Landing was discovered some time towards the end of the Ninth Pass. However, because of the availability of land in the south it was decided to forgo any scientific explorations and concentrate on moving some of the dense population of the north, southwards. Indeed, during this Interval, Honshu, Xanadu, Monaco, Southern Barrier and Ierne Weyrs were founded as well as numerous Holds and auxiliary Southern Crafthalls. When Threadfall resumed in the Tenth Pass no one even considered the possibility of digging out an Ancient site when there was a job to be done.

Towards the latter part of the Tenth Pass a massive earthquake devastated Honshu Weyr, making it uninhabitable. The Weyr's residents and riders were reassigned, as well as the coverage area, until time could be spared to concentrate on the extensive repairs. Indeed work did not start until some Turns into the interval -- nearly everyone was insistent on some rest after the Pass had ended.

In the next 100 Turns considerable energy was placed into making Honshu viable: a deep fissure in the hatching grounds was the most problematical because of the need to retain heat for future clutches. Once finished the Smiths declared it livable, the various Weyrs started grouping together some of their more adventurous and organized riders to restart the Weyr. This took time, but eventually Honshu gathered strength and its coverage areas were reassigned.

Two holds, Suweto and Rubicon River, gained Major status during the first half of the Interval and several Crafthalls moved, each taking advantage of the varied terrain. The Smiths moved to Central to take advantage of the Delta River and waterwalls, the Miners headed into the mountains near Honshu having found numerous useful deposits, the StarCraft headed up into the mountains near Southern Barrier Weyr and the WoodSmiths transferred their base to Paradise River where large numbers of Mandamo trees grew. The BeastCraft moved to Karachi Hold where the plains were more productive for raising cattle, the Farmers moved to Xanadu because of the fertility of their soil and the Vintners built a new home at Malay, where the surrounding slopes produced wine of a superior quality.

The larger looms needed water power, so the Weaver Hall was moved to Roma Hold where waterwheels were installed just past the waterfall at Island River. Tanners needed to be close to the BeastCraft and the massive amounts of hides they could obtain there, and hence moved to Yukon Hold. The Baker's, never having had a formal Hall in the south before, choose Seminole because of it's ability to grow many types of grains, and Healers wanting to be closer to the Numbweed plains moved to Big Lagoon Hold. Furthermore, a United Crafthall, in recognition of the cross-crafting possibilities some Crafters excelled at, was built at Southern Hold, a conglomeration of all Crafts to train together.

Technology increased dramatically through the Interval, with a number of items once rare becoming more common. With the discovery of a new source of fiber, a swiftly growing plant found only on the Southern Continent, paper rose to meet the need of the Printers. One or two small basic printing presses were made, powered by waterwheels, as well as a number of larger looms for the Weavers. Indeed, with the expansion on the Southern Continent becoming so far reaching, Ovines and Herdbeasts had more grazing ground, and of course breeding ground, and so the supply of hide and wool increased exponentially. Wool mattress therefore, once reserved for the high-ranking populace, became more common place, though an Apprentice still suffered with a reed mattress.

Glass replaced many water and wine skins, and was even made and cut for windows once more. Stained glass became fashionable in some of the more affluent Holds, Halls and Weyrs. The StarSmiths found that glass wasn't the only substance available, or the best, for making microscopes and telescopes. They used lenses made of pure quartz, creating a more pure glass instead of the poor quality glass they'd been using.

The Healers found several new remedies, the most successful discovered by complete accident with a bit of moldy bread, called Fleminar after the Healer who discovered it. Surgical techniques, still considered an anathema amongst many, improved, the survival rate increasing, though the inherent risk was still great. The survival rate for multiple births did not increase, but survival from cesarean section did.

As the mining techniques improved, so did the refining, and more metal became available. Experiments in metallurgy began, the MetalSmiths attempting different combination of metals to produce a new array of alloys. They also found that a mix of 12-13% chromium in steel yielded something resistant to corrosion. They named this Sorbon Steel after the Smith who discovered it. Metal implements: scissors, hammers, needles, etc. became more common, most individuals owning their own instead of borrowing. The main doors on Holds, Weyrs and Halls also became covered in thin sheets of metal to protect them from Thread.

Riders, never ones to sit idle for long, took the opportunity to study Crafts in further detail in an attempt to better their lives. Some helped make substantial improvements, including the Rider who helped Fleminar discover the new Healer medicine, albeit inadvertently. Other Riders were responsible for everyday maintenance, such as delivering items, keeping the forges running and helping to harvest wool.

The interval was a time of social and political change. Amidst all of this shifting of the social order, the Order rose to prominence. The Order was originally an organization designed to help ordinary Holders, and as such it spread relatively quickly across both Continents. But about mid-interval, the Order's aims shifted, as powerful men took control from within, and turned the organization into a criminal one. Now the Order is simply interested in purchasing power for power's sake.

By the second half of the Interval, with the work at Honshu such a success, it was decided to begin excavations at the Ancient's Plateau. Nervous of the possibility of Mount Garben, or even one of the three lesser volcanoes, erupting, they started digging some miles away from the past lava flows. Several sites were marked for exploration, and Smiths, Miners and other Craft members, began the work. Dragonriders were a valuable assistance in transporting personnel and equipment, and occasionally helping with the excavations.

When a team of miners happened upon a vein of optic-grade quartz, something that was desperately needed to continue with the improvements seen in microscope and telescope lenses, no one expected what else they would find. Digging in a little deeper they happened upon another set of caves, already excavated, and with supports that none of their tools could even mark. This then was the first major discovery of the Ancients at the plateau. Within these caves a number of items were found, including: an old stonecutter, a plastic spoon and a battery of some kind. These items were quickly requisitioned by the Smiths eager to find both the purpose and how to reconstruct the items. After all, as the Smith's motto goes, 'if it's been done once, it can be done again'.

Unfortunately no one reckoned on something more malevolent in the cave system.

The next day all the Weyrleaders were gathered to the plateau to be shown the cave system, bringing with them several of the Lord Holders who were interested in the project.

Within 3 days of having found the cave system, Nemar, the Master Miner in charge failed to rise from bed, waving away his charges saying he was feeling a bit off color. A day later he spent nearly all day at the latrines, and a concerned Journeyman asked one of the visiting Healers to check on him. Worried by Nemar's apparent dehydration and now incoherent speech, the Healer, Janda, set up her tent next to Nemar's. She took careful notes of the symptoms, none of which she'd ever seen together. Samples were taken, and sent back to the Southern and Northern Healer Halls, along with samples to a few disease specialists. Within 2 days all the Miners from Nemar's team started exhibiting symptoms, and Janda set up an emergency Healer station. Around the same time Nemar began to bleed from various orifices, and by sundown he was dead. Nothing the Healer had tried had worked to alleviate any of the symptoms.

Just a few days past a sevenday after the cave system had been discovered, the team of Miners, all fifteen of them, were dead. Riders and Crafters who'd had business at the plateau were also reporting symptoms to their Healers. Janda too was suffering with the disease, now called Nemar's disease, and trying every herb she could find within her makeshift pharmacy. Eventually she too died.

The disease spread so rapidly people were generally unaware of its existence until it came knocking at their door. A few holders locked themselves away, blaming it upon the Weyrs, but invariably one or two of their residents had been in contact somewhere, and gradually most, if not all, would succumb. Bodies were burnt in makeshift pyres or dumped *between* in a desperate hope to stem the course of the disease.

Responses varied, from life threatening to unapparent infections of no manifestation, the reasons for which were unknown, although prior exposure had some effect. However, roughly 53% of the population died within the first sixth months, the Weyrs being hit the hardest because of their ability to travel quickly.

Not one stone was left unturned in an attempt to find a cure for this deadly disease. Various combinations of herbs, used in the past, were tried, none succeeded. Fleminar, the new mold therapy, was used, that too was unsuccessful. Replacing lost fluids intravenously was attempted, despite the risk; this too proved to be in vain. Finally, inoculating serum from patients who did recover, though those were few, was successful. However, these patients were often debilitated from the disease, some seriously so, and the serum that could be gathered was rare enough that ranking personnel fought to be the ones vaccinated, leaving most of Pern in need.

Other methods of producing vaccine in enough quantities were therefore investigated. Healers attempt a vaccine by injecting Herdbeasts with serum from those patients who recovered from the disease. Unfortunately this failed to work and it wasn't until whole blood was inoculated from those patients displaying the full range of symptoms that they met some limited success: in all but one patient group the test failed. However, reproducing this test group they found that a vaccine raised and harvested when the animal was extremely close to death was successful, possibly due to a high titer of some substance.

The Healers then desperately tried to factor enough serum, working vastly understaffed. Each lot was marked carefully and kept on ice, then shipped out whenever a rider could be spared.

By the end of the turn, when all traces of the disease had vanished, roughly 88% of the population had died.

Gradually, things began to change and not for the better. There were no longer enough Healers to deliver children or tend to minor injuries, nor enough Harpers to judge or bear witness at ceremonies. There were more beasts than there were Herders, more wool, cotton and flax than weavers. Vintner vines grew heavy with the grapes as there were no longer many Apprentices, Journeymen or Masters within the Craft to see that they were harvested. Ships rested at dock in many harbors, no longer full crews able to deliver tithes or other supplies or even regularly fish.

Furniture projects were abandoned and trees grew wildly. Crops were left to go to waste in the fields -- food was less abundant that before and the Bakers, the few that remained, struggled to find enough food to feed the Halls, Holds and Weyrs, and to keep nutrition maximized. Instrument orders remained unfilled, some left rusting in the Southern weather and machines that broke generally stayed so. Leather straps and equipment became harder to come by, even to fit the remaining Dragons, and it wasn't unusual for people of all ranks to walk around with holes in the soles of their shoes and boots. Firestone and coal supplies dwindled, forcing some Holders to venture out into the forests to cut precious wood for their fires.

Holders began to restrict numbers of residents that were Searched for the Weyrs and even some of them suggested that females should stay at home and not be Searched at all -- children would be necessary to repopulate after all. At some Holds no girls were Searched at all, with some understanding the Weyr's need for choice, population and diversity. However, the number of males on green, blue and brown increased, while conversely the number of females on the same colors decreased.

Society began breaking down, disorder reigning throughout Pern as its population was unable to maintain what they'd worked so hard to gain. Rapidly things disintegrated into isolated pockets of humanity, with those remaining desperately trying to develop skills or find those who had the skills they needed.

However, the Pass loomed but 8 Turns in the future.

Desperately, the Weyrs started put together plan after plan, joined soon after by Hold and Halls. They tried closing some areas, consolidating into others, but even with the remaining queens, just eight of them, the future did not look at all promising. With less than three Wings per Weyr something needed to be done, and soon, if the Weyrs to fly Threadfall.

Many meetings took place between the remaining Weyrleaders, some spots filled temporarily by brown, blue and green Weyrseconds after the death of their bronze companions. Although grubs were now protecting some of the Northern crops, the settlements, ranging herds and fragile crops of both Continents still needed defending. Every option was discussed, but eventually the conclusion reached was that alone the Weyrs could not adequately protect both Continents.

After the discussion had continued for four straight days and a solution still had not been reached, H'dir, the youngest of them, suggested repeating Lessa's ride as a joke, never expecting the others to agree. Faced with this choice and no other answer presenting itself, the decision was made: Lessa's ride was to be repeated, though only back some 200 Turns, with the efforts of the Starsmiths used to determine images suitable to make the jump.

Two groups of volunteers were arranged, one for the Northern Continent, and one for the Southern, to attempt to convince those of the past to make the jump forward. Twenty-five representatives for the South, Weyrfolk, Holdfolk, and Craftfolk together, leaped backwards in time. They arrived, somewhat comically, during a vintner festival, and so some time had to be spent explaining that they were indeed who and what they professed themselves to be.

Once the team's position became clear, they were sequestered on an island, away from the general population. Southern Weyr's leadership quietly made contact with the leaders of Holds and Crafts, as well as the other Weyrs. Volunteers were solicited to make the journey forward in time. The official story was that they were preparing an expedition to explore the Eastern Continent, an expedition that would later be counted as lost. In time, volunteers from every major aspect of Pernese life were cobbled together, and they made the jump forward in time.

Ravaged as Pern was by the aftermath of Nemar's, this wasn't an immediate solution. Supplies were very limited, and times were made even harder. But together, oldtimer and newtimer alike prepared for Thread's return, as the Eleventh Pass loomed on the horizon.