Welcome to Gaia! ::

[ OOC info ]

Debrett's Guide to Who's Who

Balen Hold

Balen is a sea-hold on High Reach’s coast. Not a well-loved man, Holder Graegor is widely known as harsh and hard, on his holders and on his family alike, and his relatively poor hold does not thrive under his leadership. He has a crude sense of humour. He is not currently married, and there are rumours that the illness and death of his previous wife were not an accident - though nothing has ever been proved. He is currently in the market for a new wife ‘to bear him sons worth his name’. At the dinner, he was a bore, and kept trying to insinuate his way into any conversation in which Holder Alrah was involved.

Fire Hold

This mountainous hold is famous for its orchards and softwoods, which are carefully maintained and care for. The Holder and his wife, Donnal and Braya, are both as hardworking as they are jolly, and have a large family, many of whom are in attendance today. Their eldest son, Ayadon, is his father’s right hand man, and is generally well-liked by the holders. At the dinner, the two of them were happy and hard-drinking, and seemed happy to distract Graegor from the rest of the company.

Lewis Hold

This is one of Pern’s most northerly holds, and it shows. The sea-hold is under the guidance of a very uncertain Alrah, the daughter of the previous Holder: it suffered an outbreak of pox last turn, which carried off the rest of her family, including any of her male relatives who might have been of an age to take the reins. Lord Tharandir has installed his own man as steward, and is apparently currently looking for a husband for the nineteen turn old girl as her guardian. At the dinner she was extremely nervous, and was doing her best to avoid any conversation with Holder Graegor.

Murfy Hold

This ancient mining hold is not particularly wealthy or well-connected, partly due to the mismanagement of its elderly Holder Lastreder. His son is attempting to take over the reins, but the power struggle between him and his father is doing even more damage. At dinner, he rambled to anyone who would listen about the good old days, and complained about his son. A lot.

Ogren Hold

This mining hold is industrious and thriving under the elderly Holder Oraeon. However, despite being set up as a mining hold, it has access to substantial down-land pasture which has been carefully irrigated by the current Holder and his father. As a result, Ogren has become increasingly wealthy, and supplies High Reaches proper with most of its food. Oraeon has no heirs of his own, and the hold is expected to pass to his nephew. At the dinner, Oraeon was fairly quiet, though he seemed happy to discuss the wars with Derel and Carel.

Pars Hold

The middle-aged Holder Derel has a paunch now, but in his youth Derel was a fine swordsman and magnificent warrior. He and his twin brother fought in the civil war and were renowned for their bravery: between them now, they run their two holds with a firm grip. Their combined family makes up a powerful ruling dynasty, with ties to just about every other hold in High Reaches.

Riverbend Hold

Holder Carel is Holder Derel’s younger brother, who married into the family after their men were wiped out during the war. This small but wealthy Hold has extensive farmland as well as a few exceptionally fine timberstands which are carefully managed - this has helped them avoid the degeneration of the soil which has occurred at Hilfort. At the dinner, Carel and Darel were in fine form, and got anyone nearby discussing tactics and swordplay, probably using wine cups to stand in for armies.

Hillfort Hold

The young widow, Holder Isriea, is in charge of this extremely poor Hold: poorly managed timber stands led to the top slopes being stripped and washed down into the valley, destroying good cropland, something she is still struggling to deal with. She is exceptionally lucky that her aunt is the Lady of High Reaches, as this hold has become famous for the Hillfort racer as well as other endeavours with Wher breeding. As a result, she has focused on this and on breeding herdbeast to maintain their whers. She is reportedly currently in the market for a husband, though reluctant to give up any of the power she has gained. At dinner, Isreia intervened more then once to direct Holder Graegor's attention away from Alrah.

Islander Visitors

Aulani, Nahau, and Morehu are dressed in northern fashions which look a little uncomfortable on them, and are definitely swaddled up - they seem to be feeling the cold more then a little. Their two companions are apparently not well, and are not attending the feast tonight. Aulani is definitely female, but Nahau and Morehu seem to be referred to by Aulani and indeed one another as they - what's meant by this is unclear, and if it's simply a matter of their poor grasp of northern language. At the dinner, they were relatively quiet, listening more then talking - though they have a reasonable grasp of Northern, it's still a little much to expect them to understand everything said.

Igen Hold

The young Lord Soterenen is accompanied by quite a few of his half-siblings, some of whom may have been looking for marriage chances at the same time. One of his brothers has been spotted flirting outrageously with Isriea. It’s uncertain how many of the family exactly there are without consulting records - Lord Sothen was infamously free with his affections and adored children, with many of his bastards brought up in the Hold proper as a large extended family. They are infamously supportive of one another, making Igen an extremely formidable hold to intrigue in… though Soterenen’s liberal leanings have upset the apple cart in the hold more then once. He is also accompanied by Weyrleader Eo’rah and Weyrmistress Xenna, both of whom seem to be enjoying the festivities - and who, in turn, have brought along a handful of their wingleaders.

As part of the marriage settlement, Igen has sent glasscrafters to create a beautiful new window for the Hold. Discussion over the design has been going on for months, but it appears to be finally settled.

High Reaches Hold

Sydi looks radiant, and there are rumours that she might already be pregnant - though that would mean that…? No, can’t be true! Her younger brothers and sisters are almost all here, mostly entertaining their visitors. Tharandir seems to be at his happiest and most relaxed, and he and his Lady seem content simply to watch the celebrations, Sibisk sprawled out by their chairs set up on a dais and Sybi dandling their youngest on on her lap.

- Feel free to go interact with any NPC who is posted. Remember to have a proper attitude to fancy folk, who might have very different reactions based on your character's rank.

- Discrectionary marks may be given out for good roleplaying/participation.

- Have fun!

Aeglentine had been given a ride to the hold by one of the younger riders, S’ol, and was now on the outskirts of a gaggle of the female candidates. She’d gotten permission from Venk to spend the night away from the Weyr with her aunt and uncle, and had already dropped off her overnight bag there.

The beanpole candidate was clearly happy to be here - and looking for a partner for dancing, from the way she was craning her head around, though she seemed a little too shy to approach any of the boys. Her clothes had been clearly rich at one point, but had been carefully re-embroidered and reworked into something a little more fitting to her station.

A'ri was, to put it lightly, thrilled to be attending the wedding. She hadn't sniffed once at her placement at the Lesser Holders' tables - it meant for better conversation in her opinion - and the food was so good and free. Besides, she was proud as punch to be strutting around in fancy clothing, a newly appointed Wingsecond. She was positively stuffed as she wandered around, looking at the stalls, a small bag tucked into a hidden pocket full of what Marks she could scrounge.

Her dress was well made and expensive, accentuating her bosom and flowing enough to hint at the well toned body beneath without revealing very much at all. Her hair fell in waves, curled and pinned into a beautiful coif. She looked more along the lines of a wealthy holder then the sassy Bronzerider she was. She liked surprising people with that.

Munching on a sweet of some sort of glazed nut in a pastry shell that was so tasty she was contemplating stealing a few away, A'ri walked up behind Aeglentine (she'd seen her around doing Candidate things) and grinned, "Sure is a pretty party, isn't it? Have you tried these?" She held out one of the pastries to the woman, smiling, "Have you checked out the stalls yet?"

She rather wanted to go check out those foreigners but... it would be obvious is she went snooping on her own - talking a Candidate into wandering around with her might prove a useful tactic... and maybe inspire the girl to aspire to Fourth Wing. Who knew. It was worth a try!

Vesresh

Cake.

That was the only reason Vesresh had let his sister bring him here. Otherwise, he would have declined and, instead, cowered in the creche with a book, away from all these strange and high class people of the future. He'd never been the best at gathers, and this one was, for obvious reasons, especially intimidating to the boy.

But his sister had insisted and there had been cake.

“Vosin, which were the people who were getting married again?”

Poecai

Poecai herself was dressed well and simply: brown formal wear with a bright blue sash around her waist, to match her dragon.

She smiled and hooked her elbow through Qyprenna's, taking great pride in the responsibility she had towards her friend. “I'll try.” she said, “For now, though, that's all it is. People, walking around, and food – stew and bread and...” she gave Goliath a mental smile, “Cake.”

She looked towards the crowd and squinted, trying to find a way deeper in. “How about we see if we can't get a glimpse of the newlyweds?” she asked, “And some of the proffered food, as well?”

Goliath moaned unhappily. he flopped on his side and lolled unhappily.

she sent to him. He was wonderful – wonderful and sweet.

That idea was satisfactory for Goliath.

Aulani understood maybe one word in three, though the rest were understandable in context. Mostly, she was letting the boy’s chatter wash over her and smiling and nodding. The tall woman was swathed in northern furs, and it was obvious she was feeling the cold. She was pale-skinned - unlike her darker companions - but heavily tanned, her eyes outlined in kohl. Jewellery flashed on her wrists and at her throat where flesh occasionally showed, and she seemed positively weighted down with the stuff. What she did like were these northern weaves - perhaps it would be possible to secure a trading partner here, because she could certainly think of a few people who would buy such stuff, for the novelty if nothing else.

“Caprine? Or…” she searched for the word. It sounded almost right, but wasn’t. “Ovine?”

===

“Do your people dance much?” Syrandir was not having much luck making headway with the two tall men, who seemed to speak very little of anything. He pantomimed weakly, then pointed, feeling - well, awkward. He was absolutely the golden boy, and not at all used to feeling awkward: the twenty-turn old was far, far more used to things simply… arranging themselves for him to look good. How much of this was other people carefully arranging things for him, how much good luck, and how much charisma, was hard to say.

Shaia

Shaia loved parties. She lived for parties. All the people, the food, the gossip -- they were just some of the most fun things that there were. Her wife, on the other hand, was more of a homebody. The masterhealer had tried to get the woman to come along: she was a master of her craft, after all, and thus invited, but Denna would have none of it. She was too busy working on various dresses and uniforms that had been ordered, and thus declined her wife's offer. Her wife needed to get out more, in her opinion, but if she had her mind made, there was no budging her. Denna's work was very important to her, especially if it meant getting things done on time. She did so love to please her customers.

Thus, Shaia was at the party solo, well, almost. Saffron, her bronze firelizard, had decided to accompany her, and that made her feel a little better. For the occasion, Denna had made sure that her wife was dressed in the best that money could by. It was a party for a Holder's daughter, and she needed to look the part, there was no doubt about that. Her dress was quite unique: not only was it a combination of both velvet and silk, but it was hooded as well, and accompanied with long, elegant sleeves. The material of the hood, bodice, the upper part of the sleeves, and the sides of her dress skirt were a pale, beautiful purple. The part that covered her chest, the lower part of the sleeves, the middle of her dress skirt were an elegant white silk. To complete the outfit, a necklace of amethyst and silver adorned her neck, along with earrings to match. If there was one thing that could be said about Shaia, it was that she loved dressing up like a doll for her wife. Not only did she get to show off Denna's work, but she got to walk around in style.

After having attended the private meal beforehand, Shaia went out to mingle with the rest of the partygoers. One group of individuals caught her attention, in particular: the Holder's son, Biran, accompanied by one of the foreign women, who were over by the weaver's stalls. Smiling, the masterhealer made her way over there fluidly, taking in the weavings and wares with great pride. "Beautiful creations, are they not," she said to the pair of them. With a careful eye, she studied the tapestries, blinking some. Denna dabbled in tapestries from time to time, so could this be her work? She wasn't exactly sure. She would have told her if she were selling some of her pieces, surely, so chances are that they weren't. "If you'd ever like to have something made especially for you, ma'am, my wife would be more than happy to oblige. She loves doing custom orders." Her attention then turned to the Holder's son. His name was Biran, was it not? "It's kind of you to show Madame Aulani around, my lord. Very gentlemanly."

Pausing, Shaia then grinned sheepishly and gave the two a polite curtsey. "Where are my manners? I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Shaia, and I'm a masterhealer at High Reaches Weyr, specializing in medicine and herbalism." She then grew quiet again for a moment, to allow the pair of them to take in the information. "My wife, Denna, is a master weaver. She'd have come to the festivities, had she not had important orders to finish. Fond of getting things done early, if possible, my wife is." With that, she figured she had said enough. The last thing she wanted to do was bore anyone, so she turned her attention back to the wares; she could probably spend hours looking at them and taking in all the fine details.