The Rider
Name: Vahl'en
Age: 17
Nameday: 3560.01.11
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Exploring
Weyr: High Reaches Weyr
Rider Rank: Wingrider
Previous Rank/Craft: Weyrbrat
Physical Description: Vahl'en is in that awkward stage of growing where it's clear he's still going to spring up like a weed - but it isn't so clear if he's going to remain as twiggy as he currently looks. He has his mother's red hair and amber eyes with an absolute peppering of freckles.
Personality: Vahl’en is evidence aplenty that his great grandmother, Viren’s, fiery spirit may just like skipping a generation. Where his mother, Valehrie, is fiery and full of spirit, Vahl’en is barely what one would consider to be adventurous and is in fact a healthy heaping scoop of homebody - he has almost little interest in what happens in the world outside of the little bubble that is his home, and in fact can seem awfully unsympathetic about it. He’s certainly not lining up people to see them suffer, but he can tend to take people’s woe with more than a tiny pinch of salt - mostly in the wake of Dragonriders being blamed for the suffering of people outside of the Weyrs. He’s proud of his home for having been prepared, so why aren’t they doing more to help themselves if they have the energy to deflect blame?
Big bombastic shows simply aren’t Vahl’en’s thing, preferring quieter things. He has no desire to be a leader of any sort, nor to stand out as a hero. Instead, he finds appeal in finding the smaller things that nobody wants to do, yet still desperately need doing. Dirty chores? He doesn’t mind doing them (well, some he does - but he won’t complain since it is helping). Grinding, monotonous work? He’ll also do that. Contributing in small, meaningful places is incredibly important to him. He is proud of his home and the deep roots his family has there. Leaving it better than he found it, proverbially, is the way to go about it.
Vahl’en is a self sufficient and self motivating young man, needing little push to get going and to find things that need to be done once he has finished what is on his plate. His desire to contribute, however, make him unwilling to ask for help in doing things - not out of pride, but out of inconvenience. He’d rather waste away his day on a frustrating task than make someone else, who may simply have more important things they could be doing, take time away to explain for him. The lost time is learning time as far as he’s concerned - not taking into account how much more could get done if he didn’t stress about burdening others.
Positive Trait List Humble, Hardworking, Self-sufficient
Negative Trait List Homebody, Unsympathetic, DESPERATELY Self-sufficient
History: Vahlaryen was born like many kids in the creche as the result of a flight - though he was born into a fairly large and established family of High Reaches Riders and had a cousin born within a few weeks of him to bond with as a sibling - as he would many of his other cousins. The communal ‘whole’ was important from the start, though nobody ever burdened him with it, and being well loved nurtured the desire to give back. Whether that was keeping an eye out on the younger kids while the adults were busy, or staying longer in the kitchens to help with particularly large meals, he was happy to help - and he looked up to each adult as a role model of their own sort.
Life was good, IS good, mostly made of the sort of childhood tensions one could expect from any developing young person, and he mostly got along as well with everybody as they would let him. Having a mother as willing to fight all of his enemies could have been a contributing factor, but he was fairly good at navigating such stresses himself without her.
But Thread, turns and turns absent, lingered and impressed upon him the importance of everybody’s hard work, almost like a sore tooth. It didn’t bring him anxiety, but watered his deep roots of pride and hopefulness for his own future. That he’d still be too young to Stand before any clutch of dragons when it returned was a great insult - but that he’d be around to do his part buoyed his resolve. Resolve that would be tested as he was turned away his first and even second times on the sands. He was committed to wait, but it wouldn’t be a long struggle before they finally did.
There. I found you, Vahlaryen - that was easy. Now I believe food is around that bend there? Come, your Ghengith would like to eat before either of us have to worry much about the rest of it. You’ll eat soon, yes? Yes. The sooner we all handle our matters here, the sooner you can eat too. So hopefully they will not leave you waiting long.
They impressed without fanfare, without any flourish or pomp, but the love from the little baby was plain in the little things the young man coveted so. Ghengith would patiently nurture his little cares over the next year, and shoulder his sadnesses when they came, so that they could fly together against the great enemy. Something that they both needed to do, deep in their bones.
Other: Son of Valehrie, Great-Grandson of Virens
The Dragon
Origin of Name: Genghith takes their name from the Warlord most well known for riding the Mongol Horse - Genghis Khan.
Inspiration:Mongol Horse - The Mongol horse is the native horse breed of Mongolia. The breed is purported to be largely unchanged since the time of Genghis Khan. Nomads living in the traditional Mongol fashion still hold more than 3 million animals, which outnumber the country's human population. In Mongolia, the horses live outdoors all year, dealing with temperatures from 30 °C (86 °F) in summer down to −40 °C (−40 °F) in winter, and they graze and search for food on their own. The mare's milk is processed into the national beverage airag. Some animals are slaughtered for meat. Other than that, they serve as riding and transport animals; they are used both for the daily work of the nomads and in horse racing.
Mongol horses were a key factor supporting the 13th-century conquests of the Mongol Empire.Mongol horses are best known for their role as the war steeds of Genghis Khan. The Mongol soldier relied on his horses to provide him with food, drink, transportation, armor, shoes, ornamentation, bowstring, rope, fire, sport, music, hunting, entertainment, spiritual power, and in case of his death, a mount to ride in the afterlife.
Personality: Ghengith is an incredibly independent and free spirit, seeing home as less of a place and more of a state of mind - she may have been shelled by High Reaches dragons and raised upon its soil, but her home is where her rider is first and foremost. She has no meaningful desire to stray away from the place of her birth, however. Where this struggle truly comes into play is against her incredibly self sufficient nature - she would rather fend for herwelf than ask another for her (incredibly few) needs. An outing with her rider won't have her longing for her ledge in particular, but any place with fellow dragons and a bite to eat. Truly, Ghengith could move from group to group with little issue and in a time before Thread she would have perhaps wandered away to seek out her hearts desires and simply forgotten to return.
That said, she has no desire to buck tradition or shy away from her duty. Not only is Ghengith a warrior, but she is a fierce and unshakeable one. She will ride into battle with every expectation to not return and face it without fear or trepidation. Unfortunately this can be one of the worst things about her - rather than reassurances that things will go well they are more likely to upset her fellows with her bleak realism.
At heart and at needs, Ghengith is an incredibly low maintenance dragon - she is not particular about her food or straps or even her hide as long as they all meet the bare minimum. Not hungry or itchy or having a rider thrown from her back? She's content. She is very good with children and fresh candidates who have never handled a dragon before, with a deep wellspring of patience and little inclination to complain. This can be a frustrating facet of Ghengith, however, as she isn't inclined to speak up when she should. If she has been left wanting or neglected, she will seek to fix it themselves rather than tell the offender of their shortcoming. She isn't looking to be walked over, nor would she ever allow it, but she isn't inclined towards sharing strong opinions or complaints, allowing bad habits to fester.
Positive Traits: Self Sufficient, Low Maintenance, Steady
Negative Traits: Wandering, Bleak, Enabling
NPC Egg: Small
Adult Size: 44'
Physical Attributes: Genghith is a stout dragon with a strong, but not overly muscular, build. In fact, while she will never be called fat, it will be obvious when she is well fed. She has a slightly larger head than average, with shorter neck, balanced by a longer tail and their limbs give an almost squat appearance. For her color, they tend to have more stamina and speed, than speed or dexterity.
Additional Notes: Genghith's nature makes her well disposed towards Searchriding.
While Ghengith isn’t so picky as to turn her head up at the feeding pen, she does tend to enjoy wild fare when she roams away from home - and may not have mind to make sure it won’t cause trouble if she snags someone else’s livestock. This is something their rider will have to be extra mindful of.
When it comes to flights, they are a no-frill affair for Genghith. She’ll rise three times a turn, at most, and tend to favor strong fliers, over acrobatic ones. When it comes to romance, Ghengith may not settle easily or for the long term.
Impression Effect: Vahl'en will find his deep roots are able to spread a little farther than High Reaches and be able to look at the situations of others with more sympathy than he did previously.
Why Me? Ghengith needs a tether and there was none better than Vahl'en's deep roots. He will not be swayed to stray from his home by his dragon's wandering tendencies once they are able to fly and in turn will hopefully lured out of the safe haven of his home to see more of the world around him, knowing they will always return. Both boy and dragon are very self sufficient, but will be able to rely on each other for any loose ends that are left wanting or needing an extra mind on it. Vahl'en is ready to serve Pern and Ghengith is ready to fight with everything they are. A simple, humble dragon with a simple, humble boy - what more could either of them ask for?
