Post by Kit on Apr 25, 2010 2:54:57 GMT -5
Crafters
People who worked in skilled trades on Pern are usually a Crafter, meaning, they belong to a Crafthall. About a third of the population of Pern are crafters.
Structure
The craft system on the Southern Continent is unlike the craft system of the past. Except for the Fishercraft, there is no real separate Hall for each craft, for that gives the weyr too much area to cover. All the crafts are instead housed at the Craft Complex, a huge structure north of the Weyr, on a large tract of land. There you will find beastholds, fields, looms, infirmaries, and workshops and classrooms of all kinds. To become a crafter, one usually begins at age twelve, as an apprentice, then graduates to journeyman, passing through jr. and sr. levels and then one may eventually become a master. The details of how and when those levels are attained are specific to each craft. The Craft Complex is presided over jointly by the craftmasters.
Harpers
The harpers are one of the most respected of the crafts and the Harper Hall is actually responsible for teaching everyone on Pern the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic, history, etiquette, and of course, music. Usually, everyone on Pern can at least play the drums well enough to keep a beat. Harpers can specialize in many fields including: Singing, Composing, Instrument Making, Teaching, Scribing, and even the art of espionage. Runners also receive their preliminary training at Harper Hall.
An apprenticeship as a harper often begins in the home hold, under the resident journeyman. The journeyman (or woman) is responsible for teaching all the hold's young, but those with special abilities will receive special training. If the journeyman finds a youngster of special talent, they will petition the Hall to take over their training at age twelve. Also, if the family thinks one of their children has the makings of a Harper, they can journey to the Hall and have the child tested by the Masterharper.
An apprentice's life at any crafthall is very structured, they attend classes most of the day and do chores. In the Harper craft, one can walk the tables as a journeyman as young as sixteen. Once journeyman status is attained, the harper will be posted to one of the smaller holds to teach for a year and then will return to Harper Hall for more training, repeating this cycles as many times as needed until judged ready to advance to sr. journeyman status. Sr. journeyman often are posted to larger holds or the might remain at the hall to learn more in their specialized craft. One has to be at least 30 to attain Mastery and it requires a lot of study, perhaps equivalent to a PhD thesis.
Things like dancing, tumbling, drawing and painting are also taught at the hall, but they are not considered official crafts, they do not have any apprentices or masters.
Healers
The Healing craft is highly structured and respected. Young people wishing to be Healers must present themselves at the Hall to be tested. Healer's apprentices are tested for things like compassion, quick decision making, cool heads under stress, steady hands and a good memory. Apprentices can be as young as twelve, but the craft will accept apprentices as old as sixteen if they pass the entrance tests. Healers apprentices also spend much of their days in classes and their nights doing chores, at least at first. Once they progress in their training, they may accompany journeyman who are treating patients. The minimum age to become a journeyman is eighteen , for those who begin at age twelve and sr. journeyman are usually no younger than thirty. Master are usually in their mid-forties, having achieved a breakthrough in their area of expertise.
A Healer can specialize in Obstetrics (midwifery), Surgery, Trauma, Pharmacology (Herbal remedies), (Epidemiology (infectious disease) or MindHealing (psychological counseling) and there are also general healers that usually are posted at the Holds. Journeyman also receive outside postings, usually under a master or an older journeyman. The larger the Hold, the more Healers that are there, though usually there is only one who lives at the Hold full time. The Weyr has a large staff of healers, at least one each for Obstetrics, Surgery, and Trauma, and one or two MindHealers.
Dragonhealers
These crafters often get their start in the weyr, beginning as a child raised in the weyr creche with a passion for dragons and a knack for healing. They often train for some time under the Weyr's own dragonhealer before being sent to the Dragonhealer hall, a sort of annex to Healer Hall where they undergo the same entrance exams. Dragonhealer apprenticeships are usually short and intense, ending at age sixteen followed by immediate posting to the weyr. Therefore, only the most dedicated become dragonhealers. The reasoning for the short apprenticeship is that the weyr wishes for dragonhealers to Impress dragons, if possible. Though it puts a vital craft in harms way, it also gives the dragonhealer a window into the draconic mind they would not otherwise have. Of course, there are always some dragonhealers who do not Impress, or who whose dragons die. These become teachers at the Hall. An unImpressed dragonhealer usually attains their mastery at about age thirty-five.
Smiths
The Smithcraft has the longest apprenticeship of any of the craft. Parents of bright, curious and dedicated children usually bring them to the Hall at age twelve. The smithcraft will take anyone, for there are many jobs to be done. Smith's can specialize in many fields: Metalworking, gemsmithing, machinists, architects, chemists, engineers, and explosive detonations to name a few. Apprentices do not have such a structured existence in the Smithcrafthall, they take a few general classes and then begin to gravitate towards the projects that interest them, and they work with journeyman and masters on tasks of increasing complexity. A smith does not become a journeyman until age 20. Smiths with metalworking, machinist, or gemsithing specialties may be posted at a hold, but most remain at the Hall for the rest of their lives. Smiths do not become masters until their mid-forties and for some specialties, fifty is more common.
Woodcarvers and Glassmiths: Outshoots of the Smithcraft
The crafts of woodcarving and glassmaking are both loosely affiliated to the Smithcraft and there is a lot of movement of apprentices and journeyman between them. the glassmaking craft is an old one, but the woodcarver craft was relatively young, just in its infancy when Nova began. Both generally get their apprentices from the Smithcrafthall, though of course, some children will come to these crafts directly.
Woodcarvers are responsible for making all wooden objects. They produce all the wooden furniture, tools, and utensils as well as some decorative carvings. This craft has grown exponentially in the last Interval, the grubs of the Southern Continent allowing great stands of trees to flourish. Apprentices learn the basic of carving and cabinetry at age twelve and they become journeyman about age sixteen. From their they specialize, picking any one of a number of fields including Foresty (logging), Cabinetry (furniture making), or small carving. They generally stick to their craft the whole way, with a high percentage attaining at least sr. jounrneyman status. Masters are generally thirty-five or above.
Glassmithing is a dangerous art. Very few apprentices come to this craft, those that do generally start out as glassblowers, making simple objects such as bottles, under the eye of an experienced journeyman. Once they attain journeyman status, they will either go out to South Sands Hold and learn to collect the right kinds of glass making silica or they will stay at the hall and learn to make more complex objects. They often get the job of making flying goggles for dragonriders, an important but tedious tasks. The higher they progress in their craft, the more artistic they generally become. Masters usually do the most creative works, using specially tinted glass to create beautiful goblets and vases as well as complex stained glass window, which are rare.
Miners
Mining is one of the most crucial and most dangerous jobs on Pern, besides dragonriding. The apprentices to the Miner's craft are usually the children of miners themselves, and are usually boys. There are not many classes for apprentice miners and their apprenticeship is short, ending as soon as they become strong enough to do the work. Most training is on the job experience. Miners sometimes specialize in the kinds of things they mine, firestone, metal, or gems, for example, but most are generalists. The most important training a miner receives is in safety. Otherwise, the work is very hard, and many young miners leave for better opportunities in holds. Wherhandlers work closely with miners, for a mine is a place where watch whers are extremely effective, not only for hauling, but for smelling signs of bad air or impending explosions. When one attains mastery in the Minercraft, not before age thirty, one usually is an expert in all kinds of geology and spends a lot of time doing research. Many Miners try for their mastery, hoping to be freed from the backbreaking labor of mining, but most fail.
Farmcrafters
This craft doesn't get much publicity, but they are, arguably, one of the most important crafts on Pern. This craft oversees the Holds growing of crops, grains, trees, fruit, vegetables, you name it. They try to find the best conditions to grow each crop, they come up with new fertilizers and pesticides and they document and combat the spread of plant diseases.
Apprentices to the farmcraft usually come from holds, where they have demonstrated a skill with and love of plants. They are usually sent to the Hall by their Holder in hopes that they will return and the Hold will profits by their expertise. They usually being at age twelve, but few progress beyond the rank of jr. journeyman, attained usually at sixteen, for they often return to their hold, preferring the simple life of tilling the soil than the advanced science the higher ranks often employ. Jr. journeyman Farmcrafters, like harpers, are always posted outside the crafthall, as their are many holds in need of their expertise. Sr. journeyman often return to the crafthall to teach and work on personal projects. They can specialize in several fields: Pest Control, Hybridization, Soil Quality and Fertilizers, as well as different types of plants, such as trees, grains, flowers etc. The few master Farmcrafters are usually in their forties and they spend most of their time on research and teaching advanced sutdents.
Beastcrafters
Perhaps the most numerous craft in population, Beastcrafter care for all the animal of Pern, except dragon, wheres and firelizards. They study both domestic and wild animal types. Not only are they the veterinarians, but they also study the control of pest organisms and they work to maintain the Pern ecosystem, working with all other crafts to ensure that the land is used in the best possiible way.
Apprentice Beastcrafters can come from anywhere, though they usually come from one of they holds that raises many herdbeasts. Every hold usually has one beastcrafter, even a shared one, and they nominate youngsters with a love for animals to be trained at the Hall. They have longer apprenticeships, usually graduating to journeyman at eighteen, where they are often posted to larger Holds, or even to the weyr, anywhere that there are large herds of animals. many journeyman do not return again to the Hall until they decided to try for their Mastery, but some go back as soon as possible, to teach, or do research. Specialties in the Beastcraft include Veterinary Surgery, Veterinary Epidemiology and Pathology, Animal Husbandry, and Ecology. You must be at least 35 Turns of age to try for your Mastery in the Beastcraft.
Fishercraft
The Fishercraft is the only craft that is based mostly away from the main crafthall, the reason being, that fishers generally need to be neear the ocean. They are based at Waverunner Fishhold, and most of the fishercraft apprentices come from there, with a small amount arriving from either Tauth and Azure Isle Holds. These apprentices, usually male, are often looking for adventure. After a few introductory classes, they begin their life on boats.
First they learn to sail in the calm waters of Drake's Lake and in Celebration Cove. This first stage of apprenticeship usually last two years. Sr. apprentices are about age fourteen and they go out on their first ocean voyage as cabin boys, their main job being to clean up after everyone else, repair nets, sails, and lines, and cook, if they are able.
Once they've had a little experience and gotten their sea legs, they are promoted to jr. journeyman, at age sixteen. At this time, they are promoted to mate's status, where they do most of the work of fishing, hauling lines and nets, climbing the rigging to trim the sails and watching for storms and rocks. Most fishercrafters remain jr. journeyman their whole lives. Sr. journeyman, aged 22 or older, go back to the main crafthall where they take classes in weather, navigation, shipbuilding, even cooking and sewing, whatever their interests are. If they decide to be shipbuilders, they remain at Waverunner Hold, overseeing teams of woodcarvers and young apprentices. Otherwise, they are promoted to officers and serve as first or second mate on the ship, often handling much of the navigation for the voyage. At about age thirty, if they've survived that long (the fishing craft is notoriously dangerous), they can try for their mastery, which involves captaining their own ship through the Great Western Current alone. If they succeed, they are promoted to master and given their own ship and crew. The fishercrafters are the only people, besides a few secret dragonrider expeditions to have seen the shores of the northern continent since the end of the Ninth Pass. They occasionally bring artifacts back and report that, though much of the greenery is regrown by now, human life is nonexistent.
Tanners
Tanners do the job of making all objects that are made from the skin of animals. Fur, hide and leather are their specialties. This is a craft that tends to run in families. Apprentice tanners start out learning to cure hide. It is an awful, smelly job. The tannery is kept well away from the rest of the crafthall. Apprentices must scrape residue off the hide, stretch is out and rub in in fat before curing in some awful smelly potion. Once the leather is cured, it goes to the journeyman, who are aged sixteen or older. They do jobs like cutting the leather, hide, or fur into smaller pieces, and sometimes dying it and doing repairs. The also make simple things like belts. Older journeyman begin to make things like saddles, harnesses, and riding straps for dragons, not to mention shoes and boots. Master tanners often work closely with the weavers guild to create the exquisite wardrobes of the holders and Weyrleaders. They also oversee the creation of the specially fitted flying suits that all dragonriders wear.
Weavers
One of the smaller crafts, weavers are usually , but not always, women, from holder families that show an inclination to sewing, beyond the usual. Nearly everyone on Pern can sew a little, for most people repair their own clothes. Those with extraordinary talents are sent to the crafthall. There they learn all the different types of sewing and textile making, they learn how to make yarn and thread from raw fiber and weave it into cloth. They learn how to dye cloth and to weave into rugs blankets and tapestries and they learn how to make cloth, knitted and embroidered clothes. Most girls are content with finishing with their apprenticeship and they use their skills to become good wives to other holds. However, some students of either sex progress to journeyman status, around age fifteen, but they do not usually leave the crafthall. Instead they often work on special projects, learning new techniques from masters and older journeyman. Mastery can be attained young, as young at twenty-five, by producing a work of extreme beauty and cultural significance, or by discovering a new technique. However, there are very few, usually no more than two, master weavers at any one time.
Vintners
The smallest and most insular craft, apprentice vinters are almost always the children of vintners and they generally come from Ryuu Hold, where nearly all the grapes for wine are made .Of course, vintners also make beer and all...but so does everyone else. Wine is their specialty, and after the decimation of the northern continent. they have been trying very hard to get up to their former standards. The vinters did however, manage to salvage the special vats from Benden Hold, and their wine almost equals its flavor. The apprenticeship of a vintner is long, they are at least twenty before graduating and at least thirty before making sr. journeyman. Masters are forty-five turns or older. Though they learned their lesson about keeping too many secrets, still the vintners tend to be rather close-mouthed about their recipes, so outsiders really have little idea what goes on inside the craft. Apprentices usually do the tedious labor of picking grapes and smashing them. The more they progress, the more they learn about the actual process of wine making to the point where sr, journeyman begin to create their own formulas. The Master vintner not only has as good technique, but also has extremely discerning taste-buds and a reputation for being able to drink anyone under the table.
Unofficial Crafts
There are plenty of jobs on pern that are not overseen by crafthalls. cooking, childcare, the breeding of firelizards and whers, pottery, artists, dancers and acrobats are crafts that have very little structure. Children that show interest are fostered out to places where they can be trained. Many of these crafts run in families. Pottery, and firelizard breeding are don my a large percentage of the population with no formal rules or structure. Artists, dancers and acrobats often begin at harper hall until they realize their talents run elsewhere, and they are shown to the people that can train them in their art. Cooks have the most structure. Anyone who want to become a cook often helps out with the cook at their home hold. if they show aptitude, it will be arranged to have them fostered out to Green Valley Hold, or Nova Hold, or the Weyr, where the best cooks on Pern live. Once the develop a reputation, they may land a job as head cook at a smaller hold, but the highest achievement of any cook is to be Head Cook at the Weyr.
People who worked in skilled trades on Pern are usually a Crafter, meaning, they belong to a Crafthall. About a third of the population of Pern are crafters.
Structure
The craft system on the Southern Continent is unlike the craft system of the past. Except for the Fishercraft, there is no real separate Hall for each craft, for that gives the weyr too much area to cover. All the crafts are instead housed at the Craft Complex, a huge structure north of the Weyr, on a large tract of land. There you will find beastholds, fields, looms, infirmaries, and workshops and classrooms of all kinds. To become a crafter, one usually begins at age twelve, as an apprentice, then graduates to journeyman, passing through jr. and sr. levels and then one may eventually become a master. The details of how and when those levels are attained are specific to each craft. The Craft Complex is presided over jointly by the craftmasters.
Harpers
The harpers are one of the most respected of the crafts and the Harper Hall is actually responsible for teaching everyone on Pern the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic, history, etiquette, and of course, music. Usually, everyone on Pern can at least play the drums well enough to keep a beat. Harpers can specialize in many fields including: Singing, Composing, Instrument Making, Teaching, Scribing, and even the art of espionage. Runners also receive their preliminary training at Harper Hall.
An apprenticeship as a harper often begins in the home hold, under the resident journeyman. The journeyman (or woman) is responsible for teaching all the hold's young, but those with special abilities will receive special training. If the journeyman finds a youngster of special talent, they will petition the Hall to take over their training at age twelve. Also, if the family thinks one of their children has the makings of a Harper, they can journey to the Hall and have the child tested by the Masterharper.
An apprentice's life at any crafthall is very structured, they attend classes most of the day and do chores. In the Harper craft, one can walk the tables as a journeyman as young as sixteen. Once journeyman status is attained, the harper will be posted to one of the smaller holds to teach for a year and then will return to Harper Hall for more training, repeating this cycles as many times as needed until judged ready to advance to sr. journeyman status. Sr. journeyman often are posted to larger holds or the might remain at the hall to learn more in their specialized craft. One has to be at least 30 to attain Mastery and it requires a lot of study, perhaps equivalent to a PhD thesis.
Things like dancing, tumbling, drawing and painting are also taught at the hall, but they are not considered official crafts, they do not have any apprentices or masters.
Healers
The Healing craft is highly structured and respected. Young people wishing to be Healers must present themselves at the Hall to be tested. Healer's apprentices are tested for things like compassion, quick decision making, cool heads under stress, steady hands and a good memory. Apprentices can be as young as twelve, but the craft will accept apprentices as old as sixteen if they pass the entrance tests. Healers apprentices also spend much of their days in classes and their nights doing chores, at least at first. Once they progress in their training, they may accompany journeyman who are treating patients. The minimum age to become a journeyman is eighteen , for those who begin at age twelve and sr. journeyman are usually no younger than thirty. Master are usually in their mid-forties, having achieved a breakthrough in their area of expertise.
A Healer can specialize in Obstetrics (midwifery), Surgery, Trauma, Pharmacology (Herbal remedies), (Epidemiology (infectious disease) or MindHealing (psychological counseling) and there are also general healers that usually are posted at the Holds. Journeyman also receive outside postings, usually under a master or an older journeyman. The larger the Hold, the more Healers that are there, though usually there is only one who lives at the Hold full time. The Weyr has a large staff of healers, at least one each for Obstetrics, Surgery, and Trauma, and one or two MindHealers.
Dragonhealers
These crafters often get their start in the weyr, beginning as a child raised in the weyr creche with a passion for dragons and a knack for healing. They often train for some time under the Weyr's own dragonhealer before being sent to the Dragonhealer hall, a sort of annex to Healer Hall where they undergo the same entrance exams. Dragonhealer apprenticeships are usually short and intense, ending at age sixteen followed by immediate posting to the weyr. Therefore, only the most dedicated become dragonhealers. The reasoning for the short apprenticeship is that the weyr wishes for dragonhealers to Impress dragons, if possible. Though it puts a vital craft in harms way, it also gives the dragonhealer a window into the draconic mind they would not otherwise have. Of course, there are always some dragonhealers who do not Impress, or who whose dragons die. These become teachers at the Hall. An unImpressed dragonhealer usually attains their mastery at about age thirty-five.
Smiths
The Smithcraft has the longest apprenticeship of any of the craft. Parents of bright, curious and dedicated children usually bring them to the Hall at age twelve. The smithcraft will take anyone, for there are many jobs to be done. Smith's can specialize in many fields: Metalworking, gemsmithing, machinists, architects, chemists, engineers, and explosive detonations to name a few. Apprentices do not have such a structured existence in the Smithcrafthall, they take a few general classes and then begin to gravitate towards the projects that interest them, and they work with journeyman and masters on tasks of increasing complexity. A smith does not become a journeyman until age 20. Smiths with metalworking, machinist, or gemsithing specialties may be posted at a hold, but most remain at the Hall for the rest of their lives. Smiths do not become masters until their mid-forties and for some specialties, fifty is more common.
Woodcarvers and Glassmiths: Outshoots of the Smithcraft
The crafts of woodcarving and glassmaking are both loosely affiliated to the Smithcraft and there is a lot of movement of apprentices and journeyman between them. the glassmaking craft is an old one, but the woodcarver craft was relatively young, just in its infancy when Nova began. Both generally get their apprentices from the Smithcrafthall, though of course, some children will come to these crafts directly.
Woodcarvers are responsible for making all wooden objects. They produce all the wooden furniture, tools, and utensils as well as some decorative carvings. This craft has grown exponentially in the last Interval, the grubs of the Southern Continent allowing great stands of trees to flourish. Apprentices learn the basic of carving and cabinetry at age twelve and they become journeyman about age sixteen. From their they specialize, picking any one of a number of fields including Foresty (logging), Cabinetry (furniture making), or small carving. They generally stick to their craft the whole way, with a high percentage attaining at least sr. jounrneyman status. Masters are generally thirty-five or above.
Glassmithing is a dangerous art. Very few apprentices come to this craft, those that do generally start out as glassblowers, making simple objects such as bottles, under the eye of an experienced journeyman. Once they attain journeyman status, they will either go out to South Sands Hold and learn to collect the right kinds of glass making silica or they will stay at the hall and learn to make more complex objects. They often get the job of making flying goggles for dragonriders, an important but tedious tasks. The higher they progress in their craft, the more artistic they generally become. Masters usually do the most creative works, using specially tinted glass to create beautiful goblets and vases as well as complex stained glass window, which are rare.
Miners
Mining is one of the most crucial and most dangerous jobs on Pern, besides dragonriding. The apprentices to the Miner's craft are usually the children of miners themselves, and are usually boys. There are not many classes for apprentice miners and their apprenticeship is short, ending as soon as they become strong enough to do the work. Most training is on the job experience. Miners sometimes specialize in the kinds of things they mine, firestone, metal, or gems, for example, but most are generalists. The most important training a miner receives is in safety. Otherwise, the work is very hard, and many young miners leave for better opportunities in holds. Wherhandlers work closely with miners, for a mine is a place where watch whers are extremely effective, not only for hauling, but for smelling signs of bad air or impending explosions. When one attains mastery in the Minercraft, not before age thirty, one usually is an expert in all kinds of geology and spends a lot of time doing research. Many Miners try for their mastery, hoping to be freed from the backbreaking labor of mining, but most fail.
Farmcrafters
This craft doesn't get much publicity, but they are, arguably, one of the most important crafts on Pern. This craft oversees the Holds growing of crops, grains, trees, fruit, vegetables, you name it. They try to find the best conditions to grow each crop, they come up with new fertilizers and pesticides and they document and combat the spread of plant diseases.
Apprentices to the farmcraft usually come from holds, where they have demonstrated a skill with and love of plants. They are usually sent to the Hall by their Holder in hopes that they will return and the Hold will profits by their expertise. They usually being at age twelve, but few progress beyond the rank of jr. journeyman, attained usually at sixteen, for they often return to their hold, preferring the simple life of tilling the soil than the advanced science the higher ranks often employ. Jr. journeyman Farmcrafters, like harpers, are always posted outside the crafthall, as their are many holds in need of their expertise. Sr. journeyman often return to the crafthall to teach and work on personal projects. They can specialize in several fields: Pest Control, Hybridization, Soil Quality and Fertilizers, as well as different types of plants, such as trees, grains, flowers etc. The few master Farmcrafters are usually in their forties and they spend most of their time on research and teaching advanced sutdents.
Beastcrafters
Perhaps the most numerous craft in population, Beastcrafter care for all the animal of Pern, except dragon, wheres and firelizards. They study both domestic and wild animal types. Not only are they the veterinarians, but they also study the control of pest organisms and they work to maintain the Pern ecosystem, working with all other crafts to ensure that the land is used in the best possiible way.
Apprentice Beastcrafters can come from anywhere, though they usually come from one of they holds that raises many herdbeasts. Every hold usually has one beastcrafter, even a shared one, and they nominate youngsters with a love for animals to be trained at the Hall. They have longer apprenticeships, usually graduating to journeyman at eighteen, where they are often posted to larger Holds, or even to the weyr, anywhere that there are large herds of animals. many journeyman do not return again to the Hall until they decided to try for their Mastery, but some go back as soon as possible, to teach, or do research. Specialties in the Beastcraft include Veterinary Surgery, Veterinary Epidemiology and Pathology, Animal Husbandry, and Ecology. You must be at least 35 Turns of age to try for your Mastery in the Beastcraft.
Fishercraft
The Fishercraft is the only craft that is based mostly away from the main crafthall, the reason being, that fishers generally need to be neear the ocean. They are based at Waverunner Fishhold, and most of the fishercraft apprentices come from there, with a small amount arriving from either Tauth and Azure Isle Holds. These apprentices, usually male, are often looking for adventure. After a few introductory classes, they begin their life on boats.
First they learn to sail in the calm waters of Drake's Lake and in Celebration Cove. This first stage of apprenticeship usually last two years. Sr. apprentices are about age fourteen and they go out on their first ocean voyage as cabin boys, their main job being to clean up after everyone else, repair nets, sails, and lines, and cook, if they are able.
Once they've had a little experience and gotten their sea legs, they are promoted to jr. journeyman, at age sixteen. At this time, they are promoted to mate's status, where they do most of the work of fishing, hauling lines and nets, climbing the rigging to trim the sails and watching for storms and rocks. Most fishercrafters remain jr. journeyman their whole lives. Sr. journeyman, aged 22 or older, go back to the main crafthall where they take classes in weather, navigation, shipbuilding, even cooking and sewing, whatever their interests are. If they decide to be shipbuilders, they remain at Waverunner Hold, overseeing teams of woodcarvers and young apprentices. Otherwise, they are promoted to officers and serve as first or second mate on the ship, often handling much of the navigation for the voyage. At about age thirty, if they've survived that long (the fishing craft is notoriously dangerous), they can try for their mastery, which involves captaining their own ship through the Great Western Current alone. If they succeed, they are promoted to master and given their own ship and crew. The fishercrafters are the only people, besides a few secret dragonrider expeditions to have seen the shores of the northern continent since the end of the Ninth Pass. They occasionally bring artifacts back and report that, though much of the greenery is regrown by now, human life is nonexistent.
Tanners
Tanners do the job of making all objects that are made from the skin of animals. Fur, hide and leather are their specialties. This is a craft that tends to run in families. Apprentice tanners start out learning to cure hide. It is an awful, smelly job. The tannery is kept well away from the rest of the crafthall. Apprentices must scrape residue off the hide, stretch is out and rub in in fat before curing in some awful smelly potion. Once the leather is cured, it goes to the journeyman, who are aged sixteen or older. They do jobs like cutting the leather, hide, or fur into smaller pieces, and sometimes dying it and doing repairs. The also make simple things like belts. Older journeyman begin to make things like saddles, harnesses, and riding straps for dragons, not to mention shoes and boots. Master tanners often work closely with the weavers guild to create the exquisite wardrobes of the holders and Weyrleaders. They also oversee the creation of the specially fitted flying suits that all dragonriders wear.
Weavers
One of the smaller crafts, weavers are usually , but not always, women, from holder families that show an inclination to sewing, beyond the usual. Nearly everyone on Pern can sew a little, for most people repair their own clothes. Those with extraordinary talents are sent to the crafthall. There they learn all the different types of sewing and textile making, they learn how to make yarn and thread from raw fiber and weave it into cloth. They learn how to dye cloth and to weave into rugs blankets and tapestries and they learn how to make cloth, knitted and embroidered clothes. Most girls are content with finishing with their apprenticeship and they use their skills to become good wives to other holds. However, some students of either sex progress to journeyman status, around age fifteen, but they do not usually leave the crafthall. Instead they often work on special projects, learning new techniques from masters and older journeyman. Mastery can be attained young, as young at twenty-five, by producing a work of extreme beauty and cultural significance, or by discovering a new technique. However, there are very few, usually no more than two, master weavers at any one time.
Vintners
The smallest and most insular craft, apprentice vinters are almost always the children of vintners and they generally come from Ryuu Hold, where nearly all the grapes for wine are made .Of course, vintners also make beer and all...but so does everyone else. Wine is their specialty, and after the decimation of the northern continent. they have been trying very hard to get up to their former standards. The vinters did however, manage to salvage the special vats from Benden Hold, and their wine almost equals its flavor. The apprenticeship of a vintner is long, they are at least twenty before graduating and at least thirty before making sr. journeyman. Masters are forty-five turns or older. Though they learned their lesson about keeping too many secrets, still the vintners tend to be rather close-mouthed about their recipes, so outsiders really have little idea what goes on inside the craft. Apprentices usually do the tedious labor of picking grapes and smashing them. The more they progress, the more they learn about the actual process of wine making to the point where sr, journeyman begin to create their own formulas. The Master vintner not only has as good technique, but also has extremely discerning taste-buds and a reputation for being able to drink anyone under the table.
Unofficial Crafts
There are plenty of jobs on pern that are not overseen by crafthalls. cooking, childcare, the breeding of firelizards and whers, pottery, artists, dancers and acrobats are crafts that have very little structure. Children that show interest are fostered out to places where they can be trained. Many of these crafts run in families. Pottery, and firelizard breeding are don my a large percentage of the population with no formal rules or structure. Artists, dancers and acrobats often begin at harper hall until they realize their talents run elsewhere, and they are shown to the people that can train them in their art. Cooks have the most structure. Anyone who want to become a cook often helps out with the cook at their home hold. if they show aptitude, it will be arranged to have them fostered out to Green Valley Hold, or Nova Hold, or the Weyr, where the best cooks on Pern live. Once the develop a reputation, they may land a job as head cook at a smaller hold, but the highest achievement of any cook is to be Head Cook at the Weyr.
