Questions regarding a certain chapter in Midnight Tides

So, a lot of what we know about Holds and how they exactly differ are...well,, we don't know much at this point. Or, *I* don't know much. But chapter 16 of Midnight Tides threw me for a loop, and I'm not quite sure if I should understand quite what the Beast Hold is yet.

Udinaas and Feather Witch go to the Beast Hold, where they meet Udinaas' and Menandore's son, Found, who is currently under the care of an Imass, but pre-Tellan. So, First Empire(?) Udinaas muses on how these Imass aren't *actually* alive, but they think they are. Then, a FLURRY of names and titles are thrown out by Found, of the Holds and Warrens.

Out of all my confusion, my question is: what, exactly, is the Beast Hold? Feather Witch mentions the oldest tiles portray the SKINS of animals, not the animals themselves, so is the Beast Hold the First Empire in stasis? A sort of "home" for the Imass?

It's been a couple years since reading Memories of Ice, but i know the Beast Hold was featured there as well, but I feel like there's a few tidbits I'm not remembering.