Name: Tofir
Age: 20
Gender: male
Sexual Orientation: heterosexual
Craft: healer
Rank: senior apprentice, mindhealing specialization

History: Tofir's fascination with healing began early in his life, when his younger sister fell from a roof she'd been walking on a dare and broke her arm. An infection, and then fever set in and a healer was summoned to treat her. The healer, a pleasant young man who had only been a journeyman for a few turns, allowed Tofir to help him in small ways. Tofir loved the feeling of power that it gave him, to watch his sister sleeping and check her temperature and her wound, knowing that it was up to him to tell someone if anything changed. He was eight at the time, at a perfect age to find someone to worship as a hero, and Healer Niroj was a perfect candidate. The healer was young, good-looking, self-confident, and incredibly intelligent. He also indulged Tofir and allowed him to follow him around, though he only allowed the young boy to help if his patients agreed and if Tofir had finished all his chores.

Tofir showed an aptitude for healer work and a determination that might have made a difference even if he'd been less apt. With his eidetic memory for the written word, his ability to acquire information was limited only by his ability to acquire reading material and the amount of time his family allowed him to spend in study. When Healer Niroj learned of Tofir's ability, he practically begged the young boy's parents for permission to send him to Healer Hall for training. Tofir's parents were reluctant, because they were average holdfolk who were accustomed to the idea that their children would grow up and live nearby, but they were proud that one of their offspring might be qualified to be a healer, which they considered a fine profession.

At Healer Hall, Tofir found that his memory served him well, but he was by no means a prodigy. Especially as time went by and it became apparent that his bedside manner was sorely lacking. Due to the inoculations he went through early in his training and his studious lifestyle, Tofir never experienced most of the conditions he dealt with, and could neither empathize nor sympathize with his patients. Additionally, his classes in contagion and hygiene had left him extremely uptight about cleanliness. He became an assiduous hand-washer and actually reluctant to deal with patients who presented with contagious conditions or who demonstrated a poor grasp of personal hygiene while under the care of their healer. He would often take it upon himself to enlighten them in none-too-pleasant terms while touching them as rarely as possible, and gingerly when he did so.

It seemed for a while that he would not be suited to healercraft at all, based on his difficulties with contamination and contagion, but then at sixteen turns Tofir took a required course in mindhealing and realized he had found his calling. With mindhealing, he would never be called upon to touch his patients and he would rarely be forced to deal with people who were simply stupid. Instead he got to work on piecing together the most complicated puzzle he could imagine: the human mind. He was particularly interested in exceptional minds, especially those who were able to form bonds with watchwhers and dragons.

After walking the tables, Tofir begged permission to continue his studies at a Weyr - any Weyr. The masters debated for a while, weighing his general skill at healing with his difficulties with the day-to-day rigors of the job. No Weyr would accept a healer who would treat injuries or mental distress but refused to deal with the sick. Tofir was obliged to undergo a thorough evaluation by a master of mindhealing to determine whether he would be able to carry out his oath as a healer and treat all those in need. He passed, but his answers were still suspect, since he was a student of mindhealing and his perfect memory for written words made it easy for him to recall the necessary answers. In the end it was decided the he would be allowed to go, but he would be demoted to the rank of senior apprentice so that he could be ordered by the Weyr's healer to perform tasks he might otherwise avoid.

Tofir accepted the condition and the demotion willingly and was shipped off to the Weyr as soon as arrangements could be made. He's been living at the Weyr for about a turn and a half, completely content with the sort of work he's been called upon to do and unbothered by the fact that he's technically an apprentice. He has access to all the dragons, dragonriders, and candidates he could ever hope to have, and some of them are even willing to let him try to analyze them.

Appearance: Tofir has dark brown hair that he wears short. He never allows his hair to get shaggy. Ever. He hates having it fall into his eyes and his work. It also makes it much easier to care for, and when it comes to his appearance, ease of care is of great importance to him. His eyes are dark brown and rimmed by dark lashes that are short, but thick, creating the illusion of length. His eyebrows are thick and dark. He can move the left one independently of its mate, and often does so to let others know how stupid he finds them. He has a remarkable scowl, but it's not his only expression. In general, his face is very animated, and his feelings are right there for anyone to see.

Tofir is of an average height, but he projects such an air of confidence that he tends to seem taller than he is, and he has perfected the art of looming. It's all about the scowl and crossing the arms firmly over your chest with your feet planted no more than shoulder-width apart. Any farther and you start to lose height and begin to look comical, which is counter-productive to looming. He is reasonably well-built for someone who rarely has to perform hard physical labor. Part of being a young man in Healer Hall was that he was expected to act as an orderly in the case of patients who required restraint. It was while doing this that he acquired a broken nose, though there's no visible evidence his nose was ever broken except that he snores now and he didn't before.

In terms of dress, Tofir is indifferent. If it fits, doesn't interfere with his work, and can endure being scrubbed relentlessly, that's good enough. Most of his clothing tends to fade anyway under the fury of his scrubbing. He would rather have worn-looking clothing than clothing that bears even a hint of disease, blood, dirt, or other things counter-productive to healing.

Personality: Tofir definitely seems like a complete tool based on a superficial evaluation. After all, he is outspoken (and everyone notices, because his natural pitch is loud and he's given to gesticulation when speaking passionately), sharp-tongued, and very aware of how stupid everyone can be. He actually includes himself in "everyone" but figures it takes away from his authority as a healer to say as much. However, that is just on the surface, and it's not at all the demeanor he presents to anyone who comes to him in his capacity as a mindhealer.

In his work, Tofir is mostly silent, allowing his patients to do the majority of the talking. He will ask questions, but they're usually open-ended. He's comfortable sitting in silence with people for as long as they need to. His presence is one that cannot be ignored or forgotten, even when he's still and silent, but it isn't necessarily overbearing. Some people say he's actually more comforting to be around because of his very palpable presence. He is also capable of being tender and gentle with those who require it. This is particularly easy to see in his dealings with women - he has a very strong urge to protect them that borders on chivalric, though he will deny it until he's blue in the face, insisting that he treats everyone the same.

Naturally, it's important to mention that Tofir is very uptight about cleanliness. He doesn't like to be exposed to sick people without taking every available precaution, and really doesn't like to touch people who have skin conditions that involve flaking or open, oozing sores. Dandruff and psoriasis freak him out. He hates the thought of have flakes of someone's skin coming off onto him. He has similar problems with peeling sunburns, though it's a condition he can't catch through contact. Or at all, really, since his natural tendency is to tan. It should come as no surprise that Tofir isn't a very tactile person. It's anyone's guess whether the real reason he always tends to have something in his hands is because it makes it impossible for people to greet him by shaking his hand. The only exception he will make in his aversion to physical contact is in regards to the people he sees as a mindhealer. If they need hugged or something, he'll provide that service.

Don't get the wrong idea about Tofir, though. It isn't that he dislikes people. Quite the contrary. He is never happier than when he's surrounded by people, and in total isolation he is not happy. He is quick to make friends because his door is always open and he has no difficulties talking to anyone, which is partly because of his training as a mindhealer and partly because he genuinely likes people. Generally he's fairly lovable, even if he can be a jerk. He's willing to call others out on their mistakes, but he's also able to laugh at his own errors. His favorite phrase would probably be, "Everyone's entitled to be stupid, but some people abuse the privilege." It's the ones who abuse the privilege who tend to get the brunt of his sharp tongue.

Other: I would like to make Tofir a candidate, but an odd sort of candidate. He doesn't care about Impressing. In fact, he would probably consider it an inconvenience, but he is perishingly curious about Impression, and to that end he might try to convince the Weyrleader to allow him to be on the sands at hatchings so he could get a better feel for what occurs when a dragon Impresses. So whether he Impresses or not is not of any particular importance, he just happens to be on the sands, getting the candidate "experience."