When Established: Around NH 3 or 4, though building on the house began in the first year of the settlement. Trailingstar got its name rather early on in New Hope's history; the main archway (and in later years, much of the southern side of the house) leading into the central courtyard is overgrown with trailingstar vines which, in spite of their reputation as finicky and difficult to grow plants, periodically threaten to take the whole place over. The name gained currency a year or so after the vines were planted when Tekka, at that time one of the human elders, was arguing with Piet (a difficult prospect, but Tekka is a determined woman) over whether or not they ought to be cut back. Tekka made a comment to the effect that the place really ought to be called Trailingstar's House, since the plants were taking up more space than the people, and the name stuck. Trailingstar Household
Household Members: Trailingstar was initially founded by four human families, those of Tekka and Kel, Feren and Meleny, Shenno and Avir, and Jekeret and Ilare. These four couples were all members of the Lovebringer Cult, although a signifigant number of the relatives they brought along were not. Feren, Meleny, Avir, and Jekeret, along with several other family members, were also members of Ayla's cult, workers in the Tower Mountain eyrie. As such they were skilled in hawk care and harnessmaking, talents that would be needed in setting up the New Hope Eyrie. As Rahirah was the New Hope hawkmaster it was assumed from the beginning that she would be part of the household, though she lived in the eyrie for the first year or so while it was still under construction. The Gang of Four and Heartseeker's lovemate Mouse moved in in NH 1, after Rahirah and Piet became lovemates. Other elves have come and gone (Iys, Evanda, Shadowbourne--see timeline for details.)
Organization: Trailingstar is perhaps less rigidly organized than some of the other Households; outside of the "household elders," none of its members holds any titles. The household is loosely divided into four "Lines," from the four families who founded the household, and authority is generally determined by seniority in one's line. (For this purpose, the elves are considered to be honorary members of one of the human lines. For example, Piet, Rahirah and Frodis are considered part of Kel's Line. Technically, any human in that Line over the age of fifty can pull rank on them.) These divisions are extremely fluid and one person may belong to two or three different lines during his or her lifetime. There is a fairly concious effort (on the part of the longer-lived elves, at least) to maintain as much of a "family" atmosphere as possible within the household. Rahirah often defers to Longshanks and the current human elders in "inhouse" matters (**You take care of the people and I'll take care of the birds...**)
Location: Trailingstar is located in the northeastern protion of the Holt, between Hawk's Perch Rock and the Eyrie Cliffs. The house faces south. A path leads from the eyries to the house and then hooks to the east and goes towards the center of the village. Another path leads west from the house to the tannery.
Appearence: (see attached floorplan)
First floor
Second floorThe house is half-sunken to conserve heat in the winter and cool in the summer. The above-ground portions are built mainly of mortared stone with wooden floors and beams, though there are some rockshaped portions. The house was originally built in the shape of an enclosed square; later, in NH 30-40, wings are added to the east and west, and in NH 75 a partial second story is added. There is a garden in the central courtyard where herbs are cultivated. The southern wall of the square contains the dining/ meeting hall, the kitchen in the southeast corner of the square, and the household baths and washroom in the southwest corner. The north, west and east walls of the square are divided into small private quarters, usually used by couples with small children. There is a stillroom on the east wall as well. The west wing has two large, open rooms, one for unmarried males and one for unmarried females (of any species) where most of the single humans and elves have sleeping and working quarters--it can be divided up into many smaller spaces by the use of moveable wicker or canvas screens. The east wing contains the leatherworking shop and some storage. The second floor is primarily used for storage, but there are some living quarters, including a guest room, there as well.
Activities: The "house specialty" is hawk care, with attendant leatherworking/tanning, (Trailingstar and Foxlair co-operate in running the tribe's tannery) and gardening. Longshanks and Jublo specialize more in lighter, boots-and-clothing leatherworking, while Rahirah is the harness-maker for the hawkriders and will also make other heavy-duty items such as belts, knife sheaths, packs and so forth. She also started an herb-garden and small-time apothecary for the purpose of making hawk medicine; Piet expanded this in short order to include plants useful to elves as well, in addition to all the other gardens. Rahirah is also an excellent wild-herb forager; both she and Frodis are continually bringing new plants home to "try them out." (One of Rahirah's plans is to con Bugdance into coming along on a trip to the southern continent to find some of those exotic plants he's mentioned...) Tawna, for the ten years or so before her death, instructs Tirro in this craft as well, so there are going to be some human practitioners as well. Rahirah is the hawkmistress for the New Hope eyrie; she trains the young hawks and instructs the new hawkriders on the proper care of their mounts. There are many humans involved in the leatherworking and tanning; in fact, all of the really good leathercarvers (who make the carved/embossed designs in the heavy leather items) are human.
Agriculture: Trailingstar sometimes seems to have more garden than house; in addition to the central herb garden, there is a large kitchen garden south of the east wing, flower gardens in front of the house, more herb and vegetable gardens behind it, a small grove of fruit trees south of the west wing, a small grove of nut trees north of the house, and a small greenhouse. Trailingstar trades fruits, vegetables and herbs to other households and supplies a lot of the flowers for the Festival of Love in the spring. The household provides the requisite volunteers to work the communal fields during planting and harvest, but is otherwise much more involved in small gardening than farming.
Livestock: The Household breeds some small animals (chickens, rabbits) for food, but isn't heavily involved with animal husbandry. There is an agreement with Foxlair to trade garden produce for meat, cheese and leather as needed, and also obtains meat and leather from the hunting hawks.
Barter goods: Trailingstar produces fine leather goods, game, produce, herbs, aerial maps for the hawkriders and caravans, and transport via hawkback.
Household Character: Very much the air of a large, happy, busy family. Always bustling with activity, children underfoot, stuff going on, with sudden unexpected pockets of tranquility. Can look chaotic to the uninitiated. Not a decorator's paradise; furnishings are the result of a lot of very divergent tastes, but are invariably well-made and well-loved. Weirdness taken in stride. Guests welcomed, but are likely to be put to work if they stand around looking bored, and should be wary about dropping by on the nights that Bugdance helps the cook.
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