FTW:Region
Region
Contents
Overview
Fort Weyr's coverage area spans varied terrain from the hilly slopes and plateaus of Ruatha in the north to the marshes and flatlands of Southern Boll. While a fair amount of this territory is mountainous, Ruatha, Fort and Southern Boll all have specific crops that need protecting from Thread during a Pass. In an Interval, riders take care of monitoring the weather conditions in the coverage area, provide transporation, message delivery and other important services to the areas that look to Fort Weyr.
Fort Weyr itself is located in the High Range of mountains that form a spine along the western coast of the northern continent. Due to this elevation, the Weyr has slightly cooler and more intense weather than other parts of the region. All four seasons are represented; winters are moderate with a few good snow storms, springs tend to be chilly and wet, summers are quite warm though without the heavy humidity of more tropical areas and falls are often crisp, colorful and given to errant thunderstorms.
Though only two miles away, Fort Hold and the nearby crafthalls are much lower in elevation and have much milder weather. Winters do include snow down in the valley, but it doesn't fall nearly as deeply as it does up at the Weyr and the snowy season is shorter both starting later and ending earlier than in the mountains. Rain and raw conditions are more common to Fort Hold winters than heavy snow and the autumn is long and quite pleasant. Spring is also a very rainy season, though the temperatures rise rapidly at the change of the seasons, making for cool rains early on that yield to warm rains around the time of the big spring gather. Drying out towards the end of month 4 and early month 5, the Hold experiences gorgeous, warm, sunny summers with the peak of the heat and humidity hitting in mid to late month 7 with muggy conditions often lasting well into month 8 before cooling off and drying off in month 9. Thunderstorms roll through regularly during the summer and serve to break the heat.
Ruatha Hold, located north of the Weyr has somewhat colder weather and is known for its runner breeding stock. The Ice Lake above Ruatha is always cold due to its immense depth and is a common visualization training point for Fort's weyrlings.
Southern Boll and the Weaver Hall, on the southernmost tip of the coverage area, have a much more mediterranean climate, with very mild, dry winters and hot, summers that can be dry or humid depending on whether or not a particular area lies within the jungle zone of the peninsula.
Holds
Fort Hold
Ruatha Hold
Southern Boll Hold
Clothing
The Weavercraft
The Fort region boasts of a strong relationship with the weavercraft due to an economy that has a large percentage of its revenue from fiber and cloth production. The main Weaver Hall is located just outside of Southern Boll Hold, but many other small weaver halls are located throughout the Fort area, especially around Fort Hold itself. Fashion forward Fort usually sees all of the newest designs coming from Weaver first and they tend to be 'mass produced' by craftsmen and traders in the Fort region for trade throughout Pern.
Common Materials and Clothing
Wool, cotton, canvas, corduroy, velvet and fine sisal all come out of the fiber producing holds of the Fort-Boll region. All of these materials are common in clothing around Fort Hold and the Weyr. Boll produces large quantities of sisal which is one of Pern's lighter fibers, taking the place of silk, as silk worms did not survive on Pern. Spinnerweb silk is made in Boll, but due to the difficult process of creating more than a few bolts of fabric in spite of the large number of spinners on Pern, spinnersilk is incredibly expensive and very rare and hard to obtain. Typically, three of the few people to ever wear the stuff, are Lady Boll and Lady Fort and sometimes Fort's Weyrwoman should she be fashion-inclined.
Pay Rates
Paid out quarterly with a final payment on Turnover eve, residents and riders may expect a stipend from Fort Weyr to supplement room, board and basic clothing necessities.
Crafters are paid a rank-based salary from their Crafthall per the terms of the contract with the area they are posted to. Crafters also make commissions on any items the make for selling/trade, but are not paid by the Weyr directly for their services.
Likewise, children and the elderly do not get a stipend unless they're fulfilling a job function for the Weyr. Children are not paid for their afternoon chores.
Stipend Table
| RANK | MARKS/per cycle | MARKS/per turn |
| Weyrleaders | 7 marks | 28 marks |
| Junior Weyrwomen, Weyrsecond, Weyrlingmaster | 5 marks | 20 marks |
| Headwoman, Wingleaders | 4.5 marks | 18 marks |
| Wingseconds, Asst. Weyrlingmasters | 4 marks | 16 marks |
| Asst. Headwomen, Wingriders | 3.5 marks | 14 marks |
| Head of Job, ex. Stablemaster, Head Archivist, etc. | 3 marks | 12 marks |
| Residents with Jobs | 2 marks | 8 marks |
| Weyrlings | 1 mark | 4 marks |
| Residents without Jobs | .5 mark | 2 marks |
Holidays
Turnover (13/28 - 1/1)
Most places on Pern have some kind of turnover celebration. Fort Hold is particularly renowned for their large Turnover gather that goes hand-in-hand with a concert series held at Harper Hall. The festivities kick off as early as the week before the last day of the turn with people pouring into the Hold from all parts of Fort's coverage area and beyond. Traders, craftsman, riders, holders, all come together to celebrate the turning over of the year.
Landing (1/28 or 2/1)
Another festival who's meaning is largely lost to time is a smaller celebration and focuses on celebrating the arrival of the Ancients. Again, from where isn't too clear, but that's not really the point. Eat, drink, be merry and sing more of those weird Ancient tunes around a bonfire. This celebration takes place on the last day of the first month or the first day of the 2nd month and corresponds to the colonist's 'Thanksgiving' party at Landing during the first turn of the Colony.
Crossing Day (Last day of Month 4, paired with Firstday at Fort)
Though the meaning of Crossing Day has largely been lost to the mists of time, it's still celebrated across Pern and has a bit more prominence at Fort where traditions of the Ancients' exodus from the South cling, even if the particulars are long-forgotten. It's associated as a celebration of the Ancients' and their journey to Fort though where exactly they were coming from is hazy and speculative. Several very old songs with strange words that don't mean much to contemporary Pernese are common entertainment for Crossing Day. As are foot races and hopping games for children.
Firstday of the Weyr (5/1)
Firstday celebrates the founding of Fort Weyr. Typically an outdoor barbecue-type celebration with a bonfire and a lot of dancing is held along the lake shore at the Weyr. Additionally, several traditional ballads are typically performed by harpers during the early part of the day. Each of these ballads recounts the story of a key part of Fort's history. Always popular is the Ballad of Moreta's ride and the performance and the singer chosen to sing the part of Moreta tend to get a lot of attention.
