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Name: Lainra (LAIN-rah)
Status: Guild Born
Age: 19
Gender: female
Siblings: many full and half siblings, their parents were all over the place
Born: in the middle
Legitimacy: born in a single-parent home
Childhood Health: iron constitution
Adult Height: unusually small for their age
Adult Build: average in build
Skin Tone: lightly tanned
Hair Color: platinum blond
Hair Style: tightly curled
Hair Length: shoulder length
Eye Color: pale teal
Literacy Level: are able to read and write fairly well
Politeness Level: on occasion they've been known to mutter an insult openly
Focus: they carefully attend to details
This character isn't winning any beauty contests
Given a gift or item, they won't share often
Values and Goals
Is very happy with: their skill with people
Dislikes: being at home
Low goal: travel
Low fear: Dragons (gryphons, etc)
A carving of something special is in their posession
Crafting Guild: Scribner, Status: new Journeyman
Other Skill picked up around Guild folk: tailoring
Odd Skill (learned outside of craft if any): cartography
Originally From: plainsland community
Location size: crowded
Location climate: seasonal
Searched: yesterday
Name: Kiryn (kie-rinn, kahRIN)
Status: Guild Born
Age: 19
Gender: male
Siblings: two out of wedlock siblings on their father's side
Born: last
Legitimacy: illegitimate
Childhood Health: very sturdy
Adult Height: quite tall, unusually so
Adult Build: lithe but muscled
Skin Tone: fair
Hair Color: violet
Hair Style: frizzy
Hair Length: cut to the neck
Eye Color: light blue
Literacy Level: are literate to a good degree
Politeness Level: they know their place in society and are deferential to their superiors
Focus: their attention might slip a bit but they are usually focused on their work,
--yet that attention is often over-used in certain conditions (consummate healer)
While their striking looks make some jealous, most are just attracted to them
They're well known for being very selfish
Values and Goals
Hates: their father
Is very happy with: town life
Low goal: build or create
Weak fear: an ancestral enemy
A bottle or goblet is in their posession
Crafting Guild: Healing, Status: Journeyman
Other Skill picked up around Guild folk: hermity stuff
Odd Skill (learned outside of craft if any): survival in the wild
Originally From: scrubland community
Location size: crowded
Location climate: temperate
Searched: a few weeks ago
Name: Pho (foe)
Status: Guild Born
Age: 17
Gender: female
Siblings: several half siblings on either side of their family, odd for Guild life
Born: in the middle
Legitimacy: born before their parents could marry
Fostered due to: siblings (or half-sibs) demanded it
Childhood Health: average for a youngster
Adult Height: a bit short for an adult
Adult Build: pudgy
Skin Tone: lines of scars all over fair
Hair Color: platinum blond
Hair Style: always falling into their eyes
Hair Length: shoulder length
Eye Color: light blue
Literacy Level: are literate to a good degree
Politeness Level: they're occasionally polite, but often slip up
Focus: if focus had a name, this character's would be it
They're average in looks
Often they share, regardless with whom
Values and Goals
Hates: their father
Enjoys deeply: the Beach
Extremely strong goal: protect something or someone
Strong fear: being alone
A clothing (not expensive) is in their posession
Crafting Guild: Smithcraft - tools and machinery, Status: senior apprentice
Other Skill picked up around Guild folk: fishery
Odd Skill (learned outside of craft if any): tailoring
Originally From: high mountain community
Location size: smallish
Location climate: moderate
Searched: a while ago, but it was kept a secret from them
Name: Yaralny (yah RALL nee, yahRALL)
Status: Guild Born
Age: 17
Gender: male
Siblings: many full and half siblings, their parents were all over the place
Born: in the middle
Legitimacy: born out of wedlock
Fostered due to: financial need
Childhood Health: rarely in good health, always kind of ill
Adult Height: unusually small for their age
Adult Build: all muscle, bulky
Skin Tone: well tanned
Hair Color: clearly dyed violet
Hair Style: loosely curled
Hair Length: to waist
Eye Color: dark blue
Literacy Level: are able to read and write fairly well
Politeness Level: they're occasionally polite, but often slip up
Focus: as they look around them, their focus fades
This character is certainly one of the best looking folks around
They often share with their friends
Values and Goals
Enjoys deeply: their wooden musical instrument
Dislikes: being at home
Extremely strong goal: protect something or someone
Overwhelming fear: a relative (their step-mother)
A small painting is in their posession
Crafting Guild: Tanning, Status: new journeyman
Other Skill picked up around Guild folk: animal instruction
Odd Skill (learned outside of craft if any): shipwright
Originally From: high mountain community
Location size: kind of large
Location climate: seasonal
Searched: recently and it caused a stir
They had all been brought from different Holds, some small and some huge, in the nearby areas. The low, sloping scrublands brought Kiryn. From the nearby grazing plains in a happy runner hold, Lainra came. And along the same tall mountain ridge but in different spots along the long, long road there, first Pho and then Yaralny arrived to Ablan.
Ablan, known for much more than just its extensive cherry fields and wines! For not one of these youths would be joining up the vintners or bakers or farmcraft guilds! There were always many guilds ready to pick up talented young people, not the least of which was Kiryn's. The Healers guild had always had a very strong presense here in Ablan, ever since Kalkin's era and before. Families tied to his by distant relations or by friendship lent themselves to the Tannery, since where there was need for people, there was need for beasts, and clothing. Yaralny's talents with creatures easily led to his apprenticeship. All guilds need good records, and Lainra's beautiful handwriting and good perception skills sent her to the Scribners for more training. Pho's family was always involved with mines and ores, so her apprenticeship to the metal workers at Ablan was logical.
Since they were around the same age, like many other guild mates, they became known as friends. This was all around six turns ago, when Yaralny and Pho were 11, and Kiryn and Lainra were 13.
Yaralny and Kiryn have a shared ancestor, somewhere back when, in Kalkin. Unfortunately that has meant that not only have they inherited a bit of his 'Sanger Crazies', they've also both had contact from Kalkin's enemies. Through time and space... how do they know? Well it's something in the genes after all, that attracts them together, as well as draws their foes near. But better that they face these things together, than apart! Both of them know this to be true. With their friends, Pho is very eager to try chasing away anyone that would pester them, and especially loves to team up with Lainra to lambast that shrew of a step-mother that Yaralny has. She often parades herself as the ideal loving mother, when in reality not one of these kids trusts her alone... Who is she really? Well, who knows whether she's part of the distant enemies that Kalkin amassed, but it sure seems that way sometimes.
The girls enjoy trading sewing and fashion secrets, both quite adept with fitting clothes and making sure that people are wearing something that looks flattering on them. Together they often have Yaralny create soft leather for their work, and use it to play dress-up on poor Kiryn. He's hardly one to care what his clothing is like, except that once he has it, he holds on to it fiercely. Lainra and he have spoken at length about the lay of the lands between their Holds, with so many small ins and outs they enjoy making maps and fanciful games with Lainra's drawing skill.
Where Lainra can get much information from a person, Yaralny can do the same, to an extent, with animals. Though he knows most of the beasts he's looking over are bound to become food and goods, he has a good rapport with beasts of burden. Lainra has a lovely carving of a boat, something rarely seen in her community in the middle of the continent, which Yaralny could confirm would be for shallow-water fishing. His own small wooden flute keeps everyone entertained, though he's no harper. He often uses this flute to call animals in from the fields.
Other commonalities among them, oddly enough, include the ability to fish and deal with water, at least between Pho and Yaralny. The high mountain lake that Yaralny grew up next to had a thriving fishing business, a business that went downstream (well, not the boats!) toward Pho's village below. Pho has always asked about Yaralny's ship construction, eager to add to her extensive knowledge of building and machinery. She's exceptional at getting the right tool for the job - and if she can't find one, she'll use whatever is at hand in a clever way.
Pho's favorite cloak was actually Yaralny's senior apprentice project in tannery - a lovely pale yellow floor length hooded and long-sleeved cloak. It still shows that he was not a true master, of course, but she adores it none the less. Kiryn's stash of wine and liquor is always a popular destination for the foursome, hidden in a cupboard that one of the other wood-working students built. He occasionally goes down to the vintner for more super-secret sloshes of their newest or even their oldest wines. Lainra is well known for not being able to hold much liquor, so she more often than not is called upon to be their lookout - if other younger students got wind that they were drinking it up, they'd want to join in, and that'd spoil everything.
Both Pho and Kiryn have a problem with their father. Pho's because for some reason she always brings out the worst in him, and he would all but go on rampages around her. Fostered out at the age of eight, then, Pho was quite glad that she's been removed to this low, pleasant Hold. Kiryn... has very little respect for his father. Always swinging around with the ladies, seducing some and dropping others. The whole process is distasteful to the steady-minded young man. His two - known - siblings are both from other women than his own mother, there are likely a dozen others out there too, Kiryn sneers at that thought.
It's been clear since early on, that Pho and Yaralny are well suited to a long term relationship. They're both quite protective of each other, especially about their parents and visitors. Kiryn and Lainra aren't really a couple, though they enjoy each other's company as they do their other close friends.
Perhaps their classroom and guild duties are a good measure of their personalities, lastly. Pho is so intense when she's working, it's usually confounding to others when they see her outside of that context enjoying herself and being chatty. She's hardly that way when there's a machine to be built or fixed, or a tool in the works needing design. The scribners enjoy Lainra's attention, she knows more than enough words to embellish a tale to make it less dry and boring, though she can't sing for a whit so they keep her words on paper. Outside his work, Kiryn is flitty and distractable as any young man - especially if there are pretty girls around. But get him near an injury or a person showing signs of illness? He's definitely a Sanger - he's single minded and focused, always asking questions and checking pulse, doing doctorly things eagerly. Yaralny ... well, since his work doesn't require a full time presence, while hide is stretching or being soaked, he can allow himself to drift. He's often got someone nearby talking about the daily gossip or informing him of an event - and his studies don't suffer because of this. He'll never be more than a moderately talented tanner, but he's going to be good enough that if his works are required in a Weyr, they'll be handy.
And... It turns out they will indeed be needed...
"Why didn't you tell me?" Pho growled, her mother, her birth mother, had come to visit (she did so frequently, probably to get away from her rather abusive husband) and had flippantly told the Dragonhope riders that her daughter had already been Searched, she was fine to go wherever they needed her.
"Because your father would have rioted," she replied, simply. "You know that. He is still ... well, always has been very... abrupt."
"Rude," Pho said. "He's rude, and hurtful. But you didn't have to keep this from me all this time! When! When was this?" Her blue eyes widened, "I remember, now, there was a rider just before you sent me to Carralis' place! He had Searched me, hadn't he!" Pho crossed her arms over her chest, scars showing from the forges and the sharp objects she always worked on. "Well if you were sending me away anyway, why didn't you bother telling me then?"
Her mother Fanro looked down, shook her head, and muttered something, a typical response in her opinion. Pho always considered her mother to be a bit weak willed. But now she was growing past middle age, and what would her father do then? Well, now it wouldn't be her problem at all. The likelyhood that they'd be willing or even able to head to Dragonhope Weyr was so small, she was finally on her own and away from them. Fanro left Ablan that night, but it left a sting in Pho's heart.
"Everyone always has a bit of a shock when they're Searched," Yaralny said, "I mean come on, when I was Searched people thought I'd bribed the dragon with herdbeasts!"
"That was because the dragon was eating everything he could get his muzzle around," laughed Lainra. "I'm just... still in shock, myself."
"We'll all make good riders, I think," Kiryn said, "don't worry about it, Lainra."
"I don't know about them... They're so big, I mean what if one of them steps on me?"
"Well then I'll be there to set the bone and sew you up," Kiryn chuckled. He raised his wine glass, and the others did the same (Lainra's was a bit watered even for this occasion). "To our new home, Dragonhope, and our dragons we hope to find!"
They cheered, slugged back the dark, berry-cherry wine, and rested up. The next days would be busy enough. Riders from Dragonhope had come, along with one from Dawnlight in another time, and collected on a Search promise that they had standing with Ablan.
Living in Ablan, it's an unspoken rule that you'd be exposed to dragons. At least two of the Master Vintners were riders - and kept on living right here in the valley, their dragons seeming perfectly at home in large stone constructions that served as shelters. Two beautiful blue dragons, Sebra's Charranath and B'ryn's Xylanith, resided there full time now, along with exotic ones like ** belonging to a pair of 'detectives' that worked for the judicial areas of Ablan. (or actually at the Den but who's counting)
It was one of those exotics, the **, who had Searched Kiryn a little bit before all the hooplah. ** ... boyfriend? Husband? Pet? * was the rider, though he was most often overshadowed by his partner. And it would probably be an assortment of these dragons that would deposit the foursome of Guild students to Dragonhope. From there, they'd be headed off to the Den to hopefully stand and impress.
"Why not just straight there?" Asked Pho. "It's sort of an inconvienence..."
"Because Dragonhope is the last of our outposts on Pern," said *, "otherwise we're kind of spread out around the Nexus. You'll see, or ... maybe you won't have to. You'll be choosing to stay here at Dragonhope, or you could head back with us. That's of course," * chuckled, "if you Impress."
"I'm sure we will," said Yaralny, "I just feel it. Maybe the dragons will pay attention to me like the herd beasts do."
"You've got a point there," ** said, "many who are tuned to animals might find it easier to sense and aid their dragon. Don't count on it, but it's possible." Yaralny nodded, understanding full well that a sentient dragon was hardly a soft-witted cow!
"What about going between the Weyr and Ablan?" Asked Pho, "dragons are always helpful here, I've seen them making things like those big dens, and the heavy machinery they can lift so easily!"
"There used to be a wing," * said, "the Screw Loose wing, but it's, well, it's still around but the guys aren't really doing much these days. Alskyr has spoiled them, I think. Maybe you could talk to the weyrleader here in Dragonhope about it. His son is a smithy, you know, his eldest."
Pho brightened up, and realized that she'd have a hard decision anyway if that were the case. How could she spend only part of her time in this beautiful sunny orchard-filled land, when there was good hard work to be done too!
It was pretty clear that Kiryn and Lainra would be doing the same... maybe trying to spend a few weeks here, a month there... She'd heard that the scribners and records keepers were far more important at Dragonhope than their Harpers - and she soon realized why, when she was able to speak with them about it. Harpers records were too sloppy, too hard to recount, while written words were quick and to the point.
And of course, Kiryn knew his talents in Threadfall would be worth a lot, just as much as on the ground at Ablan. Riding a dragon would give him so much more room to work! Almost like... maybe... having his own field hospital, or operating room... He was lost in a healers-dream, apparently, then had to be nudged to gather his items together.
They flew off to Dragonhope, spending only a short time between. It was chilly, freezing even, this time of year at Dragonhope! But fortunately Yaralny had brought his projects, encouraged to do so by the search riders. He'd have some time to finish them up, but also something to think about by looking over the riding gear that the dragonriders needed. His leather works would be of better quality for riding gear than for clothing, so he traded off the idea of bundling up his friends. They instead bartered for other clothing, and were soon suited up for the weather.
"Maybe staying here in their summer, and heading back down to Ablan for their summer..." Pho pondered aloud.
Would it be summer or winter at this Healing Den? They weren't even sure...