Cibola hold has quite a few minor holds looking to it. Following are the most notable; they are all adoptable unless otherwise noted!
Ashimar Hold - Located on the Plains River near where it flows in from Dawn Sisters Hold, Ashimar Hold is a major importation point for Dawn Sisters grain. A road runs along the river, and both it and the river carry trade in both directions in every season. Thread shelters have been built at the hold for ships and wagon trains, and a large guestcot (think of it as an inn) provides food and lodging (and other forms of hospitality) to the many travelers. This hold is owned by Kat McNamara; there will be a more detailed writeup at some point.
Bordermarch Hold - This is one of the more recently founded minor holds, and it is in the midst of Cibola's least populous region. Its main reason for existence is to support a large base for Morgav's Rangers to combat the raiders out of eastern Izmir, whose border is just south of the hold. The specific details of the hold are left undefined in case anyone wants to adopt it!
Dog Creek Seahold - Located on the southern end of the great marshes, Dog Creek Seahold supports itself primarily by fishing, though it meets part of its food needs with a small farm. Morgav's Coast Watch bases a sizable contingent of patrol boats here to deter smugglers from using the marshes as a way to excape the trade inspections.
Fair Pass Hold - Fair Pass is one of the smaller minor holds in Cibola territory, but it is still definitely too big to be considered a cothold. It is located midway along a narrow valley between two major ridges of the Spine, next to the river that flows along the valley floor. The southeastern end of the valley opens onto the plains, and the northwestern end is close to a fairly easy pass over the northern ridge. A road runs along the river, through the hold and up to the pass, and thence to the main hold of Cibola. Much of the tithe traffic from inland holds passes through Fair Pass on its way to the main hold, and during tithe season Fair Pass does good business selling food and shelter to the wagon drovers, fodder for their oxen, as well as renting out extra oxen to pull the wagons over the pass. A sizable minority of the holds transport their tithes by water up Fair Pass's river as far as the hold, and then transfer them to wagons rented from the hold.
Most of the rest of the Turn, Fair Pass is a quiet place. The current Holder encourages his people to prospect for gems and precious metals in the surrounding mountains in the off-season; so far no large amounts of anything important have been discovered, but there are a few decent-sized silver mines in the area and a trickle of semiprecious stones are also found. There are also several grape-growing cotholds in the foothills on either side of the valley, and Fair Pass produces some wine, but it is generally not considered good enough for export except to other minor holds. Also, there are stands of timber on the mountainsides, mostly coniferous softwoods, and Fair Pass makes some money from these as well, though Morgav's tight restrictions on cutting prevent the holders of Fair Pass from realizing as much short-term profit as they would like.
Fishhook Hold (Holder Skallig) - Fishhook Hold is located at the foot of the eastern hills, near Cibola's hardwood forest region. Since it is on the northern fork of the Plains River, it serves as a natural collection point for hardwoods from the forests and plantations, as well as a transshipment point for salt coming over the Spine from Salt Flats Hold. Morgav keeps a sizable contingent of his Rangers here to make sure smugglers don't sneak through the forests, and also to enforce Morgav's tight restrictions of how much wood is to be cut.
However, Fishhook is by far most famous for its beers and ales, considered some of the few real rivals to those produced in Waterfall Hold. Fishhook also distills whiskies and liqueurs, and produces wine from grapes grown in the foothills. Unlike Morning Star, the other major wine-producing Cibolan hold, Fishhook concentrates on quality rather than quantity; its wines are the best in Cibola, though they are still considered only second-rate by true connosieurs. Lord Morgav provides part of the funding for an effort to improve both the grapes and the wine-making process; if the experiments are successful, they will be replicated as widely as possible.
Four Trails Hold - Four Trails hold is located in the foothills on the south side of the Spine, where the plains begin to turn into forests. Its largest product is softwoods from these forests, though it is actually most famed for herbcraft. The hold is well-known for its perfumes and scented oils, as well as medicinal preparations of all kinds. Four Trails actually imports certain kinds of herbs from tropical holds for use in some of its products, though the local holders encourage the development of products which rely only on the wide variety of local temperate herbs.
Lake Hold - Lake hold is actually somewhat misnamed, since there is not really a lake there, just a long widening of the Plains River. This hold is economically quite diverse, and is involved in farming, fishing the river, cutting softwood timber in the foothills, and providing hospitality and Thread shelter to the many traders who use the Plains River.
Since Lake Hold is at the point where the Fair River joins the Plains River, much of the tithe goods from other inland minor holds pass through it on their way over the Spine to the main hold of Cibola. Lake hold has a sometimes uneasy relationship with Fair Pass Hold, often competing with it quite fiercely to provide cheaper rents for wagons to carry tithe goods that have made the first part of the journey by water. Sometimes these two holds have colluded to fix prices, but Morgav generally gets wind of this before long and puts a stop to it.
Marshland Hold (Holder Gelmig) - This hold is located where the Plains River begins to broaden out into a delta and feed the great marshes of Cibola's western coast. It is near the Farmcrafthall, and provides that craft with seasonal workers. It also collects exotic herbs and animals from the marshes, and hosts a medium-sized fishing fleet. It has a large port facility where goods are imported and exported, and Morgav's Sea Watch bases several patrol boats here for trade inspections and to deter smuggling.
Marshland Hold is most famous for the cattle it produces; the famed marshland bulls feed the bullfights that are held throughout Cibola, and in a few other holds as well. The cows and steers produce good meat, which feeds many of the other holds of Cibola as well.
Moira Seahold - Moira seahold was founded to exploit rich pearl beds in that region of Cibola's northern coast. The pearls are all bought directly by Morgav's agent, and prices are controlled so that the pearl fishers do not starve but cannot get rich either. Morgav has forbidden the export of pearls by anyone but himself, and the Coast Watch keeps a sharp eye out for anyone trying to evade this restriction. Moira seahold also has a large fishing fleet, and a large cave harbor offers Thread shelter (for a price) to passing traders. Inland the climate is arid and inhospitable, and there are few cotholds. In the past, there were blackwater deposits on the surpace near the edge of the desert, but these were all depleted in the time of Morgav's father. Morgav is underwriting an ambitious minecraft project to dig or drill beneath the sand in seach of more of this useful commodity, and Moira seahold sees some benefit from that as the workers come there for rest and recreation.
Morning Star Hold (Holder Juben) - Morning Star Hold is located in a high, wide valley between the main ridges of the Spine and a single steep seaward ridge. Many of Cibola's mines are in this region, including the one big gold mine, which is reaching the end of its productivity. A significant effort is underway to find more, though Morning Star still does good business in silver and gemstones (the latter mostly of semiprecious varieties like amethyst and topaz) as well as timber.
The hold has a fair-sized agricultural base as well, enough to feed all the mine workers, and it grows enough grapes to produce a fair amount of wine, though not of any impressive quality. In the time of Morgav's grandfather, a project was begun here to cultivate silkworms, but it has not yet met with much success, despite repeated assurances by recent Holders that profits are just around the corner.
Runner Mountain Hold - This hold is located on the narrow coastal plain on the north side of Cibola's peninsula. It is agriculturally self-sufficient, produces a fair amount of timber, and is the base for an aggressive prospecting effort into the mountains. Emeralds were recently discovered near here, and sapphires, diamonds, and rubies have been mined for some time, though in small quantities. Runner Mountain is also a large part of Cibola's horse breeding program, and competes fiercely with Tall Mare in this field.
Rye Hold - Located in Cibola's fertile heartland, Rye Hold began as a mere farmcot some hundreds of Turns ago but due to its position on a tributary of the Plains river it soon grew to a major agricultural center. It farms vast fields, and collects the produce of farmcots from an even wider area. It is a fairly short distance overland to the Farmcrafthall, and the holders of Rye Hold have a close relationship with that craft, often providing the first large-scale tests of new crop varieties. The occasional failure is more than offset by the successes, and being first to market with a new commodity can bring high profits.
Salt Flats Hold - Salt Flats Hold exists mainly as a collection point for the salt that comes out of the mines in the desert. It is actually the site of one of the first salt mines, which was worked out long ago; the upper tunnels are fairly large and are used for living and storage space. The lower tunnels are much smaller and much more dangerous; they are mostly blocked off in an attempt to keep children out, but the adventurous ones have probably found ways into some areas (and one or two have been killed by cave-ins in the last couple of decades.) There are also outbuildings, because the caves can't comfortably house everyone, and because some crafts (such as the smithhall) need good ventilation. Most people there prefer to live in the caves, which are cooler than the surface; Salt Flats isn't in the deep desert, but it still by no means has a hospitable climate.
Salt Flats is fairly close to the Spine of Cibola, which is much lower at this end; the tag-ends of storms blow in from the more fertile areas south of the Spine, but this is rare. Salt is shipped through a pass in the Spine to Fishhook hold which lies on a branch of the Plains River; the salt travels the rest of the way by water. Looking at the map, it may seem easier to ship the salt north to the coast, where the Seacrafthall is located; however, that would mean traveling through some of the most fearsome desert in the Southern Continent. Besides, much of the salt ends up traveling west to holds in Landing Territory, since much of Kadanzer Territory gets its salt from Kadanzer Hold. As new mines are opened further from the hold, it gets more and more tempting for Morgav to try shipping the salt through the desert, especially now that the Seacraft has relocated to its new harbor nearby. The people of Salt Flats sometimes joke that eventually the closer mines will play out and their hold will just dry up and blow away.
Salt Flats Hold is also a temporary holding point for prisoners being sent to work in the mines. As such, it hosts a fairly large contingent of Morgav's rangers, who also keep a sharp lookout for escapees from the mines. Those unfortunates have little choice but to pass that way if they want not to die in the deep desert. Salt Flats is also the closest thing to civilization available to the guards and other free workers at the mines, and boasts a saloon of sorts for their enjoyment, discreetly set apart from the hold proper. This establishment is in a cave delved into the side of an old open-pit salt mine (an experiment that didn't pan out); hence the place is called "the Pit". Morgav's Rangers live, and house the prisoners, in a larger cave complex in the same pit rather than at the hold proper.
Tall Mare Hold (Holder Tarron) - This hold is Cibola's major herding hold, even more so than Marshland. It and the nearby herdcots raise large amounts of herdbeasts for meat and leather, and it also is a major part of Cibola's horsebreeding program. It competes agressively with Runner Mountain in this field, and Morgav profits from the competition. Tall Mare is also the site of the major training camp for new recruits to Morgav's Rangers.
Wide Plains Hold - Located at the junction of the north and south forks of the Plains River, in the heart of Cibola's breadbasket region, Wide Plains hold specializes in farming, though it also does good business providing shelter and hospitality to traders traveling along the rivers or the roads that parallel them.
General Notes on Minor Holds
Cibola's minor holds generally carry on several different economic activities. Though this is not always the case in all major hold territories, in Cibola the minor holds tithe to the main hold. They are responsibe for collecting tithes from the local cotholds and transporting them along with their own tithes to the main hold of Cibola every Turn at the time of the Harvest Gather. The Holder of each hold is well aware that if he fails to turn a decent profit, he and his family may be turned out and replaced by someone who Morgav thinks will do better. As such, he has a strong motive to keep his people productive and make money by any means necessary.
Because of the temptation to cheat, Morgav needs to keep an eye on things. Any hold with a port, or near the boundaries of Cibola, will have an official revenue agent. This official's job is to prevent smuggling and collect import and export duties on any cargo that Morgav has decided should carry such a fee, as well as to make sure the local holder is not cheating his Lord. These agents report directly to Head Steward Garald and thus to Morgav himself, and may call upon the nearest detachment of Rangers or the Coast Watch for help with enforcement.
These official agents have the right to inspect the records of the Minor Holder at any time, and to conduct searches of any ship, wagon, or person entering or leaving Cibola. Those refusing to be searched may be arrested or simply thrown out of the hold, with or without confiscation of cargo, at the discretion of the agent. The revenue agents cannot, of course, catch every single incident of rule-bending, nor do they really try; their job is merely to stop large-scale cheating. Besides, Morgav likes to have a pretext ready in case he needs to move against a Minor Holders, and small-scale cheating fits the bill perfectly.
In order to supplement the reports of these agents, Morgav employs spies at each of his minor holds, and some that travel from hold to hold. These spies may be recruited in place or purposely inserted into the hold; in any case they will have a cover story to explain sending or receiving occasional firelizard messages. The spies have no official power or rank of any kind, but as long as they provide Morgav with good information, they will be protected. In holds with a revenue agent, one or more spies will watch for signs that this agent is taking bribes from traders or in cahoots with the local holder. Most of the spies don't know whether there are other spies watching them, or whether the local revenue agent or Ranger leader knows who they are, so they have some incentive to be honest.
On top of that, Morgav makes personal visits to each of his minor holds at least once per Turn. Often these visits will be unannounced, but sometimes he will let the local holder know ahead of time. He will usually stay at the hold for two or three days, doing a variety of things: talking to families or individuals (some of whom may be his spies), inspecting the records of the Holder or revenue agent, touring farmlands or cotholds, holding a public assembly to issue rewards and punishments, watching a bullfight, or whatever else strikes his fancy.
Cotholds of note:
Blue Roan, Cattails, Crackbone Creek (cotholder Rayan; this is the former home of brownrider D'zan and current home of former goldrider Darby), Fairview (cotholder Johnos; this is the home of former brownrider Koremi), Flint (former home of Goldrider Luka), and Shayo River. More information to follow; there are hundreds more cotholds left unmentioned.
General notes on Cotholds:
Cotholds in Cibola are most often extended-family operations, but may be single-family as well, or on the other hand several families may share a single cothold. In a few cases the line between "minor hold" and "cothold" may be a bit blurry. Most cotholds produce a single cash crop, but are as self-sufficient as possible in other areas; a minority have several profit-making enterprises going.
Though cotholds are responsible for sending their tithes to the nearest minor hold, this does not mean that said minor hold has administrative control over them; technically all holders are responsible directly to the Lord of Cibola, who effectively holds title to all land and major property. Of course the Weyr is the real holder of the title, according to the Compact, but Cibolans generally regard this fact as a mere technicality. It is Morgav, after all, who will throw people out of hold and home if they do not make a profit for him.