About the Community
Mirror Lake Weyr is an online roleplaying community based within the world of the Dragonriders of Pern books, by Anne McCaffrey. We are a PBeM full post Weyr, and all of our interaction takes place through a mailing list. Currently we are run by a board of directors who each have their own responsibilities, and all major decisions are decided upon by majority vote. We play in Pernese time, which means for every month that goes by on Pern, slightly under a month happens in real life.
About the Weyr
History:
Mirror Lake was founded about 26 turns ago, near the beginning of the fifth pass, by goldrider Nalia and her weyrmate bronzerider T'zair, formerly of Fort Weyr. Having become fed up with conservative Weyr politics, the two of them left Fort, along with a handful of other dissatisfied riders, to make a new home for themselves in a formerly abandoned Weyr at the edge of the Eastern mountain range. Since then, Mirror Lake has attracted many other riders from the larger, overpopulated weyrs, as well as celebrated a number of successful hatchings. The Weyr is named because of a large, placid lake located at the bottom of the mountain.
Landscape and Climate:
Being on the Northern Continent, Mirror Lake is in a temperate climate. It has fairly hot summers, with lots of green growth around the lake and spreading out into the surrounding forests. Winters, however, can get very cold, and may sometimes seem to last forever. Further to the East lies the ocean coastline, and not far to the South is Lyra Cove Hold, with whom the Weyr interacts a great deal.
Current Administration:
Mirror Lake is run much like any other Weyr, with the exception that its major decisions are all made by a ruling council, rather than a single leader. The council is made up of riders of adult gold dragons and wingleaders, with craftmasters and an occasional older, well-respected rider of any color serving as additional advisors. The Weyrwoman holds the job of keeping discussions orderly, constructive and diplomatic. All major decisions must be agreed upon by majority vote of the council.
General Atmosphere:
Weyrwoman Nalia and the rest of the council keep Mirror Lake running with smooth efficiency. Every resident is expected to contribute in some way, regardless of rank. There are no drudges in Mirror Lake. Everyone takes care of keeping their own weyr in order, and the rest of the labor is evenly divided among Weyr residents. In general, the social environment at Mirror Lake is very egalitarian. As previously mentioned, they judge individuals based upon merit rather than background, so they have no problems accepting candidates from obscure rural locations, and their candidate guidelines are very simple (no one too far towards either edge of the age spectrum, for safety reasons more than anything else). Because of this accepting environment, Mirror Lake has a larger than average number of female riders. Sexual orientation is a non-issue when it comes to impression. No one asks, no one cares... least of all the dragons.
About the Hold
Lyra Cove was established as a cothold during the 4th interval by a couple of large families of fishermen looking to find a new home for themselves. Originally from Ista, they left on boat and sailed all the way around to the Eastern Coastline, where they finally docked at what would become Lyra Cove. Over a hundred years later, Lyra Cove is now a major Hold. The Hold proper is located on the top of a steep cliff overlooking the ocean, and surrounding it is a mixture of farmland and temperate forests. Paths carved into the side of the cliff lead down to the cove, where a myriad of boats and ships keep anchor in the harbor. The coastline stretches off in both directions, and many an idyllic beach can be found with a bit of exploring. Of course, you wouldn't want to go in the water during the winter months.