V'dravi

Character type: Dragonrider
Rank: Wingrider
Age: 59
Gender: Male
Sexual Preference: He’s a bronze rider. What do you think?

Appearance

At barely 5’6, V’dravi short for a man but maintains a surprisingly athletic build that would be impressive on a man of 45, let alone 59. He’s not as nimble as he once was and his back and knees now put up a protest when he flies for twelve candlemarks straight, but he could still give plenty of middle-aged Holders a run for their money. V’dravi’s skin shows the mark of 59 turns of hard living more clearly than his body, in wrinkles and liver spots and scars all over his arms and hands. No, not threadscores, although one could be forgiven for thinking that. Just normal burns and cuts, from a few drill ideas gone bad.

V’dravi was never a particularly handsome man and age has not lent dignity to his features. These days, his nose is still large and kind of lumpy and his ears continue to stick out awkwardly from his head, but hey, everyone looks kind of funny at nearly 60 turns old. What remains of his once light brown hair has turned grey, but his light brown eyes appear as sharp as ever, although he is beginning to go far-sighted (Which is just fine by him, one more reason to be done with hidework). While V’dravi is very much retired, he still walks like a wingleader, with purpose in his step and focus on his face. He normally dresses like a typical Benden rider, in riding leathers or relatively somber Northern clothes, but isn’t averse to giving Istan fashion a try.

Personality

Obsessive? Paranoid? Eccentric? Yes, yes and yes again. It’s not exactly unusual for a rider to have a borderline obsession with all things thread and dragons, but V’dravi takes it to the next level. He doesn’t just see all possible pitfalls, he prepares for them. All of them. Yes, even the stupid ones. Thread suddenly develop the ability to actually aim at a target? V’dravi has a formation for that. Oh, it can survive underwater now? V’dravi knows a Seacrafter who can do something about that. Firestone not working anymore? V’dravi’s got ten backup fuels that ready to be loaded into flame throwers and a wing fully trained in their use.

Perhaps that is not exactly surprising, as V’dravi has a quick mind and an active imagination, both of which have been focused exclusively on threadfighting and dragon riding from a very early age. What is surprising is that V’dravi knows perfectly well he’s being irrational. He just doesn’t care. His wingriders needed a little keeping on their toes and, now that he’s retired, he needs something to do with his day anyway. He knows perfectly well how to shut up and nod politely, he wouldn’t have lasted long as a wingleader if he didn’t, and has a surprisingly moderate and levelheaded view of politics, developed over several decades of experience. He’s not much interested anymore and is happy to leave the dominance games to younger bronze riders but will advise whoever is in charge at the time, when he believes it is in the good of the weyr. He is neither a conservative nor a radical, perfectly willing to embrace change, but only when there is a proper plan for its implementation.

Despite his age, V’dravi remains a well above average wingrider. Sure, he sometimes snaps out orders in a code no one understands…but the man knows how to fight thread, there’s no denying that. True, he’s a bit of a risk taker, but he knows his and Coranth’s abilities well enough to choose said risks with care. They’re not the fastest or most nimble pair in the sky anymore, but they seem to have an almost preternatural ability to predict how thread is going to fall (although, as V’dravi will happily tell you, there’s nothing strange about it, just turns of creative practicing).

For all he is an excellent dragon rider, however, V’dravi is a kind of a shitty person. Accustomed to pushing his personal life to the side, he often doesn’t learn about major family events until several sevendays after the fact. He’s not even sure he knows the names of all three of his grandsons, let alone their ages or favorite colors. When his children were young he’d see them maybe once or twice a turn, now that they’re adults, if they want him, they know where to find him. Hey, at least they know his name. He never even met either of his parents and he turned out just fine, thank you very much. They’re weyr kids, they can deal. He’s not cruel, just kind of oblivious, so stuck in his own head and hung up on his own goals that he forgets he has responsibilities outside of his duties as a bronze rider.

V’dravi’s relationship towards the Istans is complicated. He likes some of them and feels a great deal of sympathy for the loss they’ve experienced, but is frustrated by the insularity he’s encountered by and large. While he wasn’t universally liked back at Benden, and wasn’t expecting to be at Ista either, he doesn’t think it’s too much to ask for his fellow riders not to hate him for coming to bail out their asses. And their reaction to the change in leadership? Disgraceful. M’drasen won that fight fair and square and they need to suck it up and deal like adults.

V’dravi knows how to behave himself in a professional setting, but is more than a little ill at ease in a more personal one. He has kind of a strange sense of humor, with an odd fondness for terrible jokes, and tends to fall back into his wingleader persona when caught off guard or lost for words. He’s not really sure how to be anything other than a bronze rider or a wingleader. Now that he’s retired, he’s figuring it out, but he prefers going off on irresponsible adventures alone to making small talk. He’s too old for shit. Now, if you’ll excuse him, there’s supposedly a hurricane near Nerat. And he’s going to fly it. Coranth’s never flown a SOUTHERN storm before.

Common Knowledge

Most people know that V’dravi a good wingleader, one of the few wings with no casualties in the first Fall. His wing’s still performing well and there are less-than-hidden whispers that he should take a more active role in Istan command. It is also fairly common knowledge that V’dravi has thrown his support behind M’drasen.

History

Birthdate: 8.393.4.13
Birthplace: Benden Weyr

Childhood

Vidravi never knew where he came from. He knows he was a weyrbrat, same as any other, raised by an ever-shifting array of foster mothers and crèche workers. He had friends, attended Harper lessons, did chores, played pranks and found his way into every part of the weyr where he was unwanted. But no one ever bothered to tell him who his parents were and Vidravi never thought to ask. He was a child of the weyr, plain and simple, it didn’t matter who’d borne or sired him. He didn’t have a family, but that was all right. All of Benden was his family,

At the tender age of 12, Vidravi entered Candidacy. He planned on taking up Harpercraft when he was called upon to contribute to the weyr, but, a mere sevenday after his 12th birthday, Vidravi stood for his first clutch, a small one of only six eggs. There were over twenty boys and fifteen girls on the sand that day, most of them older, taller and stronger than Vidravi, but the very first dragonet to hatch, an olive bronze unusually steady on his feet from his first step, unerringly found his way to the young Vidravi. ((Come, V’dravi mine, trust in your Coranth and I will take you far.))

And just like that, Vidravi became V’dravi, exchanged his freshly made Candidate’s knots for those of a bronzerider and said good-bye to the last of his childhood. That very night, the weyrleader himself pulled V’dravi aside and explained that things would be different now. A Pass was coming and they’d need good, strong leaders to take command. V’dravi, who would likely still be alive when thread returned to the sky, had a duty to Pern to become one of those leaders. He had to be strong and brave and clever, an example for the rest of the weyr. No more crying or complaining or mouthing off. He was to distance himself from the remainder of his weyrbrat friends and choose his lovers with care, to avoid accusations of favoritism. V’dravi, who wasn’t even quite sure what a lover was yet, agreed. And so V’dravi’s personal battle with thread began, 45 turns before the start of the Pass.

Professional Background

V’dravi, as the youngest weyrling in his class by several turns, struggled to keep up with classmates larger, stronger and faster than him. He worked hard, determined to prove his worth as a bronzerider, but barely managed to graduate on time, at the bottom of his class.

As the turns went by, however, V’dravi grew, if not tall, then at least taller. He became strong enough to carry a bag of firestone without effort and quick enough to keep pace with his wingmates in morning drills. To the surprise of no one, he grew into an excellent flier, attempting many stupid tricks adragonback before being informed it was unbecoming for a bronzerider to fly by clinging to his gracious mount’s tail, even if it was just a short flight over the weyrbowl. Being a good example did not require showing off.

At nineteen turns old, V’dravi was promoted to wingsecond, having grown into a skilled rider who, according to the weyr leadership, would benefit from a productive output for his energy. His wingleader, K’ral, made it clear he was chosen for one reason and one reason only. As one of the younger bronze riders in the weyr, he had a good chance of surviving to see Threadfall. It was time for him to make himself useful and learn how to lead a wing.

V’dravi studied diligently at K’ral’s side for ten turns, learning how to file hidework, manage riders and select appropriate drills. As soon as he was given control over his own wing, however…he found none of the careful grooming he had received had been enough. Half of his new wingriders ignored him entirely, the old considering him little more than a pesky young upstart, his own agemates more interested in women and drink than sunrise drills. It was the interval. V’dravi just needed to chill and enjoy it a little.

Thoroughly unimpressed, V’dravi made the then unusual decision to start seriously preparing his wing for threadfall. Sure, it was probably a while away, but it was coming eventually and when it did, they’d need proper riders. And if by the time Thread came his riders were all dead, well then they could train new riders before they passed. Besides which, preparing the wing for thread was technically his job, interval or no. It began harmlessly enough, with extra drills for the more troublesome of his riders. If they had the energy to complain or start trouble…well, then clearly they needed a better outlet. And what sort of wingleader would he be to deny them? Then, after a few turns in charge, V’dravi decided standard practice techniques were bullshit and went to the real experts. The old records. Written by people who had actually seen thread a time or two. After a few sevendays, he knew what he had to do. He needed to create a better mock threadfall.

The first order of business was finding a better substitute for thread. Even the most conscientious of his wingmates treated the practice strings as little more than toys. That kid of nonchalance could get somebody killed. There were a few false starts. First, V’dravi tried glow-worms, which were too small to even see let alone flame. Then he tried setting the thread on fire, but there was no point in flaming already burning thread. When a nearby hold was having a tunnelsnake problem, he offered to help exterminate it, but it turns out the animals just kind of panicked when released into the air and never quite managed to actually bite anybody. He had the entire wing fly around an erupting volcano one time, which was good practice for quickly dodging between, but the fumes left half the wing sick for a sevenday afterwards and he wasn’t trying to put his wing in actual danger. Finally he came up with the idea of coating the thread in formic acid, concentrated enough to cause minor chemical burns but not enough to do any serious damage. It worked. His wingriders didn’t play catch with the thread any more. Oh, he continued mixing it up, with the help of a weyrbrat who had a clever way with knots. Real thread didn’t fall in a set pattern, so neither could his, but at least he had the basics down.

Next step was mixing up the drills. Formations were all well and good, but real thread fall wouldn’t be anywhere near as neat and tidy. From now on, drills met when V’dravi said they met, rain or shine, night or day. Thread didn’t take lunch breaks and neither would they. By the end of the turn, by Faranth, every bronze and brown in his wing would be flying the full six hours in proper fighting formation or he’d put the whole sorry lot of them all on watch duty for the next decade. He made a schedule, with designated thread fighting times, when they went out and practiced, no matter what the weather. A little wind? Thread doesn’t stop for the wind. 100 degrees outside? Suck it up. You’re a dragon rider, not a Weyrbrat. Blizzard? Well, thread normally does stop for that but just in case it’s different this time around…When the first Fall came, they were as close to seasoned riders as it was possible for riders who had never seen Thread to be.

And it showed. The wing was one of the few to pull through with no casualties and minimal injuries. One rider did lose a leg and one dragon lost a large chunk of his tail, as despite V’dravi’s best efforts, his model thread didn’t quite match the real thing, but compared to everyone else they were rock solid. Suddenly, V’dravi was one of the most respected wingleaders in the weyr and there was even talk of his making a serious try at weyrleader. What nobody expected him to do was, a day after Thread first fell, hand in his wingleader’s knots and announce that he was stepping down in favor of his wingsecond, J’radi, who knew what to do. When asked why by his shocked wingmates, he shrugged and said he’d done his duty as his bronzerider and a wingleader. He’d given Pern an entire wing of fight-ready dragonmen and flown a real threadfall with his wing at his back. Now he was done and ready to have a life beyond hidework.

It wasn’t that simple, of course. He’d been a wingleader, and a good one, for nearly thirty turns. His wingriders were used to looking to him for guidance. The new wingleader was perfectly competent (V’dravi wouldn’t have handed the wing over to him if he wasn’t), but he wasn’t V’dravi. It was a confusing, and potentially dangerous, situation and V’dravi began to seriously consider leaving his wing. And then a new Weyrleader took power. A former wingleader himself, he’d come through the First Fall looking a lot less admirable than V’dravi, having stuck to Interval styles of training up until Thread began to fall. He’d lost a third of his wing, heavy casualties compared to the rest of Benden. Meanwhile, V’dravi had been widely accepted as one of the Weyr experts on thread-fighting and it wasn’t uncommon to see V’dravi patiently advising a younger wingleader (or sometimes just a common wingrider) on more efficient threadfighting techniques. He’d been doing this shit for decades, after all.

When word came that Ista needed riders, someone threw out V’dravi’s name in a brain-storming session, not entirely seriously. Yes, he was exactly the sort of person Ista needed, but he was also the sort of person Benden needed. They’d agreed to chip in, not send one of their best wingleaders. Or ex-wingleaders, as the case may be. But the current Weyrleader thought it sounded like the perfect solution…and a great way to balance out some of the duds they were sending Ista’s way. And when he suggested it to V’dravi, V’dravi agreed. Ista needed the help of experienced riders and he and his wing were as close as it came. The rest of his riders were needed right where they were, but his continued presence was just mixing up the hierarchy. Plus, retirement on the beach sounded lovely.

Personal Background (Post Impression)

Even without the Weyrleader’s warnings, V’dravi likely would have grown apart from his old friends in the turns after he Impressed Coranth. When he was a Weyrling, they were still Candidates (as clutches were smaller and less frequent that far from a Pass). He could have made new friends, of course, as there were other riders around his age, but most rode blue or brown or green and he couldn’t risk being too close with a future subordinate. Sure, there were a couple of other bronze riders about his age, after a few more clutches had hatched, but V’rasi didn’t really care for either of them and had grown accustomed to relying upon Coranth for companionship. By the time the last of his friends Impressed or aged out of Candidacy, and V’drasi was old enough that a few turns did not correspond to a significant difference in maturity, he was already a wingsecond, too busy for much socializing.

Like many riders, V’dravi never took a weyrmate. He avoided intimate relationships with female wingriders, shying away from possible accusations of favoritism, and found he had little in common with most Crafters, having never received even the most rudimentary of training himself. He could have found a goldrider, he supposed, but there wasn’t exactly a wealth of options there, particularly as V’dravi had no interest in becoming Weyrleader. He did manage to father at least two children, but never pursued a relationship with either one. He’d never known his parents and he’d turned out just fine. What did they need paternal affection for? Wouldn’t want his brats getting a big head, just because their dad had some fancy wingleader knots and a shiny bronze dragon.

V’dravi’s first son, Nedrov, came from one of his few romantic dalliances. Nedrov’s mother was a Harper, Nell, originally from the main Harper Hall at Fort. V’dravi had never met anyone like her. She sang and played the gitar and had travelled to Ista and High Reaches and spent a year at sea before settling down at Benden. She fell into V’dravi’s life during one of his brief periods of stability, two turns into his tenure as a wingsecond and V’dravi briefly considered taking her as his weyrmate. As V’dravi began assuming more of the duties of leadership, however, Nell became less and less of a priority and the two broke it off shortly after Nedrov’s birth. V’dravi had little to do with Nedrov after that, although he knows from Weyr gossip that Nedrov followed his mother’s footsteps into Harpercraft, before unexpectedly Impressing a brown from the Stands.

His younger son, Uladrev was conceived in the aftermath of a greenflight. V’dravi was never entirely sure why Ula kept the child, as he’d never encouraged her affections, or even spoken to her outside of Flights, but Coranth was fond of her green and caught her many times. V’dravi left the raising of the babe entirely to Ula’s discretion, as he was a wingleader by this point and too busy to go running after weyrbrats. She must have done a good job of it, as U’drev eventually Impressed brown, but that was about as far as V’dravi’s interest in the matter went. His wing was his legacy to Pern, his son was just an afterthought.

A few turns before the pass, U’drev died of illness. V’dravi was sorry for it, as he’d been a good rider, but felt no kinship to the boy. He’d known he was sick, but didn’t learn of his death until several days after the fact. He was a bit closer to N’drov, whom he had given some advice in preparation for the first Threadfall, but V’dravi had always made it clear that theirs was strictly a student-teacher relationship. V’dravi is distantly aware he has three grandsons, but isn’t sure he could pick out their faces in a crowd of weyrbrats and has no investment in any of them. Now that he’s retired, he figures he ought to take them fishing or something one time (that is what retired people do, right?) but never seems to get around to it.

Retirement

V’dravi arrived at Ista with the rest of the Outsiders and was disappointed by the reception he received. Sure, he understood the weyr had just suffered a major tragedy, but he’d expected to be met with at least a little bit of gratitude, certainly not with disdain. He and his fellow “Outsiders” as they were dubbed had dropped everything, left everyone they’d ever cared about, forsaken every duty they’d ever accepted, to help Ista. And the Istans just wanted them gone.

But Faranth it was nice to be retired. Oh, sure, there were still drills and Falls to fly, but when Coranth landed, V’dravi was truly free for the first time in 46 turns. The night they arrived at Ista, V’dravi got well and truly drunk for the first time in his life. He quickly decided he was too old to be puking his guts out, but that didn’t change the fact that he COULD puke his guts out and not have to worry about anyone but himself come morning. V’dravi has been living it up ever since and doesn’t understand why there’s so much fuss over rank. If he’d known retirement was going to be this much fun, he would have quit turns ago.

When M’drasen won the weyrleadership, V’dravi had hoped it would herald a change for the better. He’s reserving his judgment and serving as one of M’drasen’s advisors, although he is disturbed to find he has one of the cooler heads in the room. M’drasen has hinted a few times a Wingleader position is his if he wants it, but V’dravi most certainly does not want it. He’s enjoying his retirement quite a bit, thank you very much.

Relationships

Family

Mother: Unknown, probably deceased, never took any interest in V’dravi, probably a rider or Candidate
Father: Unknown, probably deceased
Siblings: Who the feck knows?
Sons (acknowledged): U’drev, deceased
N’drov, Brownrider
Grandsons: Nedarav, Candidate
Ravelan, Candidate
Urvalen, Candidate

Friends

Coranth
K’ral, Wingleader, Mentor, Deceased
J’radi, Wingleader, Benden Weyr, V’dravi’s successor

Lovers

Ula, Benden Greenrider
Nell, Master Harper, Harper Hall
A few others

Enemies

Plenty

V'dravi Dragon: Bronze Coranth

Dragon Name: Coranth
Color: Bronze
Age: 47
Weyr of Origin: High Reaches
Weyrling Class:

Appearance

Coranth is sort of an awkward looking bronze, all knobby knees and too sharp angles. His base color is a pale washed out almost grey sort of bronze, with patches of a darker, truer brass. He should be plain, and most would agree he is, but you wouldn’t know it on first look. Because, while all bronzes gleam, Coranth’s hide is even shinier than most, catching and reflecting the light and making him appear almost beautiful, if only for an instant.

In length, Coranth is a bit over average for a bronze, but is build is slender, built for speed, in as much as a bronze can be. He can turn surprisingly quickly in the air, but, like most bronzes, is more of a force to be reckoned with for reasons of endurance rather than agility. He’s getting a little slower in his old age, and can’t manage the daring flips he was once capable of, but is still a capable flier, able to fly a full fall without tiring and able to pop between with a reaction time some of his younger wingmates will likely envy.

Personality

In his youth, Coranth was as ambitious as any other bronze. He never caught a senior queen, but he flew a few junior golds in his time and made a name for himself in drills through his courage and athleticism. These days, he’s mellowed out some and is perfectly happy to spend most of his time sunning in the lovely Istan sun. He is still not about to tolerate any disrespect, however, and if any dragon (or rider) implies he is less than capable…well, then they will learn why you do not mess with a bronze dragon of Coranth’s age. Yes, Coranth does have a temper, although, like most dragons, he will not stay mad for long, as the incident is quickly forgotten.

Towards his rider, however, Coranth is almost unfailing gentle and supportive. Coranth has been paired with V’dravi since the boy was only twelve turns old and has seen him through his share of scrapes, tumbles and heartbreaks. He is accustomed to serving as confidante and advisor, even when he doesn’t know much more than V’dravi does. Coranth continues to play the doting father figure, for all V’dravi is grandfather now himself, as that’s all he knows how to be.

When Coranth does stir from his sunning ledge, he remains a fearless and athletic flier, willing to try anything once and aware enough of the workings of his own body to pull off stunts that would elude even some of his younger peers. He often pays for them the next day, no doubt, and there is plenty that is beyond him, but he makes a fair showing of himself in Fall and drills and if V’dravi needs a partner to see that Istan hurricane with…He might be interested.

Common Knowledge

Coranth is a skilled flier and was never a weyrleaders

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