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Southern Boll Hold was one of the Major Holds in the Northern Continent. It occupied the southern tip of the Boll peninsula in the West of the Northern Continent. It bordered Fort Hold on the north. Southern Boll Hold was protected from Threadfall by Fort Weyr.

Description[]

A detailed description of the Hold (copied from The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern) established the surrounding countryside, the economy and other relevant features.

After Emily recovered from injuries she suffered in a shuttle crash during the ninth year of the colony, she and Pierre de Courcis established a hold south of Fort Hold, amidst the tropical lushness of the peninsula. The stonecutters were used to cut the roads down to the chosen site and to help the holders start making their home habitable. It was called Southern at first, for its position south of Fort. After Governor Emily Boll's death in AL 16, the stakeholders decided to honor her by naming their home for her. They simply appended her name and called it Southern-Boll. After a brief time, the hyphen was dropped from use.

Pack animals travelled the long, terraced road to Southern Boll. The road was good but steep in places, so travelers preferred not try to maneuver wagons all the way south. The Hold had no port of its own, so traders called in at Hold Gar, two days to the north, for the many goods produced in Southern Boll.

Surrounded as it was on three sides by the cool of the oceanic current, the Hold boasted hot, balmy weather in all seasons. Hats would not stay on in the constant wind, so those who lived in Southern Boll tended towards veils, head scarves, and turbans. For those who did not mind the sun, muumuus, sarongs, bikinis, and daishikis were not uncommon wear; there was even the occasional grass skirt.

Boll also used furniture made of twisted vines like wicker wound around metal supports. Instead of heavy padding, chairs were made with slings in light, flexible frames, or with caned backs and seats.

Southern Boll, Ista, and Nerat had very large populations, as did most tropical zones, where a person did not have to work hard to exist. Occasional occupation would help eke out a satisfactory living for a family that could gather most of what it needed to feed itself from the countryside. Telgar and Keroon also had a large indolent population in the southern reaches. Boll brought in a lot of fish, and the heavy jungle was full of fruit trees and wild melon vines. Soft fruits, like bananas, kiwi, and mangoes, were cultivated alongside goru pear, wedgenut, and peach trees. The more delicate cooking and medicinal herbs and hot-climate spices provided trade goods and season light meals served in the heat of the day.

Some of the few remaining flocks of chickens lived in the Hold. Southern Boll made up for its isolation by having many goods for trade with the North that could not be found in any other Hold.

Southern Boll also raised numerous herbs used to make tea. The Earth genus Camellia from which tea came did not survive, but tasty, stimulating, soothing substitutes were found among the native herbs and blends of imported ones. Fruit liquors as well as grape wines were popular here, and many bottles were exported to other Holds for special occasions.

The Hold boasted the presence of the secondary Glasscrafthall. The Mastersmith, to whom Glassmaster Arkeli looked, lauded the high quality of the fine sands that lined Southern Boll's beaches. Glassblowing and ceramics were taught here. Apprentice jars and bottles could be distinguished from those journeyman-made by the concentration of pale green tint, showing impurities in the glass. Well-blown glass was perfectly clear. Colored sand was sometimes used to produce tinted glass, as were certain metals, to create what Terrans referred to as cobalt, cranberry, and ruby glass. Carnival glass was made on occasion, as were leaded crystal and plate glass.

The original plate glass was still in the windows of the main Hold. One handsome window ringed with a stained-glass mosaic looked in upon the Lord Holder's chamber, spilling rainbows across the floor.

Southern Boll was full of color. The range of tropical trees and plants produced a riot of bright flowers and shoots. Even the products of the small Minecrafthold were especially colorful. Ruby, all the varieties of garnet, green malachite, copper, and blue copper sulfate came out of the mines in the mountains behind the Hold.

Minor Holds and Crafthalls[]

Southern Boll Hold was also home to the Weavercrafthall, and at least one minor hold whose name is not known.

History[]

First Pass / First Interval[]

Southern Hold, which Emily Boll and Pierre de Courcis had established before her death (according to Dragonlover's Guide to Pern), was named Southern Boll Hold by Pierre and the other stakeholders after Emily's death. As Emily said to Wind Blossom in Dragonsblood, "I was governor of Tau Ceti. Here, I am just Emily, Holder of Boll."

During her confirmation as Lady Holder in The Skies of Pern, Lady Janissian wore the heirloom diamond and ruby chevron pendant that was supposed to have been handed down from Emily Boll.

First Interval / Second Pass[]

  • Dynast: Lord Azury.
  • Other holders: .

Second Interval / Third Pass[]

Sixth Pass[]

Eighth Interval /Ninth Pass[]

Additional Information[]


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