Guide to Watchwhers

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-Originally written by Darcey Dugan-
Updated by Mitch 12.07.2004

-All data presented here is my phrasing, but drawn from the works of Anne and Todd McCaffrey. This will be updated as more concrete information becomes available.-

Whers were created by the granddaughter of the highly esteemed Kit Ping Yung, Wind Blossom, in an attempt to duplicate and modify the dragons created by Kit Ping, most concerned with their faceted eyes. Unfortunately, Wind Blossom was unable to do the genetic modification as well as her grandmother, and managed instead to create another new species: watch-whers.

Watchwhers are essentially malformed dragons. They come in the colours of dragons : gold, bronze, brown, blue and green. Watchwhers are more muscular than dragons, but remaining smaller. This is a measurement taken at their shoulder; watchwhers have the long, sinuous necks that both their cousins possess. Whers cannot fly or go between. They cannot tolerate bright light, especially sunlight.

Wher Sizes:

• Golds - 14 1/2 - 15 hands at the shoulder and 13 - 15 feet long
• Bronzes - 14 - 14 1/2 hands at the shoulder and 12 - 14 feet long
• Browns - 13 1/2 - 14 hands at the shoulder and 11 - 13 feet long
• Blues - 13 - 13 1/2 hands at the shoulder and 10 - 12 feet long
• Greens - 12 1/2 - 13 hands at the shoulder and 9 - 11 feet long

Watchwhers can see in the dark, but they do not see light. Watchwhers see heat signatures-the amount and "level" of heat in an individual. When they are aware of the identity of the owner of a particular heat signature, they are capable of going between to that individual, regardless of place. This capability of viewing heat signatures is what makes going out in the sunshine so difficult-they view a world of heat, and it is an overload to them. This is also what makes them the most beneficial in cave-ins and underground situations, as they can view the heat of trapped miners or children, and "see" tunnel snakes in pitch black.

The breeding of watchwhers is supervised by the WherMaster. The WherMaster is, most likely, bonded to a golden wher. No mention is made of the gender-bonding preferences of whers, but for Cibryen, it is non gender specific, and loss of their person does not automatically mean death for the wher, though if the wher is older or was particularly attached, it *can* die with its handler. Of course, how and where the handler dies factors into whether the wher dies as well. If they survive their handler's death, they can re-bond to someone else.

Whers "run", not fly, to breed. Golds can lay 2-3 clutches a year but are generally only allowed to lay one clutch a year to control the population of whers. Clutches are small, no more than ten eggs, and because of the genetic deformities inherent in the breed, dud eggs are a common occurrence. Gold and bronze whers are very very rare. The effect of mating on the humans would be closer to a firelizard mating flight ... they'd feel it but they *would* be able to resist if they were of a mind to do so.

A Watchwher will Bond to whomever is present and feeding them, similar to dragonets and firelizards. To seal the Bonding, the human partner must blood themselves and mark themselves to their wher. Whers choose their own name, always ending in "sk". They take their name from their Bonded [ex. Nuella = Nuellsk; Kindarin = Kisk; Renlian = Resk, etc]. It may take several days for the Bonded to ‘discover’ their wher’s name. Watchwhers are extremely territorial and protective of their Bonded, as well as the place they are considered in charge of. As evinced by cases such as Ruatha and Lessa, they become protective of the Bloodline as well. Bonds can also change; when one half dies, they other path will not definitely suicide-it would be easy to imagine a strongly Bonded pair, and one Bonded for years, to consider it, but it is by no means the norm.

Intelligence/communication - Like with firelizards, intelligence depends partially on hide color. Golds and bronzes have more smarts than the others, but even the dumbest green would have probably the smarts of say a smart dog. A gold or bronze would be adult-human normal. All colors are trainable, especially when treated well, and can be taught to recognize word commands or some other type of signal (like dogs). When treated well, a wher can be trusted not to shred every person on sight, and can be trusted unchained in a contained environment (like in a mineshaft testing for bad air etc). It is only when they are abused that they become dangerous to one and all, or if they are trained soley as attack whers to defend a hold against thieves. They communicate with the same basic range of noises as firelizards and dragons, but their mental communication tends more towards the firelizard end of the spectrum, consisting more of emotions than actual words.

Watchwher hide does not crack and dry like dragon or fire-lizard hides; it is possible to never need to oil them except for show. They mature more quickly than dragons do, both in growth and in capabilities. While not telepathic to humans, they can communicate through mental imaging and emotions. Whers can communicate easily with dragons, even over extremely long distances-this telepathic capability, combined with their heat signature sight and territoriality, is what makes watchwhers the prime guardian creatures for a Hold, Camp or Hall during the nighttime hours.

Some Questions/Annotations:

-Anne McCaffrey has stated, prior to the publication of _Dragon's Kin_, that watch-whers can neither fly nor go between; these are altered in _Dragon's Kin_

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