Post by cevara on Apr 14, 2008 20:09:00 GMT -8
CEVARA
Gender: Female
Age: 33
Dragon: Brown Gaveneth
Rank: Weapons Master, Guardian Second, Wingsecond
Fire lizards: Farin--blue
Misko--white
Description
Quick:
5'7"
135 lbs
wheat blonde hair
honey-brown eyes
She is an undeniably lovely woman with a strong yet feminine figure and long, almost crimped pale blonde hair falling to her mid back. It is usually tamed back into single tight braid. She has a warm, friendly face with a fair complexion and lively, enchanting honey-brown eyes. During the summer months a few rebel freckles stray across her nose and she has a tendency to sunburn if out too long at peak hours (this is highly unfortunate as she loves to be outside).
Typically she is seen wearing dark brown or undyed wherhide pants, a close but comfortably tailored shirt, teasingly unbuttoned, and worn dark brown boots. Her left ear is pierced thrice and her right four times with small gold hoops and gems.
On her person at all times is a throwing knife, a dagger, and a set of lockpicks. She has taken to carrying around her sabre as well. The glaive, her favorite weapon, is too large to travel with her everywhere, and therefore is only near her person when she is expecting a match or trouble.
History
The third of six children of a Crafter couple, Cevara had a perfectly normal childhood for one growing up in a Crafthall, though she was notorious for fixing herself into as much trouble as humanly possible. She was one of the tomboys among her peers, and always hung out with the boys pretending to be a dragonrider fighting thread, exploring the ‘wilderness’, and otherwise running about creating havoc and gray hairs.
Although her parents were both skilled in the Smithcraft, she followed in the footsteps of her eldest brother Johrn and developed a keen interest in the use of arms rather and the art of making them rather than normal smith work. Her father's father was the Ranking Master of Weaponscraft at Bariden Hold on the Northern Continent, and had begun Cevara’s unofficial training in unarmed combat when she was just six years old. By the time she was eight, she had moved in with her grandfather and started her apprenticeship, concentrating on both armed and unarmed combat, stealth, and crowd control. (Yes, crowd control. Since warfare is practically unheard of on Pern, the only typical use for her weapon specialty would be as a guard or a trivial fight from drink and hot tempers. Being able to settle agitated crowds that may be found at gathers and the like is a far more frequently used skill.)
She was Searched at the age of fifteen and brought up to Cold Water Weyr, where to the surprise of many though perhaps not herself, she impressed Brown Gaveneth. Her parents were less than thrilled when they discovered she had a homosexual streak. Like the Holds, many Crafthalls including the one she was raised in was very traditional and looked down upon such aspects of Weyr life. The Impression was a lifesaver for her, though. Within the next Turn she had been expected to marry as was proper by that age, even though she despised the idea and therefore all suitors brought before her. Despite everything, by the end of that same Turn she earned the rank of Journeyman.
Three Turns later another drastic change occurred in her life: she constructed a friendship with a decidedly wild and spontaneous rider, Elaine of green Opeth. The duo was the perfect recipe for trouble. Elaine, twenty-four at the time, lived in the neighboring Trenton Ridge Weyr. Cevara, a classic rebel without a cause, had taken to spending a fair deal of time away from Cold Water, mainly from the need to escape the relentless pursuit of S’rok of Blue Foreneth. He was determined to forge a lasting relationship with her, and she was equally determined to discourage such ideas. He was a man, after all. But it was also the desire for adventure that drove her ever more frequently from her home. That same desire would cost her the chance of ever earning the title of Weapons Master at her home Weyr.
On the fourth day of a long survival training trip in the forests surrounding Trenton Ridge, her evening rest was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of steel on steel and muffled cheering. Unable to resist investigation, despite Gaveneth’s pleading to stay away from it, she came upon a ring of eight people. In the middle of them fought a stockily built red headed woman, and a far taller dark-haired man with bastard swords. She watched unnoticed for the brief remainder of the match. Although her weapon was knocked from her grasp, the woman managed to get a rear hold on her opponent and take him down by at the knee hollows, and struggled to keep him down for the customary three counts.
Later, having made acquaintances with the group, Cevara learned all fighting competitions had been recently condemned at Trenton Ridge due to the recent increase in injury. Some matches had become far too close to duels for traditional Weyr taste. Those who wished to fight, all self-taught as Weapons Craft had been a slowly dying official Craft, had begun to meet here in as much secret as possible to continue the matches. Ten marks was paid to the victor of each match, though among this rowdy bunch bragging rights was clearly the top reward. Elaine, who was considered an unofficial master at arms due to a plethora of life experience, had been the winner of the most recent match. Apparently she had thus far only been defeated in these woodland matches by R’nor of bronze Tehrith.
Cevara was hooked to the sport almost immediately. Granted there were competitions at Cold Water, but they were infrequent and closely regulated. The illegality of the ‘lightning brawls’ as they had been dubbed, made them all the more appealing to the brown rider. The next four Turns were hectic. As the largest brown at Cold Water, Gaveneth caught several greens over that span of time. The couplings that followed created awkward problems following the brief but passionate encounters with the greens’ respective female riders.
Between the messes Cev continued to attend all fighting competitions she could, eventually bringing in tow a handful of fighters from Cold Water. When not fulfilling their duties as Wingriders in their respective Weyrs, Elaine aided Cevara in her studies to become a senior Journeyman and introduced her to some decidedly shady but useful talents as well, most notably lockpicking.
Any rational outsider who knew of the lightning brawls realized it was only a matter of time before an accident would happen. During one of the matches between two of the teenage members, who were fighting with the customary blunt blades used by junior opponents, heated words were passed and the fight got out of hand. The spectators rushed in to break the two of them up, but Owen, the nephew of the ranking Weaponsmaster who had taken over after the retirement of Cevara’s grandfather, received a fractured wrist and a blow that cost the loss of vision in his left eye. Needless to say, the lightning brawlers were screwed.
All involved in the Craft were not permitted to further their status any further within the localized Crafthall. Cevara, being the ringleader of the Cold Water troop, was stripped of her official ranking altogether. Her position within the Weyr itself was not helped when Gaveneth attempted a mere two sevendays later to Fly the senior gold. Cold Water had only sixteen resident bronzes, and with the increased rarity of metallic dragons, the largest and most diverse clutches possible were necessary. The Weyrwoman had been furious Cevara had allowed her brown to join the pursuit.
There was understandable hostility towards the former ‘brawlers’, though some sympathized with their bad luck. Cevara and two of the other fighters who were also riders transferred to Trenton Ridge.
During the turn and a half she spent there, Cevara stuck up a brief but passionate romance with Willa of Blue Nyomith, but to those who cared to pay attention it was obvious something more than strengthening friendship was developing between she and Elaine.
After the downfall of the brawlers she matured a great deal. Now nearly twenty-four, she looked back on her actions of the past with regret, wishing she could slap some sense into her younger self before any of this had gotten off the ground. Although she no longer held official ranking, she practiced and studied her Craft in every inch of spare time with a fervor she had not dreamed she was capable of, in part as a way to vent her frightening anger with herself. After her short stay in Trenton Ridge she realized she needed to return home and try to mend what relations she could. Running away and hiding in the neighboring Weyr wasn’t doing anything any good. She and Gaveneth were allowed to transfer back to Cold Water, but they did not come alone. Opeth and her lifemate followed. Within weeks Gaveneth and flown the green, and their riders made the decision to be weyrmates.
Five more Turns passed. Little changed. Even less healed. Cevara realized she would always be somewhat of an outcast in both home Hall and Weyr. She was even an outcast among her own family. Life with Elaine had proven to be its own challenge. The redhead was carelessly reckless to the core, and difficult to keep amused. Somewhere along the way the intensity of their initial love had fizzled out to a low ember. The intimate part of the relationship had been gradually falling apart at the seams, taking their once close friendship down with it. Both had been distancing themselves. Elaine even accused her weyrmate of running around with her last partner, a claim that was entirely false. Cevara turned more and more to alcohol as a means to cope with her problems. The shame of everything was that Gaveneth was still captivated by the lovely Opeth, and for a green her eye had managed not to wander too frequently.
By one source or another Cevara learned of Great Cliffs Weyr upon the still rather mysterious Western Continent. The calling was too strong. She needed to get away from this place…the entire sharding continent! She needed to go to a new land with new faces, someplace where people didn’t have a preconceived notion of who she was and how she was supposed to be. The woman existing now was not the girl who had run off on idiotic expeditions and engaged in even more careless activities, dragging impressionable individuals with her. The people here would never accept that. Cevara left Cold Water unexpectedly after a mere forty-eight hours of planning. She left most of her belongings and a letter behind her, attempting to explain her mind to her weyrmate. Elaine and Opeth did not follow.
Soon after transferring to Great Cliffs, things started to look positive again for her. After learning of the damnable activities of the Shadow Syndicate, she joined the Guardians, hoping to put all the training she had to good use at last. She also was eventually promoted to Wingsecond, and within two Turns of living at Great Cliffs she travelled to the Erdan Island Chain to test for her Master status under one of the few other Weaponsmasters on Pern, Seyvin, and succeeded.
Free falling entirely from her usual character, from her very first day she was immediately attracted to the Weyrdragonhealer and Lead Guardian K’ivan. He is the first, and Cevara believes, only man she has ever desired to be with. The chemistry was undeniable. The more she talked to him and learned about him, that attraction and admiration easily turned to love. Love she thought at first unrequited. However, to her absolute bliss, she later discovered it was mutual. She is now his weyrmate and has started her life fully afresh, even in the tumultuous wake of its the previous chapter.
Lacking a partner to help keep her from serious trouble, Elaine met up with and instigated a bar fight with some old adversaries in which she was mortally wounded. She died before any help could arrive, and Opeth, along with one of her two flits, the brown Jumble, went /between/. Farin, her blue flit that had developed a strong bond for Cevara during she and his bond’s long relationship, carried the ill news to the brown rider. Farin has re bonded himself to Cevara.
Recently, with Tuirith's rising, one of Cevara's greatest fears seems to be materializing: K'ivan seems to be getting somewhat distant. What she thought at first to be an effect of the virus that ravished the weyr and the everyday stress of their full lives she now suspects to a rekindling of old emotion between K'ivan and Klissi, stirred by Baizynth's love. Terrified of losing the love of her life, Cevara will not take the apparant threat laying down. Unfortunately, in the midst of all this, Cevara was called back to the Erdan islands for about two months time for further training in her Craft with the other Weapons Master, Seyvin. Such training is mandatory for young Masters, even those as tried and tested as Cev, and it could not be missed no matter the circumstance. Although she obviously could keep in contact with K'ivan through their dragons, she cannot be entirely certain what events have transpired while she was away and she has been sick with worry. Now that she is returning home, what will she be returning to?
Personality
Overall she is a friendly and good-natured woman who likes being around people. She has a laid back personality and enjoys a good drink with a small group of friends. However despite her attempts to control it, Cev has a very mischievous streak and her occasional antics, comments, and language have been known to offend those who lack a hefty sense of humor or have ego problems. She is a curious being, is game to try just about anything, and has retained her childhood love of exploring nature. Those who underestimate Cevara due to her often seemingly carefree nature soon learn their mistake. Her sharp mind, quick thinking, organizational skills, and bravery are assets that ushered her in to the position of Guardian Second during the Syndicate crisis. Fun-loving when the situation allows it, she typically remains very level-headed and effective in tricky situations.
A vivacious, charismatic, and understanding woman, people tend to gravitate towards her both in good times and in bad if they seek a patient listener and some honest common sense advice.
Since she has twenty-five Turns of avid weapons training and real life fighting experience, she is an extremely tough opponent.
Her temper is not quite as hot these days as it used to be, though still sharp, and this is reflected in her fighting style which is now more defensive than aggressive. She does have more than a hint of thief in her, as not only did the wonderful influence of Elaine teach her to pick locks, but also her great deal of time spent in the wilderness has given her natural stealth. Despite a less than scrupulous life, she is not as tough as she would like people to believe.
GAVENETH
Gaveneth is a large brown, the largest in his former Weyr, and certainly the longest if not the overall biggest in Great Cliffs. Although not blessed with as much bulky muscle as some browns, his lithe build allows him to fly faster than most of his color and he is remarkably agile.
Due to these assets, he attempted to fly the senior gold of Cold Water but dropped out of the race due to his youth and inexperience in pacing.
Gaveneth tends to stick out from other browns not only because his bond is female, but his supple hide is a glossy hue of almost entirely copper, its pristine condition no doubt owing to almost obsessive oiling by his lifemate. The hide is marred only by fading threadscore on his left shoulder and neck.
He is rambunctious and confident much like his rider, though he is really almost too confident for his own good. A highly flirtatious and social dragon, his speech laced with smooth charm, he believes himself to be an absolute stud of the Weyr.
