Image Credits:
Mystery Gang on Meiker

Name: Larn

Gender/Pref: Male, gay

Age: 16

Hair: shiny metallic graphite black, very shiny and kept styled, short as shown. However it's very likely that by the time he's in his 30s it will have gone completely silver, with a similarly metallic sheen, as most of his family (descended from one grandparent anyway) have this feature

Eyes: deep gold, though in the image it's hard to tell since his pupils are often quite dilated; almond shaped with a strong epicanthal fold, under high, thick and expressive brows

Appearance: creamy yellowed skin without flaws, with a handsome (or actually 'pretty') face, a long flat nose, and expressive lips. He prefers loose shirts and pants, and is quite fluid in his movement. He looks much taller than he actually is, he is only around 5'6", but this has never made him self-conscious like some 'short guys' might be. His voice is reedy and smooth, higher than most boys of his age, but again he has not let this make him embarrassed - nor does he allow himself to be mocked...

Family: born from a ninja clan near Dun Keiba, one that also guards one of the various mountain passes that has been invaded at times by mobs or Nex. He has both parents and one of four grandparents still living, and at least two siblings, and a dozen cousins thanks to both sides of his parentage having siblings themselves. He is happily able to keep up with most of his older family members in terms of training, but also quite at ease with doing research or helping non-fighting members of the village during their daily routines

Aspirant At: Acicade

Skills: trained highly with his family and others in the village, he is as speedy and agile as any Ninja around. He doesn't 'look' like a Ninja, which he feels makes him that much more effective. Very good at blending in with other families and groups, he can observe and make notes of who might be scouting out a mark for thievery, as well as checking buildings for soundness against both home invasion and environmental issues. While he's not a builder or construction worker, he knows how to appraise building materials, and has helped with minor repairs on village houses that have been damaged by flooding, Nex attacks, and those rare home invasions by very bold mob members.

Personality: Clever, humorous, he does sometimes joke around a little much but never at the cost of people's livelihoods. Enjoys flirting with those big-strong types. He puts his cleverness to use, "thinking like a Mob" and has aided in developing new ways of preventing break-ins by attempting to break in (with permission!) and giving his honest opinion about any given location.

Background: Larn would never get lost in a crowd even at his size, he purposefully hides in a crowd! There's a difference, so he says. In order to root out the bad guys, you have to be able to think like one. Which he definitely does well enough that he's prevented one major invasion to a village just in time to be able to watch the more experienced Ninja and even some Knights pick up the Mob folk doing it. He was quite young when he realized he had this talent, and also knows he's smarter than most around him. But he would never lord that over anyone, he feels that it's the duty of those who are more capable, stronger, smarter, or faster, to protect those who are not.

There are several Knights and riders in his extended family, though none very close. When they visit though, he's always apt to lose any pretense and stare at the lovely Draks. He knows that if he ever does pair with a drak, there will be other training he'll have to go through, but he's definitely not sure he wants to be a full-fledged Knight. He can fight, but he'd rather prevent fighting or emergencies, than jump into a fray.

So when he was selected by a Judge to go to a Castle halfway across the world, he was thrilled! He would live up to expectations, or try to anyway, as best he could. On arrival to Acicade, he got to explore this place that obviously had been built for keeping out invaders of all sorts. Taking notes on this wall thickness or that arrow-slit placement, and also how the castle itself sat in a way that would allow the towers to see over any tall trees or hills nearby, he was quite impressed with all of it! Dun Keiba, he related to the locals, was much more open and sprawling, but relied on families like his own to defend at various areas of their perimeter.

He sparred with local Ninja kids, keeping up on his physical training as much as learning about Draks and their care as the nest in their caverns matured.

**

It was not a long wait but Larn wondered how often hatchings and mind-pairings had this... concentration of varied ninja from around the world. He did a lot of recon while there, talking to locals and even trying to listen in on the other ninja aspirants. Their cultures and training were clearly different from his. Maybe he could ask about adapting their training...

Before he could do so, however, the clutch was announced as 'ready' by the dam, and everyone found their way to the main hall where they would be presented to the aspirants.

He let a flutter of excitement drift through his chest, but didn't show it like he'd seen some others in his few times hiding to watch at Dun Keiba. There were five, not four, draklings, even though he'd read and re-read the information: there were four eggs. But the pair of green dominant draklings that strode out first were clearly from the same egg. They chose before any others, and one of the draks was an unusual shade. A rain and her knight were next, but it was the dramatically black and gold shaded Night drakling that was nudged forward by his mother.

"Satask looks just like his sire," Aiixta asserted, and on looking around, it was clear that yes, he did indeed!*

The drak was measured in his approach, and his gaze across the aspirants left led him directly to Larn. "I've decided that we will work well."

Pride welled in Larn's chest, and finally he broke a broad smile. "I hope so, Satask!"

They would be training with the High Princess herself, Kharone, and her forest Warencha. And it heavily amused Larn that the drak and Princess were a good match for his best - and worst - traits. He thought, maybe... that if he was older, or she younger, they would have terrorized any Castle with pranks and jump-scares!

Well they actually were doing that, during training. But always with a lesson to learn. Maintaining good relations with people while also keeping them on their toes was paramount to the High Princess, and Larn took to those lessons eagerly. As a 'diplomat' he would excell, one who would easily be able to prevent 'spies' from getting anywhere also!

**

"It iss time," Satask announced, "we sshall enjoy visiting," he was clearly more talking to Warencha than the High Princess. But Larn certainly took the words to heart as well.

"Dun Keiba will be sending us around, so," Larn bowed formally, and nodded to his trainer, "I'm sure you'll see us again some day soon."

They zipped into the air, Larn and Satask had learned quite well their duties in the air, on the ground, in and out of social situations, and how to keep all their information tucked nicely in mind.

The first tasks they had been put on when they came home, were more like his old duties, however: someone had been swiping food from what was thought to be a secure area, and no one could figure out where they were getting in, nor who they might be! It turned out to be a batch of children, hungry, scared. Larn and Satask were joined by Emialus and his Wind drak Jasuhi (since they'd been tapped locally first, in charge of food discoveries and all). So not only were there new people in Larn's life, they... were turning out to be quite a good team longer term!

But that is a story for another time!