Glorious Discovery

In the Fourteenth Pass, the Weyrs of Pern are alive and well. In fact, they had become so populace in the peace between Thread, that those of the North, and even of the South, were becoming overpopulated. An expedition team, led by P'rrin of Brown Pelinath, went further south, into the lands of the Southern Continent which were still just beginning to be populated, and in need of Dragonriders. Finally, early one morning as they started out after two sevendays of constant searching, as they flew they noticed a strange glinting below, near the top of a high peak, just above the tree line. Going down to investigate, they found an ideal Weyr site. What causes the sparkling light, was that the walls of the basin they had spotted were veined in quartz, which caught the morning sunlight. The music of the wind through the rocks and the trees gave the place it's name: Mountain Song. 

The Ultimate Find

Map of Weyr Floor/Main Level
Second Level
Third Level
Fourth Level
Fifth Level
Sixth Level

The large basin is on the east side of the mountain, and starts wide at the top, where a sheer cliff stands, and has two walls bending out, and then down and in, forming nearly parallel crescents, until they drop off to be only roughly thirty feet high at the lowest point, with an opening between them just wide enough for a large queen dragon to walk through. From the center of the Western cliff a waterfall plummets straight down into a deep lake running the full length of the back wall, and taking up a full sixth of the basin floor. The lake overflows in two spots, forming two small, rocky rivers that bounce and bubble downward until they come together again and run down through the lower opening along the southern side of the entrance. This entrance is just below the tree line, where it enters a forest of mostly evergreens. The bowl of the basin is almost entirely a slightly rocky meadow of grass and mountain wild flowers.

The walls of the basin are honeycombed in caves, the perfect size for nice, roomy weyrs for dragons of all sizes. A series of caves on the southern wall near the lake proved to contain hot springs, letting on that there was likely heat enough for a Weyr. The mountain is, in fact, a long dormant, and nearly extinct volcano. The hot springs, used for the baths, vary in size from a very few small enough for two or three people, and two  very large ones separated by a wall and thus for each gender. The small ones are further into the stone, and very private. Right next to the baths is a very large cave that makes an ideal hatching grounds, being hot, and also close to the lake for the convenience of the laying Queen.  The Infirmaries, Dragon and Human, fit into two caves side by side, the human the smaller of the two,  with the Dragon Infirmary next to the hatching grounds. Below the Infirmaries are several large caves good for ground-level Gold weyrs, and crafters to set up shop, with an area at the lowermost point used as the stables and where the Beastcrafters keep their animals.

On the north side of the lake, is another decent sized pair of caves perfect for use as kitchens and dining hall. Next to the dining hall is the communal quarters for the drudges and other workers. Below them, leading all the way down to the entrance, are more caves sized for crafters and classrooms for the Weyrlings, Candidates, and those studying with the Harpers. And also the Weyrling and Candidate Barracks. On both walls, there are many caves of all sizes to use as weyrs for the Dragonriders.

There are many smaller caves behind the large ones, especially on the first two levels, which are interconnected with tunnels. Behind the Kitchens are caves used for storage of supplies, while the caves for the laundry and the keeping of linens and other basic daily necessities are behind the workers quarters. There are caves for quarters for the crafters within their work areas, or just above. As of yet, none of the weyrs have their own water supply. A single road is being cut through the forest up to the Weyr, that enters through the lower point by the river, and comes up along the southern side of the river and up to the Kitchens and storage. Where it crosses the river, there are small bridges that will hold the weight of caravan wagons, but *not* that of a dragon!

Much work is still being done to perfect the new Weyr, and a lot of the carving and building is still somewhat rough and rugged. But the beauty and open space of the area more than makes up for it.