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This page last edited on 08 March 2008
 
Radamanth, Phas: see Phas Radamanth.
Radelin: a colonist family of which most members died during First Fall [DD].
Radelin-Doyle, Catherine: see Catherine Radelin-Doyle.
Rado, Cecilia: see Cecilia Rado.
Raghir, Egend: see Egend Raghir.
Ragnesjo, Per: see Per Ragnesjo.
Raid of Benden, Lord; Lord Holder of Benden Hold [D1; MHoP].

The portrait on the right is the one artist Robin Wood made for the Mayfair Boardgame Dragonriders of Pern (1985, 1989). Lord Raid does not appear in The People of Pern (1988).

[Illustration used with permission. © Robin Wood 1985, 1989]
Ram Da Andiyar (Telgar): son of Tarvi Andiyar and Sallah Telgar. Known as Ram Da Telgar after his mother's heroic death [DD].
Ramala of Southern, Lady: Lady Holder of Southern Hold, spouse of Toric [RoP].
Rammany: Journeyman Harper at Woodsmithhall [H2].
Ramon Sifuentes: technician [DD].
Ramona Galliani: meteorologist [DD].
Ramoth, queen dragon, rider Lessa: Daughter of bronze Hath and Nemorth. Rose to mate the first time in her second year. Largest dragon on Pern, she was at least twice the size of her mother. She also had the largest wingspan, her wings were half-a-wing longer than her Mnementh, her lifelong weyrmate, who was the largest of all bronzes. Ramoth had the most beautiful dragon voice Aramina ever heard [GWHD/62].
  • First clutch: forty-one eggs, including one queen egg [D1/183-184].
Rampesi: ship captain of the Bay Lady [RoP].
Rangul see R'gul.
Ranly: apprentice harper at Harper Hall [H2].

The picture on the right is part of the portrait of Piemur's friends artist Robin Wood made for the book The People of Pern (1988).

[Illustration used with permission. © Robin Wood 1988]
Rannelly: Kylara's nurse and waiting woman [D2].
Ranrel of Tillek, Lord: Lord Holder of Tillek Hold, son and successor of Lord Oterel [AtWoP].
Rantou: forester, Pierie Hold [MHoP].
Rapalo: Healer at Campbell's Field [Mor].
Rasa; child at Benden Hold [MHoP].
Raspberry: Terran berry brought to Pern by the colonists, one of the berry species that survived.
Ratoshigan of Southern Boll, Lord: Lord Holder of Southern Boll Hold [Mor].

The picture on the right is the portrait artist Robin Wood made for the book The People of Pern (1988).

[Illustration used with permission. © Robin Wood 1988]
Raylinth: bronze dragon, rider T'grel [Mor].
R'bert: rider of Jenoth (color unknown), stationed at Fort Weyr [CoP].
R'dik: rider of blue Shalanth, stationed at Ista Weyr. They are one of the three teams that came on Search at Lado Hold [EtT].
Readis: trader and outlaw, brother of Crenden Lilcamp and uncle of Jayge [RoP].
Readis: oldest child and son of Jayge and Aramina, Lord and Lady Holder of Paradise River Hold [DoP].
Recorder: the recorder of a Weyr is the Weyrwoman, it is one of her traditional functions [D1/152].
Records: Fort Hold's records, the oldest and most extensive, were housed in the vast storage caverns [RSR/1:30]. Due to water, leaking down the walls of the Fort Hold storage caverns in the spring of 257 a lot of the old records were lost or damaged [RSR/1:30].
  • Books:
    Title unknown (about advantages of female over male green riders in Threadfall): at the end of the First Interval there had been a monograph (probably written in the first century AL) on the advantages of female over male green riders in Threadfall. The text allowed the reader to make his own decision but often females were preferred because of their more stable personalities and the fact that they posed fewer problems to the Weyrleaders. Young male riders could go into emotional declines if they lost their weyrmates and be useless in Fall, sometimes even suiciding in their distress. On the other hand, since the greens were sexually very active, there was more danger of female riders becoming pregnant, unless they were extremely careful, and while riders were pregnant they could only fly in the Queens wing, rather than their regular fighting wing, because of the risk of abortion from multiple jumps between [RSR/3:88].
  • Damage of: see Restoration of.
  • Computer files: all computer files at College (including those with technical, historical and medical data) were destroyed by lightning in the autumn of 257 [RSR/4:117-118].
  • Legal procedures: there were books in the College library on legal procedures [RSR/11:263].
  • Lost records: see Records, sub Restoration of.
  • Medical: all medical computer files were lost, due to lightning, in the autumn of Turn 257. Students had, by that time, started to transcribe the diagnostic files but only a mere fraction of the total amount of data was covered [RSR/4:117-118]. During the First Interval there still was a tape in the records that showed very graphically an animal being eaten alive by Thread [RSR/7:187].
  • Restoration of: due to water, leaking down the walls of the Fort Hold storage caverns in the spring of 257 a lot of the old records were lost or damaged. Beside others, dragonriders offered to spend as much time as their training schedules allowed to save them by copying them, but everyone with a legible script was welcome to join the project. Lord Paulin had done a bang-up job in making the copyist comfortable, most of whom were housed in College's dormitories, the other Holds had contributed material and work forces [RSR/1:30].
  • Thread and Threadfall: at the end of the First Interval Lord Bridgely of Benden Hold remarked there were "tons of records annotating the problem" [RSR/10:243]. During the First Interval there still was a tape in the records that showed very graphically an animal being eaten alive by Thread [RSR/7:187]. See also Records, sub Visual.
  • Visual: at the end of the First Interval there still were visual records, from the time of the First Pass with which to check the approach of the Red Star, kept at College [RSR/1:63]. The material (among it footage of actual Threadfall) could not be looked at anymore though, because the projector at College didn't work anymore [RSR/2:78].
    By the end of the First Interval slides of (Terran) Masterpieces had deteriorated to muddy blurs [RSR/2:80].
Recycling: became more and more important after a few centuries had passed after the landing of the colonists. In evidence two quotes from Red Star Rising/Dragonseye: "Cycle, re-cycle. Use, re-use. The concept dominated every aspect of Balan Hold. And they were not 'poor' in material possessions" [RSR/4:108] and "It [the mattress] felt [so hard] like something recycled from the ships of the First Crossing" [RSR/5:152].
Recycling plant: the Weyrs still had them at the start of the Second Pass (258) [RSR/1:49].
Red Hanrahan: Peter Oliver Plunkett Hanrahan (Red, Peter); born Clonmel, Waterford County, Ireland (Earth), colonist, veterinarian, founder and first Lord Holder of Ruatha Hold (19), owner of brown fire lizard Snapper. Colonist, veterinarian and veterinary surgeon, husband of Mairi. Married (probably in Waterford County) Ireland (Earth) Mairi (family name unknown), born  (probably in Waterford County) Ireland (Earth), colonist, child nurse, first Lady Holder of Ruatha Hold (19) [DD, CoP/FoRH].
Red had the proverbially traditional red Irish hair [DD] of which in short story The Ford of Red Hanrahan is said that is is (by then) silver shot [CoP/FoRH]. He is a big man and his red hair matched his temperament and tenacity [CoP/FoRH].
The Hanrahan family and their direct ancestors came from Terran Ireland and lived on the family farm in Clonmel, Waterford County. Waterford County is situated in the southeast of the Irish Republic, Clonmel, the biggest inland city of Ireland, lies about halfway from the city of Waterford to Tipperary. The colonist family (father, mother and the two eldest children) occupied quarters B-8851 on the colonist spaceship Yokohama and spent the whole journey in cold sleep. They were revived shortly before the landing on Pern, together with most of the other colonists. After landing on Pern they were assigned House Fourteen on Asian Square and went to work or school. Beside having a very important job, especially during those first years on Pern, it was Red Hanrahan who actually founded the first Hold after the establishment of Fort. South Boll, established by Emily Boll's widower Pierre de Courci, was already in existence before the founding of Ruatha, but in Dragonflight we can read that "Benden was, of a certainty, one of the oldest dragonweyrs, as Ruatha was one of the oldest Holds..." [D1/1(s6):64]. I tend to take that particular quote literally, especially the "one of" part. Besides that, in the available literature Boll is called a settlement at the time of the First Pass. It is never called a Hold prior to the founding of Ruatha [CoP-FoRH]. Things are further set aright by the song young Robinton composed about the founding order of the Holds: "Fort was first, South Boll then. Ruatha came and Tillek, too. Benden next and north Telgar..." [MHoP]. But on the other hand, as far as I'm concerned, Fort can be the oldest Hold and Ruatha the next oldest Hold, meaning that these two settlements were the first that received that particular designation.
From the existing literature we know that Mairi wanted lots of children, which she adored. In The Ford of Red Hanrahan it says that she wanted twelve children. She actually had nine but lost her eight child to fever (during the fever years). This information is found In The Ford of Red Hanrahan, one of the stories in The Chronicles of Pern : First Fall, in which Red says to Admiral Benden: "Nine’s enough to ensure our genes will continue.  Ryan’s the last I’ll permit her.  And made sure of no more to come," he added soberly for Ryan was born two and a half years after they’d lost their youngest to the fever." [CoP-FoRH]. Red and Mairi ar the parents of the famous first Weyrwoman Sorka Hanrahan. Their children in order of birth (the first two on Earth, the rest on Pern) are: Sorka, Brian, Simon, Pat, Maureen, unknown son, Mairian (a queenrider), unknown daughter and Ryan. Red and Mairi also fostered the six children of their daughter Sorka and their son-in-law Sean, the first Weyrleaders of Pern [CoP/FoRH]

The portrait of veterinarian Red Hanrahan shown here, showing the famous scene of the crossing of "Red's Ford" on the way to Ruatha, is the fifth in the series of Pern Portraits made especially for the Pern Encyclopedia by the American artist and Pern fan Linda Eicher. It is copyright by her and you are asked politely not to reproduce it or use it in any way without prior permission by the artist. You can click the portrait for a larger version.
Red Butte: a place in lower Keroon. A laccolithic dome that was so difficult to mistake that it often used as a training landmark for weyrlings that were learning to jump between places [RSR/16:399-400].
Red Star: Pern's stepsister planet. It has an erratic orbit. 
The Red Star started to become more visible at the end of the First Interval [RSR/1:52].
  • Size: the Red Star was approximately the size as Earth's old sister Venus (and about as hospitable) [RSR/14:329].
  • Trajectory: [D1/178].
  • Warning system: see RSR/11:278 for the idea of the starstones (eye and finger rocks), made on the same principle as Stonehenge. This warning system was devised by Jemmy and discussed by head master Clisser with head engineer Kalvi, who thought the idea was feasible [RSR/13:322]. The idea of this warning system and its installation at every Weyr were introduced and announced at the Turn's End Conclave at Bitra in 257 [RSR/14:325]. The installations were to be put on the eastern rim of each of the six Weyrs by the end of 257. The first of these installations took place at Benden Weyr (Head engineer Kalvi, Head master Clisser and Jemmy taking part in it). This installation was critically important, for the other Weyrs could take adjusted measurements from that reading if necessary [RSR/14:327].
Redfin: a (very tasty and sought after) type of Pernese fish [DoP/1:13].
Redfruit: fruit of a tree that goes by the same name. Redfruit grows freely all over Pern, but more luscious in tropical regions. It is found for certain on the Southern Continent, in Nerat, High Reaches, Nabol and Igen. The fruit itself is edible and it is also used to make a redfruit cider and even brandy. The wood of the trees is also used. The redfruit is indigenous, a native to Pern. The idea that a redfruit might (have a variety that) tastes after a Terran apple, found in Menai's list of Pern plants, is probably a misunderstanding of a text in Dragonsdawn: "As she trotted along the beach, she ate the red fruit, discarding the blemished side where a mold had gotten at it, just as she had once eaten windfall apples and thrown away the brown bits back on Earth." This does not indicate anything about taste, merely that Sorka discarded the blemished parts as she had with windfall apples on Earth. In chat (on the former Kitchen Table Live chat that was a part of Anne McCaffrey's website in the period 2000-2005) Anne McCaffrey herself said that redfruit is like "a juicy plum" (which doesn't rule out the taste of apple of course). Unlike a Terran plum, the consistency of the peel of a redfruit however must be more like Terran citrus fruit as we read in The White Dragon that Menolly bites "into redfruit peel, tearing off a large chunk and squeezing the pulp for the juice", which, accordingly to Menolly "tastes heavenly" (which is an odd thing to remark on a planet without religion, or is this a remnant of "colonist language"...). This, and other instances, makes clear that he fruit is very juicy and can be squeezed like a Terran orange to produce juice that is preferably consumed cool. From the same book we also learn that the fruit grows on a stem, in clusters and that the tree must be relatively large tree because Jaxom is able to "collapse at the base of a redfruit tree" while later he jumps to catch a low hanging branch to swing himself up and climb the tree. Redfruit can be seen as one of the most common, cheap and easily available fruits on Pern since Pona, when served redfruit in the Harper Hall remarks: "oh, not redfruit again?" in Dragonsinger. What Anne McCaffrey means when she writes that the fruit is "curiously shaped" in the same book, remains unknown. We also learn that redfruit is one of Menolly's favourites. That a redfruit definitely isn't a reddish orange might be established from a remark made by Piemur when he finds he has been transported from Nabol Hold to Southern: "But first, something to eat: more orange fruit and redfruit, which seemed to grow in profusion". [WD, DSinger, Ddrums, DDawn, KTL chat Nov/Dec 2000].

Redfruit also appears in the book The Crystal Singer, the first book in Anne's Crystal Singer series: "You seem to manage them rather well, Killashandra said between bites of the tangy redfruit."
Redroots: Obviously a root with a red or reddish color. This might be the Pernese equivalent of some sort of carrot [GWHD/27].
Redwort: a herb native to Pern. A low-growing, clumping herb with a thick stem, flat leaves and blossoms (flat topped purple or rose flowers) and red-veined stalks. A liquid made from the herb (decoction in alcohol? Leaves, stems, or roots/rhizomes? We don't know) is used as an antiseptic wash. Another, very important aspect of redwort is that it protects the skin from being affeceted by numbweed. Redwort leaves a reddish stain on the skin and has a nasty odour [Ner] but is said to be a clean smelling herb in The Dragonlovers Guide to Pern. Closest Terran equivalent: the most obvious comparison is the surgical antiseptic Betadine, an iodine compound which leaves a distinct yellow-brown stain on skin, cloth, and anything else it touches. [submitted by Jennifer Quail; added to from Menai's All The Plants of Pern]. 
Referendum: on Pern a referendum was usually held shortly before Turn's End. Its details would be circulated and it would be read out in every main Hold and Hall before the Conclave that was traditionally held on the day before Turn's End. If voting was required, votes were cast the morning of the First Day of Turn's End, the results counted and returned to the second traditional sitting of the Conclave on the day after Turn's End, when the New Year started [RSR/14:323].
Regan, Jan: see Jan Regan.
Regellan: apprentice miner at Camp Natalon in Crom Hold. A young apprentice. Taken in by Norla [DK].
Relna: Lady Holder of Crom Hold [MHoP].
Rena: a dolphin swimming the Kahrain waters [DoP-DB]. 
Rene Mallibeau: colonist, vintner [DD].
Renegades: [RoP].
Renilan: wherhandler at Lemos Hold. An old man, handler of watchwher Resk. His wife lost her sight three turns before she died [DK].
Renkin: a shunned man, one of the sixteen miners at Firestone Mine #9, the mine Tarik was sentenced to work at. He died in the explosion of mine #9 [Dfire].
Renna: a girl at Camp Natalon in Crom Hold. Oldest daughter of Talmaric and Norla [DK].
Reppa: green fire lizard, one of Mirrim's [H1].
Resk: old watchwer at Lemos Hold. Handler Renilan [DK].
Rezmar Dooley Zane: lieutenant navigator of the Amherst [CoP-RR].
R'gul of Benden: rider of bronze Hath. Benden Weyrleader prior to F'lar and wingleader (in D1/158 a reference implies that he became weyrling instructor) weyrlingmaster there after F'lar took over as Weyrleader [D1; MHoP].
Rial: Lord Asgenar of Lemos' brown fire lizard [D3].
Ricard: a Holder and miner at Crom Hold. Co-founder of Crom Hold [RSR/9:222].
Ricardy: Master Harper at Harper Hall [MHoP]. Possibly a descendant of Ricard, one of the founders of Crom Hold.
Rice: a Terran grain, brought to Pern by te colonists, which did well in the rich native soil [DLG/II:16]. Called river grain in later ages. See also: river grain.
Richud of Ista Hold, Lord: Lord Holder of Ista Hold at the end of the First Interval/start of the Second Pass. An ardent angler, fishing was his favorite occupation, at which he was often accompanied by dolphins. Richud claimed that the dolphins understood him but was not believed, evidence of the fact that contact with the dolphins was already lost during the First Interval [RSR/10:245]. For his fishing he used a sloop with a red sail, crewed by two men besides himself [RSR/10:246]. This means that the use of colorful sails hadn’t fully evolved in the north yet. Cause in ninth Pass Pern, red is only used in the south, as a way of rejecting northern traditions.
Riding straps see Safety straps.
Rimbeth: a brown dragon whose rider is an unknow oldtimer. His rider confronted Crenden Lilcamp after the Lilcamp trader train was ravaged by Threadfall [RoP].
Ritecamp, Sev: see Sev Ritecamp.
Riterin: a man (probably a miner) at Camp Natalon in Crom Hold. Spouse of Terra, father of four children. They took in Jakris and left Camp Natalon [DK].
River grain: Pernese name for rice, a Terran grain, brought to Pern by te colonists, which did well in the rich native soil [DLG/II:16].
R'len: rider of bronze Ponteth, stationed at High Reaches Weyr [Mor].
R'limeak: rider of blue Gionth, stationed at Fort Weyr [Mor].
R'mart: rider of bronze Branth. Weyrleader of Telgar Weyr [D2].

The portrait on the right is the one artist Robin Wood made for the Mayfair Boardgame Dragonriders of Pern (1985, 1989). R'mart does not appear in The People of Pern (1988).

[Illustration used with permission. © Robin Wood 1985, 1989]
R'mel: rider of brown Sorenth, stationed at Benden Weyr [D2].
R'nor: rider of brown Virianth, stationed at Benden Weyr [D2].
Robina: a fisherman's wife at Fort Sea Hold [DoP].
Robina: a candidate at Ista Weyr who Impresses an unnamed green dragon. A very pretty girl, daughter of the Masterfarmer [EtT].
Robin Wood: the artist that did all the portraits for the Mayfair Boardgame Dragonriders of Pern (1985, 1989), and for the most wonderful book with potraits of Pernese people: The People of Pern (1988). At the end of 2005 Robin Wood gave her permission for her artwork, made for both those projects, to be used in the Pern Encyclopedia, for which we are are forever grateful. Robin herself appears in the scene she made for the dustjacket of The People of Pern in which F'lar, Lessa, Anne McCaffrey, Robin Wood and Gigi (Anne's daughter, who stood as model for Moreta) are obviously enjoying a performance by that is given by Masterharper Robinton. The picture on the right is taken from that scene.

[Illustration used with permission. © Robin Wood,1988]
Robinton: Masterharper, son of Petiron and Merelan [D1/223; DoP/3:47, 73; MHoP]. Owner of bronze fire lizard Zair.

We know of three official portraits of Masterharper Robinton, all three were made by Robin Wood. The one on the left here was made for the Mayfair Boardgame Dragonriders of Pern (1985, 1989), the most famous one in the middle was made for the book The People of Pern (1988) and the one on the right is how the Harper appears in the scene that is depicted on the dustjacket of The People of Pern where F'lar, Lessa, Anne McCaffrey, Robin Wood and Gigi (Anne's daughter, who stood as model for Moreta) are obviously enjoying a performance by that is given by the good Master Robinton.

[Illustration used with permission. © Robin Wood 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989]
Roblyn: father of Merelan, Pierie Hold. Grandfather of Masterharper Robinton [MHoP].
Robse: son and first child of Sebell and Menolly [DoP/4:74]. Named for Masterharper Robinton and his father Sebell.
Rochers: woodsman, South Boll [MHoP].
Rocky: bronze fire lizard, one of Menolly's [H1].
Rogeth: blue dragon, rider K'lon [Mor].
Rokayas: Journeyman Drummer at Harper Hall [H3].
Rolls:
Rom: a dolphin of the Paradriv pod [DoP/5:99, 115].
Roma Nyadezda: musician at Landing [DD].
Rona: an apprentice at Landing [AtWoP].
Ronelth: bronze dragon, rider D'miel of Ista [RSR].
RoP: abbreviation used for the book The Renegades of Pern.
Rosa: a runner at Fort Station [Runner].
Rosemary: a herb, imported to Pern by the colonists [DLG1/II:16].
Ross Vaclav Benden: lieutenant sergeant of the vessel Amherst. A distant relative of admiral Paul Benden [CoP-RR].
Rowan: a tree. The rowan was one of the species of trees brought to Pern by the colonists. They were planted in the higher reaches [DLG1/II:15].
RSR: abbreviation for the book Red Star Rising : The Second Chronicles of Pern, published in the US as Dragon's Eye. In the Pern Encyclopedia the abbreviation RSR is used.
Ruarth: Journeyman Harper. Hold Harper at Lado Hold on Ista Island [EtT].
Ruath Hold: old name for Ruatha Hold, only used in Dragonflight. See Ruatha Hold.
Ruatha:
Ruatha (Ruath) Hold: Major Hold and second oldest Hold.
  • Banners of the Ruathan Blood: [D1/36].
  • Bloodline: also called the Old Line [D1/130]. A bloodline that had produced First Riders and contributed many sons and daughters to the Weyrs [RSR/1:35, 50]. Hanrahan - Ruatha Bloodline or Genealogy.
  • Breast pass: [D1/22, 24].
  • Causeway: [D1/2].
  • Claxon: [D1/31].
  • Cliff: [D1/2].
  • Crafthold: [D1/42, 43].
  • Fields: [D1/25].
  • Firepit, main: [D1/30].
  • Great hall: [D1/28].
  • Guard officer: unnamed [D1/29].
  • Harpers: Farelly [Mor]; Emun (journeyman) [Mor]; Kilamon (journeyman) [Mor]; Tuero (journeyman) [Mor].
  • Head clothman: unnamed [D1/28].
  • Healers: Scand (Masterhealer) [Mor]; Follen [Mor].
  • Invasion by Fax: [D1/165-166].
  • Lord Holders: Leef [Mor]; Alessan [Mor]; Fax (as overlord) [D1; MoP], Jaxom [D3].
  • Massacre:
  • Orchards: [D1/3, 25].
  • Tower, high tower: [D1/3, 44].
  • Tower gate: [D1/44].
  • Underwarders under Fax: unnamed [D1/29].
  • Warder under Fax: unnamed. There were nine different ones under Fax's rule. Holders, craftsmen and farmers alike especially suffered under the second warder. The third warder was caught diverting the best of the goods and Fax had him executed. Lytol, the first warder after Fax's death was appointed by F'lar. This was possible because Ruatha was under the protection of dragonmen at the time [D1/28-30, 59].
  • Watch-wher's death: [D1 60-62].
Ruatha Pass: [D1/3].
Ruatha Valley: [D1/3].
Rubicon river: a river, lined with steep cliffs, that has the end of its course in the Sea of Azov on the Southern Continent. By the time of the 9th Pass the original name is forgotten and people call it the Black Rock River. Considered to be a major barrier for the Tubberman grubs (with which the Southern Continent was seeded to protect it from Thread). At the end of the First Interval the agriculture department remarked in this that the grubs would either go around or be carried across the river as larvi in the digestive tracts of wherries and some of the sport animals that were let loose [RSR/15:360].

See also Black Rock river
Rudi Schwartz: head teacher [DD].
Rukbat: star, chosen by Anne Mccaffrey to be the sun'of Pern. Other names: the Archer's knee/knee of the Archer (referring to the constelation Sagittarius or the Archer), Rucba, Rukbat al Rami, Alrami, Al Rami, Ruchbar ur Ranich, Rucba, Rukbah and Rukbar. Rukbat, Pern's sun, is a real star (also known as "Rukbat al Rahmi" or "Knee of the Archer") which is visible from Earth as a 4th magnitude member of the constelation of Sagitarius, the Archer. Rukbat is visible from location on the Earth well south of latitude +40° north and is at its highest in the sky close to midnight during early July. Rukbat is at the southern edge of the constellation of Sagittarius, near Corona Australis, the Southern Crown. It is often labelled in a star atla with a Greek alpha (ά) since it is also known as "Alpha Sagittarii". The name refers to the old Arabic tale that gives the constellation its name.

In the fictitous universe created by Anne McCaffrey the star Rukbat is circled by five planets, two asteroid belts, a rogue planet on an accentric orbit captured by the gravity well in recent millennia (the Red Star) and an Oort cloud at the perimeter of the stellar system. The first and second planet are too small to sustain human life. The fourth (which has a cluster of little moons) and the fifth (a dark world) are not close enough to Rukbat to make existence comfortable and are seperated from each other and the sun by the two asteroid belts, which cuts down the sunlight the planets recieve. On the third planet are found seas and oceans of liquid water and three large land masses (formed by heavy volcanic and plate-tectonic activity), this planet is known as Pern to its inhabitants. It has two moons, called Belior and Timor. See also Pern, Red Star and Oort cloud.

Rukbat Statistics
Bayer designation: Alpha Sagittarii
Postition on the sky from Earth: Right Ascension, 19h 23m 53.2s. Declination, -40° 36' 58"
Prope motion across the sky: +0.04304 arcseconds per year in Righ Ascension and -0.12081 arcseconds per year in Declination
Radial velocity: 0.7 kilometers per second towards the Sun
Apparent visual magnitude: 3.96
Luminosity: 57.3 times the luminosity of our Sun
Spectral type: B&V (a bluish-white star)
Distance from the Sun: 170 light years
Rulyar: see R'yar.
Runel: old herdsman, with and eidetic memory and perfect memory recall, at Ruatha Hold [Mor].
Runner: 
Runner: see Runnerbeast.
Runnerbeast: Pernese equivalent of Terran horses.
There were herds of wild runner beasts on the Southern Continent at the time of the start of the Second Pass. These were smaller than the ones living at the Holds of the Northern Continent [RSR/15:367].
Rusty: a riding beast at Waterhole Hold. Thaniel's riding beast, also alled "old Rusty" [BB].
Ryan Hanrahan: son of Red and Mairi Hanrahan [CoP-FoRH].
R'yar: rider of brown Garanath, stationed at Benden Weyr and before that living at harper Hall [MHoP].
Rye: a Terran grain, brought to Pern by te colonists, which did well in the rich native soil [DLG/II:16].


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