Dragonhold

Origins

What are now called Dragonholds were carved into some of the many mountains jutting up from Alastea's landscape. Their original purpose was to observe and study the dragons, wyvern, and other species native to the islands. Using the natural geography would be less disruptive. Such methods had served the vaen well in the past. They had outposts on the mainland as well, performing a similar study. Early into their research, they discovered that the dragons of Alastea exhibit different behaviours from their mainland cousins. They often congregated in large, multi-species groups for safety. The females shared nest space and egg watching duties while the males did the bulk of the hunting.

What they didn't know, however, was that the dragons and wyvern were intelligent and capable of communication. Not that the wyvern had much interest in holding conversations with an 'inferior' species. The dragons, however, did once they realized they were being watched.

They were wary of the vaen at first, but as it became clear the vaen were studying and not hunting them, they relaxed and allowed the strange people to approach. With the aid of the solinn, communication was established. Soon after, the first vaen-dragon pair on Alastea happened and the outposts became Dragonholds.

Some dragons weren't in favour of this idea and opted to stay out in the wilds. Eventually, a philosophical split occured among the riders which led to some of them breaking off to form the Freeborn. These riders believe in the old way of doing things.

Dragonholds provide nesting spaces for their resident females. Any male who mates with a wild dragon is, of course, more than welcome to invite his mate to clutch at the hold, though roughly half opt not to.

Locations

There are three Dragonholds: An'taha, Dulanenn, and Xuwenn.

Design

The vaen used their advanced technology to carve homes for themselves and the dragons. Each hold is unique, taking advantage of the mountains' existing caverns and features.
They all have similar features:

Hatching grounds

Living quarters for riders and staff

Kitchen

Artificial lake

Caretaker barracks

Storage for food, gear, and other items

Animal pens and hydroponic gardens

Landing grounds

Bath house

Council Room

Hall of Records

The Barracks

After the eggs hatch, they are assigned a pair of caretakers. Caretakers are typically teenagers. They all reside in the barracks, which look like a military barracks mixed with a large barn. The older of the two has had experience with hatchlings before. It's their job to instruct the younger, less experienced caretaker while caring for the hatchling. The junior caretaker assists their elder as they learn.

Pens and Gardens

While the dragons are more than capable of hunting for themselves, there are times when they are unable to leave the hold to hunt. Injury, illness, and clutching are the most common reasons. Young dragons are given their first hunting lessons here at the hands of an older dragon. This is rarely one of their parents. The herd animals are rarely used for human consumption, as they have cured meats brought in from the nearby towns.

The hydroponic gardens serve to bolster what food they bring in.

Hall of Records

This subterranean room is divided into two sections: the public area and old record storage.

There are records that date back as far as the original vaen survey ships and their arrival on Keverynn. They include copies of the original surveys, maps, and studies taken. The originals are stored in caverns on the unnamed sixth island. (The original colony and survey ships are also stored there.)

Records in the public area date back a hundred years. The oldest of these records are regularly pruned and moved into storage. Access to the storage room is restricted. A vaen lorekeeper is in charge of these records, a task the vaen take seriously. It is generally easy to gain access, but some records are only available to the most senior riders, with very few only accessible by the lorekeepers themselves.

Landing Grounds

Dragons require a significant amount of space to take off and land in, especially if multiple dragons are coming and going at the same time. This area took the longest to construct. Dulanenn Dragonhold uses the large field nearby rather than worry about building one. Xuwenn Dragonhold had to have a chunk of the mountain blasted out to make room for it. An'taha Dragonhold's was less difficult, as there was an existing valley that was nearly large enough. To be on the safe side, it was enlarged, the stone carted away to be used elsewhere.

The Lake

Dulanenn is the only hold with a natural lake. Xuwenn and An'taha had to have theirs built. The lake provides water for the herd animals as serves as a place where the dragons can bathe in safety. Even so, some prefer to fly out to the ocean to bathe, preferring the salt water.

The Kitchen

The kitchen is usually found sandwiched between the hatching grounds and the staff quarters. The ovens at the back not only cook food, but provide heat to the staff quarters in colder seasons and provide additional heat to the hatching grounds. Attached to the kitchen is the massive dining hall where all congregate to eat.

Rider Quarters

These rooms are typically referred to as dens among the riders. These are generally large enough to accommodate even the largest dragon, though there have been ones too large to fit and special accommodations had to be made. Most dens are carved into the mountain side with a ledge outside for the dragons to land on. Stairs at the back connect to long hallways and staircases to allow the riders to come and go without being completely reliant on their dragons. Dens have a bed chamber for the rider, a room for their dragon, and a small sitting area. Dens of the higher ranking riders have private bathing rooms. initially, all the dens had that feature, but as the hold grew it became more and more difficult to put them in. This resulted in lower ranked riders having to make do with the public baths.

The dens of the hold leadership also include a small office so they can deal with hold matters in privacy and comfort.

Dens built to accommodate oversized dragons are on the ground level and all include private baths. These larger dragons have a private den in carved into the nearby mountains so they can be near their rider but still have their own room.

It's worth noting that these larger dragons are all either wild born or one or both of their parents were wild and accepted into the hold.

Llyr is one such dragon.

Staff Quarters

These are all on ground level, located near the kitchen to make use of the heat generated by the massive ovens. Most of the hold staff are non-riders, but there are some things they can't do. Sometimes, a dragon Chooses a staff member. These riders are given the option of retaining their poisition, or leaving to pursue duties more suited to their new status. Some choose to remain where they are, as they would rather bake bread than fight wyvern. As a rule, none are to be judged for what they choose to do, but there are always those people who see these riders as 'lesser'.

Hatching Grounds

The first thing they added on when converting the outposts into holds was an appropriately large hatching ground. The needs of the five dragon species were taken into account in its design. The grounds are predominantly sandy as most of their dragons prefer some kind of sand. The remaining third of the ground is comprised of tall grass. While the solinn typically prefer marshier ground, the tall grass is acceptable, although as a result, hold-hatched solinn are smaller than their wild cousins, on par with the sequenn.

Regardless of species, warmth is needed to hatch the eggs. The vaen tapped into geothermal vents to funnel heat into this cavern. The vents also heat the bathhouse.