Age: 33
Nameday: 3543.06.10
Sex: male
Sexual Orientation: heterosexual
Weyr: High Reaches Weyr
Rider Rank: Wingrider
Previous Rank/Craft: n/a
Physical Description:
Although he and his family have been residents of High Reaches for several generations, Bashir's Igen heritage is plainly written in his face - and the rest of him. His hair is a very dark brown that is nearly black and tends to look a little reddish in certain kinds of light and tends to curl when short or wet, and his eyes are an even darker shade of brown that look nearly black in nearly all lights. He has a long, slightly aquiline nose over a reasonably well-formed mouth, though his lips are perhaps a little thin and not given much to smiling. His cheekbones are high but not overly prominent. Naturally, his skin is a golden brown that seems at odds with High Reaches climate. In terms of physique, he is not particularly tall - only about five feet ten inches - but he's got some decent muscles on him from training rigorously all his life. B'shir's face is not expressive. He can make expressions, but because he has to think about it, they tend to come a fraction too late and they rarely look convincing. Most of the time he doesn't bother, and does most of his emoting with his voice. His default facial expression, unfortunately, looks like a scowl. It's just his eyebrows, he promises.
Personality:
B'shir is a very driven, serious young man. The fact that he is driven can translate unflatteringly into stubbornness. Once he sets his mind on something, very few things can sway him from his path, even when he's wrong, he will cling to an idea until he is forced to abandon it. He's much the same with people: once he decides how he feels about a person, it's going to be incredibly difficult to change his opinion. Fortunately, he isn't given to making snap decisions, and so a bad first impression will not ruin his view of another person for all time. He prefers to take his time to make up his mind.
And, although he is serious much of the time, B'shir does have a dry sense of humor that occasionally comes out when he's relaxing with friends. Those who are less familiar with him may not realize this, though, because he has a very flat affect and doesn't smile when he cracks jokes or when he's amused. B'shir is most comfortable around his family and friends, who are usually male. Raised by a sexist father and grandfather, B'shir's opinion of females is somewhat unfortunate: he feels that women are to be protected and sheltered, and so he's not likely to befriend any female who isn't extraordinary. Aside from his hangups with women, B'shir is actually outgoing and likes people (he's just really not good at interacting with females, whether or not he likes them...he gets very awkward). he can be laughably awkward.
B'shir is a firm believer in the benefits of rank and seniority. He believes that authority should be obeyed when it's correct and that a person who puts in the time deserves the respect that comes with it, working on the assumption he will be treated with similar respect if he ever attains any sort of rank or authority. Similarly, when it comes to taking risks, B'shir doesn't. Not really. He's not afraid of anything High Reaches Weyr can throw at him, though he has a healthy respect for the dangers involved in his lifestyle. He is not someone who can be dared to do stupid things, though he won't rat out others who do them unless there's a possibility people or dragons will be hurt in the process. He doesn't like to see anything in pain, though he's able to slaughter and butcher beasts as needed. Having to do so, however, tends to make him feel guilty.
Positive Trait List: driven; rule-follower; thoughtful
Negative Trait List: mule-headed; sexist; soft-hearted
History:
Born to a dragonriding family (his father and grandfather were both brownriders) , B'shir's first priority growing up was Impressing a dragon. His grandfather, a brownrider, preferred that he Impress a bronze, as did his father, but B'shir would have been happy with any dragon that chose him. With the hopes of his family resting on him to Impress, B'shir was raised with the idea that he had to become a dragonrider. Nothing less would be satisfactory or acceptable. When he was young this was fine because it meant he got to spend a great deal of time with his grandfather and his brown, but as he got older there was more pressure on him to excel. His grandfather made him practice flying on his dragon and executing flight drills. The pressure intensified after his father died from an accident going between from which he never returned.
Despite his family's efforts, B'shir continued to fail to Impress turn after turn, and his grandfather began to make it clear how very not okay it was that he hadn't Impressed. Rather than cracking under the pressure, B'shir worked harder. He also got into the business of looking out for newly Searched candidates, much to his grandfather's ire. They didn't think he ought to be helping others to Impress when he had yet to do so. It became a source of tension which ultimately had two good side effects: first, it began a process in his slow-to-change mind which eventually concluded that the low-level emotional abuse he'd been subjected to when he failed to live up to his family's expectations was unacceptable; second, it encouraged B'shir to view women less dismissively, since it was possible his grandfather's views there might be less than completely accurate. When he Impressed Sakneth in his nineteenth turn, B'shir was the family's golden boy once more, but he was through with them.
Since then, he has looked to his friendships, his wingmates, and his continuing interest in mentoring people new to the Weyr for companionship, rather than his family.
Other: This is a transfer from the Dragonriders of Pern shop that I'm working on fitting into this setting.
DRAGON
Name: Sakneth
Age: 13
Color: bronze
Size: 41'
Physical Description:
In the matter of physical stature, Sakneth's standard. If he's any bigger than the others, it's so slight that most people won't note the difference. He has a scar over his right eye from a fight he got into at his hatching before Impressing to B'shir.
Personality:
The size of his ego is where Sakneth unmistakably surpasses most of his peers. If there's one thing that drives him, it's his pride. He's got more than enough to sustain him and an abundance of leftovers to share with his rider, who will quickly be set straight if he ever dares doubt either of them.
Sakneth is bronze with a silver tongue. Within seconds of meeting them, he can ordinarily tell what someone wants to hear and be on their good side if he really aims for it. That isn't to say he doesn't think before he opens his big mouth; he just makes snap decisions, and instinctively brilliant ones (at least in his opinion). The full extent of his manipulative prowess is known only by his rider and those few who see through his facade. Sakneth knows they're great, so what anyone else thinks doesn't matter to him. His goal is to have whatever he wants, not work on his public image. In his not-so-humble opinion, there's nothing wrong with this behavior. All he's doing is playing the game of life.
Once he's reviewed another dragon enough to judge them, that opinion is set in stone and carving in something new is a wearisome task indeed. Sounds harsh? Good. He knows nice guys finish last. Believe it or not, Sakneth fancies himself quite the lady-killer. Probably not many females do, however. He treats them like a game to be won, and seems convinced he's got the rule book and all the cheat codes memorized. They want a bad boy, he'll tell his rider, and go so far as to encourage him to defile them with his words, even though B'shir never follows this advice. He would never suggest B'shir use his fists. Sakneth hates seeing anything in pain, but he doesn't understand the emotion called sympathy and so ignores it quite well. (All the while, he's drawn to people who do, and he doesn't know why that is. Could there be a good dragon underneath it all?)
Other males are either his apprentices, underlings or enemies. There is no in between. They'll get along until the first sign they might be trying to do something Sakneth doesn't like. Male or female, anyone who questions his authority will be subject to his temper. Just because he doesn't care about your opinion does not mean you can tell him what to do. If he feels like it, then he will do so then and only then. He very much despises being told to do things by equal and lesser colors.
Yes, that's right. Lesser colors. He's a bronze, so you browns, blues and greens learn your place on the food chain. It's below him, in case you're not smart enough to figure that out. He can't really blame you considering you're, you know... you. The one part of his reputation he does care about is maintaining an alpha male image. When it comes time for a queen to rise, he will chase her! And if he needs to fly a green just to prove he's top dog, then he will. That silly brown needs to be reminded at every given turn who the big man on campus is.
Dragon Art or Proof of Obtainment:
