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Ye Olde Table of Contents
A List of the Weyrs (During the 8th Pass) -[4000]
A List of the Holds -[5000]
The Crafthalls -[6000]
+-Beastcrafthall -[6010]
+-Farmercrafthall -[6020]
+-Fishercrafthall -[6030]
+-Harpercrafthall -[6040]
+-Healercrafthall -[6050]
++-Medicinal Herbs & Their Uses -[6051]
++-Other Herbs & Their Uses -[6052]
+-Minecrafthall -[6060]
+-Smithcrafthall -[6070]
+-Tannercrafthall -[6080]
+-Weavercrafthall -[6090]
+-Woodcrafthall -[6100]
Pernese Currency – The Mark -[7000]
Time on Pern -[8000]
Fun Extras -[9000]
+-Pernese Music -[9010]
+-Pernese Recipes -[9020]
+-Pernese Maladicta (Curses & Slang Terms) -[9030]

Weyrs of Pern - [4000]

Eldisen Weyr*
Benden Weyr
Telgar Weyr
Southern Weyr
Ista Weyr
Fort Weyr
High Reaches Weyr
Monaco Bay Weyr

A List of the Major Holds -[5000]
Benden Hold
Bitra Hold
Crom Hold
Fort Hold
High Reaches Hold
Igen Hold
Ista Hold
Keroon Hold
Lemos Hold
Nabol Hold
Nerat Hold
Ruatha Hold
Southern Boll Hold
Telgar Hold
Half Circle Sea Hold
Eldisen Hold*

*Roleplay Holds and Weyrs

The Crafthalls -[6000]

The following is a list of all of the Crafthalls of Pern that are in existence during the 8th Pass. Each item will contain a small description of the basics of each Craft and any other important notes.

Beastcrafthall -[6010]


The Beastcrafthall is the Pernese Craft that takes care of any and all things having to do with domestic beasts of all kinds (minus dragons, firelizards, and watch whers) which include, runnerbeasts, bovines (cattle), llamas, porcines (pigs), caprines (goats), ovines (sheep), canines (dogs), domestic wherries, chickens, and geese.

The Masterherder watches over breed propagation in many ways, such as keeping track of the best bloodlines, and taking care of the best stud beasts and breeding dams. His ultimate goal is to breed stronger animals with the best suited attributes for their uses and locations.

When breeding, natural methods are used as well as Artificial Insemination, which is a surviving skill from the original colonists. Though, embryo transplanting has long been lost.

Another job of the Beastcrafthall is to prevent holders from creating monstrosities. The craft will step in to prevent over breeding and will highly encourage the cultivation of appropriate breeds. A female runnerbeast will not easily produce a plow animal.


Farmercrafthall -[6020]

The Farmercrafthall oversees all things having to do with agriculture. The craft is highly aware of the advantageous effects of cross-pollination and the need of fertilization. The Masterfarmer will usually negotiate with Nerat fisherman for fish heads and bones which create a high quality compost.

The journeymen of this craft travel through the farmlands. Their job is to advise holders on appropriate soil condition, keeping soil healthy, suggest the best planting places to produce the biggest yield, as well as acting as arbiters on when to plant certain crops. Many small cotholders disregard these suggestions as a matter of pride, but usually common sense will win out.

Because bees did not survive the transition to Pern, other pollinators had to be employed. Of these, the native Pernese Trundlebug, a flightless black beetle, is the chief pollinator. Several other flying insects also scatter pollen, and thusly, the Farmcraft had to develop a substitute for plastic sheeting that allows a plant to develop without letting pollinators near them. Also, because of the lack of bees, honey does not exist on Pern. Instead, vegetable sweetening had to be employed.


Fishercrafthall -[6030]

The Fishercrafthall is primarily based in Tillek. The Masterfisher has under him Master Captains and Mastercraftsmen, and under them are the captains. The captains rate their journeymen seamen according to Terran tradition: seamen, able-bodied, second mate, first mate. The basic apprentices will do most of the trivial hard work, which includes acting as cabin boys and lure tiers.

Ships are most commonly built by the men who will sail them. In this way, the crew will know every spar, every ring, and every board of the ship, and this will, in turn, save precious sevendays that would otherwise have been spent learning the new ship and her quirks. It also ensures that the men do a good job, as their lives will depend on their craftsmanship. The wood for these crafts is carefully chosen from available stores. All out fittings for a new ship are made custom for each by sailmakers, sheet makers, and chandlers, who also often replace goods on existing crafts. The tar and pitch for these endeavors usually come from Tillek’s or nearby High Reaches’ conifer forests.

Dolphins, or shipfish, are considered good luck if they are seen accompanying a ship out of harbor. They have lost contact with the humans, resulting from the death of the original dolphineers far in the past. The dolphins will occasionally help becalmed or wrecked seamen. They also speak the language of the original colonists, and due to lingual shifts, the people of Pern cannot fully understand them.


Harpercrafthall -[6040]

The Harpercraft is based only in Fort Hold. There are no other official Crafthalls in any other hold. The harpercraft is one of the most, if not the most important craft on all of Pern. It not only holds the responsibilities of simple education and entertainment, but also the grand responsibility of preserving the history of Pern itself.

This craft started out as a rather small one, but eventually became the propaganda point and communication center for all Pern. It has morphed into the clearing point for all information on the planet, responsible for the job of sorting out rumor from real news.

From humble beginnings as the teachers of basic instruction for children and the musicians who entertained at the end of the day, the Craft evolved in a similar direction to the druidic tradition on ancient Earth: prognosticator, judge, and bard.


Healercrafthall -[6050]

This craft is one of the oldest on Pern. Quick attention was put into it when the colonists settled. All children are trained in the basic first aid, such as how to care for cuts and scrapes, and to know what herbs do what. If a child shows particular aptitude for the healing arts, he is encouraged to go into further study.

The Masterhealer administers the Healer Hall. Under him are Masters of all different disciplines of healing. Along with overseeing all of his subordinates, the Masterhealer also oversees all of the stewards who are in charge of stocking medicinal herbs and other supplies, keeping the Hall clean, and preparing food.

The Masterhealer also has another assistant, the Nursing Master. This person is a nurse with great teaching skill and administrative ability. There are doctors and nurses and apprentices of many healing disciplines. These include diagnostics, pediatrics, geriatrics, obstetrics, urology, pharmacy, dentistry, surgery, and respiratory ailments. A gifted person will become a specialist master in one of these areas of the Craft.

Not all healers will do this however, especially those going to remote holds. These men and woman will instead become general practitioners so they may treat a wide range of ailments.

There are also Dragonhealers in all the weyrs. These people are more specialized in the healing of the dragons. They will usually have a basic knowledge of the basic pernese surgery (very simple), as well as complete knowledge of dragon anatomy, as it differs quite much from humans. One example of this is that the blood of dragons is a grey-green color, due to their copper based bodies.

Medicinal Herbs & Their Uses-[6051]


Numbweed
Very early on, it was noticed that injured firelizards bruised the leaves of a twiggy, sagelike shrub with their snouts or claws and rubbed their wounds against the sap that oozed out of the plump, sagittate leaves. Touching the sap caused total numbness at the contact site. The colonists quickly learned to imitate their firelizards and use the sap to deaden the pan of Threadscore. The gray-green plants sprout tufts of blossoms like statice, and grow in plenty in jungle areas.

Fellis
Fellis trees are branchy and small and have easily recognizable yellow blossoms with pointed petals. They juice boiled from the leaves and stems is a narcotic painkiller. An herb that commonly grows nearby is used as a cure for the addiction that can result from the constant use of Fellis, but the healers are aware of the tendency and keep an eye open for overdosing.

Redwort
Redwort grows in clumps low to the ground. The thick stem has reddish veins running through it and produces flat-topped purple or rose flowers. This clean-smelling herb is used as an antiseptic wash and protects the skin from being affected by numbweed salve. Redwort wash leaves a characteristic red stain on the skin.

Needlethorn
This succulent bush will shoot its hollow, toxic spines at anything that disturbs it during its growing season. When the flowers of the Ging tree open (needlethorn and ging are always found growing together), the plant has fallen into its dormant stage, and the needles can be gathered without danger. The barbless needles are strong enough to be used with a syringe for giving the intravenous and subcutaneous injections or for drawing blood.

Mosseta
An herb used to pack wounds against infection. It can also be infused to make a soothing tea.

Citron
A citrus fruit that contains vitamin C.

Barley
This cereal grain can also be brewed as a tea to combat the symptoms of cystitis (bladder infection), which is a common complaint of female Dragonriders.

Other Herbs & Their Uses -[6052]
Painkillers: red willow salic, meadowsweet
Antiseptic: aconite, whitethorn, Adonis, glovecap, hops
Antispasmodic: parsley, basil
Burns: aloe, dragon’s tongue (Pern aloe), comfrey, cucumber, witch hazel
Cough medicine: tussilago, comfrey, hyssop, thymus, barrago
Diaphoretic: box, ezob
Diuretic: ash bark
Febrifuge: sweatroot, spearleek, whitebulb
Tonic: featherfern, nettleweed, tansy
Minecrafthall -[6060]


The Minecraft is based in Crom mainly, with smaller crafthalls spread out across Pern. The mines at Crom produce firestone, blackstone, and sapphires.

The Minecrafthall has an ongoing rivalry with the Farmercrafthall for lands. The miners want to mine it, and the farmers want to farm it. A Masterminer must harbor both skills of the excavation and shaping of minerals, but also have the knowledge of the ecology of the land. The Minecraft is considered to be honest, reliable, and discreet.

The Minecraft has a close relationship with the Smithcraft. In exchange for the ores and minerals mined, the Smithcraft will trade newer, stronger, and more efficient tools. Not only must the Masterminer be the premier in his craft, he must also be able to coordinate in perfect harmony with the Mastersmith.

Firelizards are of great help in this Craft, as well. They act as great messengers from the mines to the Masterminer. They also have keen senses that can easily detect possibly fatal gas leaks inside the mines themselves. They are also invaluable as tunnel snake hunters.

As with other crafts, the Minecraft has areas of specialty. A miner may choose to mine only blackstone, or ore, as well as liquid minerals, such as rock oil and natural gas. Even gemstone mining is an area of great expertise, as it takes deft hands to pluck the crystals out of the rocky matrix intact. The Minecraft also trains its people in the skills of geology, petrography, lapidary, spelunking, and mountain climbing, which are all incredibly useful to this Craft.


Smithcrafthall -[6070]

The Smithcraft is one of the most progressive Crafts on all of Pern. The techniques used are constantly in flux with new technology to create the best and fastest with the most sparing use of precious raw materials.

The Smithcraft contains a number of occupations. Minecraft masons may build a stone building, but it is the Smithcraft men who analyze the stress levels of the stone and foundations. Some Smithcrafters focus mainly on practical metalwork, while others focus on fancy metal crafting for jewelry and ornate decorations.

The Glasscraft and Woodcraft are offshoots of the Smithcraft. Journeymen in the Smithcraft who are interested in glassworking will be immersed in everything from ceramics to lead crystal to porcelain. This branch practices glassblowing techniques that create items such as flasks and bottles, as well as windowpanes and decorative stained glass.


Tannercrafthall -[6080]

The Tannercraft is a very wide Craft. Its main Hall in Igen teaches the basics of tannery to any person interested. It is one of the most active craft schools for nonapprentices, due to the fact that the applications and needs for cured hides and leatherworkings are many.

The Tannercraft itself, however, is not as important as some of the other Crafts on Pern. Like the winecraft, tanning is considered a Hold Craft. The rudiments are easily learned and passed on. In order to combat this, however, the Tannercraftmasters always reserve special craft secrets, such as special processes and chemicals, techniques, and compounds to make finer leathers.

The Tannercrafthall will often send specialists to various well-know beast holds to examine the hides they have collected over the winter. This specialist will provide certification of quality hides so they may be sold for higher prices at Gathers. Every person on Pern knows if a hide bears the seal of the Tannercrafthall it is of high quality, was processed correctly, and will not rot.


Weavercrafthall -[6090]

This Craft, as a whole, encompasses both the Weavercraft and Tailorcraft. The Weavercrafthall is based mainly in Southern Boll Hold, where the primary crop is cotton, sisal, and flax. These fibrous plants are used to create the threads the weavers use constantly. Flax creates a crisp, elegant cloth that is very durable, but difficult to smooth. Sisal, when beaten and pulped, can be formed into a very silky fabric which is very easy to print or dye and is perfect for hot weather. Cotton is a very soft fabric that holds heat well and absorbs moisture.

Since the Weavercrafthall itself cannot supply all of Pern with enough fabric, Holds always have their own hand looms, crochet hooks, spindles and shuttles. Holders will often spend their evenings creating threads or weaving.

The Weavercrafthall will often dye threads after there are created. Gaudy colors are usually used, since they are favorites among the people of Pern. =)


Woodcrafthall -[6100]

The Woodcrafthall is based in Lemos Hold. Wood itself has been in scarce supply all throughout the history of Pern. Because of Thread, there are very few trees and absolutely no native hardwoods, besides the enormous Sky Brooms. The Oaks brought by the colonists themselves are the only others, but they are few and far between.

Wooden Furniture is a mark of wealth in Pern. Popular wooden items include upholstered chairs and settees, chairs made with leather slings, pigeonhole desks, and canopy beds. Imagination is a great factor when determining the style of a piece of woodwork.

Lemos and Bitra Holds ship wood to the Harper Hall for use in instrument making, as well as to the Smithcrafthall for use as tool handles. The Crafthall also supplies all of the blanks for marks, as well as creating many varieties of varnishes and oils to take care of wood, and dyes and stains for tinting it. This Craft is very young, as the Pernese are only now rediscovering its uses.


Pernese Currency – The Mark -[7000]

Since many are confused about how much a mark is actually worth, here is some information for you:

One Mark Will Buy You:
A Plain leather belt with bronze buckle
A Full Sack of Fine-milled pastry flour
Sixteen small (1-pound) loaves of bread
Half sack of sweetening
192 bubbly pies (OMG :3)
Two sacks of nuts in the shell
A plain shirt
A child's frock
A small knife
One young ovine
Four Fowl
A keg of ale
Two bottles of wine (undistinguished vintage)
A pair of moccasins
A hand-sized hardwood box with hinges & hasp
An apprentice-made pipe
Two sacks of Cromcoal
A whetstone
A graduated-bead necklace, agate or quartz
A bangle bracelet of Jade
1/8 of a bovine herdbeast
Background info: The usual method of exchanging goods or services is barter. A man will trade his skill or merchandize for that of another, usually at a Gather. Gathers, Hold-sponsored fairs, are held as frequently as once every seven days in major Holds, or as infrequently as two to three times a Turn in smaller, more isolated holds.

The unit of monetary exchange is the mark. These are disks made of wood, supplied as blanks by Lemos Hold and stamped with special dyes that denote value and source. The value of the mark fluctuates with supply of barterable goods. After a bad harvest, a mark is worth more because the goods it represents are harder to obtain; after a good harvest, the situation is reversed. This fiscal autonomy is set by a group of traders, Craftmasters, and Lord Holders that meet every year at harvest time to fix what a mark will buy for the next Turn. In a good Turn, an ornamental belt will cost two marks.

Each major Hall and Hold has its own die stamps for impressing marks. The denominations are 1/32 of a mark, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 5, 10 marks, and a few 100 mark pieces for very large transactions. For fractional marks, onl one number is stamped on the blank. A horizontal line above the number shows that it is worth less than one mark. If the line is below the number, the piece is worth that number of whole marks. The designs on marks are very complex and hard to duplicate without the correct tools, which the Smithcraft provides. An imperfection is consciously added to every printing to make them even harder to counterfeit.

Only so many marks are issued per Turn, to balance the supply of goods or to replace old, worn-out mark pieces.

Musical instruments sell for prices from two marks and up. Runnerbeasts can be had from nine marks up, and their riding gear from three-marks for used leathers, to more than twelve for custom gear fit for a Lord Holder's steed.


Time on Pern -[8000]

KEY: Item in Earth terms= What it's called = it's timespan


1 Day = Day = a little over 24 hours

1 Week = Sevenday = 7 days

1 Month = Month = approximately 4 sevendays

1 Year = Turn = 52 sevendays plus 2 extra days


Altogether, a single turn is made up of 366 days, or 52 sevendays, with a leap year every 6th year.

The two extra days on the end of each turn are called Turn's End and Turn's Beginning, respectively. These two days are marked with special celebrations by the Harper Hall.


Fun Extras -[9000]

Pernese Music -[9010]

Music on Pern is incredibly important. Not only is it used to entertain, it is used to teach the children everything they need to know as youngsters. (see Harpercrafthall)

Click here for downloadable songs from the Masterharper of Pern CD


Pernese Recipes -[9020]


The Earth equivalents to Pernese delicacies, compliments of the Dragonlover's Guide to Pern.

Hearty Herdbeast Stew

For tastiest results, use either the meat of mature bovine or young ovine. If using bovine, the meat can be either raw or roasted rare to medium rare. To serve four, assemble the following ingredients.

1 to 1 1/2 pounds herdbeast, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 garlic clove (if desired)
1/2 large onion, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pound peeled tomatoes (or 1 16-ounce can of tomatoes in their own juice)
2 cups water
4 small or 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2-4 carrots, sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced into 1-inch pieces
bay leaf
1 cup corn kernels or baby corn cut into 1-inch pieces, drained
salt
pepper
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard or cracked mustard seeds
garlic salt
parsley

Dredge the pieces of meat in flour. Melt the butter in a saucepan. When bubbly, add the meat. Brown the pieces on all sides. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Add the onion and garlic; cook until transparent. Add tomatoes and two cups of water. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon. Add potatoes, bay leaf, carrots and celery. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, reduce to a simmer, and let cook for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn, spices to taste. Bring the stew to a boil again, cover, and return to simmer. Cook for 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until corn, potatoes and meat are all tender. Uncover and cook for 15 or so minutes until stew is slightly thickened.


Klah

Mix together:

2 tablespoons sweet ground chocolate
1/2 cup dark cocoa
3/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon dark instant coffee crystals, ground to powder
small pinch of nutmeg

Use two to four teaspoons of the mixture per cup of boiling water. Stir well. The Klah should be thick, much like hot chocolate.


Bubbly Pies

Every Hold has its own special method for making bubbly pies. The traditional fruit used in this special dessert is Terran blueberries, though any berry can be substituted. This recipe makes half a dozen dessert-sized pies or a dozen hand-sized snacks.

Crust

1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 tablespoons granulated sweetening (they mean sugar)
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ice water

Cut the butter into chunks. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Work the butter gently into the dry mixture with a fork until pieces the size of peas form. Sprinkle the water over and work it in. (So not overwork the dough.) Form the dough into a ball.

Filling

5 cups blueberries (or one 20-oz package, frozen)
1 cup granulated sweetening
1/4 teaspoon powdered klah bark (cinnamon)
2 teaspoons citrus juice
1-2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Gently toss berries with sweetening and klah bark in a large bowl. Sprinkle citrus juice over the mixture. Spoon berries into crust and dot with butter.

For Six Tarts:
1 crust recipe
1 filling recipe

Divide the ball into two pieces. Work with one at a time. Form each into a ball and press out into a circle. Divide each circle into six. Roll each piece into a ball. Flatten to 1/8-inch, cut into 5-inch circles, and fit six into the tart pans. Fill with berry mixture. Moisten the edge of each tart and top with second circle of dough. Seal and flute edges. Cut slits in the top of each tart with a knife. Cover edge of each tart with foil. Back at 375' for ten minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 8-12 minutes more, or until crust is golden brown. Serve hot.

For Twelve Gather-Pies:
1 crust recipe
1/2 filling recipe
1 beaten egg

Roll out dough on a floured surface to a 1/8-inch thickness. Using a three-inch cookie cutter, cut out 24 circles. Lay out twelve on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Divide filling among the circles, spooning approximately 2-3 tablespoons into the center of each, leaving a 1/4 inch border. Brush the border with egg. Lay the second circle on top of each pie, and press edges together with a fork all the way around. (Stretch the top crust gently to fit if necessary.) If desired, mix together 1/4 cup water with 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sweetening; brush top of each pie with mixture for a sugary glaze. WIth a knife, cut three or four short slits in the top of each pie. Bake at 400' for 20-25 minutes, until crust is golden. Slide gently off cookie sheet with spatula. Serve hot.


Pernese Maladicta (Curses & Slang Terms) -[9030]

A dragon among the wherries - a cat among the pigeons.

All gas and ash - a braggart or blowhard.

Bend a tail - defecate.

By all that's holy - (see 'Jays' for explanation)

By heaven - heaven meaning the sky (see 'Jays' for explanation)

By the first shell - like 'by God.'

Chew it raw and swallow - accepting the inevitable.

Crackdust - see shards.

Go for a blow - from dolphineering, roughly equivalent to 'go soak your head.'

Has a dragon's two stomachs - having an endless appetite.

Hatching fire-lizards - building castles in the air.

He/She was born under the Red Star - someone disliked or generally unlucky.

Jays - developed from word 'Jesus', they still use it though they don't know what it means.

Like trying to draw an inside straight in Bitra - an impossibility.

Shaffit! - expressing irritation.

Shards - expletives indicating annoyance and disbelief.

Smokeless weyrling - a failure, useless.

Son of a Bitran - a cheat, con artist, scammer, generally a term for the disliked.

Tail fork first - backward.

That's well dusted - it's nasty or unpleasant.

Through Fog, Fall and Fire - no matter what happens.

Wherry hunt - wild goose chase, a fruitless, foolish quest.

Wherry teeth - nonsense.


[SIZE=7]The Dragonriders of Pern, The World of Pern, and the characters and places of Pern are © Anne McCaffrey 1968-2007