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"Oh ... actually, this is a bit of a silly question, but is it true that you can get and look up Family Patents from Port Authority clerk-houses like this? You see, I have a friend who is promised to - "
The clerk interrupts you with a particularly loud and rather dramatic sigh. Under other circumstances you might be a bit put off, but in this case, you were actually hoping that he'd cut you off before you had to spin an entire tale to explain away your out-of-the-Black question.
"So long as there is some official instrument, writ or bull to certify that a certain individual and his immediate family has been affirmed the privileged to assume a nomen - that is to say, a Patented name - then yes, I can make a master and a first copy of the new Family Patent right at this desk."
"A ... oh. I see. But what is the difference between the two, exactly?"
Another dramatic sigh.
"The master will be kept in the archives of the Forum in perpetuity. The first and any subsequent copies will be kept by the head of the newly Patented family, or anyone he wishes to endow with them. And yes, part of the responsibility of a nomen is to ensure that all issued Patents, including the master, remain up-to-date and reconciled with one another by working with the Port Authority or whatever the equivalent civic body is elsewhere. Alright then - have a good night."
With that he gets up off of his desk and walks away, leaving you behind. You still have quite a few questions, but at the very least, you have confirmation that the materials to make a Family Patent are in this building, possibly even in these desks - though you would like to see one before you try your hand at forging one. There is also a question of how thorough you are going to be. Are you going to just forge a copy of a copy, or are you going to try to forge a master as well? Well ... so long as the forgery manages to pass muster, the only way that you get found out is if someone attempts to check your forged copied Family Patent against the master, only to find that the master doesn't exist. Obviously, you don't want that threat hanging over your head ... but breaking into the Forum, and making a second forgery, that is not a small commitment of time or effort - or risk, for that matter. Perhaps it would be better to go with out.
Realizing that you are just staring at an empty desk, you turn around and start walking out. As you do, something occurs to you - what you should really be considering right now, is what kind of life do you intend to lead, once you get to the Frontier. If you intend to remain in regular contact with civilization, then having a forged Family Patent with a master back in Scrimshaw Mount would be worth it. But if you were going to live like a hermit - or perhaps even head into the Great Gloom, then you would have next to no opportunities to use the Family Patent once you finished your journey to the Frontier - in which case forging a master wouldn't be worth the trouble.
