Gold Riders

[Shikai]

Gold Riders of Araelen Weyr

Alana and Gwynevith
Kitari and Lefayeth

[Shikai]

Character Name: Alana (ah LAHN ah)

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Preference: Males

Previous Position: Cotholder’s Daughter

Current Position: Junior Weywoman

Appearance: Alana is average in height, and stands at 5’4”, with a slim build. She has very light brown hair that was once thin and relatively limp due to stress, but has since began to thicken and develop a slight wave. Her eyes are a soft, caring brown, and very round in shape, although a bit large for her face. This gives her a kind, inquisitive look. Like her brother Tarren, she has a button nose. Alana has a thin face and high, proud cheekbones. She has a medium skin tone, as she would have been pale were it not for many turns spent working out in Rukbat’s heat that first caused her to burn, but eventually settled into a more protective tan.

Personality: Alana can easily become wrapped up in whatever she is doing, and often puts the health and safety of others before her own. Her selflessness in that respect leads her to be unhappy and neglect to care for herself. She is very protective and loving, but can be too trusting of others, which can cause her to be used. Alana always attempts to see the bright side of all things and people, although she isn’t always successful. She has a good deal of patience, from helping to raise her younger siblings, although if she is repeatedly annoyed, she will eventually snap and can fly into a rage. Alana shows danger signs of moodiness and unhappiness before this, however, so those who know her usually know when to stop bothering her. While it was necessary in her life to learn to take orders, she has an independent streak that always annoyed her parents, for she likes to do things her own way, preferring to forge her own path than follow someone else’s. She is modest, but good at planning and arranging her time to get the most out of a day, and, if given the chance, would be a good leader as well, for she usually has the best interests of others at heart. In the rare event that there is a disaster, she rises to the occasion as a leader rather than panicking, and has that confidence that causes others to listen. Despite what she has been through, she has a very fierce determination, and belief in justice and equality. Alana is a good mediator, for she has learned to be impartial by helping her many younger siblings solve problems. She has pride, although she doesn’t always show it, and an ambition and belief that she can better herself, and rise to whatever she wants in the world. However, too often she sets her own dreams aside for the sake of others, which leads to problems for her.

History: Alana was the firstborn child to Talvin, a cotholder, and Narenna, his wife. The couple had just begun to make their home on the Southern Continent, branching out from the larger holds. The only families near were fellow cotholding families, although they were at least a day’s ride on a runner apart. Talvin was disappointed that his wife had not born him a son, being very traditional and believing firmly that only men could work in the fields, whereas it was a woman’s duty to raise children, cook, and clean. His disappointment was made even greater when Alana did not grow into a lovely youth, who could be married off at a young age to strengthen ties or help him gain land. Rather, the child seemed unhealthy, and was certainly not pretty, so that none of the neighboring families’ sons ever showed an interest in her.

However, his next child, also a daughter, was much more to his liking. Talenna was an obvious beauty, and made a brat through her father’s obvious favoritism. As he felt Alana had little potential, he employed her to aid her mother in caring for the children, and doing ‘proper’ woman’s work. While she got on very poorly with Talenna, she was closer to her younger brother, Tarren. As the firstborn daughter and firstborn son, they both felt themselves to be disappointments to their family, but they both had dreams of greater things. Alana encouraged Tarren in his dreams of becoming a smith, or whatever he could be where he could use his mind. However, when her father discovered this, he was outraged, believing that it was her fault that Tarren had ‘his head in the clouds, instead of in the fields where he belonged’. She was not able to talk to him as often anymore, but the two remained fairly close.

Her next sibling, a sister named Navina, was a kind girl, but she was content with her life, and, while respectful of Alana, couldn’t relate to her desires to ‘get out’ of their lifestyle. Navina dreamed of being married to a good family, having children of her own, and living a happy life as a handsome farmer’s wife. She wasn’t as pretty as Talenna, but lived a much easier life than Alana, and so she didn’t inherit the girl’s sickly appearance.

The last child her parents had was another son, Larvin. He lacked Tarren’s brightness, but was strong, and eager to learn the farmercraft from his father. Talvin was delighted with the son he had always wanted, and he became even more of a favorite than Talenna. As the oldest child, and the one with the most duties and responsibilities, Alana was always busy, which forced her to forget her dreams of escape. She wanted more from life than to be a wife; rather, she wanted to be her own person, to make her own accomplishments. However, leaving was out of the question, for she had many younger siblings who needed her. The more they grew, the less care they required, and the more she began to seriously think of her dreams again.

Slowly, Alana’s resolve grew, and she became certain that somehow, sometime, she would leave, and find a place for herself in a hold, or craft. Anywhere, anywhere at all, other than where she was. It was a shock to all when the dragonriders of legend burst out of between, returning after an absence of hundreds of years. Tarren was ecstatic, and determined to be taken to the weyr as a candidate, and have a chance to be a dragonrider. In secret, he approached her again, remembering the dreams they had once shared, and told her that perhaps it would be a good place for her to go, too.

When Tarren was Searched, Alana was very happy for him, but was sad that he was going to leave. However, to her surprise, she also was informed that she had the right qualities to be a dragonrider, and was welcome at Araelen to be a candidate. She managed to persuade the Searchrider to take her as well, without her father’s permission. As Sitareh was set on having many candidates, he agreed, and Alana was a-dragonback with her brother, ready to turn over a new leaf, and live somewhere where she was allowed to be herself. There, she was determined to let no one use her again, for she would finally be able to follow her dreams.

Position in Family: Oldest child of five.

Dragon Name: Gwynevith

Dragon's Appearance: Gwynevith’s hide is primarily a deep amber gold in sheen, with lighter, yellowish streaks along her sides. Her wing membranes are darker than her hide, exuding a metallic olive-gold colour. Her wing span is impressive indeed, easily surpassing that of the largest bronzes to Hatch. It certainly appears that Gwynevith, to no fault of her own, dominated in the use of her shared egg’s nutrients, for she is robust and strong. With well-proportioned limbs, except for a longer than average tail, she is a sight to behold.

Dragon's Personality: Gwynevith imbues all of the qualities of a queen, for she is regal and reserved in all outward appearances. She is especially gentle with her rider and her rider’s friends, almost hesitant in her actions for fear of acting too brashly. Despite this formal visage, though, Gwynevith is also highly intelligent and opportunistic. When it comes to mates, especially, she will act decisively and unexpectedly, perhaps even surprising her rider with a sudden change from meekness to stubborn determination. Her will is strong, though often hidden, and this will offer a challenge for her rider.

[Shikai]

Character Name: Kitari

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Preference: Males

Previous Position: Daughter of a Master Fisher, Crewman on the Dawn Star

Current Position: Junior Weyrwoman

Appearance: Kitari is rather tall and lanky, standing at 5’8”, and has a lean, limber body from Turns of labour in which flexibility and strength were assets. She is quite strong, though not as buff as the men she works with, and her hands are fairly rough and worn from hauling nets and lines. Her eyes are a pale grey-blue, and her nose is rather pointed. Kitari’s hair is black like the darkest of nights, and she keeps it cut short or tied back with a strip of cloth to keep the curly wisps from flying in her face out at sea. She bears a thin scar on her left shoulder from a stray line that snapped in the peak of a storm, and another on her lower leg from an inopportunely yanked hook, but is otherwise rather unmarked by her Turns on a ship. Her lips will curve readily into a smile at the slightest of jokes or amusing occurrences, a sight the men begrudgingly agreed was cheering on a long voyage, and Kitari would often favour them with a show of her optimism on the bleakest of days. Despite this easy air, Kitari is still wary of losing herself to the predetermined gender ‘roles’ of her world.


Personality: Kitari is headstrong, fierce, and proud. After years of allowances and being doted on by her father, she is confident of herself and used to getting the things she wants. With this confidence comes resourcefulness, as the girl recognizes that not everyone will be as malleable as her father, and she will be required to fight her own battles to achieve her goals in the future.

A member of the Dawn Star for so long, Kitari is used to and enjoys physical labour, for there is nothing like getting one’s hands dirty to make one feel satisfied at the end of the day. She is cautious around men, not that she fears them personally or isn’t interested in their advances, but because she dreads the thought of becoming ‘tied down’ by one. Nor is she too interested in the frivolity of one-night ‘relationships’, for she knows that all it would take is for one man to gain her favour, and then she’d be stuck.

Her closest friends were always the lads aboard the ship, for she had little time for the silliness of content, land-loving girls, and her manner reflected that difference in company. Kitari is at times outspoken when it might be deemed inappropriate for a lady to be speaking so, and she doesn’t waste her time spending hours attempting to make her hair look just right. She views herself as quite intelligent and worldly, though not arrogantly so, and will readily share her opinion/give advice, unwanted or no, if she deems her knowledge relevant to the situation.


History: Kitari was the first child born to the Master Fisher, Kijarn, and his wife, Fallari. They were in residence at one of the Minor Holds lining the coast of Southern Boll, and Kijarn was the Master Fisher of the Hold. As such, he enjoyed a somewhat higher position than most of the other residents, aside from the Holder and his family of course, and was much respected for his knowledge of the sea. By the time Kitari had earned two Turns of age, Kijarn had earned himself a much respected captaincy on the ship the Dawn Star, and the Hold was much in debt to his crew and he for the bountiful loads of fish they were able to bring in.

Thus, when Kitari was four Turns of age, and only a sister had followed her, Kijarn decided to bring his daughter out on the ship with him. He desperately longed for a son to raise in the ways of his Craft, but the waiting seemed eternally long, and he had no guarantee that his wife would ever bear him a male child. Although Fallari was hesitant to allow her oldest daughter out in such a dangerous world, she was assured that the sea was calm that day.

Kitari took to the ocean like a dragon to the skies, eagerly assisting the men (or at least, she fervently believed it was assistance) when the Master Fisher called out orders, and Kijarn was both bemused and touched by her enthusiasm. In fact, Kitari seemed so thrilled by the experience, following her father around everywhere when he returned to land, that Kijarn decided to repeat the trip. Fallari’s initial reluctance faded over the Turns, for her second daughter seemed much more interested ‘ladylike’ pursuits than Kitari ever had.

Her next child was a boy, and while Kijarn eagerly awaited his coming of age so that he too could join his father out on the sea, Kitari’s foyers were allowed to continue. She wasn’t permitted to come on most of the fishing voyages, of course, for stormy seas were no time for a child to be on board, but that simply made the days she was permitted to join her father all the more rewarding.

By the time she had thirteen Turns of age, her brother had become a fairly regular 'member' of the crew as well, and Kitari feared that this would be the end of her freedom. However, she was beginning to prove an asset on board, as the other men were used to her presence and sent her on chores so that they needn’t leave their posts.

Once she’d reached sixteen Turns, it had become blatantly evident to all that Kijarn was doting on his daughter. Her brother was old enough to take her place, yet the Master Fisher continued to advance his daughter to more demanding positions alongside his son, rather than replacing her with the boy. More sons had joined the family and were beginning to enter shiplife, but he continued to permit, even encourage Kitari’s presence on board.

The other men began to grumble, for this free-spirited young lady was no longer a child. Her mother, too, began to push Kijarn to force the girl back onto land, but he didn’t have the heart. Kitari ought to be married, Fallari insisted, or learning the role of a wife back in the Hold, but Kijarn didn’t want his oldest daughter to leave him, for she was as much a son to him as her brother five Turns behind her.

Everyday on the sea was glorious for Kitari, and she reveled in the tossing of the ship, the straining of the mast in high winds, and the delightfully terrifying sprays of sea water that would splash onto the deck in rough waters. A full-fledged member of the crew now, she laboured alongside the men, tying down loose sails and hauling the nets, but at every turn the once-friendly faces seemed dour, and the glares no longer corresponded to the weather.

She sensed a change in the wind; one that she had feared for Turns. Kitari had always ‘played-up’ her youthfulness, and the disguise had proved enough, but her maturity was now quite evident, and some of the men were beginning to resent her continued presence in their company. Many of the other lads on board had been her friends, and she’d even held secret ‘crushes’ on a few over the Turns, but even their attitudes began to change.

Some, she had learned the hard way, were, too, seeing her as a young woman now, but not in such a resentful manner. On a morning belowdeck, when she’d been dismally scrubbing a pot as it was her turn on cleaning duty, a lad about her age, who’d been a member of the crew nearly as long, cornered her. Despite his insistent advances (and he was cute enough), she had resisted. If her mother were to catch wind of such a thing, she’d be marrying the fool, and then she’d never be allowed to sail again. Seeing her freedom slip away, Kitari snatched up the fallen scrub brush and clubbed him deftly across the side of the face. She’d returned to the deck, somewhat shaken, and continued about her day. The lad later resurfaced, with a strange, darkening bruise around his eye, and she hadn’t had to worry about that threat to her liberty again.

As it was, Kitari knew that her days aboard the Dawn Star were numbered, for Fallari would ultimately win. She saw her mother’s position and that of most other women as a trap that every girl must fall into in becoming tied down with a husband. This was a trap that she must avoid at all costs.

Thus it was, that in being Searched by a dragon from Araelen, Kitari readily accepted the offer to stand at a Hatching at the Weyr. From the stories she’d heard, women who became dragonriders were free. They chose to live their lives how they would, not allowing themselves to be tied down by one dragonman or another. It wasn’t the ocean, but the sky was a whole other world to explore. She would miss the sea, her father, the crew, but it seemed her only option if she was ever going to live life the way she wanted to.

Position in Family: Oldest child of five, with one younger sister and three younger brothers.

Dragon Name: Lefayeth

Dragon Appearance: Lefayeth is a surprisingly light gold. Her color is naturally paler than the usual gold, although this is added to by an almost sickly dullness that she will likely shed as she ages. Darker, more classic leaf gold adds warmth to her underbelly and neck. This same shade is cast over her wing sails, although marked with very visible, light gold splotches. Leaf gold is also splashed across her lower forelegs in small patches, more concentrated at her forefeet and lessening in number as they creep upward. As a hatchling, her proportions are, to say the least, awkward. She is certainly small for a gold, although she will still be able to outsize many bronzes as an adult. Her front legs are short, giving her an awkward gait. Her body is thin and could even be called scrawny, and her neck is on the long side. As her tail, in contrast, is short, this could lead to balance problems when learning to fly that will need to be compensated for, although as it seems this effect will be lessened as she grows, it is unlikely to be a problem by that time.

Dragon Personality: Lefayeth has a surprisingly calm and composed outward demeanor, contrary to the powerful, commanding air most have come to associate with gold dragons. Her frail appearance, however, belies the true strength of will she possesses. While she cannot impose her will upon the other dragons as simply as most queens, what she lacks in physical power she has learned to make up for in cleverness. She can be manipulative in order to accomplish her goals. She is also prideful, although she rarely shows it, and can be fierce, sticking firmly to her decisions and morals once she has thoroughly thought a matter through.