Dragonsong

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes descriptions of animal death, bullying, mental illness, gender discrimination, child abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and death.

The story takes place on a planet called Pern, which orbits the star Rukbat in the Sagittarian Sector. At regular intervals, a mysterious red star falls into Rukbat’s orbit and releases deadly, thread-like alien spores onto Pern’s surface. The Thread is vulnerable to water and fire and cannot delve through metal or stone. However, the spores dig into any organic matter that they touch, devastating Pern’s population and agriculture. To survive, the humans who settled on Pern retreat into the caves in the northern continent and begin breeding the dragons that are indigenous to Pern. Because dragons can teleport and breathe fire, they are a highly effective weapon against the Thread. Humans with “high empathy ratings or some innate telepathic ability” (ii) are selected as the dragons’ lifelong trainers and partners.

Eventually, the humans’ subterranean settlements divide between Ford Hold and Ruatha Hold in the west, where pastoral colonists live, and the extinct volcanoes of the Benden mountains in the east, where the dragons and their riders live. As time passes, these two types of settlements spread and become more set in their distinct customs.