U'valen
KDbTruZ.jpg
Location Ista Weyr
Position Weyrling
Birthdate 8.432.5.8 (22)
Birthplace Benden Weyr
Sexuality Bisexual
Played-By n/a
Aliases Urv
Player Siarna
Appearance

U'valen is one of those men that blend in easily with the ground. He’s got a plain face, one that people often pass by without a second glance. When you take a second glance, however, one would realize that U'valen is undoubtedly handsome, despite the plainness. He’s tall and broad shouldered, his body finally settling in and putting on some muscle. His black curls fall to just past his jawline. His eyes are gray and naturally intense, as he’s always examining someone or something. A tad pale upon arriving to Ista, he’s tanned well over the last two turns.

In deference to his younger brothers, U'valen is always properly dressed and cares quite a bit about his clothing. He keeps everything clean and wrinkle free in deference to N'darav, and in the boy’s preferred earthy colours. For N'treven and all the dirty work or trouble that he gets them in, he tries to keep most of his clothing in the best condition possible. He knows he’s the brother that always gets the new clothes, and it wouldn't help either brother to get already threadbare or dirtied clothing. Old habits dare hard, as it were, and once the weyrlings exit training, U'valen will be hard pressed to loosen up about his clothing. He'll always be dressed his best, always attempting to keep his clothes in the best order 'just in case'. It doesn't matter that his brothers will have stipends and can buy their own tailored clothes.

Personality

U'valen is one of those natural leader types, although he has yet to grow into it. He's very aware of his perceived duty, to Impress and fight thread like his mother and father, and he's very concerned about letting down their memories by failing. Despite U'valen’s quiet personality, he's got a natural charm, a charisma about him and an eagerness for life that draws people in. He's so good natured, always with an easy smile and calm air about him that it's tough for people to resent him. He finds it hard to make solid friends, but once he does he’ll be their staunchest supporter. Thus far, it shows mostly towards his two brothers. He’ll be the first to calm N'darav down and the first to defend N'treven.

Ever since he was little U'valen has always been a protector, mostly due to N'darav’s anxiety and N'treven’s adventures. He used to be much more impulsive in this aspect, immediately ready to beat down the first snake that dared insult his family. He’s relaxed over the years, thank goodness, so that while he’s still the first to jump to N'darav’s or N'treven’s defense, he’s no longer doing it swinging. He’s gotten more into pulling kids apart or diffusing situations instead of instigating them.

While N'treven is quickly learning exactly how people react, U'valen has kept his revelations to himself. People watching is a favorite pastime of U'valen’s. He’ll be the first to know any juicy gossip floating about the candidate barracks and store it away in his (rather good) memory. It’s not because of any kind of malice, but because he might find that information useful one day.

Of course then he gets dragged along with N'treven's cheeky, impish pranks and all his seriousness and responsibility washes away. While he thoroughly enjoys himself, he also kind of despises himself for having that kind of fun, simply because it's the behaviour that his father would have been disappointed in. But he adores N'treven, his brothers are the most important person in his life, and while he loves his uncle N'drov, N'treven is his best friend and the one who makes him question himself the most.

So U'valen goes, constantly see-sawing between what he expects of himself and what gives him enjoyment, unable to see that he will never be able to live up to the unrealistic expectations he's placed on himself.

Lurzanth is going to pose a whole new set of problems on U'valen. A new face and a new mind to parent, he'll be his dragon's #1 advocate. It's hard to see past the brown's shortcomings and U'valen will find excuses to let the dragonet get away with too much. 'He's just a baby!' 'He didn't mean it!', 'Of course he's frustrated, he's bored!'. This will put a wedge into his relationship with his brothers, if only because now he just doesn't have the time to parent both N'darav and N'treven at once. He'll find himself pulled in too many directions at once.

History

Being the eldest of the three brothers, Urvalen was always the serious one. Perhaps he took after his Wingleader Grandfather or his father, U’drev, in that aspect, as Velanda and Netreven were both cheerful, bubbly people. Even at a young age Urvalen was the one who was finding where Netreven stashed Nedarav’s favorite toy or cleaning specks of dirt off each of them. Despite the age difference, he and Netreven became joined at the hip, Urvalen taking part or concocting his own childish pranks to set on the other weyrbrats. He learned rather quickly that actions could hurt people, however, when one stupid game went wrong and another kid broke their arm. It sobered up his attitude rather quickly, and from then on became the voice of reason between the two children.

That voice of reason, however, turned red whenever the other weyrbrats turned on his family as a source of entertainment. Nedarav became a target of the rougher, stronger boys’ bullying, and he took it into his own hands to keep those boys OFF his brother. Nevermind that once or twice he was swiftly dragged away to his parents- all of which rewarded him with small gifts or treats. The messages was crystal clear: you stuck up for family. The fact that the bullies never once picked on either him or Netreven wasn’t forgotten, either.

Urvalen was twelve when his father grew sick. It was a serious affliction that some people got with no clear reason why; while it was treatable, it likely would have left him bedridden at worst and grounded at best. Just when Father was starting to get worse, one of the outlying weyr buildings had a cave-in, with both Velanda and Nerida inside. Within the course of a few days, Urvalen lost all of his parents, without any real time to prepare or say goodbye. The love and support they had felt all their lives were suddenly gone. Urvalen threw himself into what would be expected of him by his parents: he worked tirelessly at his candidate training. It took him weeks to visit his younger brothers, now moved to the crèche. It took him even longer to open up to Uncle N’drov, who stepped in as a paternal figure as the boys grew older.

As the turns passed he set into being that support that their father had been. Instead of pursuing a craft like many other candidates, or lazing about like others, he was determined to give the boys as much love and support as he possibly could. If this meant he had to ditch a lesson because Nedarav had a breakdown or Netreven got into another fight, fine. That didn’t bother him. The weyrlingmasters, too, seemed to know the situation and more often than not let him leave when asked. This became less and less frequent as both brothers eventually joined him in the barracks.

Urvalen wasn't sure whether or not to go to Ista when his uncle N'drov was assigned to transfer. His uncle left the descision up to the three boys, and if it had been just up to Urvalen he probably would have stayed where he was sure of how things were, in Benden. But Netreven wanted to go, full of dreams of adventure and excitement and Urvalen was never going to stay behind without him. Already full of misgivings, Urvalen wasn’t sure as to their reception at Ista, but he wasn’t about to let anyone hurt his brothers. What he wasn’t expecting was the tension and grief that paralyzed the Weyr. Sure, N’drov had warned him. The Weyrlingmaster held a group meeting. But knowing about it wasn’t the same as experiencing it. The Istans didn’t want these foreign dragon riders. They didn’t even want any foreign candidates. For a time, Urvalen became quite the recluse. It was hard to trust when it felt like everybody wanted him gone.

But now, with two turns at Ista under his belt, Urvalen’s trying to be much more sociable. If he Impresses he’ll likely be at Ista for life, so he might as well make the best of it. Not that he hasn’t been thinking about what to do next, how that he’s slowly inching towards 23 turns. Over the last turn he’s taken up the smith craft and determined to catch up in missed turns of learning. He’ll have to have some kind of trade he’s left with no dragon, right? Not if Netreven has anything to say about it.

In the recent RainCaller's clutch, Urvalen Impressed brown Lurzanth. Mischief and madness awaits him Weyrlinghood.

Relatives

Grandfather: V’dravi (Grandpa Benden), rider of bronze Coranth
Father: U'drev
Mother: Velanda
Step-Mother: Nerida
Uncle: N'drov, rider of brown Rakuth
Brother: N'treven, rider of brown Kuruzoth
Half-brother: N'darav, rider of green Haevath

Lurzanth
Color Brown
Birthplace Ista Weyr
Birthdate 9.2.13.19 (Raincallers)
Wing Weyrling
Appearance

“Petite” may not be the first word that comes to mind when describing male dragons, particularly the larger colors, but it's a word that fits Lurzanth well. He's small, slender and fine-boned, but it would be a mistake to consider him weak. No, he's built like a cat, efficiently-muscled and light on his feet, quick and agile but also stronger than he looks. He has long legs, but his gait is far from mincing or “feminine” — his steps are strong and confident, yet precise and measured at the same time. His face is angular, more severe than one might expect, with a long sharp muzzle, high cheekbones, and long, straight headknobs. He'll likely be one of the sharpest-colored brown dragons at the Weyr, with a hide primarily the color of rich goldish-brown pale ale, but he has darker markings, too: a dark skullcap, running from the tip of his muzzle over the top of his nose and then continuing in a stripe that runs all the way down his back to his tail-tip. It diverges to spread up his wing-arms as far as the hand, and down the front of all four legs to the knee/elbow. In an unsettling way, the stripes resemble pieces of bone, an exterior skeleton.

Personality

Lurzanth wouldn't call himself arrogant. “Arrogant” implies over-blown, unjustified confidence, and his confidence isn't at all undue, no. After all, was there ever such a prodigy hatched? Was there ever a dragon so clever, so talented, so naturally gifted?

It might make you grit your teeth rather than admit it, but the truth is, Lurzanth is certainly something special. There's certainly a lot of factors to consider when one determines “the best”, and he may not rank as high up on that list as he thinks he does (he thinks he's right at the top, of course!) depending on how you're keeping score, but there's no denying that he is an exceptionally talented dragon. From the very beginning, his lessons seem to come far more easily to him than they do to most. He's smart all right, observant and quick to learn, and easily capable of connecting the dots and making the leaps of logic that enable him to master and move on to the next task. His muscle memory is excellent, too, and maneuvers will stick with his body as easily as tactics and strategy stick to his brain. It's all so simple – why can't you get it on the first try? Oh here, he'll be helpful and show you… except that it's less to help, and more to flaunt what he can do that you can't, to throw it right back in your face that he’s better than you.

If only such talent could be harnessed for the good of his Weyr. Lurzanth couldn't care less about who's Istan and who isn't, and where anyone came from or who his own sire is – after all, as far as he is concerned there was nothing before there was Lurzanth, so to his mind anyone who happened to be at Ista when he was hatched is, naturally, Istan – and that open-mindedness could be an asset. But while he may take pride in whatever group he happens to be a part of at any given time (superior because of his own presence, naturally), and while his natural sense of command and natural talents could make him a phenomenal leader, it's never about the greater good. If he takes command, and if he leads and leads well, it's about Lurzanth and his rider, not about what is best for those under his command. He has a vested interest in seeing them do well, because you don't appear successful with a fighting force in shambles, and because he isn't quite that malicious – he doesn't take joy in seeing dragons die! — but, well, if a few cookies have to have it a little harder than others, and crumble a little faster, that's just the way it goes. They should have been better, should have been stronger. He is ruthless as a leader, sharply demanding, and though he is well aware that he was hatched gifted and, by extension, that those he deems inferior to himself can't possibly be expected to perform as well, he'll expect it of them anyway, and that is a recipe for disaster. Being hatched into a clutch devoid of bronzes might be the worst possible introduction that Lurzanth could have had to the world, because he will immediately jump to fill that void, and he will never be willing to step out of it – or even believe that he was intended to fill any other role in the first place.

The thing that Lurzanth fails spectacularly at is interpersonal relationships. For all his talent, he's a rather nasty, spiteful fellow who looks down on other dragons and anyone who isn't his rider, and gazing down at those around him like a Lord surveying his drudges hardly makes him popular, and worse: it sets him up to be completely unable to connect with others on a friendship level. He can posture and command all day long. He can inspire and order, he can make dragons hop at his word, but he simply cannot seem to make them love him. And though he may say that he doesn't care if they like him or not, or blame them for clearly being unable to see his wondrousness, a part of him craves the love and friendship of peers, not drudges. Part of him wants to have friends, and realizes that he's the one who's somehow lacking… and failing is so rare for Lurzanth that his inability to fit the pieces together is both confusing and infuriating. Only his rider comes even close to filling that immense void inside him, and as a result, Lurzanth will guard him jealously, depending on him heavily to provide the emotional reassurance and psychological balance that he lacks, himself. It's a role that any young rider might find tremendously taxing, a constant drain of time and attention, and Pern can only hope that Lurzanth Impresses someone strong enough to handle the burden.

Candidate Craft

Craft: Smith
Rank: Apprentice

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