I'lya
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Character type: Dragonrider
Rank: Wingrider
Age: 14
Gender: Male
Sexual Preference: Homosexual. Super homosexual. Except maybe a really cool lady exception.

Appearance

Many don’t believe that I’lya will be thirteen in a couple of months. He looks quite young and the fact that he’s slightly feminine only makes him seem even younger. The majority of his looks came from his mother, who was certainly beautiful. Light, sandy-brown hair with his father’s startling blue eyes and a shy, charming smile… he’s destined to be a little heartbreaker one day. He’s not very tall yet and has a child’s stick-like figure, but there’s growing strength. He will certainly always be a lean man, though its possible he will grow to a respectable height.

He was always a tidy boy, and dressed with great care every morning. He’s a rider now, he ought to look the part and really, he enjoys clothing a little more than he should. There is a certain pride with picking out what will go well together and look your best as often as you can. He has a special affection for scarves and hats and is a little heartbroken at how much warmer Ista is and will make such accessories unbearable.

I'lya has grown quite a bit in the span of time since coming to Ista. Puberty has started to get ahold of him, and though it will likely drag out, changes are becoming noticeable. A few inches have been added to his height and he sits at around 5'2 now, though this is a little harder to notice as he's often hunched over his crutches. His voice cracks occasionally, though it hasn't started to deepen yet. There's a bit more maturity to his face and not just from starting to grow up, but having to deal with the other very obvious change in appearance: the lack of a right leg below the knee.

Personality

Its very clear that I’lya is simply a boy who wants to come into his own. There are so many expectations on, especially now that he’s a dragonrider that he doesn’t ever feel he will live up to. Perhaps if he had been someone else’s son he would be an entirely different person, but as it is L’giln swiftly squashes any ideals that I’lya might have to be anything other than a strong, dedicated fighter. There is no need for anything else, he says, you work, you train, you fight and one day you will die a warrior, end of story. There is much depth to I’lya than never gets a chance to see the light of day, but this boy has a quiet strength and he just soldiers on through life. It might not be what he wants, but there’s no point in being miserable about it all the time. At least, he tells himself this as often as he can so that he doesn’t lose all hope.

And then, there’s times when he can sneak in a little bit of himself, little rays of happiness to brighten up his life. He loves to sing and has a very pleasant young voice. He doesn’t have a way with instruments, not able to practice these as readily, but he’ll frequently gravitate to any harpers and quietly hum along with them. Truthfully, he wanted to be a harper more than a dragonrider, but that wasn’t an option.

I’lya truly and dearly loves Terith, he really does. Its just that he was not in any way ready to impress a dragon. Or rather, he wasn’t ready to be a dragonrider and deal with so many responsibilities that he hadn’t really ever wanted. Yet, the blue who found him may be what saved him: Terith is such a perfect companion and solid support for I’lya that the boy is finding a way to be at some sort of peace with life. Without Terith, its possible that young I’lya would have grown into a teenager too bitter and depressed to see those extra difficult turns through.

He doesn’t really think about it too much right now, but I’lya is pretty certain he likes boys. He’s somewhat certain he might like his best friend in *that* way. But, as his father has no interest in having some queer kid, I’lya just doesn’t address this part of life yet. In a couple of turns when the hormones start raging it might become an issue, but for now he likes to remain blissfully innocent and oblivious to it all.

I’lya doesn’t remember when he started stealing things, but at some point in his life it became a game. Somehow it soothed the problems with his father, as if by getting away with something like nicking people’s valuables that he was really defying the man. He’s got quick, sneaky little hands and doesn’t have much difficulty lifting things out of pockets or moving around quietly. Granted when he hits puberty and starts growing through that awkward stage of life he might have a tough time, but for now its just a childish game that can get a little obsessive when he needs to relax and distract himself. The odd thing about him is that the guilt of hits him every so often and he’s got himself a whole new challenge of bringing the treasures he’s acquired *back*.

Its almost a sort of twisted blessing that I'lya got something do deal with other than being hated and looked down on as an interloper. Granted this came at the cost of his leg, but he's found that working towards healing and helping his dragon heal has done wonders for him. Has it been easy? Of course not! But something about having a real sense of purpose, a very important goal to strive for has given him the sort of strength that he never would have found without it. If anything, the draining daily life had been starting to wear on him. Now, he has something to focus on and some true friends are starting to trickle into his life to support him.

Not that he wouldn't give anything to have his leg back and be whole. Much of this is for Terith's sake. The idea of not being able to fight Thread is devastating for the blue, and I'lya is determined to make sure that they make it into the wings so that Terith can do his job. But very secretly, if they don't recover enough to fight Thread, that would be alright too. There's a bit of excitement in the idea that maybe he could settle down into Harper training like he'd always wanted. Its certainly sounds better than risking his and his dragon's lives every day, but he knows how much being grounded would hurt his dragon.

History

Birthplace: Fort Weyr, 8.438.4.28

Growing up was always a bit of a struggle for I’lya. L’giln was hard on him from the day he could make sense of what was going on and an ever-present shadow that loomed over him. The one saving grace in his life was F’lynx, his best friend that was just a day older than him and someone who could always help cheer him up on those really rough days. F’lynx was the one that would look out for him and threatened to set L’giln on fire for him if he needed. N’krel was another person that he found he could turn to, though it was always hard to completely trust his father’s ‘friend’.

I’lya had never expected to impress, wasn’t even sure if he wanted to but he moved into the barracks despite wishing he could leave the Weyr and go to Harper Hall. He’d always figured he would be left standing for long enough that maybe his father would realize he wasn’t meant to be a dragonrider.

Except that apparently he was. He and F’lynx were only a few days as candidates when the current clutch hatched and two little dragons found their way to them: a blue for I’lya and a green for F’lynx. It wasn’t what he’d dreamed of, but I’lya couldn’t have been happier to have such a loving and supportive creature permanently attached to him. Terith completed him and made everything alright.

Being the youngest Weyrlings in the class was difficult. The pair of them were picked on often and sometimes struggled to keep up with the bigger lads, but at least they had each other and they soldiered on. It wasn’t until their seventh month that they finally got fed up with the constant teasing. I’lya’s way to get back at them had been to keep on stealing their things and sometimes hiding them in each other’s stuff, except it was getting caught that caused a trio of particularly nasty older boys to retaliate physically.

F’lynx snapped and followed through with his jokes about setting things on fire. First it was the cots of the worst of the bullies, set alight with candles while the barracks were empty. It was suspected who had been the culprit but there wasn’t any proof until F’lynx was caught setting fires in the weyrs of these bullies after they’d moved out. I’lya stubbornly stood by his friend, claiming he’d been helping even though he’d had no idea about this last string of arsons.

This was too much and conveniently Ista desperately needed riders around this time so Fort was happy to get rid of the pair of them. At first I’lya was excited. A new adventure with his dragon and friend! And he would be away from the oppressiveness of his father and the bullies in his class. Then he learned a couple of days later that L’giln was planning to go as well and that put a pretty big damper on the situation. Still, it was hard not to be excited about getting to go to a whole new place.

Ista, it turns out, wasn't as wonderful as they'd hoped. Well, it was great. Beautiful and warm and sunny, but the people certainly weren't. He and F'lynx weren't accepted into the weyrling class with wide open arms by any means and they never seemed quite able to fit in.

I'lya managed to make a friend or two, but the whole 'you don't belong here and most people don't like you' deal was wearing. At least his father was occupied enough with his new wing that I'lya didn't have to see the man too often.

Things weren't going so well and one would think that a freak accident that cost him a leg would make it worse, but the boy seemed to thrive a little through the hardship. He doesn't know this, but his father is indirectly at least partially at fault. L'giln, who'd taken a very strong dislike to one of his riders, bronzerider K'nai, and during pre-Fall inspection cut the man's straps. When these broke K'nai fell and in the process of getting his rider back to the infirmary, bronze Yuzurith knocked Terith and I'lya out of the air. They'd been on their way up to refuel the wings, then suddenly I'lya was waking up in the infirmary after an emergency amputation.

Healing is a long process. I'lya has to learn to be mobile again, though he's getting pretty good with his crutches and he's made a friend that is trying to build him a prosthetic. Terith's injuries are slow to heal, but he's making progress is working to strengthen his wing so he can attempt flying.

Relationships

Family

Father: L'giln, Rider of Bronze Basrath
Mother: Seamstress Imaye
‘Uncle’: N'krel, Rider of Blue Shrelth

Friends

F'lynx, Rider of Green Nirith

I'lya's Dragon: Blue Terith

Dragon Name: Terith
Colour: Blue
Age: 2
Weyr of Origin: Fort

Appearance

Terith is such a perfect shade of deep blue that often during twilight he blends almost seamlessly with sky. More often than not the only way to tell he’s flying around up there is by the vague silhouette that blocks out the stars. He seems like he’s even in tone, but there’s actually subtle shifts in his hide between slightly lighter and darker that are only noticeable when the light hits him a certain way. He’s a smaller blue, built for speed and agility. He’s long and lean with a deep chest and well-muscled shoulders that support wings which are a little large in proportion.

Personality

It perhaps wasn’t the best for Terith to have chosen such a young lifemate, one who was struggling the way I'lya was. He could sense the sort of strength he wanted in the boy, and they truly were a good match for each other, but their bond would have been much more appropriate were I'lya older and more mature. It was sadness in his rider that drew Terith. There is such a desire to protect that the blue needed this broken child as his own to fix and nurture.

He devotion to I'lya goes above what is required of a dragon, to him there is nothing else that even compares in importance. It sounds sweet, but this is a greater problem than it seems. He has already shown that he will happily challenge or buck authority on His' behalf, and occasionally just for the fun of questioning it all. There is a very real worry that Terith will put his rider above all else when fighting Thread, when the greater good of the Weyr is at stake. A stronger rider who was less emotionally dependant on Terith might be able to teach him properly, but I'lya is not yet in a position to break these potentially dangerous habits. They could definitely be the team they were meant to be one day, but for now their relationship, while very loving and dear, is not exactly healthy.

There is a very strong sense of justice in this blue and equality is incredibly important to him. There really isn’t a reason for anyone to have anything better than everyone else. The inherent ranking structure of dragons is really just more a guidelines to him; truly why shouldn’t the greens have what the bronzes have? Why couldn’t he himself lead a wing if he chose? Or the Weyr?! He and His are more than capable in Terith’s eyes and this arrogance and ambition could get him into trouble.

In the air Terith will be quite the fighter. He has an eye for tactics and will be able to make up for his rider' lack. He certainly has more than enough passion for the pair of them; its a far second, but after I’lya its fighting he loves the most. Its his desire to see his enemy destroyed that makes him excel more than his physical prowess perhaps. He will train long and hard, devoting much of his time to finding every way he can think of to take down his enemy.

Despite this hunger for battle, Terith is also a bit of a princess. His baths have to be regular, at the same time each day if possible and he likes a decent wipe down after he eats, even though he’s often dainty enough not to get much gore on him during his meals. He has a great aversion to bad manners, poor posture (as if a dragon can really see this on his person) and too much foul language. He finds bickering and squabbling amongst his peers highly distasteful; if there’s really a problem why not just settle it like the highly evolved creatures they are? With a polite discussion and failing that? A competition of wits and/or skill! All of this, of course, does not apply one bit if his rider’s honour or welfare is concerned.

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