Life in the Hold

Hold Overview

Here you will find detailed information into the Hold structure at Triad Weyrs.

Ranks

Lord Holder

• The Lord Holder oversees the direction his Hold is taking and is ultimately responsible for all formal business decisions. He has a duty to responsibly govern those who look to him for protection, which means ensuring their survival, distributing supplies, and resolving their disputes. He also serves as his area's representative to the rest of Pern, and has responsibilities to attend Conclave.

Lady Holder

• The Lady Holder is married to the Lord of the Hold. She is to produce heirs, oversee the Headwoman, and promote positive relationships between the Hold and Weyr. The Lady Holder also oversees her Ladies-in-Waiting who look to the Lady of the Hold for introductions to eligible bachelors. She also oversees any children "fostered" by neighboring Holds.

Steward

• The Steward's job involves a mix of working with people and large amounts of hidework. Those who need to appeal to the Lord must first pass their request through the Steward, who is responsible for making sure that critical information is brought to his attention. He makes sure the Hold has up to date records of all the business transactions it is involved in. It is alo the Steward's job to know the types of work that needs to be done in the Hold's territory, and decide who is doing it. Male holders are organized into labor divisions that report to the Steward.
• See: Steward's Staff for detailed information on the Steward's responsibilities and those that work with him.

Headwoman

• The Headwoman's job is to oversee the internal needs of the Hold. She makes sure the Hold is not going to run out of vital supplies, and oversees the distribution of common supplies to the residents of the hold. She allocates housing assignments to the residents, and helps ensure the domestic records are kept accurate. Drudges and servant women are organized by the areas where their duty lies - laundry, kitchen, creche, cleaning, etc - and they are overseen by the Headwoman.

Note: The Headwoman and the Steward fill complementary roles. Her job is to handle the Hold's internal operations, while his job is to handle the Hold's relationship with the outside world. The pair must coordinate to know what supplies and resources the Hold currently possesses, what it is scheduled to receive in tithes and shipments, and what it might owe to its parent Weyr as well as any bigger Hold it looks to.

Occupations

Holders make up the bulk of Pern's population and workforce. There is a wide variety of jobs for them to perform, and two people working for the same Hold may have entirely different duties according to their talents, temperaments, and assignments.

The type of workers a hold needs depends on the environment of the hold and what resources it has access to. Sea holds will have holders who know about fishing and boats and weather, while farm holds will have animal herders and field hands.

The hold residents of noble bloodlines have slightly different duties from an average holder. In general, they are fostered to different Holds in hopes of forming marriage alliances. Members of both genders receive training in Hold management from the appropriate higher-ranking members of the Hold structure. They may work as assistants, understewards, or other positions above those of the regular laborers.

Note that some jobs overlap in name and function with those in the established Crafts. A Craft education is formal advanced training in many aspects of a trade. The holder versions of the same job are informally taught via on the job experience and focused on the practicalities of day to day living. Occupations that overlap with a Craft are denoted via an *. Note that none of the overlapping jobs on this list may wear Craft knots; that is a privilege for the Craft-trained only.

Here is a list of sample jobs:

• Animal herder
• Candlemaker
• Carpenter
• Cloth maker
• Clothing maker
• Coach driver
• Cook
• Digger
• Field hand
• Fisher
• Gardener
• Gatherer / picker
• Guard
• Herbalist
• Hunter
• Leather worker
• Logger
• Midwife
• Net and sail mender
• Planter
• Potter
• Repairman
• Scribe
• Ship construction and repair
• Stable hand

People of the Hold

Crafters

Crafters are contracted to work at a Hold via agreement with the local Lord. The contract benefits both sides. The Lord Holder provides them with housing and workspace from which to run their business. In turn, the Crafters contribute the benefit of their skills to the Hold where they reside. Contract durations may range from a short-term agreement to a long-term one.

Some Crafters are hired by a Hold to provide services. For example, Technicians repair the electronics in more modern Holds, while Harpers teach children and provide entertainment. Other Crafters might be leaders of the non-craft-trained holders who work in a field related to theirs. For example, a Journeyman Woodcrafter might be in charge of the Hold's complement of carpenters, or a Beastcrafter's job to run the stables.

There are multiple options for those Crafters who produce tangible goods like Weavers or Smiths. They might assist the Hold's Headwoman is managing the non-craft-trained holders, so a Journeyman Weaver aiding the women who spin and tailor. Or they have the option to operate mostly independently. These Crafters might use their provided space as offices for their business and spend most of their time taking private commissions from individuals. They would still be expected to provide items that the Hold needs as part of their tithe, or else pay a set amount of marks from their profits.</blockquote>

Drudges

• Drudges are unskilled laborers at the hold. See the Drudges article for more information on their daily lives.

Cotholders

Basic Schedule and Overview

Cotholders live in the small cots (cottages) surrounding the Hold proper and it’s outlying areas. Holders living outside of the Hold might be married journeyman craftsmen (healers, farmers, etc.) and their families, beastcrafters and their families or any member of a craft (official or otherwise) needing or meriting space due to the expansion of their family etc.

The cots themselves are simple dwellings, with a main living area, one to two bedrooms and a bathing room.

Mealtimes

• 6cm-10cm Breakfast period
• 12cm-2cm Lunch period
• 18cm-20cm Dinner period

While many cotholders choose to prepare and eat their meals at their own cots, some might choose to eat particular meals at the hold and the same basic meal times apply for all.

Clothing

Most often clothing materials (cloth, thread) are obtained via trade or with marks during market days. The Hold will also provide simple garments if absolutely necessary, however most cotholders have some method of trading or using marks earned to buy the basic clothing and toiletries needed from day to day.

Guardsmen

Daily Schedule and Overview

These are the guards that provide protection for the Hold proper and it’s Lord Holder’s family. They patrol the perimeter and interior of the Hold and make sure that there are no altercations that might get out of hand (which can happen—there is drinking!). While rare, petty crimes such as theft do occur. Bandits do roam the areas and guardsmen make sure that there is no poaching from nearby holders' herdbeasts or the Hold’s main stocks or fields. These actions cut down on the food necessary to feed the Hold and cannot be permitted to go unchecked or unnoticed.

In addition, since a series of brutal murders of high ranking members of society, Hold guards act as bodyguards, accompanying the ladies and also the Lord when he is visiting areas outside of the Hold.

Patrols are assigned on shifts by the captain of the Guards. Locations and the length of patrols are given at his discretion and based on need, seniority and amount of training.

The below schedule is for those newer guards who have not been giving permanent assignments or who may still be in training. Meal times and lights out are for those guards who do not have their own cots, but are housed in the barracks.

• 6 c/m Breakfast
• 7 c/m Inspection
• 8 c/m Duty assignments and roster
• 10 c/m Training classes begin for new guards - this may include accompanying more seasoned guards on patrols.
• 12 c/m Noon meal
• 18 c/m Evening meal
• 22 c/m Light's out

Living Quarters

• Members of the Hold guard living in a separate building (Barracks). This is a functional building set aside from the Hold proper and including communal bathing/latrines, their own small kitchen and cook as well as dormitory areas for sleeping, which also include break rooms for free time. Drudges are assigned to housecleaning, assisting the cook and also running tasks for the guardsman.

• Married guardsman can petition for their own cots but are expected to appear for duty and/or their assignments on time.

Clothing

• Each guardsman is issued two uniforms in Hold colors with the appropriate rank and insignia. He is expected to keep this uniform neat and clean. Drudges assisting in laundry duty at the Hold pick up uniforms and clothing for the guardsmen once every other day and the turn around time is usually next day. When not in uniform, they wear the typical clothing of a holder and can either purchase or trade for clothing or materials (such as leather goods) during market days or by visiting the Headwoman for basic clothing.

• Marks are paid based on seniority and level of training. While most guards do not make much, many of their needs are provided for by the Hold itself.

Women

• Exactly what an individual holder woman does depends on factors including their location, age, rank, and marital status. Because of the difference in population size, women at a larger Hold can be assigned to a narrower set of duties. On the other hand, women at a cothold where there are fewer overall hands do a little of everything.

• Children spend most of their time in lessons or with their mother. Often as they get older, they are assigned light work to help their family and stay busy, especially in a cothold. For young girls, this work likely includes the basics of cleaning and sewing. Depending on what their hold specializes in, they might learn foraging, fishing and spiderclaw catching, or assisting in food preparation.

• Young women who are unmarried have several options. In a cothold, they perform a share of the domestic work assigned by the elder women. Depending on the permissiveness of their head holder, they may also be assigned to tasks in the field. In a minor or major Hold, they may work as drudges under the care of the Headwoman. The types of work they are assigned to include but are not limited to: kitchen, laundry and clothing repair, crèche work, and maintenance and cleaning.

• Unmarried younger women from families with rank and wealth are frequently fostered to other Holds. This serves two major purposes: learning from experienced women about the duties of ladies of the Blood, and to broaden the horizon and find potential marriage matches. They are not likely to work as a drudge, but instead serve as personal assistants.

• Married women have the added responsibility to take care of their household and their children. At the same time, the Holds need every pair of hands to continue running, so wives continue to contribute by working where they can.

• Hold women cannot achieve the same levels of formal recognition as a Crafter or a male Holder, but they can still aspire to high status jobs. Headwoman is the highest ranked position to which women can aspire. Shift supervisor, midwife or herbalist, head cook, or assistant Headwoman are all potential jobs for an ambitious woman to aspire to.

Childbearing

• Fostering at Holds tends to be done at a later age, with most holders raising their own children, and no small children being fostered out except those orphaned by the loss of their mother or both parents. The exception would be Lord Holders, whose wives often have other duties to encompass their time and energies to assist their husbands. Those of any larger Hold's bloodline (whether the father is a Lord Holder or simply head of a very large Hold) would most likely be fostered to other holds about the age of nine or ten, both to allow heirs to learn Hold management from outside the family and to formulate stronger bonds with other Holds. Males are usually summoned home by about age fifteen or sixteen to utilize their skills for their home Hold. Females tend to be fostered out in hopes of finding marriage prospects beyond their home Holds.

• A Hold is not entirely populated by crafters and the Lord Holder's family. A major Hold (such as Emerald Falls or Amber Hills) could accommodate a population of 500-1000 people - just at the main Hold itself. Each major Hold would have 3-4 minor Holds whose Holders rank just under the Lord Holders, with populations of 300-500 themselves, and then there would be many smaller holds and cotholds, ranging from tiny single family cotholds to larger holds of about 200 residents.

• Regular holdfolk would not foster their children, most needing the extra hands at home to help keep the family's cothold running smoothly. The children from smaller holdings would be taught to read and write by their parents, with occasional visits from travelling harpers. Those holds with more children than they can support would seek apprenticeships or employment for children once they'd reached twelve or thirteen to relieve the burden on their cothold.