Candidate Policies
The One Sure-fire Way to Get Kicked Out
Involvement with the Resistance will not only get you kicked out of the program, but you'll also probably end up in the guard cells for the leadership to deal with. If you were only tricked into being involved, and you really had no clue, as long as you come forward and tell a CandidateMaster everything about it, you might be allowed to stay. Any deeper involvement is an automatic boot.
Things the CandidateMasters Don't Care About
Fighting: Unless bones are broken, or they're maimed, or disabled, or killed, The CandidateMaster doesn't care. He accepts (and even expects) fighting, as a way for the boys to establish the pecking order in the barracks.
Likewise, the CandidateMasters do not care if you're being bullied. No, not even if it's excessive bullying. You either stand up for yourself and put a stop to it, or you accept your natural place in the pecking order and deal with it. Or you quit. Like fighting, the CandidateMasters expect this to happen and in some ways even encourage it.
Sex: As long as boys aren't having sex with boys and girls aren't having sex with girls, the CandidateMasters don't care what you get up to. Just don't do it in the barracks, and keep it to during your free time.
The CandidateMasters don't care if boys force other boys to do their work for them. So long as the work gets done, they doesn't particularly care who does it.(Although this may change soon...)
Likewise, the CandidateMasters do not care if you're being bullied. No, not even if it's excessive bullying. You either stand up for yourself and put a stop to it, or you accept your natural place in the pecking order and deal with it. Or you quit. Like fighting, the CandidateMasters expect this to happen and in some ways even encourage it.
Sex: As long as boys aren't having sex with boys and girls aren't having sex with girls, the CandidateMasters don't care what you get up to. Just don't do it in the barracks, and keep it to during your free time.
The CandidateMasters don't care if boys force other boys to do their work for them. So long as the work gets done, they doesn't particularly care who does it.(Although this may change soon...)
Things the CandidateMasters Turn a Blind Eye to:
In addition to getting away with all of the things above, there are certain things the CandidateMasters will pretend not to see, or which the CandidateMasters will make no effort to catch the perpetrator.
Girls who Stand for green or blue can be abused by male Candidates -- they can even be raped, or have their bones broken. After all, Fort doesn't want them Standing, and if they quit after being assaulted or they have broken bones and can't Stand then Fort is all the better for it.
Harassment of boys who are gay, if it gets them to quit.
Harassment of boys who don't understand the proper way of things (usually holder boys who come to the Weyr with funny ideas about how things work).
Girls who Stand for green or blue can be abused by male Candidates -- they can even be raped, or have their bones broken. After all, Fort doesn't want them Standing, and if they quit after being assaulted or they have broken bones and can't Stand then Fort is all the better for it.
Harassment of boys who are gay, if it gets them to quit.
Harassment of boys who don't understand the proper way of things (usually holder boys who come to the Weyr with funny ideas about how things work).
Other Policies:
The CandidateMasters encourage girls to get pregnant between clutches, and they encourage the boys to help them with that. Any female Candidate has the potential to be a dragonrider (or they wouldn't have been Searched), and can produce good weyrbred stock if their partner is a rider or another Candidate. Gold eggs are rare, and a girl's chances of Impressing one are not good; better they make themselves useful by producing future Candidates. It's also better for them -- if they can seduce a young ranker, they'll be more secure. If they can produce a son who grows up to Impress bronze, they'll be taken care of.
All access to the Candidates is strictly monitored by the CandidateMasters. Everyone must be approved by them before they're allowed to have anything to do with the Candidates. This include the harpers who give them lessons, and the rankers who take boys on as assistants. If the CandidateMasters think they'll put strange ideas into the candidate's heads, the CandidateMasters will not hesitate to ban them from any contact with the Candidates.
The CandidateMasters often rely on the Candidates to keep each other in line. Rather than making more work for themself and pulling aside every boy who starts showing signs of liking other boys, or who lacks an understanding of how the Weyr works, they'll sit back and let the other boys handle it. The Candidates are encouraged to spot these types, and to give them hell until they quit, or correct their funny ideas -- often through force. Sometimes, the CandidateMasters himself will make targets out of boys he thinks the others should deal with.
All access to the Candidates is strictly monitored by the CandidateMasters. Everyone must be approved by them before they're allowed to have anything to do with the Candidates. This include the harpers who give them lessons, and the rankers who take boys on as assistants. If the CandidateMasters think they'll put strange ideas into the candidate's heads, the CandidateMasters will not hesitate to ban them from any contact with the Candidates.
The CandidateMasters often rely on the Candidates to keep each other in line. Rather than making more work for themself and pulling aside every boy who starts showing signs of liking other boys, or who lacks an understanding of how the Weyr works, they'll sit back and let the other boys handle it. The Candidates are encouraged to spot these types, and to give them hell until they quit, or correct their funny ideas -- often through force. Sometimes, the CandidateMasters himself will make targets out of boys he thinks the others should deal with.
The Weyrborn
Most importantly, boys who are between the ages of twelve and twenty-three have the right to Stand. They do not need to be Searched. As long as they're physically and mentally able (which the CandidateMasters determine during an interview) they're allowed into Candidacy.
They are not required to become Candidates, though the CandidateMasters are occasionally willing to be bribed by highly-ranked parents to force their children into it for a short period of time.
They do not have to take their knots immediately when they're twelve. They could wait until they're twenty-three, and they'd still be allowed.
To some extent, the CandidateMasters count on the weyrborn boys to already know the proper way of things. Unless they give the CandidateMasters reason to doubt them, they will watch them less closely than they do the Candidates who come from outside the Weyr. The CandidateMasters often count on the weyrborn to 'educate' incoming Candidates on how things work.
The one downside to being weyrborn is that if you screw up, the CandidateMaster can and will haul your parents or the crecheworkers in for punishment. After all, they're the ones who raised you and let you go bad.
They are not required to become Candidates, though the CandidateMasters are occasionally willing to be bribed by highly-ranked parents to force their children into it for a short period of time.
They do not have to take their knots immediately when they're twelve. They could wait until they're twenty-three, and they'd still be allowed.
To some extent, the CandidateMasters count on the weyrborn boys to already know the proper way of things. Unless they give the CandidateMasters reason to doubt them, they will watch them less closely than they do the Candidates who come from outside the Weyr. The CandidateMasters often count on the weyrborn to 'educate' incoming Candidates on how things work.
The one downside to being weyrborn is that if you screw up, the CandidateMaster can and will haul your parents or the crecheworkers in for punishment. After all, they're the ones who raised you and let you go bad.
The Holdborn: (Also includes traders
and kids from the craft halls)
You MUST be Searched by an official Search dragon, and you must present a Search token to the CandidateMasters upon arrival at the Weyr. You will then be interviewed so that they are sure you're suitable to Stand. The interview is often much more extensive than the one given to weyrborn boys, as they must determine if you understand what you're getting yourself into, and what life at the Weyr is really like.
Holdborn Candidates are watched more closely, since Weyrlife is new to them, and the CandidateMasters have to be sure they learn the proper Fortian way.
Hazing of holder boys is probably much more common as they enter Candidacy.
Holdborn Candidates are watched more closely, since Weyrlife is new to them, and the CandidateMasters have to be sure they learn the proper Fortian way.
Hazing of holder boys is probably much more common as they enter Candidacy.