An Unexpectedly Political Dinner (2/2)

Writers: Avery
Date Posted: 13th November 2017

Characters: Corran, Yusanis, Serra, Neja
Description: Yusanis has a birthingday dinner with his cousin's family and the conversation turns political.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 2, day 8 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Zathris
part 2 of 2

Yusanis decided to speak out and save his cousin the embarrassment he
was sure to be feeling. "I understand what Corran means. I would want my
wife to be exactly who she wanted to be, whether it's a crafter or a
stay at home mother."

"It's hard to marry a woman crafter with the current politics of the
South," Serra said. "She might have to give it up to stay with you, or
else you'd both leave the Hold as Corran suggested and then where would
you be?"

Corran said, "Though Amber Hills has had lady Technicians accept a
posting before, to keep the electricity going. Maybe one of them would
marry a holder man who would realize that her craft didn't make her a
lesser woman. Or maybe, one day a Lord Holder would marry a crafting
woman, allow her to keep her knots, and really shake things up."

"If I was a Lord Holder, I'd allow the women to apprentice if they
wanted," Yusanis blurted out.

"I would worry about what would happen to a Hold which allows its women
to take up knots," Neja said. "Given the way the Conclave reacted to
Topaz Seahold when they allowed Search. Their Halls and Crafters were
revoked, and there were threats from other Holds to cease trading with
them."

He'd been quietly listening to his son, his wife, and his quasi-nephew
discuss politics, finding that it was interesting to observe. He knew
where his wife stood on the issue, it was interesting hearing where his
son was falling, and Yusanis was a total unknown. It sounded like they
were discussing upending the craftban from the position of thinking it's
the right thing to do, and he thought perhaps they hadn't considered all
sides."

"You think it shouldn't be done?" the Steward asked, surprise in his
tone. He'd expected a man with a crafter wife to be vocally in support.

"No. But I wonder if you considered the practical effects of a radical
decision like that. Yes, it's the right thing for the women to allow
them to craft. But women aren't the only people at your Hold. There's
the laborers, the drudges, the children. If other Holds cease trading
with yours because you flout the Craftban, they would all suffer. And
you're responsible for all of those lives."

"That's true," Yusanis acknowledged. "It would mean an increased
reliance on the Weyr for support, for one."

"There'd be risk of revolt from people feeling punished for the women's
sake. It could get ugly. Even though they'd be angry at the wrong
people, it would still be bad," Corran admitted. He didn't like to
imagine that happening, because it was unfair, but he could see it
happening.

"We're seeing people angry right now," Yusanis said. "Whoever's leaving
the propaganda about women's rights is angry about the craftban. But the
banditry issue is making others angry not just at the bandits, but at
the Lord Holder and myself for not containing them."

"If Lord Zathris was to relax the rules for women, would that resolve
the bandits issue only to cause internal revolt from people angry at the
concessions?" Neja prompted.

"Possibly," the guard said with a frown. "So you're saying it's good for
Yusanis and I to want to work for change. But that we need to be careful
in exactly what we go about to do it?"

"It's why I might approve of the messages some of the bandits are
sending, but now how they're doing it. I want a change to the Craftban
more than any of you likely do," Serra said.

None of them could argue that point, since it wasn't their livelihoods
that had been impacted.

"But it's the change of hearts and minds that will overturn it. Not
concessions made because of threats. All the violence and vandalism will
do is make people angrier at women. And much as it pains me to admit it,
Neja's right. If a Hold overturning the craftban gets severely punished,
it may sour people on getting rid of it for even longer," she concluded.

"It will have to be done eventually," Corran said.

"It's not something we can solve over a single birthingday's dinner, or
it would have been done already. You should eat before it all gets
cold," Neja told them.

Though it was now obvious to him that everyone was of the same mind
regarding the unfairness of the craftban, he didn't want the mood of the
dinner to shift too badly as people got frustrated with or upset by how
much work it would take to undo it. This was supposed to be a
celebration, after all.

The rest of the meal passed in a pleasant manner, with light
conversational topics and the warmth of a group who was becoming close.
Even though they'd stopped discussing the subject, it seemed that
knowing they were all in opposition had united them. It wasn't the kind
of birthingday he had expected – certainly not the kind that would have
happened at Ruby Ravine Hold – but it had been an interesting one
nonetheless.

Last updated on the November 27th 2017

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An Unexpectedly Political Dinner (2/2)