Vivaeldi

vivaeldi.jpg

Character type: Rider
Rank: Sweeprider
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Sexual Preference: Bisexual

Appearance

Vivaeldi has always been a beautiful woman. Age certainly changed her appearance, but her overall form is still attractive. She's got high cheekbones and a delicate nose. Her skin has a deep golden hue to it, probably after Turns and Turns in the Istan sun. Her eyes are a light hazel color, with a few small flecks of green. She has brown hair that falls in gentle waves to just below the nape of her neck, though it's usually tied up and off her skin. Across her left hairline and forehead, she has mild scarring, and it's caused her hair to grow back frizzy and kinky where the scarring is. She's lithe of body, and like all dragonriders, she's stronger than she looks. She's got a decent amount of burns across her left side, starting on her shoulder and working its way down across her arm and hip. It's not too debilitating, but she does have significantly more strength with her "good side". Due to the scarring, when possible, she wears longer-sleeved clothing and pants. She's not embarrassed by it, she just doesn't always like dealing with the "oh, I'm so sorry, how did it happen" bs. She's a rider; it happens. She also wears a piece of her daughter's green's shell in a pendant around her neck that hangs low. It was a gift from her daughter.

Personality

As a healer, Vivaeldi excels with her patients, most of the time. She's empathetic to their needs, and her quick mind is able to deal with the people on a personal level, while still accessing them medically. However, one of the things that has made her excel is her drive to exceed. At times, this drive can make her be blunt and to the point, short-tempered, impersonal, and obsessive. She takes it personal when a patient dies, even though it happens. And she's not one to coddle someone when they're injured. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," you'll often hear her saying.

This drive to be the best often creates a wedge in her personal life. Her lovers can't understand her dedication to her craft. Riders don't understand such dedication to a Craft. Crafters don't understand the dedication to the dragon. She struggles in this balance usually by simply hunching her shoulders and ignoring everyone and doing her job. After all, by being a great healer, she can save her wingmates and friends in a way that she is uniquely qualified to do so. She can't ever be a full rider; but she can be a healer.

As a rider, Vivaeldi has nothing more important in her life than Bajezeth. She loves her dragon with a fierceness that is surprising, given how determined she is to continue with her Craft. After her and Bajezeth were burned, she's made sure the green's never felt inadequate. Vivaeldi has a very good relationship with her family. She loves her daughter dearly, but they both find that distance makes the heart grow fonder.

History

Birthplace: Unnamed hold, 8.415.5.2

Vivaeldi grew up in Ista's territory. Her father, Alderon, was a shipbuilder and her mother, Viviana, a creche worker. She has several siblings including three brothers, A'ver, V'ctor (deceased) and Valer, and two sisters, Vivia, and Avera. A'ver was the oldest and she followed close behind in age. She loved to watch her father work at building ships, and would often go with him to work instead of the creche (which she found boring). It was after several times of going with him to work that her true interest was found. There were minor injuries that the healer had to called for and after watching him work, Vivaeldi was hooked. After that, she bugged him so much with "why this" and "why that", that at the young age of 12, he convinced her parents to send her to the Healer Hall, if for no other reason that to earn some peace and quiet.

She went through apprenticeship without any major mishaps. She was very bright and quick and excelled at her lessons, though it was her dedication that made her stand out and not some incredible aptitude. During her apprenticeship, her two eldest brothers both Impressed at Igen Weyr, and she was able to see both of their Impressions. She found the mauling of young Candidates by dragonets to be relatively disturbing. She did get pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Vaerynika, named after her father, N'ka, a rider at Fort. While she wanted to care for herself, her Craft demanded time, so her daughter went into the Creche, though she spent time with her. She walked the tables at just after her 19th birthingday, and began to be sent to various holds to work under other masters.

She had just turned 23 when her last brother's Impression took place. Vivaeldi had never meant to Impress. Her brother tells it that she just kind of showed up at the Weyr one day and stayed for a few sevendays. She had permission from her Craft to visit her brother, though originally it was only supposed to be for a few days. Somewhere in all of that, she became a Candidate, probably because someone told her she couldn't. Viv was never one to be told what she couldn't do. She never expected to actually Impress! And so it was that Vivaeldi became the 4th dragonrider of her family at the age of 23 to Green Bajezeth. Her own daughter Impressed the three Turns later at Fort Weyr to a green.

It was in their first year after weyrlinghood that Bajezeth and her were caught in a storm, literally skipping into it from Between, only to be hit by a blast of lightning. Bajezeth's burns was severely worse than her own, the green's wing muscles being damaged and the sail almost shredded. The dragonhealers decreed she'd live, but she'd never fight Thread for a full Fall again. Her own injuries took a significant amount of time to heal. The burns to her thigh forced her to use crutches and severely limited how much she could help with Bajezeth's recovery, and had to rely on the dragonhealers for the green's therapy. She did not however take her recovery "sitting down", and instead used her forced limitations to further her Craft, helping out around the infirmary with diagnosis and non-physical aspects of the Craft. Her daughter gave her a necklace with the shell of her green Sonjath embedded in a silver pendant. Nearly a full Turn later, Bajezeth was recovered enough that they could fly together again, though the green's endurance is severely limited. She will never fly in a full wing again. She was assigned to the sweepwings instead of the full Fall at Ista.

Without the ability to be a full rider, Vivaeldi threw herself into her work. She has fought for the right to serve her Weyr both as a healer and as a Rider (in her limited capacity). The battle would have been harder had she not already been so advanced in her Craft before Impressing, and if she had greater capabilities as a Rider.

After the First Fall

Vivaldi just sat staring at her hands. She'd washed them a hundred times but all she could see was the mixtures of blood and ichor that had covered them. She stared at her hands. How many had died today? She had lost count. She was sure tomorrow that they would get final numbers, that they would tally and mourn their dead. Tomorrow they would know how many. But today. Today she knew that too many had died. Too many had gone between before any hope of medical rescue was even possible. And those that hadn't, those that had stayed here with grotesque injuries, more than half of them had not been able to be saved either, or their dragons had gone between.

How many had died today?

Threadfall was something they spent their whole lives as Riders preparing for. Everyone knew it would come. But no one had known. They hadn't known what to expect. No one had seen it before in hundreds of Turns. They were like children playing with swords; woefully inadequate despite all that they tried. Guilt washed over her. She and Bajezeth had survived unscathed. They couldn't fly Fall. Bajezeth's injuries from just after weyrlinghood prevented them from flying Fall, the green's sails being too damaged to support her for that long. She and Bajezeth had been spared fighting Fall. There had been that moment when she first say it falling from the sky, a moment that had gripped Vivaldi's heart in a panic. Her heart skipped, her lungs screamed for air, and the world jumped. And then the dying had come in, and there was no more time for fear. Instead, there had been relief. She and Baj weren't up there. They weren't fighting. She wouldn't lose her dragon today. Not like all the others.

Now, in the aftermath, guilt swept over her. She had been relieved that she couldn't be out flying Fall, and meanwhile, her friends were dying. And she had been relieved. She knew that some of this was survivor's guilt. It happened. She had learned about it in her studies. She was probably going to have to help others through it tomorrow. But she had never dealt with it herself. How could she help others with it when she had no fecking clue what to do?

She felt a hand on her back, and her brother sat down next to her. "Rough day…." he said, kissing her head. Vivaldi leaned into him, burying herself in his shoulder. He gripped her tightly to him, pressing his face on the top of her head. "I know. I know." He repeated the phrase a few times as her sobs wracked her body. He waited until her breathing slowed again, her body stopped shaking, and her sounds were reduced to sniffles. He lifted her face up, kissing her forehead. "I was so glad you were safe." His voice was heavy with relief, and Vivaldi knew that he was going through the same as she was.

"I was so worried about you. Kiyo kept talking to Baj, so I knew you were fine, but I swear if she didn't keep telling me you were alive, my heart…" she stopped, shaking her head. "And he died….he never made it back down…." Vivaldi said softly, a weird sort of numbness spreading over her. Was this how she would get through? By being numb?

"I heard. Kiyo told me. They were hit and went right between. At least, at least it was fast." V'ler looked at his sister. She took death as a personal insult when her patients died. But today, today they had lost so many. How would she handle that? And "he" had been her lover, a fellow brownrider named M'hal. Samilth had taken a clump directly across his back and wings as he skipped out of Between. They couldn't have survived much longer than the second it took Samilth to jump. M'hal had been in V'ler's wing. He'd seen it. The images from the day still sent chills up and down his spine. He'd soiled himself the first minute they were out there. Watching someone get eaten by Thread was horrific; no harper's song, wing drills, or weyrlingmaster's lessons had prepared them for what today had actually been like. And they would have to do it again, despite all of it.

"I couldn't save them all. I couldn't. Some of them were so badly….it was horrible. I can't get all the blood off my hands…." Vivaldi said sofly, her voice shaking to reveal her fears. "And M'hal is gone. You're here and he is gone. The next time…" she started to sob.

"I'm not going anywhere, sis. Not anywhere, you hear me?" V'ler said, grabbing her head and forcing her to look at him. "Kiyo and I are going to be just fine. This time and every time. You can't save them all, Vivaldi. Some are going to die. As long as Thread is falling, some are going to die. But tonight, now, right here, we're both alive. That's what matters." He held her close, rocking her. "Shhhh. We're alive…"

She still could feel the blood on her hands….

Relationships

Mate: M'hal of Brown Samilth (deceased)
Lovers: R'fan, T'razen, others

Family

Father: Alderon
Mother: Viviana, a creche worker.
Brothers: A'ver (bronzerider at Igen), V'ctor (deceased bluerider) and V'ler, rider of brown Kiyosarath
Sisters: Vivia, and Avera.
Daughter: Vaerynika, greenrider at Fort to Sonjath

Vivaeldi's Dragon: Green Bajezeth

Dragon Name: Bajezeth
Colour: Green
Age: 14
Weyr of Origin: Ista
Weyrling Class: 8.438.4.3
Wing: Queens

Appearance

She's a petite green of a deep emerald color. She is dark enough to look nearly black in poor lighting, though in the sun she's certainly green enough. Her small size made her an incredibly agile green before her burns. She has small headknobs that are nearly flush with her skull. As a hatchling, she sucked on her tail tip which has left strange marks on her tail. Her wings are covered in scars, particularly on her left side. Her sails are covered in ugly red lighting scars and several tatters in the sail. It is rare to see her unfurl that wing in the company of dragons she doesn't know.

She tires easily in flight and cannot fly a full Fall.

Personality

Despite her injuries, Bajezeth is a very sweet green. Some may even call her naive in her own way. She knows her limitations, and tries to push herself. Her goal is to one day fly a full Fall again, even though the dragonhealers doubt the achievement of this goal. Some part of her feels inadequate compared to other Istan dragons, and she constantly pushes herself to be the best that she can to try to make up for her limitations. She knows she has Vivaeldi's full support and love, even though her rider is enjoying being much more involved in her Craft. In moments of weakness, Vivaeldi's dedication to her Craft also leaves Bajezeth with self-doubt and guilt. She is very careful to hide this from her Rider; she doesn't want to burden her.

Bajezeth is both ashamed of her burns, depending upon those she is around. She is ashamed that it represents her inability to fly a full Fall and that it represents her failure as a dragon. This makes her a relatively shy yet sweet dragon, insular in her true friendships.

Crafter

Craft: Healer
Rank: Journeyman

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