Who has an explination for Ruth??

[Flint fireforge]

Ok, i might be new, but the burning question for me, is what, who, why is Ruth? Lord Jaxom's dragon...? Do any of you good folk have a good explination?

[Talysia]

I think Ruth is the way he is because of the time he spent in the egg before Jaxom helped him to break the shell. I'm not the scientifically minded type, so I couldn't tell you the technical side of it. I might need to reread the book again to better understand the question, or give a better answer, I'm afraid, although there are some here who might be able to answer it better than I can.

Oh, and welcome to the Chronicles, Flint!

[Lady of Winterfell]

Ruth was the runt of the eggs and no one thought the egg was going to hatch. It probably wouldn't have if Jaxom hadn't intervened. His "traits" go along with being the runt, he is smaller than other dragons (more the size of the first dragons) and his hide appears white, although really has all the colors of the dragons within it, and there has never been any other dragon of this color. His unique abilities do play a key role in the stories of Pern, but I don't know where you are in the series, so I don't want to give anything away for you.

[Talysia]

Ah, I forgot about Ruth's unusual abilities. I wonder if that would have been a direct result of his protracted time in the egg, or if it's something he would have been born with anyway. Chances are it's because of the time spent in the egg, but you never know. After all, in Skies of Pern, ordinary dragons were revealed to have some very different abilities, too. Sorry for going off-topic a bit.

[Harpo]

Ruth was my favourite when I read the series a couple of years ago ( Although I haven't read the last few).
As for an explanation, I'm afraid I have nothing new to add to what's already been said here.

[ghost8772]

Ruth.... physically he is white with washed of the other dragon colors, as well as being nearly genderless. there is a large amount of speculation within the sotries if the dragon makes the rider or if the rider makes the dragon. Ruth started in an undersized egg, and would not have lived if not for Jaxom, but the pair of them not fitting into either world, holder or dragonrider made their presence felt in both. as far as abilities, RUth has the same set of abilities all dragons have, but his deals with the one thing that is constantly dismissed in dragons. memory. he has one, now it COULD be because of size or genetic variation (fire-lizards have memory if not sentient level intelligence) always knows his current position in time and space.

[manephelien]

Ruth is my favorite dragon, because he has a genuine personality unlike most others. I think it has to do with his better memory, you can't have personality without memory. However, reading about Ruth is excruciating because there's also Jaxom to deal with. Jaxom's just about the ultimate Gary Stu and I can't stand him.

[ironvelvet]

In the beginning the dragons were engineered to meet a specific threat and size was of huge importance in facing that threat. The dragons were able to last longer in flight if larger and burn more firestone etc.
However evolution has some cul de sacs where genetic mutations, that ultimately prove unhelpful to the survival of the species as a whole, crop up only to lead nowhere. Possibly Ruth is such a variation and only time will tell if the extra abilities he has are of lasting ie. evolutionary value to the dragons of Pern.
Alternatively, he could have been created as yet another answer to the question of what dragons will do when the skies of Pern are free of thread. Possibly future generations of dragons will develop in a more Ruth-like way. This could be more useful to Pern and easier to support than the traditional dragon.

[pyan]

Doesn't AMcC actually say that Ruth is a sport somewhere in TWD? It's a long time since I read it, but I'm almost sure it mentions it somewhere...

[Talysia]

I think you're right, Py. I'm sure that Jaxom refers to Ruth as a sport in one of the books (either The White Dragon or All the Weyrs of Pern).

[ghost8772]

I can remember Aivas discussing Ruth and asking if "sports of the Species" were kept. Ruth was a unique situation across the board. only thing I can think of close is a stem cell. Ruth appears to have ALL the genetic material for Dragons without any specialization. the size is a minus, no desire to propogate his genes is the other.

[Talysia]

That's a good point, Ghost.

[ghost8772]

of course the dragons level of maturity is underscored compared to people. no dragons teased ruth because of his lack of distinct colors, or lack of size.....

[C'lin of Ista]

I belive in the "White Dragon" it said somthing about Ruth's shell being overhard. Maybe that interferred with his development or something?