List of Dragonriders of Pern characters
Characters in the Dragonriders of Pern series of science fiction novels by Anne McCaffrey.
8th Interval, 9th Pass
Major characters
AIVAS
AIVAS is an advanced computer, found by Jaxom, Jancis, and Piemur while they were excavating the city called Landing, the original settlement of the ancestors, that had been buried in ash during a volcanic eruption. AIVAS has remained undisturbed since the events of Dragonsdawn some 2,500 years earlier and, in addition to holding a huge volume of stored information long since lost to the Pernese society, claims to be able to eliminate the threat of Thread forever. AIVAS reintroduced many technological advancements to the society. Some people, feeling AIVAS was a threat to their way of life, called it an "abomination" and tried to destroy it, but they were unsuccessful.F'lar
F'lar is the weyrleader of Benden Weyr and the rider of bronze Mnementh.F'lar was born Fallarnon, 32 turns before the beginning of the Ninth Pass of the Red Star. His father, F'lon, and his grandfather, S'loner, were both Weyrleaders in their own time. His mother was Larna, who died just after giving birth to him, and he was raised by Manora, the Headwoman at Benden Weyr and mother of his half-brother F'nor.
At the time of his ascension to Weyrleader, Benden Weyr was the only populated weyr on Pern. Like F'lon, F'lar believed that Thread would return to devastate the land. He took responsibility for ensuring that Pern was protected from Thread, and he even promised the Lord Holders that he would destroy Thread completely at its source, the Red Star.
F'lar is a champion of justice, and was involved in a number of knife fights that were fought to protect both his beliefs and those less able to defend themselves. He fought and killed Fax, the self-styled "Lord of Seven Holds", when the visit of dragonriders to his holdings precipitated a challenge to Fax's authority. This victory resulted in the discovery of Lessa of Ruatha Hold as a candidate for the last remaining queen egg, and ultimately the successful Impression of Ramoth. Later, he also fought the oldtimer T'ron and T'kul.
Mnementh flew Ramoth to establish F'lar's leadership in the weyr, and F'lar and Lessa became lifemates. Together they had a son, F'lessan, whose childhood name was Felessan.
After the discovery of AIVAS, F'lar was one of the champions of the scheme that rid Pern of thread forever.
F'lar has dark hair, and amber eyes that he inherited from his sire, Falloner.
F'nor
Famanoran or F'nor is the rider of the brown dragon Canth and was the son of Benden Weyr's former Weyrleader, F'lon, and its current Headwoman, Manora. He was also the half-brother of the current weyrleader, F'lar. He is a wingsecond at Benden.F'nor is a major character in the books; his most notable deed was his flight to the Red Star in an attempt to destroy Thread at its source. This attempt was unsuccessful, as the Red Star could not support human or dragon life, and almost cost both him and his dragon their lives.
F'nor and Brekke formed a long-term relationship.
F'lessan
F'lessan is the rider of bronze Golanth.A Benden Weyr native, F'lessan was born as "Felessan", and is the son of the Benden Weyrleaders, F'lar and Lessa. Since Lessa nearly died giving birth to him, he has no full siblings. Through Lessa, F'lessan is related to Lord Kale of Ruatha Hold, Lessa's late father, who was killed, as well as almost all of Ruathan blood, by Fax.
When he was young, F'lessan befriended young Lord Jaxom, prior to Jaxom's taking on his full duties at the Ruathan Holdship. In his early teens, F'lessan Impressed a bronze, young Golanth, from a clutch of Ramoth and Mnementh, his parents' dragons. Over the Turns, F'lessan and Golanth became one of the key young dragonpairs that helped to stop Thread from returning. F'lessan also fell in love with Tai, a young Monaco Bay rider of green Zaranth, in The Skies of Pern. He has three sons, including S'lan, a brown rider.
F'lessan later discovered and restored the abandoned Honshu Hold which he claimed and called "Honshu Weyrhold".
F'lessan and his dragon were injured in a skirmish involving felines in The Skies of Pern, but recovered, though his dragon was permanently handicapped.
Jaxom
Jaxom is both a dragonrider and a Lord Holder. He was declared the Lord of Ruatha Hold after his mother's death, and was raised by the ex-dragonrider Lytol. Jaxom caused controversy among the leaders of Pern by Impressing the white dragon, Ruth, when he was eleven years old. Later, he became a hero—although he did not tell anyone at the time—by rescuing a queen egg of Ramoth's from the rebellious Oldtimers, who had stolen it in an attempt to repopulate their Weyr. He was also one of the central forces of the movement to banish Thread from Pern forever.Jaxom is born approximately three Turns before the start of the Ninth Pass of the Red Star, whilst F'lar and F'nor were leading a search for candidates for the last Queen egg of dragon queen Nemorth's final clutch. His mother, Lady Gemma, wife of Fax, dies giving birth to him.
Fax initially agrees to acknowledge Jaxom as the new Lord of Ruatha Hold on the basis of the Hold being unable to adequately provide for its Lord, but threatens to renege on that promise and attacks F'lar. F'lar kills Fax in the duel, leaving Jaxom an orphan.
Deelan, the mother of Dorse, is his wet nurse and foster mother. Until Jaxom is old enough to take his position as Lord Holder, Ruatha is left in the hands of Lytol, a former dragonrider and Craftmaster weaver, who acts as mentor and guardian to Jaxom throughout his younger years.
On a visit to Benden Weyr, Jaxom and his friend Felessan take the chance to spy upon a clutch of Ramoth's eggs, and Jaxom expresses concern about the smallest egg and touches it. On their way back, exploring the back tunnels of the Weyr, the two boys discover a previously unknown room, with diagrams from ancient times and a microscope.
When Jaxom returns to the Weyr for the Hatching, the white egg fails to hatch, and Jaxom impresses Ruth when he breaks the egg's unusually tough shell and inner membrane. The Impression is considered a nuisance by many, as Jaxom has responsibilities as Lord Holder to uphold, and some feel it might create a conflict of interests. Also, a dragon and its rider must live in a Weyr, but Jaxom as a future Lord Holder must live in his hold, and clearly he can not live in two places at the same time. This problem is sorted by the pragmatic Lytol who points out that any place a dragon lives is by definition a weyr, so if Ruth were to live in Ruatha's stables, the stables become a weyr. Ruth is not expected to mature to a size which would allow him to join a Thread-fighting wing of a weyr, which would take Jaxom away from his responsibilities in Ruatha, so the two are allowed to return to Ruatha.
Growing up, Ruth becomes his main friend, but once allowed to fly, and then to go between, he finds friends among other students at the Harper Hall, Smithcraft and in the Weyr. He also learns how to go between time as well as place, and, despite thinking that it would bring down recriminations upon him, to flame Thread. Because Ruth is especially adept at 'Timing it', he and Jaxom play a major part in the end of Threadfall forever.
Jaxom falls in love with Sharra, the sister of Southern Holder Toric and expert Healer, who nurses him back to health when Jaxom succumbs to a potentially fatal illness known as "Firehead". His feelings for her are reciprocated, and Sharra, through their relationship, becomes the only other person who can hear Ruth's thoughts. Even though Toric has plans for his sister that do not include "a table-sized Hold in the North", Jaxom and Ruth fly into the Southern area and rescue Sharra; their relationship is then grudgingly accepted by Toric, and they are later married at Ruatha Hold. Together they had two boys whose names were Jarrol and Shawan.
Lessa
Lessa is a small dark powerful woman. She is Benden Weyrwoman during the Ninth Pass, and rider of the gold queen dragon Ramoth. Lessa's psychic ability to influence the thoughts and actions of others plays a role in various parts of the series.Lessa is the daughter of Kale and Adessa, Lord and Lady of Ruatha Hold. Kale was an amiable man and in ordinary times was considered the ideal Lord Holder. However, Kale underestimated the greed of his neighbor, Fax, Lord Holder of High Reaches, who had conquered five other holds since claiming his own. Kale's over-optimism and trusting nature resulted in his death and almost all of the Ruathan bloodline. Lessa escaped her family's massacre because she hid in the watch-wher's den. According to the books, Lessa was 11 turns old at the time of the attack, although in DragonFlight, F'lar guesses she could not have been over 10 years old at the time.
Lessa was already headstrong and independent. Her father mentions her as "stubborn at only four ", and the Harper Robinton is amused, years later, when she falls asleep during a marching song.
Lessa spends a decade as a drudge in Ruatha's kitchens, where she survives abuse and subtly undermines a hold which should otherwise thrive, to gain revenge against Fax. She bides her time, hoping Fax will renounce the hold or be killed so that she can step forward and claim the Hold as the only survivor of Ruathan Blood. When Benden dragonriders arrive in Search for a woman with the telepathic talents to Impress the new queen dragonet, the dragons feel her aura. She uses her psychic abilities to force the dragonrider F'lar to a duel with Fax, which F'lar wins.
Lessa reluctantly gives up her right to inherit Ruatha Hold to the newborn Jaxom. Jaxom is the son of her distant cousin Gemma, whom Fax married to give his claim to Ruatha legitimacy. She travels to Benden Weyr and becomes Pern's only Weyrwoman, and joins forces with Weyrleader F'lar to fight the resurgence of the voracious alien life-form called "Thread".
Lessa's most notable achievement is her rediscovery that dragons can travel between times as well as places. She makes daring use of this skill to make a single jump back 400 Turns into the past in a search for help to fight Thread in her time. F'lar believes she has jumped to her death and is left in despair in the present, but Lessa succeeds in persuading the dragonriders at the end of the Eighth Pass to travel with her to the future. These "Oldtimers" and the riders of Lessa's time resume the battle against Thread's menace to life on Pern. Several of these Oldtimers later become an additional threat to Lessa's and F'lar's quest to help Pern survive the present Pass.
Lessa is at first a seemingly unsociable and cynical personality because of the abuse she endured after Fax's conquest of Ruatha. She grows and matures during the course of the books into one of Pern's greatest leaders and a loving mate to F'lar. Her short temper does become famous on Pern and she continues to use her strong psychic ability to influence other people's moods and perceptions. Lessa is one of the few on Pern who can speak to all the dragons.
Lessa is described as petite, almost childlike, with long, thick black hair. Her queen Ramoth is the largest dragon on the planet.
F'lessan is her only child. Lessa almost dies in childbirth, and additional pregnancies are assessed as too risky. This leaves Lessa somewhat bitter, and she regrets in one book that she was not like Kylara, a Weyrwoman known for promiscuity, who bore several children but wanted none of them.
The Skies of Pern states that Lessa left F'lessan's care to his foster mother and never paid much attention to him. Manora replies this was expected, since she was Weyrwoman and had other duties.