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The Pern Charter was the document that laid out the rights of each Pernese citizen.

Background and History[]

The Charter of the Pern Colony contained the signed names of the original 6000 Pern colonists. Both charter members and the contracted specialists were needed to round out the expedition. One of the members of Cabot Francis Carter's guild produced it. They also took the nomads groups with them.

The laws governing the relationship between Crafthalls, Holds and Weyrs were also addressed in the Charter. The document was added to and adjusted after the beginning of Threadfall and the move north during the Second Crossing.

Holder Rights[]

  • Movement between places
  • Ability to meet in groups
  • Right to ask for mediation (and how to exercise that right) and to appeal for mediation for crippling tithes
  • Instructions how to claim Charter acreage

The Original Charter[]

The original charter was rediscovered in the Ninth Pass in a locked container in Fort Hold,

The search for the Charter began in the Ninth Pass after AIVAS informed the residents what to look for. He told them to look among the ancient objects scattered in Fort Hold, the first human settlement in the Northern Continent. The box containing the Charter was found locked with a digital combination lock. Fortunately, AIVAS knew the combination. Lord Groghe, the current Lord Holder of Fort Hold, generously donated the Charter to Landing, the site of the first human settlement on Pern. The Charter was enshrined in a case of Master Glass-smith Morilton's clear thick panes, mounted on a mechanism (of AIVAS' design) which turned the pages as needed. Master Woodsmith Benelek remarked that the plastic coated pages were so durable that nothing short of sharp chopping blades could damage them.

On the first day of the the thirty-first turn of the Ninth Pass (2553 Turns after the landing of the colonists), Golanth's rider, F'lessan, used the Charter to confirm that Stev Kimmer was a resident of Honshu Stake by comparing Stev's carved initials at Honshu with his signature in the Charter.

Appearances[]