A man called Leonid happened. He was Lord Holder of Fort Hold. A vicious, evil man who dreamt of ruling more than one Hold. By the time he was 60 turns old he had achieved this. Pern was his, the Northern Continent was under his control. The Dragonriders had tried to stop him, but he had turned the general populace against them. Rumours were soon running riot and the riders and their dragons were targeted. People grew afraid of them. Riders were stoned, attacked. The dragon numbers dwindled, a lack of candidates meant dragons werent impressing. The Weyrs became hollow shells. A memory most chose to forget....

Fort Hold became the OverHold, from here Leonid and his court ruled the North. The dragonriders were chased from their Weyrs, people didnt care where they went, as long as they left the North, no longer would they need to be supported. They were pests, and Pern no longer needed them.

Thread hadnt been seen for almost 500 turns now, it was obvious it wasnt coming back so why did the dragons continue to breed? They were a parasite and angry mobs were seen rampaging through the now empty Weyrs.

That was almost 200 turns ago. And something strange is glowing in the night sky. Harpers have forgotten the old tales. No one knows what the weird red star is. Dragons have been forgotten. They are the stuff of nightmares, spoken about in hushed tones. Fierce, horrible beasts with two heads that tore the unfortunate apart. The people feared dragons, they were monsters. The real reason for their existence is forgotten. Along with the facts and knowledge of Thread.

One morning the Pernese woke to the Red Star looming in their gaze. It had got closer over the past few turns. Someone had said they spotted a dragon in the skies, but he was laughed at and stoned. People had no tolerance these days.

Then it came. Falling from the sky. Death rained once more down onto the unsuspecting...

The sky turned grey and people watched in fascination as the strange silver rain seemed to fall. Then it hit and the people screamed as they died painfully. The threads ate everything!! People, animals, trees, all perished; except stone. Stone was the only thing that survived. The Holds had long since moved out of the caves. The buildings, the houses, built out of wood and straw; were devoured. At the end of the first fall the death toll was huge. Whole towns had been devastated. People watched as loved ones died. Animals and trees were eaten with a vigour that none could believe. It was horrific and suddenly the Harpers were turned too. What was it? How could it be defeated?

One old Harper, well into his 100th turn remembered the old songs. He spent the next few days talking to young Harpers, until he died, exhausted by parting with his knowledge. The dragons were needed. The dragons, the monsters, were the only way they could survive. Three major Holds survived, Fort, High Reaches and Ista. The others had long since been abandoned. But now the people were lost, how would they survive this? Who could help them rebuild their lives and fight this new deadly enemy?

It is now seven days after that first threadfall. And something strange is happening. The old Weyr in the Highest parts of the Mountains near High Reaches Hold have dragons.

We have been invited to the Weyr. The riders have returned.

But can we trust them? What choice do we have? Thread might fall anytime, and the dragons are the only things that can possibly save us......

But can they? More to the point, will they want too?

I guess its up to us to find out...