When the 9th Pass began, Benden Weyr was woefully underprepared; the only remaining Weyr, with a scant few hundred dragons, Benden Weyr was unable to protect the entirety of Pern from Thread. Extensive inbreeding over the Turns had brought new colours to the Weyr: cream, orange, fawn, gray and yellow dragons. But it wasn't enough. Weyrwoman Lessa and gold Ramoth gave their lives to bring the other five Weyrs forward in time.

But the Oldtimers, as they came to be known, struggled to adapt to the changes in Pern's society. They didn't like the new colours of dragons, nor the recently discovered new wher colours. And they were used to the Holds and Halls giving them everything they needed, but over the Turns the other people of Pern learned to resent Benden Weyr, and by extension, all dragonriders. Some even blamed the riders for the return of Thread.

The Oldtimer Weyrs decided to take over; F'lar and Mnementh were killed in a duel, and the new Weyrwoman, the rider of Ramoth's only golden daughter, was exiled to the Western Continent, together with every rider that supported her. They were joined by other people who objected to the Oldtimers' rule over Pern, including an expedition of wherhandlers intent on exploring the Western Continent, and a group of dolphins who rejected the Dolphin Contract and refused to help humans when humans haven't been helping them.