An Important Announcement (Everyone welcome)

Tsuen sat beside D'ren, oddly at ease despite the reaction she was expecting from the feminine populace of Katila.

She was garbed in a flowing sleeveless dress of deep blue-tinged green with muted light blue patterning that complimented the Weyrleader's fine apparel; it was one of several made by her own hand in the past years since founding Katila. She did not have much time to devote to stitchery, but what she could, she did. Speaking of which, the Weyrleader could use more elegant clothes; she would have to make him some.

As D'ren prepared to stand, Tsuen reached over to lay her hand over his, a softness in her eyes as she turned them to his. Outside, Nirinath perched next to Ronarth, making a similar if draconic gesture. The gold crooned; the Weyrwoman spoke quietly to her partner. "You'll be fine, D'ren. Go get 'em." She appreciated what the man was doing tonight. Not even E'lore knew of the decision they'd made, and while Tsuen had been more than ready to take the blame for this, as she had with other difficult decisions, D'ren had insisted he take full responsibility for the topic at hand. The woman had been less sure, for more than one reason. For one thing, she couldn't be removed, not completely, or it would spell doom for the Riders. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but within a few Turns. D'ren did not have that same security. Still, she had let him do this his way.

The man stood and delivered his speech well, and as expected, an uproar immediately rose. Chatter from the men in the room, varying from appreciation and approval of what they'd decided, and astonishment that the Weyr, where genders had no role, was resorting to this. Anger, more than a little justified, from the women, most especially those Candidates of the fairer sex. One, a young lady who Nirinath supplied a name for as Lymsleia, even approached the Weyrleader table, near tears. Playing the sympathetic role that she was meant to, she ushered the woman around the table to her side.

"Lymsleia, the plan is not for women to never Impress, ever. But realistically, we need new blood that isn't going to bring the North down here after us. What happens when we accidentally kidnap the Master Harper because he's younger and a blue says he's appropriate to Stand? The North won't stand idly by... they'll come take him back." She shifted in her seat. "As horrible as it sounds, let me put it in perspective. Aside from the other female riders if they happen to catch it in time and don't go between -- because I'm sure you've heard somewhere along the line that that causes spontaneous loss of the child -- There's me, and the kitchen workers and other drudges who can't really afford to take time out to have and care for a baby. They do, and the creche helps with that. But it's not easy.

"But if we have ten female candidates, and each of those women have two children, that's thirty people. If ten or more of the twenty offspring are female, and there's that chance, and they have two children prior to standing, that's a further twenty to forty members of Katila. In time, we would not have to steal from the north, and in that time we also would have a self-replicating population. We know it's asking alot of you, but we can't go on kidnapping forever." She hoped to be the voice of reason, and if need be would gladly take the girls aside to speak more with them about their concerns about the situation.