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F'lar was the Benden Weyrleader during the Ninth Pass, and united the Weyrs under his authority as the Weyrleader of Pern.
Biography
Early Life
F'lar was born Fallarnon thirty-two Turns before the start of the Ninth Pass, the son of F'lon and Larna, who died nine days after his birth. Both his father and his grandfather, S'loner, were Weyrleaders in their time. He inherited his father's distinctive amber eyes. He was raised by Manora, the headwoman of Benden Weyr, who would give F'lon his second son, Famanoran (or F'nor, as he became known later).
Impression
Fallarnon Impressed bronze Mnementh and shortened his name to F'lar in the dragonriders' tradition. Carrying on F'lon's legacy after the Weyrleader was assassinated, F'lar would become a Wingleader under the closed-minded Weyrleader R'gul. Like F'lon, F'lar believed that Thread would return, and that as a dragonrider he must answer the call to fight it.
Lessa, Fax and the Return of Thread
From «Dragonriders of Pern» Boardgame © 1983 Robin Wood. Used with Permission. http://www.robinwood.com
After the death of the last living queen-rider, F'lar went on Search to find a rider for the single queen egg in that final clutch. His Search brought him to Ruatha Hold, one of the «Seven Holds» held by the greedy tyrant Fax. As such, F'lar, his half-brother F'nor, and several Benden riders accompanied Fax for one of his inspections at Ruatha Hold. It was there that he encountered Lessa, the last of the Ruathan bloodline and the source of the mysterious power he felt in Ruatha's halls. After Fax attempted to renege on a promise he had made — to turn Ruatha over to his infant son, Jaxom — F'lar engaged Fax in a knife duel and defeated him, ending his rule over the «Seven Holds».
After the hatching of Ramoth and Lessa's impression, F'lar's Mnementh eventually flew the new queen, making him Weyrleader of Benden. After his ascension, F'lar promised the Lord Holders of Pern that he would find a way to bring the end of Thread by destroying it at its source: The Red Star, the erratic sister planet of Pern. As Weyrleader, F'lar immediately began modernizing the Weyr. He began a allowing hold and craftbred boys to stand as candidates, as well as allowing candidates to see the hardening eggs and opening up hatchings to allow families to watch. In addition, he began searching old records from the abandoned weyrs, allowing him to create timetables to specifically pinpoint the time and location of threadfalls.
But Benden was one weyr, and not all of its riders were fit and able to fly against Thread. Lessa, risking the survival of dragonkind itself (as her dragon, Ramoth, was the last living queen in that time period. Kylara and Prideth were sent back in time by F'lar to try and better prepare Pern for the thread fall), traveled four hundred Turns back in time and beseeched the other five Weyrs to come back with her to the present. The Oldtimers, as they became known, agreed to come forward and fight Thread alongside Benden.
Dealing with the Oldtimers
Immediately after the Oldtimer's arrival, F'lar relinquished much of the authority he had to the more experienced Oldtimers. But once there, F'lar faced several challenges to his authority, most notably from T'ron, the Weyrleader of Fort. In their time, the Weyrs held dominance over the Holds and Crafts, and expected similar behavior in the Ninth Pass, while F'lar recognized that the Holds and Crafts had gained much more importance over the years. Eventually, F'lar began hearing of Oldtimers demanding objects and people from others, putting them in contention with the holds and crafts they protected. However, Benden Weyr remained in good standing.
Eventually, F'lar was forced into a duel with T'ron at the wedding of Lord Asgenar. One Oldtimer Weyrleader, T'kul was found deliberately neglecting his duties, and T'ron realized that F'lar would ask for the Weyrleader's removal. As a result, T'ron planned to kill F'lar, removing the Hold's main ally and allowing T'ron to control the other Weyrleaders unopposed. After defeating T'ron, F'lar challenged any other Oldtimers to speak against Benden, or to follow him and fight their ancient enemy. Many agreed to follow Benden's lead, making F'lar the Weyrleader of all Pern. F'lar would exile all non-followers to the Southern Continent, where they could do little hard. He also continued his goals in modernizing Weyr traditions, by stationing dragonriders in crafts and holds to allow for quick communication. He was also responsible for the rediscovery of thread-eating grubs, and helped to spread the creatures to protect vulnerable land in the North.
F'lar's leadership, however, did not go unchallenged, and there were some Oldtimers who persisted in their efforts against Benden. T'kul, the exiled Weyrleader of High Reaches, had attempted to steal a queen egg from one of Ramoth's clutches, and fly his dragon to mate with a younger queen, resulting in the ancient dragon's death; F'lar faced the grief-maddened Oldtimer in a knife duel and killed him. In the aftermath, F'lar would learn that most of the planet considered him to be in charge of determining the settlement of the Southern Continent, thanks to the hard work of Robinton. After learning of the true extent of the continent, he would open a portion for settlement, which many younger sons of holders took advantage of. However, he kept much of the knowledge secret in hopes of retaining a part of the continent for dragonriders, allowing them to support themselves in the upcoming intervals.
The Discovery of AIVAS
When AIVAS was discovered on the southern continent seventeen Turns into the Ninth Pass, F'lar was among the first to give his support, as it promised to fulfill his lifelong goal in eliminating Thread. When he was not discussing the greater plan, F'lar's studies with AIVAS tended to the more practical duties of the Weyrleader; tactics, mathematical projections of Threadfall, and draconic healing. He was convinced that AIVAS' plan to end the thread of Thread forever was doable, and he and Lessa were among the major leaders (the others being Jaxom and Masterharper Robinton) in the plan to carry out the promise he had made upon becoming Weyrleader.
F'lar would become one of the first people to explore the surface of the Red Star, when he carried out an exploratory mission with Jaxom and Lessa. He would later lead one of the teams in placing large antimatter engines with the goal of knocking the planet out of orbit.
Post-AIVAS
Despite the success of AIVAS' plan, F'lar made it clear that he would remain as Benden's Weyrleader until the Pass was over, to carry out the duty he had assigned himself. He and Lessa helped oversee the approval of claims for holds in the Southern Continent, and kept a record of grants and deeds at their Weyr. However, he had yet to make plans for himself and Lessa for after the end of the Pass.
During the Fireball Flood, he, like every other rider on the planet, helping in carrying out a mass evacuation of the coastlines. In the aftermath, it became apparent that the population considered the dragonriders responsible for preventing more impacts. At a meeting, F'lar would come to support a plan to organize a Sky Watch led by dragonriders to monitor potential hazardous objects. Though, they did not yet have a way to stop them, F'lar believed that they could find a method in the future.
The next day, however, brought near-tragedy when F'lar's son F'lessan was nearly killed by felines. F'lessan, Tai, and their dragons were seriously injured in the attack, but were saved when the dragons discovered their ability of Telekinesis, allowing them to fling the creatures away. In the aftermath, F'lar would be strongly upset by the concept of nearly losing F'lessan, but was astounded by the concept of dragonic Telekinesis. In the following days, F'lar, Lessa, and the other dragonriders would begin exploring this ability, with the idea that it could be potentially used to divert dangerous objects from impacting Pern.
Personality and traits
F'lar was described by C'gan, the Weyrsinger, as having his head «screwed on better than F'lon ever did»; unlike his father, F'lar was even-tempered and even-headed rather than brash and reckless. He was also an opponent of any kind of injustice, having battled and slain Fax and defeated several Oldtimer Weyrleaders to prevent such injustice. F'lar was a forward thinking man, having introduced several modernizations to Weyr tradition, and encouraging the development of new technology to help combat Thread.
He held a firm belief that Holds, Crafts, and Weyrs could work together, with his strong friendships with Robinton and Fandarel as proof, as he rarely encountered a situation without asking their advice. In time, he was considered the only person on Pern capable of holding the planet together. He did have some flaws, as he was known for being secretive about his plans early on. A severe injury, however, changed his mind, and he began sharing his plans with others more regularly, hoping to prevent more vital knowledge from being lost.