Leeward Lagoon Hold
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyrhold
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr (NPC)
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall
Minor Holder: Toman
Holder's Wife: Veslera
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History
The settlement that would become Leeward Lagoon was founded fifty Turns into the Ninth Interval when sailors on voyages between Topaz Seahold and the defunct weyrhold on the site of the present day Dolphin Cove Weyr discovered several large fresh water cenotes on the island, which provided effectively unlimited fresh water for resupply.
The lagoon on the leeward side of the island provided a perfect natural harbor, and the settlement soon attracted fishers and farmers to feed a growing permanent population. Before long, divers discovered bivalves on the floor of the lagoon, and the search for pearls was on. However, the mud was also replete with a bothersome mollusk that clung to the bivalve shells and anything else they came into contact with. When the divers crushed them as they plucked them from their bodies, they were full of a curious deep purple goo that stained their skin.
Tomara, the wife of one of the divers, was the first to discover the potential application of the mollusks’ goo as a dye, and her family quickly made a fortune selling uniquely colored cloth. Her fortune built and expanded the edifice that would become Leeward Lagoon hold, and eventually funded the organization, expansion, and equipment of the diving and dyemaking operations.
As of the present day, almost all of the residents born on the island can trace their lineage back to Tomara and her husband Gostin.
Location
On the lagoon on the south side of a barrier island off the east coast of the cape northeast of Topaz Seahold and north of Dolphin Cove Weyr.
Building Information
The main building is built into and out from a limestone cliff on the north side of the lagoon and at the base of the island's limestone heights. Its manmade portions are built from limestone carved from quarries near the cenotes. Most of the more senior branches of the family live in the main building. Because of the water table, shelters below ground level and cellars are rare on the island, but caves both natural and artificial are common in the island's heights, which provide a natural shelter against winds from the north on the southern side of the island.
The harbor is well developed and can accomodate several large ships at once. The divers also maintain their operation there and have spaces for storing and maintaining their equipment and moving their harvest of mollusks to the hold for processing as dye. The workspaces are well separated from the residential areas, and great care is taken to keep the dye from polluting the groundwater or the lagoon.
Homes and shelters are most common on the southern side of the island, but the northern side is better suited to farming. The cores of most buildings are built from limestone from the quarry, but many also still have wooden additions and outbuildings.
Technology Level
The island's dye trade has funded wind turbines that cover the island's highest heights, and electric power is available for buildings adjacent or near to the main hold building. The dyemakers have priority for electricity, and pipes for drawing water from the cenotes that can be operated with manual power if the wind dies.
Female Policy
Women are more common than men among the dyemakers, but among the divers, women are unheard of. Aside from the unusual circumstances surrounding Leeward Lagoon's unique commodity, it follows the policy set by Topaz Seahold for women crafters.
Population and Plague Effects
Outsiders were not permitted outside of the harbor during the plague, and the island population escaped relatively unscathed. However, the population has always been relatively small. The entire island population is around 500.
Economy
The island's primary export by total revenue is purple dye, followed by pearls, fish, and fresh water. Farming on the island is primarily for subsistence, but it does produce enough tropical fruit to export.
Transportation Information
Due to its location between major ports and high value exports, there are almost always ships in the harbor. Because of its ability to restock and resupply ships on the coastal route, they can afford to carry more cargo and fewer supplies. It also serves as a port of entry for trade from the North.