the crews of the Agnostic and the Dogmatic are currently fighting one another, so are the crews of the Capitalistic and the Communistic, the Sporadic has apparently vanished off our radar, the Cinematic, or a good replica of it is apparently resting near an island, the Carcinogenic's funnels have recently been repaired, the Asthmatic's ventilation system has exploded, the Acidic and the Caustic have crashed into the Toxic and will all require repairs, the Aquatic was thought to be sinking, but the Apologetic reported it had mishandled the signal, the Amnesiac is apparently unsure of its current location, the Agoraphobic is currently in dock, and the Catastrophic thought it might be sinking, but the Anticlimactic reported that things have turned out alright."

The harbourmaster ran a hand over his head. "Oh boy..." he grumbled. "Well, at least it's not as bad as that mess last year with the Erotic."

"Oh, certainly."

DeviantArt Link

1.1 A SUMMARY OF EVENTS TAKING PLACE PRIOR TO THE FILM "9"
In the world of "9", the Industrial Revolution happened on a much larger scale, resulting in more sophisticated technology by the 1900s. At some point in history; quite likely the 1920s, a "Great World War" began between several nations of the world, one that would ultimately last ten years and result in the crippling of the participating nations, to the point where they were bankrupted, their cities were ruined and their natural resources depleted among other things.

Ten years after the ending of this war, the Chancellor; the leader of one of the nations that fought in the Great World War (believed to be Germany, for reasons discussed below), decided to provide funding to various scientists for research into new forms of technology, and mandated that "20% of all domestic steel and iron" was to be used for scientific research, stating that this would be the way to restore the damaged economy, and ensure "peace, prosperity, and a leisurely life for the citizens of [the] nation". One such person recruited, a former toymaker known only as "The Scientist", was already at work on an artificial intelligence machine that he called the "B.R.A.I.N." (an acronym standing for "Binary Reactive Artificially Intelligent Neurocircuit").

Unfortunately for the Scientist, an insulation accident in the May of that year caused the B.R.A.I.N. to short-circuit. The Scientist worked hard to restore his creation to its former state, but with little success, as the machine's data banks had been wiped in the accident. After an inspection from the Chancellor resulted in the government threatening to cut his funding, the Scientist focused his attention upon information from a book on Alchemy that he had read at some point during the construction of the B.R.A.I.N., spurred by a dream of his containing various symbols from within the book.

The particular symbols he dreamed of corresponded with a specific section of the book; Intellect Transferral. Although initially sceptic, the threat of losing his laboratory prompted him to create a device, based on the symbols from the book, that would allow him to transfer his own intellect to the machine; the Talisman. By June, the machine was working again.

After conducting several simple tests upon the machine, the Scientist officially activated the B.R.A.I.N. Around this time, rebel groups began to voice their displeasure towards the Chancellor and the new forms of technology that were being created. The Chancellor's forces responded by storming their protests and imprisoning several of the activists.

In early July, the Chancellor's forces stormed the Scientist's laboratory and confiscated the B.R.A.I.N., with the intention of conducting their own tests on the machine. The following day, they interrogated the Scientist, and took many design documents and machine prototypes from his lab. To the Scientist's horror, his machine was unveiled to the public not long after as "The Fabrication Machine". Barely a week passed before the machine had managed to create an entire army of machines; allegedly machines of peace, but really "War Machines", equipped with deadly gas bombs. Around this time, the government also began recruiting men for the army. One of the men recruited, Thomas, already had sympathies for the Resistance, and had been following the course of the scientific discoveries made.

War was officially declared on the other nations of the world on the 18th of July. Horrified, the Scientist denounced the Chancellor as being corrupt and warned of the dangers of his machine, before returning to the information that had allowed him to build the Talisman, in the hopes that he could use this to undo some of the damage he had caused. Learning of this, the Resistance managed to track the Scientist down and house him in a safe place, where he was cared for by a woman named Judy.

As the war began to grow, the Chancellor forced the Fabrication Machine to make more and more War Machines, not knowing of the negative impact it was having on the Fabrication Machine. Incidents began to become noticed, such as one War Machine turning on its own forces, and the Fabrication Machine itself attacking a worker in the factory that housed it.

By the beginning of August, the forces of the Fabrication Machine were no longer following the orders of the Chancellor, and were attacking any person they could find; the Fabrication Machine having secretly programmed each machine to kill any form of life that they encountered. The Chancellor ordered his armies to retreat, blaming the Scientist for the actions of the Fabrication Machine, and placing orders for his arrest before going into hiding.

During this, the Scientist continued to work towards remedying the destruction caused by the Fabrication Machine, whose creations were now travelling across the oceans of the world to eradicate life. Although his notes had been confiscated long ago with the B.R.A.I.N., members of the Resistance managed to recover the relevant material and allow him to alter the Talisman so that it could serve a new purpose. Instead of transferring the intellect of a person to another item, the Talisman would transfer a part of a person's soul. The Talisman was also capable of storing such material, and the Scientist specifically used this function to store the memories of various members of the Resistance to safeguard the future of the world.

Not long after this, the Scientist succeeded in creating the first "stitchpunk"; a humanoid machine housed in a cloth body, animated with the life force of the Scientist, which he named "1". Six days later, he had completed the second stitchpunk, aptly named "2". These creations he intended to exist as the last vestige of humanity in a world that was rapidly becoming unstable.

By the time the Scientist finished "3" & "4", the Resistance had decided to launch an attack on the factory housing the Fabrication Machine, aided by Thomas and a group of soldiers; recalled from the battles to guard the Chancellor at a secret base. However, the Fabrication Machine was prepared for them, and their attack was thwarted. While the survivors of the Resistance managed to escape to safety, Thomas and the remaining soldiers fled back to their base, realising too late that they had been allowed to survive so that the Fabrication Machine could discover their location. The base was stormed, and many were killed, the Chancellor included.

The Scientist continued his work, over time finishing "5" & "6". Thomas, who survived the attack, managed to contact the Resistance, and a plan was gradually formulated for a new assault on the factory; specifically targeting a smokestack that could fall and crush the Fabrication Machine. Simultaneously, the Scientist finished "7". Judy, who had been caring for the Scientist through the war, decided to join Thomas and the remaining members of the Resistance as their final assault was carried out. The Scientist finished "8" and released him just as the Resistance began their attack. None returned. The world was silent.

Alone, the Scientist completed his last stitchpunk, "9", and left him a recorded message to find, before activating the Talisman one final time. Unknown to him, the Fabrication Machine, now losing power, was creating a new machine to find the Talisman and return it to the factory, in the hopes that it could power it…

1.2 NOTES REGARDING THE ABOVE EVENTS
1.21 "9" Russian Dub
When the film "9" was released in Russia, several new story points were added to the film through the dialogue. Whether or not these additions are to be considered canon or not is another thing.
ï The Scientist did not create the Talisman, it was an ancient artefact.
ï The Fabrication Machine powered itself with the souls of people, drained from their bodies by the Talisman.
ï The Scientist eventually removed the Talisman from the Fabrication Machine without harm, as the machine recognized him as its creator.
ï Despite being animated by the life force of the Scientist, each of the stitchpunks was made in the image of a person the Scientist knew (including friends, so that they could aid his stitchpunk avatar after their own deaths, and enemies, to allow them to atone for their sins), resulting in them taking on some of the characteristics (and in some cases, memories) of the people they represented;
1 was modelled off the Chancellor.
2 was modelled off a friend of the Scientist, who worked with him.
3 & 4 were modelled off the twin children of the Scientist.
5 was modelled off a medic working for the Resistance.
6 was modelled off an engineer working for the Chancellor.
7 was modelled off the Scientist's wife.
8 was modelled off the Chancellor's Bodyguard.
9 was modelled off the Scientist.

1.22 "9" and the Internet
As part of marketing for "9", several accounts for fictional characters were set up to reveal the story of the. A Facebook account was created for the Scientist, and Twitter pages were created for Thomas, Judy, and the leader of the Resistance. Throughout the events leading up to their (presumed) demises, they sent each other messages and even commented on the various updates listed by the Scientist. It is unclear whether this is supposed to be artistic licensing on the part of the website designers, or whether, as a result of the advancement of technology in the world of "9", a form of the internet indeed existed, prior to the fall of humanity.

1.23 The date "9/9/09"
On several of the propaganda posters listed in the Scientist's journal, the date 9/9/09 is shown. This refers to the original release date of the movie "9". Its inclusion here could simply be an error by the website designers, but it could have been specifically marked by the Chancellor, perhaps as a scheduled date of victory in war over the other nations of the world.

1.24 The Scientist and the Talisman
It is unclear exactly how the Scientist managed to recover the Talisman from the B.R.A.I.N., after it was installed into the Fabrication Machine, and use it to create the stitchpunks. It could have been that at some point after the creation of the Fabrication Machine, the Scientist visited the factory that housed it, and removed the Talisman himself. The Russian dub of the film in fact uses this version of events to explain how he obtained it. If he did remove the Talisman, he must have done it during the time between the unveiling of the Fabrication Machine, and the time he went into hiding; roughly some two weeks apart.

The only other likely way the Talisman could have been retrieved would be through the actions of the Resistance. It is known from the online sources that several notes crucial to the Talisman's design that the government confiscated from the Scientist were later retrieved by the Resistance, and the Talisman may have been stolen from the Fabrication Machine during this, or a similar incursion upon the regime of the Chancellor (or possibly even a grand tour of the facility, which the Director's Commentary suggests is where the doll head used in the construction of "The Seamstress" came from). The problem with this theory is that it would be very difficult to remove such a device from a sentient machine, regardless of whether or not they had been noticed by security guards. It could have been that the Talisman was removed by a worker in the factory or someone connected to the project, and was later recovered by a member of the Resistance, but the problem remains of how they would have managed to fool the Fabrication Machine into giving up the Talisman.

1.25 The Gas
The poisonous gas used by the War Machines, while deadly, did not permanently taint the air of the world. The leader of the Resistance mentions that it lingers in the air for hours, but presumably dissipates. This is supported by the fact the Scientist is shown in his lab without any forms of protection against the air, meaning that it is safe by this point. This could mean that some forms of life escaped the gasses of the War Machines. It is quite likely that the oceans of the world escaped the purges of the War Machines, as they intentionally targeted humans.

1.26 The Nation
The nation that acts as the setting for the events for "9" is never identified in any material, presumably to allow for some ambiguity on the matter. However, some information can be discovered about it by examining the few descriptions. It is known that the nation is a fascist state, led by a dictator known as "The Chancellor", and that their nation emerged victorious from a "Great World War".

The symbol of the nation, in addition to it being an allusion to Nazi Germany, also helps to figure out where this nation is located. The colouring of the Nazi flag; Red, White and Black, came from the flag of the German Empire, which in turn took its colours from the flags of Prussia and the Hanseatic League, both of which were located in Northern Europe. With this in mind, it is likely that the nation in "9" is Germany, or a state derived from it. This would also mean that, if the Great World War had similar origins to World War I, the Central Powers were the victors.

The title of Chancellor is a government position that has existed in Germany since its formation as the German Empire. Because the dictator of the nation in "9" is known as the Chancellor, this could suggest that the Chancellor overthrew, or convinced people to revolt against the Emperor of Germany, and then took control, reworking the country as a fascist state.

The city in "9" is not explicitly named (although the Director's Commentary mentions it was made to resemble Vienna), but is presumably the capital of the nation, due to the fact that the Fabrication Machine was installed there. The defensive walls surrounding the city in "9" also suggest that the city is an older one, as the defensive walls of many old cities were dismantled to provide room for new regions. The fact that these walls are intact could mean that the city was originally a smaller town that was later made the capital, or it could be that many city walls were left standing in this alternate history.

One final thing worth noting is that the number three appears to pop up in several places. Not only is the national symbol a three-pronged shape, but it is also surrounded by a three-sided shape, a triangle. The Fabrication Machine, specifically the part encasing the B.R.A.I.N., is also triangle shaped. It could be that the fascist state in "9" places some form of value upon the number three; perhaps the nation was founded upon three main laws, or maybe it represents three things that lead to a good life. It could also be said that the stitchpunks represent this, since there are nine of them, or three sets of three.

2.1 THE TALISMAN
The Talisman is a device that was built by the Scientist with one purpose; to transfer a part of a person from them into an otherwise inanimate object. Using information from an old book on Alchemy, he managed to create the Talisman, at first to allow him to transfer his intellect to his other creation; the B.R.A.I.N. It was later that he would redesign the Talisman to allow it to transfer his life force to another creation of his; the stitchpunks.

From what is currently known, the Talisman has at least three functions:
One: The transfer of "essence" from one thing to another; seen when the Scientist and the Fabrication Machine use the Talisman.
Two: The capture of "essence" from something; seen when "9" destroys the Fabrication Machine with the Talisman.
Three: The release of "essence" from the Talisman; seen at the end of the film.

In other words, the Talisman has the power to transfer "essence" from one thing to another and give it "life", whether or not the object is alive to begin with. Essence here refers to (but may not be limited to) mental and spiritual energy, as the Talisman was capable of transferring both at different points in time.

Since the information that led to the construction of such a device evidently existed for a time before the advent of technology, it may be that pieces of essence transferred into inanimate objects may be able to move themselves without complex machinery to aid them. However, the stitchpunks of "9" are shown to have fully mechanical "bodies", consisting of a basic skeleton, spring joints to aid in movement and a mechanical brain of some sort, all of which is powered by the life force of the Scientist, which shows that they, at least, are dependent on the machinery to live.

It is unclear whether or not the destruction of the "body" will result in the release of the essence; 6's attempt in the film to prevent the destruction of the Fabrication Machine before the spirits of the slain stitchpunks could be retrieved suggests that the essence remains bound to its body, regardless of what damage is done to it. While the spiritual essence of a creature can be said to leave the body at death, since an inanimate object is neither alive nor dead, this could leave the spirit attached to its body indefinitely even if the body was destroyed.

This potential dilemma could be remedied through two ways; either by repairing the damage done to the protective body, or by using the Talisman to remove the essence from the body, although another possible action would be to construct a replacement body and then transfer the essence into that. Alternatively, it could be that the Fabrication Machine had specifically stored the spirits of the stitchpunks somewhere within itself to provide energy, which could have left them trapped following the destruction of the machine.

By removing the spirit from the body and releasing it, this allows the essence to move freely through the world. As shown at the end of "9", transferred essence is not dependent on a "body" to exist, as the "spirits" of the fallen stitchpunks are able to remain on earth for a short period of time, before moving on to another plane of existence. Not long after this occurs, rain starts to fall, and little microbes can be seen in the water. In other words, the spirits have dissipated, allowing their essence to inhabit the water vapour in the sky, the result being that this has created a new form of microscopic life. In time, this will evolve into more complex life forms, thus restoring forms of life to Earth.

2.2 THE TALISMAN AND "MEMORIES"
Through various notes left behind by the Scientist, it is known that shortly before he started making the stitchpunks, he was using the Talisman to store the "memories" of the people around him; probably members of the Resistance, as he was being kept safe by them at this point.

It is not known how the Scientist stored "memories" in the Talisman, but since the Talisman's original purpose was to transfer intellect from one thing to another, it could be that he transferred memories using the same process.

The likely reason that the Scientist stored the memories of the people around him was for the same reason he built the stitchpunks; so that some remnant of humanity would survive the Fabrication Machine, hence him also leaving the Talisman to the stitchpunks so that they might "protect the future", perhaps envisioning a later date where life had been restored to the world, and humanity rebuilt using the memories contained within the Talisman.

These memories may or may not have been released at the end of the film along with the spirits of the slain stitchpunks. Whether or not they were responsible for the return of life to earth via microbes is debatable, although it is worth noting that in an older script for "9", the Talisman causes it to rain before the spirits of the stitchpunks depart, suggesting that they were not responsible for the return of life.

2.3 THE TALISMAN AND THE FABRICATION MACHINE
It is worth noting is that since the "intellect" transferred into the Fabrication Machine using the Talisman was enough to power it initially, it is possible that the "memories" contained within the Talisman were what caused the Fabrication Machine to be reactivated. It is clear that the Fabrication Machine was not fully dependent on the Talisman to survive, as that was removed from it early into the war, yet it still functioned throughout it. Presumably, it had a secondary power source that was damaged in the final attack by the Resistance.

It is known that the Fabrication Machine built the Cat Beast in its final moments to regain the Talisman, presumably because it remembered that it had been responsible in bringing it to life, and thought it might be able to power it. It would not have been aware that the Talisman had the power to capture the essence of living things, as that function was added to the Talisman after it was removed from the Fabrication Machine.

The Talisman was inadvertently activated upon its return to the Fabrication Machine, and it is likely that, upon reawakening, the Fabrication Machine realised that the spirits of the stitchpunks could be used to power it indefinitely, and decided to hunt them down instead of exterminating them.

2.4 THE TALISMAN AND THE FALLEN STITCHPUNKS
Unless the spirits went on to an afterlife of sorts, or dissipated completely into the microbes, it could be possible to reanimate them using the Talisman. Since no damage occurs to the "body" during the transfer of life from one object to another, it could be possible to reanimate the fallen stitchpunk by tracking down each stitchpunk's unique essence, and using the Talisman to return the spirit to the body of the fallen stitchpunk.

This could be done by trapping the spirit of the stitchpunk within the Talisman, and then projecting it upon the body. However, since the Talisman is never shown to have the ability to project essence as well as capture it, this may not be possible. Alternatively, the Talisman could be used to directly transfer a spirit without a body into the body, in a process similar to how the Scientist initially gave life to the stitchpunks.

SOURCES
For more detail on some of the things discussed in this paper, you might wish to "go back to the source" and read some of the original material used to write this.

The "Scientist's Lab" can be explored here:
http://www.9experiment.com/

The Scientist's Journal can also be read on Facebook, which is here: http://www.facebook.com/9scientist

The Twitter account for "Thomas" can be seen here: http://twitter.com/9_Thomas

The Twitter account for "Judy" can be seen here:
http://twitter.com/9_Judy

The Twitter account for the Resistance Leader can be seen here: http://twitter.com/rebel123456789

A transcript for the Russian dub of "9" can be found here: http://thexsource.proboards.com/index.cgi?...read=648&page=3

This is something I did a while back for fans of the Myst series of computer games, a pixelly replica of the Relto Library, and all the Linking Books that appear in the whole series! Now you can make a customised version of the Relto Library, containing links to your favourite Ages from any game!

Custom Relto Bookshelf


I also used that as a template to redraw what the Myst Library might have looked like prior to the torching of its many Descriptive Books. I also wrote a theory to go with this that is available through the link below; basically, judging by what we know about Linking Books and their placement on the shelf, Atrus and his family, and technical limitations of the game, we can assume that not as many books were destroyed, as depicted in the game.

Myst Library - Restored


Finally, I made these pixelly Guild logos, by tracing over one of the Guild symbols released by Cyan. It annoyed me how we only had five logos for all the known Guilds, and so I decided to customise the one we had to suit them all.

D'ni Guild Symbols
D'ni Guild Symbols