Watch-whers, the Dragons' Kin

Watch-whers are creatures taken from the same genetic material used to make the Dragons of Pern. They are not dragons but related to them. One describes a watch-wher are ugly, misshapen and thick scales.

They were created by Kitti Ping's daughter, Wind Blossom. Though, the people of Pern do not know it yet, the watch-wher have their specific tasks. They were the "balance" according to the Eridani calculation that Wind Blossom did. Dragons worked at day and watch-whers worked at night.

Watch-wher Skills

These creatures are nocturnal. They are able to see in the dark through thermal imaging. One can say they are smarter than a fire-lizard but not as strong a telepath as a dragon. They can however, communicate via telepathy to the dragons. A watch-wher can understand human speech and mind but one must understand the clicks and roars of a watch-wher.

• A Watch-wher can fly. Resk was able to fly and go between flight. Kisk was able to go between underground.

Tasks

Their original purpose was to fight thread in the night where dragons sleep and have poor night vision. They can also guide people through tunnels. In the 3rd pass, Watch-whers were turned into tunnel guides for mining activities. They sniff bad air and loose rocks. They are also hold night watch.

• Lessa (9th Pass) was strongly bonded to the Ruathan Watch-Wher who protected her. Mnementh was able to talk to it.

Bonds and Impression

Watch-wher bonds are different from fire-lizards and dragons. They are more independent and less picky. A watch-wher dam can choose to give her eggs and then the person must feed the wher. When the wher is old enough, one must perform the blood bond. It is simple giving the watch-wher a taste of the handler's blood. This strengthens their link to each other.

Unlike dragons, once a handler dies, the wher can be given a new handler. They change their name to the next person who bloods them.

Watch-wher Names

Watch-wher has a different and unique naming system. For Fire-lizards, one can name them anything you want like Poll, Bob, Beauty, etc. Dragons have their own names the moment they hatch. They tell the rider the moment of impression. The last letters of the name ends in th. Example: Ramoth, Canth, Ruth. Reasons behind this is because they have forked tongues thus their lisped speech.

Watch-whers can tell you their names but they take the name from their handlers and add sk in the end. Example; Kindan's green watch-wher's name is Kisk. Kindan gave her to Nuella and her name changed to Nuellsk.

If a hold owns the watch-wher, the name of the wher is taken from the name of the hold plus sk in the end. Example; the Lemos watch-wher's name is Lemosk.