The Wings of High Reaches

The dragons of a Weyr — during a Pass, usually around 400 dragons — are typically split up into several fighting Wings. Each Wing is lead by a Wingleader, and in some cases, the wing the Weyrleader resides in is lead by him unless delegated to someone else, as well with one or two Wingseconds to help them. A strong Weyr can have up to nine full Wings, consisting of twelve to thirty dragons.

Three Wings are needed to fly a fall, and can be referred to as a 'Flight'. Each Wing typically has a managed amount of each color of dragon, the green and blues being the most numerous, the browns and bronzes the least. Goldriders do not typically fly in a fall, but sometimes do with the Queen Wing, and use flamethrowers as their dragons are unable to breathe flame.

At High Reaches on Harpers Tale, we currently have 4 PC Wings - Esprit, Inferno, Mudslide, and Tsunami. We also have two NPC wings that have been named: Zephyr (formerly PC) and Suncrusher. But, whereas in the books each wing is divided by color and necessity, or even on other games divided by Wing duties or even dragon sizes, High Reaches's Wings are divided by stereotypes, and the kinds of activities that each member of the Wing likes to participate in — although, it does not necessarily mean everyone. Below is a description of what each of the Wings is about!


The Fellowship of the Wings

Though inter-wing friendships and relationships are not unheard of nor chastised against, the Wings of High Reaches represent a brotherhood: your wingmates are your friends, your family, and essentially, your life. Each Wing takes pride in who they are, and even though it's common for spats to happen between wingmates, there is nothing that a Reachian rider takes more pride in than his Wing — except, possibly, his Weyr.

But, the reason for this is clear: from dawn til dusk, almost every moment of a Rider's time is spent with their wingmates. Aside from the obvious of daily drills, most riders spend leisure time with their closest wingmates, and even mealtime is spent with your wing: the Living Caverns has 4 (more, technically) PC tables for each Wing. The smallest is Esprit, having four filled chairs at it's greatest numbers, whereas Tsunami, Inferno, and Mudslide can always be seen distinguished by their colors and their behavior: Tsunami with their busty women and crazy antics (by far the loudest), Inferno and their near-constant drinking games, and Mudslide, likely making fun of everyone else while planning their next excursion to brag about.

While Wing rivalry is always present, from tables throwing spit balls at each other (so grown up), to pulling pranks on another wing or fighting over Weyrlings for tapping, the climax is always the Weyr Games, which is a culmination of all the Wing's efforts in drills for practice against fake Thread, formations, and acrobatics. Each Wing is pitted against the other for the title of the most prestigious wing: the only rivalry that may overshadow this game is that of games between HRW and Ista Weyr, which is one of the few times the Wings seem to band together outside of Threadfall. The inter-Weyr games seem to have pretty consistent results: due to Tsunami's well-known lack of effort in drills and procedures, the reward seems to fall almost exclusively on Mudslide or Inferno, barring tampering on part of Tsunami, or just really, really good luck. As well, between Mudslide or Inferno, the winner seems to fall to those who have the least horrid hangovers — it's many a joke, then, that they may as well toss the championship to Mudslide every Turn.

But, this does not mean the Weyr is divided; in times needed, there is nothing stronger than the unity of the Reachian Riders. For, even for their petty disagreements and fights, each Wing knows a simple fact: HRW is the best, and everyone else is… not.

Following is a synopsis of all the Wing's riders, stereotypes, and traditions:

Esprit

The Queen's Wing. All goldriders in the Weyr are required to ride in this Wing, and no other (PC) riders typically join this Wing. In Threadfall, they usually will fly below the main Wings fighting Thread, picking off missed patches. As the wing is only composed of goldriders, it's a very small Wing, lead by the Weyrwoman.

Rider Color Dragon Position
Rhaeyn gold Aevryscienth Sr. Weyrwoman
Lendai gold Talicanitath Jr. Weyrwoman
Linny gold Kaelidyth Jr. Weyrwoman

Inferno

Inferno is infamous for it's publicly known obsession with alcohol. Wine, brandy, whiskey, you name it, a majority of the Wing is partial to the liquid thrills of life. The have a strong reputation of always being drunk, and getting into a lot of drama and trouble for it.

While parties and instances of influencing the younger members of the Weyr into their escapades are not uncommon events, the most famous Inferno event is the annual Benden wine raid, which is apparently a badly kept secret due to the fact that it likely is very hard to keep anything secret when you are drunk. Every Inferno rider also boasts a Wing Badge (a chevron shaped insignia with depicted fiery eyes), and a red leather jacket with flames coming up the sleeves.

I like to imagine Inferno like a High School gang from Grease; they all wear the same leather jackets, love to show off, and tend to be extremely cocky. But, when push comes to shove, they can be known for working hard 'til the end, and being the best that they can be.

Inferno tends to be strong in the larger dragons, and at least in former days used to boast the largest bronzerider population, which both that and the Largest Wing award were both stolen by Tsunami in recent years. Although, it still seems to have the least amount of greenriders, making it, in Threadfall, a higher-flying combat wing.

Rider Color Dragon Position
Eth'n bronze Ysvarth Weyrleader
Il'ad green Szarabhayanath Weyrsecond
Iasri brown Vosteyath Wingrider
L'fei green Utonalloth Wingrider
Sutri blue Eovisoth Wingrider
B'ayn brown Hroskuth Wingrider
D'ren bronze Aikuonath Wingrider
Paige green Eriphyliriuth Wingleader
Zeyta brown Kczyslawborth Wingrider
K'ane bronze Dhioth Wingrider
Syriene green Zhizusikolymuth Wingrider
Dirna blue Tindraeth Wingsecond

Mudslide

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Considering the craziness the other two Wings harbor, Mudslide seems mild in comparison… But mild is what they do. Easy-going, cool-tempered, laid-back… They could almost easily called lazy, but it isn't quite that, either. If anything, they could be called the 'Pot Smokers' of Pern (if there were pot, which there obviously isn't, luckily), as their temperament and activities seem about as mild and placid as a bunch of cool-minded hippies. Though, this is not entirely the case.

While they do seem to host the more serious minded dragonriding members, it is likely only the comparison to the heavy drinking of Inferno and the raunchy escapades of Tsunami that this appears to be the case. They are much more stable and committed, but that isn't to say that don't have a wild streak — they may be laid-back, but it only means they know how to spend their free-time a bit more productively and entertainingly than the other two Wings.

The Mudslide traditional past-time is surfing. Every member of the Wing is expected — or, perhaps, presented — with their very own board, which gets used on frequent basis', when the Wing decides to take a trip to Southern for a Mudslide relaxation session. They too are prone to drinking as Inferno, but they are more interested in creating fantastic beverages than consuming large quantities. But, when necessary, they are known to get their tail's in gear — moreso than the other two Wings — and kick ass at everything they do. They are badass, and they know it — and won't stop until everyone else knows it, too.

Rider Color Dragon Position
Jesha brown Sevareth Wingrider
S'len blue Cimarroth Wingleader
R'yst green Ligryth Weyrlingmaster
S'zin bronze Karsedreth Wingrider
Shazi blue Oljeitukhodath Wingrider
M'tej brown Temyrth Wingrider
X'vik brown Argolath Wingrider
Za'an green Erolinyath Wingrider
Wyn blue Vorkoroth Wingrider

Tsunami

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Explaining Tsunami in a few simple paragraphs is nearly impossible. In years past, Tsunami was predominantly a greenrider wing, full of crazy "sexaholics" (though it could just be claimed because there are so many greens that go up very, very often), crazily tempered women, and.. well, just crazy weirdness. They now boast the largest wing, full of riders with easily the most extreme personalities, and most unconventional tactics and behaviors.

They are, quite simply, drama incarnate. They are infamous for their crazy traditions and inter-Wing issues, riders with obsessions with color, lace, or simply each other, and have been known to give the Weyr the most problems. Streakers, large boobs, and an obvious disregard for proper social conduct — they all stem from this Wing.

They're well known for their strange initiation rights, and the infamous 'Wet T-Shirt' contest, which everyone knows is just a ploy for Tsunami to let everyone get a good look at the more well-endowed ladies of the Weyr. Members of the Wing are also known as 'Comrades' — though, more as OOC obsession with Tsunami's press for Communism than anything. Their badge is a diamond sporting a large wave, which they wear on their chest, along with a white and blue striped scarf that is a gift to every new member of Tsunami.

Rider Color Dragon Position
Y'an bronze Aojadinth Wingleader
Nu'ra bronze Ckiezeluth Wingrider
Tilla green Amuirnith AWLM / Dragonhealer
T'ii bronze Bandeleth Wingrider
Erei green Khetanaxeroth Wingrider
Kaishori blue Avirath Wingsecond
R'mel brown Kilsuth Wingrider
Nika blue Atmanth Wingrider
Rysta brown Finmaraisth Wingrider
Sh'z bronze Lakenheath Wingrider
Shea blue Cervilaevarth Wingrider

As the Wing pride is certainly something very strong in Tsunami, they have their very own website, Ride the Wave! It isn't maintained anymore, but it hosts numerous logs and infamies that are difficult to express without Tsunami speaking for itself.

Weyrling Wing (Junior/Senior)

The weyrling wing is comprised of, you guessed it, weyrlings. There's nothing significantly 'stereotypical' about weyrlings except that they have yet to be tapped, and are under the supervision of the Weyrlingmaster and the subsequent AWLMs. This wing is not permanent, and disappears through each cycle; it begins as the Junior Weyrling wing when the weyrlings first Impress, and then it graduates to Senior, where the weyrlings pick a name for the Wing, in which they remain for the next couple of weeks until each of the three major Wings decides who to tap.

Dustbowl (Idlers)

Dustbowl is a semi-OOC wing for idling riders. Just because riders are in Dustbowl, however, does not mean they have been condemned or forgotten. Any rider who resumes activity is invited to join any active wing of their choice!

Rider Color Dragon Position
Aislinn blue Esryth Wingrider
Desrine blue Dianth Wingrider
Isabeau brown Krobeskeluth Wingrider
Kal brown Neshath Wingrider
K'nex brown Shirasuth Wingrider
Lila green Alajaith Wingrider
Lylia brown Druseth Wingrider
M'nty bronze Minoyath Wingrider
Orbit green Ivrylth Wingrider
Sasha green Branwyth Wingrider
Shaela gold Chayath Former Weyrwoman
T'lendel bronze Cairhoth Wingrider

Zephyr (NPC)

Due to declining numbers of riders at HRW, staff decided to cut back the Wings to just three, and as Zephyr was the smallest, it got the shortest stick. But, in times past, Zephyr was famous for being the smallest wing, and for having a predominantly blueriding population.

Zephyr was also famous for it's feline-hunting escapades on the Southern continent, and almost every Zephyr's weyr was known to sport a very fashionable spotted or striped fuzzy rug.

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