[COUNCIL] Keep Your Friends Close

[Arcane]

It was one of those perfect summer twilights where the sky seemed to stretch forever and the air tasted clear as starlight. But instead of enjoying the night, six of High Reaches' finest were gathered inside, to chart the weyr's course into the future.

"Before we can discuss any other business," Weyrleader Jae said, bluntly, as she gaveled open their meeting, "We must address the fact we are out of room. There are no more storerooms to convert. Some weyrfolk are sleeping four or five to a chamber. This cannot go on much longer."

Something had to change. She'd brainstormed a few possible suggestions the evening before, but all presented their difficulties. She looked to her colleagues, wondering if any of them had a neater solution to the matter.

"The weyr has entrusted us with its leadership. We all bring unique perspectives to this challenge. I have every faith in our ability to find relief- because there is no other option. If we fail- before long- our proud weyr will soon have people sleeping in the weyrbowl, for want of a proper bed."

[Dragon]

Melosa was already well aware that they were out of room. She knew the creche was crowded, and she'd seen the storeroom halls filled with blankets while they tried to find places for everyone to sleep.

"Converting the storerooms is its own problem," she put in. "We need storerooms." That was if they had anything to store; she'd heard a rumor, although she didn't know how much stock to put in it, that some of the food stores were dangerously low ...

In the long term, they could expand the Weyr. It wasn't like it had never been done before, after all. But in the short term ... well, they had more people than space, and not everyone was even contributing yet.

"Do we know if any of the former holdless have skills that are useful to the Weyr?" she asked. "It won't exactly help with crowding - but the more of them we can put to work, the less inclined other residents will be to resent their presence."

[nineofswords]

Flightleader Diamond of Garnet Hyliath

"Most of the former holdless I've interacted with are skilled hunters," Diamond said in response to Melosa's question. "Mostly out of necessity. But their experience is in hunting for themselves, not filling a Weyr-sized larder. Besides, we can always have whers and dragons suppliment our hunting needs." She sighed. "Unfortunately, I don't think the holdless have skills that could be converted to a large-scale environment anytime soon. We could have them educated in crafts that would be helpful, but that doesn't solve the housing situation."

She nibbled at the nail on her thumb. "Housing people in the Weyrbowl could be an option, but come winter it won't be particularly comfortable. We need to decide something before the weather turns, I think." After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Could we construct huts for the holdless outside of Weyr's walls? It'd give them privacy, a place to live, and the protection of the Weyr without straining our limited space."

---

Junior Wherleader Maritza of Garnet Arisk

Maritza slammed a hand down on the table. "The answer here should be obvious," she snapped, annoyed that she was the one having to say it. "We should throw the holdless out. They're criminals, who have already proved once that they cannot be trusted amongst their peers. Why should we suffer to give them our limited resources?"

Arisk was not in the council chambers, not wanting to crowd things, but she was near at hand, and she was paying attention to the meeting, listening through Maritza's ears. She winced at this, knowing it would not go over well with the rest of the council, and it seemed cruel given that many of the holdless had already gotten used to this place. She projected her thoughts into the council chamber, wanting to smooth things over. Sorry for interrupt, she called, Maritza mean well with suggestion. Maybe can ask holdless to leave in summer, and come back when cold? Give time to fix space problem.

Arisk! That was wholly inappropriate! Maritza snapped at her silently. She let out an annoyed huff. "I apologize for her, I've chided her appropriately," the handler said. "Regardless, if you all persist in insisting that the holdless remain here, perhaps we can have the candidates and weyrlings bunk with riders. They can get a sense of the day-to-day habits of riders that way, and we can convert their quarters into temperary lodgings." She glared around the table. "But for the record, I think that's much worse idea than just kicking out the holdless!"

[EW-NA]

Junior Flightleader Lau'ren of Blue Cedrateth
--

Back to the grindstone once again, it seemed. Atleast that's how it felt to Lau'ren. Once more he'd been granted the honor of a seat on Council, though now there was only one familiar face to him this season. Part of him wondered if the reason for that was, in some way, connected to the important matter in need of discussion currently.

For the most part, many of his fellow Council members were approaching the topic with a level mindset – focusing on solutions. One was not so level, as the sudden slam of the Junior Wherleader's hand drew his gaze. He had to bite down the rebuttal that was right on the tip of his tongue. It was too early to be snapping at eachother for differing opinions. And frankly, Lau'ren felt to hold some responsibility for the trouble High Reaches was in, or was threatening to be in.

Thankfully, Maritza was placated enough by Arisk's interjection. It was enough that the discussion could be moved passed without an argument starting.... yet.

Taking initiative, Lau'ren cleared his throat politely before offering his own thoughts. “Whether they leave in summer or winter, life outside the Weyr will be a hardship no matter the season. Unfortunately, even if the Holdless did agree for a temporary resettlement, I fear we'd still face a similar problem. We wouldn't be able to predict how many would come back – assuredly more. We'd forever be trying to drain an ever filling boat, without dealing with the hole.”

The Junior Flightleader had been racking his brain for hours on solutions for their conundrum. Surely there was something to be done – something more than chasing away the people they had agreed to help.

“Has a Weyr never faced such a problem before?” he asked generally. “Perhaps not with a matter of Holdless, but surely a Weyr at some point has had an overcrowding issue. There must be a record somewhere... Perhaps during Intervals passed. Surely there must be some way a Weyr can expand itself when there's a need for it. It's not as if we leave our home to its own natural devices. If repairs are required, we send experts to handle the matter. There must be a way to get more use of our space other than simply bunking weyrfolk and candidates.”

[FirebrandPhlox]

Raev carefully scanned over the other members of the council. Most of the faces were unfamiliar, and the few she did recognize, she know from past arguments that she didn't trust them to have reasonable suggestions. Maritza was immediately coming out swinging, calling for the holdless to be kicked back out.

"We can't kick them out," she said, glaring at Maritza. "They are still deserving of protection and shelter, and a chance to be rehabilitated." She already knew the other handler thought poorly of the holdless, so it was no surprise she would immediately suggest throwing them out. Raev wasn't particularly fond of them either, but she swore to protect Pern, and that included the criminals and unsavory individuals of the world too.

She turned her attention back to the council at large. "Has anyone called for miners to do a survey of the weyr's geology? Are there areas where we could dig new tunnels to expand on the existing structure of the weyr? If there are, we could excavate. We could have the holdless assist with the labor, give them a chance to reintegrate and be involved with building their new homes." She wasn't sure how good of a suggestion it was, if the rock of the weyr was too tough for them to dig through. But if it was possible, it would keep the holdless within the weyr where they could continue to be monitored and gradually brought back into civilized society.

[Arcane]

Weyrleader Jae of Blue Zappath

Jae nodded to each idea, noting them down. This Council seemed a pragmatic bunch, with some good, workable suggestions. Between the lot of them- she could see the beginnings of an outline of a plan.

"We should certainly ask what skills our guests have- and suggest the sort of things that they might already know, in case they don't realize how they could be of use. I do also like the idea of a training program," Jae said to Melosa and Diamond, "Both for the holdless and for holders seeking to remain here long-term. I am sure many are willing and able to learn how to fill needed roles in the weyr. We can have the Harpers provide some basic education in literacy and numbers and seek volunteers to teach more specialized skills. We successfully offer this sort of training to every candidate- who come from across Pern, from many backgrounds. I don't see why we shouldn't extend the invitation to those who know they will never sit on dragonback. Even if it doesn't solve the immediate problem of space- treating them as an asset instead of a burden can help quell resentments and integrate them more fully into the community."

She wrote down an outline of the proposal, for the council to consider and review, before turning back to the more immediate problem of housing.

"Bunking candidates and weyrlings with riders would be too much of a distraction long term, given the demands of their respective schedules," Jae began with Maritza's proposal, "But it might be wise to allow it in shorter intervals, with the permission of their instructors, to give them a better sense of what a rider's day looks like. Especially for the candidates, who can yet choose a different path."

More information was good, both for the weyrborn, who might choose candidacy by default, and for the holders, who likely knew little of the reality a rider's life.

"As for a more long-term solution," Jae continued, "I think Diamond, Lau'ren and Raev's suggestions all have merit. Huts can be erected quickly and provide temporary shelter, while we explore the potential of expanding the weyr. I agree that it is time for High Reaches Weyr to grow. How these caverns were first constructed has been long lost to the mists of history, but perhaps our harpers and scribes can find echoes in our records or the miner's of today can guide us on new ways to safely build. Raev, Maritza- I believe your whers and their handlers could be of great help in this project. Miners have relied on their aid for generations and the Semacans speak highly of their abilities in their own construction projects. While our wherhandlers- unlike the southerners- must be devoted first to fighting thread, I think we could spare a small, rotating contingent, to help dig and scout and carry what humans cannot."