Character type: Candidate
Rank: Candidate
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Sexual Preference: Uncertain so far. Likely really, really homosexual, just doesn't know it yet.
Appearance
N'darav (almost exclusively known as Ned) is a fairly plain young man, the kind of guy that doesn’t have much that stands out about him. He’s not overly pale or dark, just average for a Benden boy. His hair is a pretty boring shade of dark brown, wavy and hangs down around his ears, and his eyes are a similar uninteresting colour. He’s not quite unattractive; his average features are nice in a comforting simple sort of way. Maybe he’s the kind of guy you forget about after meeting, but there’s also something very disarming about that if you decided to stick around.
Its impossible for Ned to be anything but impeccably dressed and groomed at all times. Wrinkled clothes, tangled hair or too much dirt make him painfully uncomfortable and its difficult for him to focus on anything *but* that until its fixed. Generally this applies only too himself, but on days when he’s more anxious everything can be disrupted by someone too near who’s in an unacceptable state. He keeps to outfitting his lanky frame with plain, simple clothing that are easy to keep in good shape and prefers darker colours where possible. There’s a part of him that really appreciates finer things and if he were able to allow himself to spend any of the marks that he tends to hoard, it would likely go towards expensive clothing.
Personality
Out of the three nephews N'darav actually takes more after N'drov than his father, being a bit more of a homebody and anxious soul than the playful Ravelan or responsible Urvalen. He's also the odd man out of the trio, since the other two are full brothers and Urvalen is so protective of younger Ravelan, as such he always had a bit of middle child syndrome, always overlooked in favour of his siblings. It doesn’t mean he loves them any less, but he does sometimes struggle with anxiety over being neglected or excluded and can sometimes takes things the wrong way with his brothers. Something said offhand can be taken as a personal attack and poor Ned can get a bit emotional about it. He *wants* to fit in and be loved by these guys… other than his uncle they’re all the family he has left and he couldn’t bear to lose them, even to another group of friends.
As such N'darav is kind of like a nervous puppy. He eagerly wants approval, an almost suffocates people with his attention, and when they push him away he can't understand why. He's a kind soul and a good friend, once he feels secure in the relationship, but sadly most people won't have the patience to whether the initial enthusiasm for the friendship. Shouting at him, be it for punishment or motivation is absolutely the wrong way to go with Nedarav. Something about it just gets to him and he feels his face flame red hot and tears prick at his eyes. He hates that it makes him look like a crybaby but he just can't *help* it!
He's compulsive, extremely superstitious, and has certain rituals throughout his day that *have* to be done. These actually work to keep him calm, and while they can earn him some ridicule…he would be a lot worse off without them. Things have to go just so and it may seem really silly to anyone on the outside, it is essential for his mental health not to have these things messed with. It might be a weird coping mechanism, but everyone has their own ways of dealing with grief and loss and if it takes him having to keep his brush on the left side of the dresser *no matter what* to keep him sane and happy then that’s what will have to happen.
Interestingly though he is quite astute about people, when it doesn't pertain to himself anyway. He's counselled Urvalen and Ravelan more times than he can count and his advice is actually good! He's always thrilled when his advice actually works! There’s a bit of a white knight complex in this guy: he *wants* to be the person than can help and *wants* to be the person that people turn to because he’s awesome. He does have the need to feel needed and useful and valuable.
Birthdate: 01.01
History
Birthplace: 8.432.1.1
Ned was always a strange mix of too-quiet and try-hard. He was the kid that tried so hard to be accepted that no one really liked him for it and he ended up alone much of the time. Because of this he spent a lot of time around any family that would tolerate him. He was very close to his mother and his uncle, though it was always exciting to be allowed around his father (though everyone could tell the boy was a bit too weird for U’drov’s taste). There was always hints of OCD and odd anxieties that Ned had to find his own little ways to deal with and his Uncle N’drov helped immensely. It became a game to figure out what little thing would help him be less afraid or be more calm and eventually he was able to function far better than anyone thought he might because of this.
Losing his father was sad, but losing his mother was devastating. It was only because of his half-brothers and uncle that he recovered from her death and was able to find a way to be happy again. Urvalen and Ravalen were the good sort to have around. Maybe they teased him and messed with him a bit, but they learned very quickly the boundaries of what was a fun joke and what would really cause some harm to Ned. (And Faranth forbid anyone else try to fuck with their odd brother, they’d learn real quick how *not* okay that was.)
N'darav knew he wasn't going to be the one to make any decisions about going to Ista, he knew Ravelan would be the one to choose and Urvalen would go along with his choice, because that is what his eldest half brother does. He did hope however that Ravelan's pride in Benden would encourage him to stay. In the end however adventure won and he chose to go, with Urvalen agreeing and Nedarav going along because he couldn't bear to be left behind.
Relationships
Father: U'drev
Mother: Nerida
Uncle: N'drov, rider of brown Rakuth
Half-Brother: Urvalen
Half-brother: Ravelan
N'darav's Dragon: Green Haevath
Colour: Green
Age: 0
Weyr of Origin: Ista
Appearance
One thing you can say about Haevath is that she is very distinctive. Her hide is a lovely mix of different shades of bright, new growth green, washing over her form in a well blended pattern. It is not this however that renders her appearance unforgettable. There are thick, strong, perfectly straight lines that run down her forelegs, backlegs and back, up to her head, and down to her feet. The one on her head finishes right in the middle of her brow, and somehow suits her round, babyish face. It’s only her face however, her build is quite small, long and lean, and kind of boyish, but her face is round and youthful. Her wings are long, and are strangely straight along the top of them to provide an expert and extremely agile flier.
Personality
Haevath is all about the joy of living. This little dragon isn’t one to let life’s joys go past and even in the face of more focused and uptight dragons looking askance at her free spirit Haevath will live life to the fullest. She will be the one to drag her classmates and wingmates into ridiculous but strangely fun games, to get them to unwind, relax, enjoy themselves. They aren’t just machines after all, they’re dragons, and fun is essential right? She will particularly enjoy harper music and will often be found nearest where they are playing, kind of bopping to their beats.
You will rarely see this dragon in a restive state, which is strange considering the emphasis she places on relaxing and having fun. She just naturally seems to always be moving, always doing something, but when she does sleep it’s nearly impossible to wake her. Haevath sleeps until Haevath has gotten enough rest, and short of Fall falling on her head, little will stir her.
Responsibility won’t sit easy on this dragon, especially not when she’s young. She wants to have fun, to enjoy herself, to live life to the fullest. Work is so serious…why can’t it be easy? And when it is hard she is difficult to coax into doing it at all, even though she knows practicing it will make it easier. She just likes to live in the now, the futures too heavy, too dark, and too oppressive. Soon enough she will be in the Wings, forced to fight all the time…the rest of the time she wants to still have fun. But interestingly Haevath also has a keen sense of duty and responsibility. She knows her job is to fight thread, she knows she needs to, so when the chips are down, and when her rider or person in charge insists, Haevath will prove an excellent student, calm and clever under pressure and most inventive. In the air she will be one of the most agile and gifted fliers they have.
Deep down, Haevath fears letting people down. She so badly wants to be the perfect green, everyone wants her to be perfect right? A hero? And while she always seems to come good in the end, she regrets the mistakes she makes. She wants to be responsible, and to practice and to be the amazing threadfighter she knows she can be. But in the end her love of fun, and of laughter, pranks and enthusiasm will always take her away from such serious thoughts, until the next time someone reminds her of her shortcomings.
In time Haevath could indeed grow up to be an amazing green, she has the raw talent, and with her rider they could go any path they choose. A bright future could be theirs…as long as she can survive her distractibility first.