 |
This article is a stub. You can help Pern Wiki by expanding it.
|
A Conclave, later called a Council, was a meeting held by Lord Holders, Weyrleaders, and Crafthall heads at Turn's End. Matters were discussed that might be brought to every Hold and Hall. Such meetings were also called as needed to determine a Lord Holder's successor.
Description[]
Up until the Ninth Pass, each organization held separate councils, due to the independence of each group from the others. The term conclave most commonly referred to the collective group of Lord Holders. Conclaves were held at regular intervals to discuss the needs and concerns of Holds planetwide or to discuss discipline of a Lord Holder. Conclaves could also be called upon the death of a Lord Holder. The heir to the hold would request a Conclave, where the assembled Lord Holders would vote to confirm the heir as Lord Holder.
Craftmasters and Weyrleaders held regular councils to discuss the common needs of each organization. New crafts could be approved by the collective craftmasters. Meanwhile, Weyrleaders discussed common interests such as fighting Thread or inter-weyr conflicts.
After the discovery of AIVAS, the different leaders began meeting together, with the collective group referred to as a Council. Following Turnover, Weyrleaders, Craftmasters, and Lord Holders met jointly to discuss planetwide matters. In addition, Craftmasters and Weyrleaders now had the ability to vote on the succession of a Lord Holder.
History[]
In the late First Interval, the issue of impeaching Lord Chalkin was so pressing that Lord Paulin felt it couldn't wait for the Conclave at the end of the year.
Late in the Eighth Interval a council was called to determine the successor to Lord Maidir of Benden Hold. However, upon the death of High Reaches Lord Holder Faroguy, no council was called, as rules required the heir to call the conclave. Thus, Fax's ascension to Lord Holder remained unofficial.
During the Ninth Pass, Jaxom noted following his unexpected impression of Ruth that he could not be forced to relinquish Ruatha without a formal Conclave. As an adult Lord Holder, Jaxom attended the Conclave where Ranrel was confirmed, where he occasionally relayed events to Robinton and others through Ruth. An unofficial joint council meeting between the craftmasters and Lord Holders was held in the wake of Robinton's kidnapping, due to the complicated relationships of the conspirators involved. However, each group gave punishment separately to those affiliated from them. Some years after AIVAS deactivated itself, Council meetings expanded to include all three groups: Lord Holders, Weyrleaders, and Craftmasters.