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:Akaya, lately of Harper Hall, formerly of Eron Hold, now of Trine Weyr:

Character Name: Akaya
Age: 16 19
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Craft/Rank: Harpercraft (Senior) Apprentice turned Candidate Junior Weyrling Dragonrider
History:
Akaya was born in the middle of four brothers (five in all) to parents who managed the ovine and caprine herds for the Beastcraft of Eron Hold. She thus grew up making herself useful as a shepherdess of sorts, watching the sheep and goats and getting pretty good with slings. Though she enjoyed the quiet moments out with the herds, what she really loved was the lessons from the Harper stationed at Eron Hold, and she endlessly begged for stories of Harper Hall and its most famous graduates. Akaya's parents got the hint, as did the Harper, and because of the girl's aptitude for quick learning, a decent voice, and most importantly a talent with words and lyrics (to go along with a modest talent for musical composition) she was sent to the place of her dreams: the Harper Hall just outside of Fort Hold.

There were parts of the Hall she didn't like--the northern weather, for one...she missed the warmth of her southern hold home. And the teachers could be very strict. But on the whole it was a marvelous adventure and even chores were exciting to the twelve Turn old. When the chores became less exciting, there were pranks to liven things up. And then there were the stories--her fellows apprentices were from all over Pern, and she loved listening to their stories of home. The music was wonderful too.

But there was an accident at home--her mother broke her leg and was to be kept mostly to the house, so Akaya begged a visit home to Eron Hold to help her mother in convalescence. She stayed home for a few months, and at a local Gather was Searched.

Despite absolutely loving the Harper Hall, when Akaya was asked if she would like to stand as a candidate by a Searchrider, she immediately agreed. She didn't even expect to Impress, not really, but the chance to live in a weyr well before she would ever get the chance as a proper Harper? Why not take the chance! And with the sappy romantic view of dragonkind Harpers are wont to possess (after all, they sing their praises all the time!), Akaya couldn't resist the chance to possibly see them up close and personal. If nothing else, she decided, she would stay a few years and try not to fall too far behind in her Harpering, and if nothing came of standing as a Candidate, she'd simply go back to the Hall and continue on her previous course...except she'd hopefully have a few friends in the Weyr to boot, which she was sure would come in handy. Harpers travel all over Pern, after all...

Being from a southern Hold but mostly educated in the north amongst dissenting opinion, Akaya's not quite sure what to think of the Atypical dragons--but they are dragons, and dragons must fly when Thread is in the sky, so that's how it must be, no matter what color they are. Once she gets the chance to interact with one, she'll no doubt want to write a song boasting of their virtues.

Akaya was at Trine for a short time before the Hatching, though long enough to be privy to the Benden invasion. At Brakiath and Alumanth's double-clutch at Trine, a sixteen-Turn-old Akaya Impressed green Sleeth out of Alumanth's clutch.

Description:
Akaya is a stocky, curvy woman--5'5" with broad shoulders she despairs over, a long torso and stubby legs to boot. She's nothing special to look at, but she isn't shy to experiment with cosmetics to enhance her best features. She possesses elbow-length chestnut brown hair she usually half pulls back with tiny braids in a half-crown, and dark brown eyes.


Personality:
Akaya believes that life is an adventure, and the best stories and songs come from adversity willingly undertaken. When given a choice, she will choose the more difficult path--it builds character! Also, suffering begets inspiration. Where she internalized this concept from it's not entirely clear, but the best ballads are usually about epic (often difficult to endure) events in history...

She spends half her time with her head in the clouds, and it's not unusual for her to lapse into daydreams even when conversing with others (in fact, it's especially likely if her conversational partner presents a particularly striking bit of imagery), so she often has to be startled back into reality. She tends towards the whimsical, and when asked her thoughts, the questioner usually regrets the question once treated to the inner workings of the Harper girl's mind. When she's fully present, however, she is fully present--her intensity can be almost alarming. Akaya is obscenely cheerful to boot, and it is almost impossible to get her to show any other emotion.

She's generally difficult to upset, but being as she has a rather clearcut sense of justice, it is possible to do so. Usually she uses her cheerfulness to mask any sense of unrest or uncertainty--the glimpse of a sad or frightened Akaya is a rare sight, and a side she'll show only to those she trusts absolutely. As a Harper, she's less inclined to anger and more inclined to pursue mediation if she has a problem with someone.

Because she enjoys composition and she's usually writing about things or people that really exist, in her zealousness to get the facts straight she often crosses the line into outright nosiness. If there is something that ought to be recorded for posterity, posterity should know every bit of it! She's a stickler for doing the research, and the deliberate spread of misinformation is one of the few things that really, truly irks her. Still, it's by tracking gossip she usually gets the facts, so she has a love-hate relationship with rumors and whispers.

She is an absolute sap for a good romance, both in the stories and in real life. She's a flirt, but still a Hold girl at heart--fairly new to the Weyr, she hasn't quite grasped the free love policy, and will likely be a bit uncomfortable with how casual the Weyr is about such things. Stories of true love and long-bonded weyrmates of all persuasions will be fine though--it's only the rest of it that bothers her. Conversely, her own trusting nature and carefree ways could very much get her into trouble in the romantic department if she is ever pursued by someone a little less than scrupulous.

To sum up: cheerful, whimsical, adventure-seeking Harper apprentice weyrling rider who is a little lacking in common sense and a hopeless romantic, probably most likely to invent the Pernese equivalent of really bad sappy pop love songs.

:Relationships:

-greenrider E'lai & Eltimioth: He brought Akaya to Trine, and his dragon was most eager to introduce her to her brown dragon friend. Eltimioth was very pretty too...and maybe she'd like to sing?
-brownrider S'ren & Tereth: Tereth, the Dragon Who Loved Harpers...it's a song waiting to be written, and Akaya intends to do so! S'ren's voice isn't half bad either...the first recruits to her choir?!
-weyrling G'brel & blue Lifth: Akaya met G'brel when they were candidates, and the weyrbred girl was kind enough to offer her a tip or two!

-Harper Tor: Akaya's former teacher back when she was young at Eron Hold, she looks up to him as a Harper--and thinks that adversity should be rewarded with song.

:Art:

-Egg spread! Crimson Alumanth's clutch. (totally not done by Shimy)
-Junior Weyrling cert / Junior Weyrling uncert
-Senior Weyrling cert / Senior Weyrling uncert
-Adult cert / Adult uncert