Writer: Rendrian
Character type: Dragonrider
Rank: Wingrider
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Sexual Preference: Heterosexual, plus V'leto
Appearance
Ignoring the bronzerider knots on his shoulder, D’cul at first glance looks more like a brown or maybe even blue rider. He’s tall, almost 5’9”, but he is quite lean weighing in at 145 pounds. His skin in a pale shade due to his Northern home’s lack of strong sunlight and his hair is almost a pale enough blonde to match. D’cul’s hair is a messy flyaway and remains so no matter what he tries to do with it. The only solution he’s found so far is to cut it short, but then he just looks… bald. So flyaway three inches of blonde hair it is. It doesn’t really help his appearance that his face was rather fine-formed, either: gracefully arching cheekbones, slightly angled green eyes, a gentle slope to the jaw, and a delicately pointed chin all make him look nearly feminine in the face.
Shoulders down, though, and not accounting for his slim build, D’cul is definitely male. He has wide shoulders leading to a well-defined back and, in the lower front, an abdomen that hints at what Terrans would call a four-pack. D’cul is by no means weak and is more than capable of hauling around the large firestone sacks that a bronzer must deal with when fighting Thread. His fingers are long, thin, and nimble, useful for quickly tying or untying knots as well as fiddling with any small thing he’d need to. What those are depend on the situation.
Personality
D’cul has been described as quiet and reserved by many who come across him. Some believe he is also benevolent while others call him competitive, hotheaded, and extremely impulsive. While it is true that D’cul can display a ferocious temper at times he very rarely shows it. He is loyal to his leaders and is a good leader himself when necessity calls upon as it frequently does for a bronzerider. In his Weyrlinghood, D’cul was haughty and arrogant due to the color of dragon he had Impressed but was quickly called to order by his Weyrlingmasters and their own dragons.
Once D'cul matured past the “holier than thou” stage, he quickly realized what exactly his color meant for him. He could possibly be a Weyrleader and that meant being in charge of every single dragon, rider, and person in the Weyr as well as responsible and liable for them. This realization came as a shock to the young man but was one that, with the help of his dragon, he bore well. D’cul at that point rose to take charge of his Weyrling group in a less aggressive and hostile way than before. He worked with his bronze brothers to find ways of doing things that worked for most if not everyone involved.
While this was all well and good and a relief for his superiors, one doesn’t simply go from bratty Weyrling to a complete good guy. Before the Pass, D’cul was extremely competitive with other riders and wings in the Games and remains so to this day. He was harshly reminded of the dofference between a Game and real Threadfall when a strand of Thread caught him across the face in his first ‘Fall at High Reaches. Thankfully his dragon went *between* fast enough to save his life, but the remaining scar has done the double duty of strengthening his resolve as well as level his head; he did almost die, after all.
History
Birthplace: High Reaches Weyr, 8.417.12.1
Dacul was born in the twelfth month of his Turn, a winter child in a winter Weyr which was reflected in his pale appearance. Raised like a normal Weyr child, he had a noticeably strong personality from a young age. He would try to control his peers and manipulate them into doing what he wanted. This didn’t go so well due to adult interference so by the time he was seven Dacul had given up this particular venture. He took a young interest into Smithcraft and spent his time equally divided between watching smiths work and watching the dragonriders. Unlike most children with dreams of dragons, Dacul was acutely aware of the very military aspect of the Weyrs. Thread was coming soon and he’d damn well be ready to fight an ancient enemy if he expected to be worth his salt. Such tender and loving knowledge came from his bronzeriding sire whom he met at two and who thus had a profound impact on his life. Let other dumbasses preen and boast about how shiny their dragons are, when Thread falls the Weyr will see just what they’re made of.
Dacul took his father’s words to heart as he made the decision to claim his Weyrbred right to Stand on his 12th Nameday. He joined the Candidate program with all seriousness and zeal that fitted his ideal of a proper dragonrider. Three Turns to the day of this choice he stood on the High Reaches Sands yet again and was “rewarded” with his glorious and shining bronze, Seteieth, who spoke of ideals and peace. Newly named D’cul by the creature, he began his Weyrlinghood with renewed fire and vigor. His dragon’s hide rekindled his youthful arrogance and pride, causing him to believe himself much better than even his bronzeriding classmates. This attitude was quickly found and squashed by his Weyrling masters with threats of permanent grounding upon graduation. Between his own as well as Seteieth’s ideals this was certainly unacceptable and the two managed to reign in their arrogance together.
After their attitudes were adjusted, D’cul and Seteieth went on to become strong leaders in their class. The human side concerned himself with the riders while the bronze managed the dragons. Both halves of the whole reminded their classmates that their primary goal was to prepare for the coming Threadfall that was due in less than two decades; petty squabbles for power would only weaken them. Slowly, they regained the respect of their classmates and ended up graduating successfully as a result. D’cul went on to become a Wingrider in a proper fighting wing. Seteieth's potential as a good flamer made him a valuable asset, especially when he would mentor younger dragons who were caught up in their rider’s jubilation at being full riders on their true duty to the Weyr.
After the tragic Threadfall as Ista, D’cul saw an opportunity to lend aid where it was obviously desperately needed. He asked his wingleader first who then talked it over with the Weyrleader about getting him transferred down there to replenish their numbers. When it was approved, Seteieth and D'cul headed for their new home with their duty firmly in mind. He found his reception to be downright hostile, but he didn't fight it. D'cul believed that the only way to honestly show that he wasn't there to try to take over was to just work. Do what he was there to do and not try to put the spotlight on himself.
M'drasen's Weyrleadership was met with cautiousness- who was this Telgarian and what did he have in store for the Weyr he'd been sent to help? It turned out that D'cul's worry was not unfounded with the way he mixed up the system that he'd been working with. Moved from Stormriders to Windraiders, D'cul might not have minded if J'reh hadn't been demoted so thoroughly. He'd enjoyed working under the man and found him to be a good Wingleader and quite competent. Now D'cul was under a Fortian he knew nothing about.
Relationships
V'leto, love-interest
Family
bronzerider father, name unknown;
unknown mother
D'cul's Dragon: Bronze Seteieth
Colour: Bronze
Age: 20
Weyr of Origin: High Reaches Weyr
Wing: Stormrider
Appearance
Wings, wings far as the eye can see! Not really, but that’s how Seteieth appears at first. He has very large wings with equally pronounced fingers that extend past the sail. In Weyrlinghood he accidentally stabbed his rider and siblings with them on several occasions but never anything serious. His hide is a very bright and shining bronze no matter its state and oiling it will make him just that much more brilliant. Seteieth’s headknobs, neck and back ridges, joints, and just his general bone structure are quite pointed and give him an almost stern feature. The bronze won’t do anything to counter that but will instead use it to his advantage when it comes to directing others to do what needs to be done.
Personality
Seteieth is taciturn and introverted. If it wasn’t for his overwhelming sense of duty and genetic makeup, he would also be against fighting Thread. A dragon of ideals, he sees Thread as the biggest disturbance of the world’s harmony and peace, which it truthfully is. He doesn’t have much tolerance for people or dragons who would rather just sit about and talk their ears (physical or otherwise) off about how best to fight Thread- he’s more interested in the doing of the thing. He took his rider’s Threadscoring as a personal insult, thinking that it should have been himself who was scored since he is larger. Instead of never wanting to fly Fall again, Seteieth flies it with a bit of a vengeance now as if his flame could undo D’cul’s scar. Seteieth is a traditionalist as far as the Weyr’s social life goes- he will respect greens but the majority of his attention goes to the golds nearby. Like most if not all dragons, he would gladly take a clump of Thread for a queen.
Seteieth is a fantastic flyer and an even better flamer. He has nowhere near the dexterity and agility of a blue or a green or even a brown, but he’s still nimble for a bronze. He has uncanny control over his flame but at the cost of a much higher need of firestone.