Approved by Tawny

Character Name: Alianar
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Craft/Rank: Apprentice Wherhandler

History: Alianar has lived his entire life in a small minehold near Benden Hold. He was the third boy to be born to his parents, so he spent his life in a rather uproarous household between his parents frequent spats and the rowdiness of some of his siblings. Of the eventual five children of Alia and Herovar, only Alianar and his older brother Helier managed to miss the boisterous and temper genes entirely. His father was a dedicated miner, and despite the accidents that occurred from time to time in the mines, no one in his family would ever speak ill of the work they were involved with or its risks. It just bred a level of respect in them for what Pernese soil could do to a man and what watchwhers could do to improve safety for the mines. Their hold had only one watchwher, but what they lacked in numbers, the wher made up for with skill. Alianar was on hand in the mines personally on a day when the watchwher sensed instability in the mineshaft and saved the lives of nine people, including Alianar and his father. Alianar knew he could grow into a decent miner, as his father and two of his brothers would, but there were better options he could choose, ones for which he might be better suited.

It's no surprise, then, that Alianar would want to thrive in the minecraft that he grew up around and do so in a way that could benefit those around him. For him, there has never been the desire of dragons: there have only been whers.

At just barely 15 Turns, Alianar went to Benden Weyr to begin his training. For over a Turn and a half, he has been learning the Craft and keeping his ears open for news of potential eggs for those apprentices ready to become journeymen.

Description: Light skinned with hazel eyes, Alianar's looks lend themselves to comments of him preferring the company of men to that of women. It's not his features-- a fairly large nose, full but sharply sculpted lips, strong jaw-- it's the fact that his eyes are large and long-lashed, his skin fair, and his stature short. At 16, he's still only 5' 6", but he constantly hopes for more growth and will eventually get his wish, though he'll always be average height for a man at best. His hair is, suitably for a miner, brown, but dark enough that dirt shows up all too readily in it when he's been working. His hands are perpetually dirty, whether it's from the mines, sorting what the miners have gotten from the earth, or even helping his mother clean the house.

Personality: Alianar's personality plays into why he's not interested in dragonriding as much as his history does. Frankly, he's simply too shy. He doesn't want the prestige of dragonriders, doesn't want to fly away and get so far from the ground he's walked on and under all his life. That would draw too much attention to him and take him too far from the things he loved. He's not the type to speak his mind or even pursue friendships without someone else opening a clear path for him first. If he saw danger, he would speak up, but otherwise don't count on him pushing himself on you. It's not that he isn't friendly. He just won't make the first move, won't continue the conversation if you aren't encouraging him to talk, and won't be happy participating in conversations about topics that make him uncomfortable (most probably anything outside of conventionally accepted norms. He did grow up in a small hold, after all.). He'll just avoid those issues rather than taking a stance on them. He's happy to talk about his family and mining if someone asks, or any other topic he's comfortable with, but he only shares himself if someone else asks him.

He's very good with kids, and doesn't mind listening to them babble even if he can't understand what the littlest ones are talking about most of the time. He isn't old enough to think of it yet, but at some point in the future he will want to get married and have several children of his own. He would put himself into harm's way to protect a child, but if it's a person threatening them he wouldn't "stand up" to them. Just make sure the children were behind him or do something to distract the threat and have it focus its attention on him. He knows that children and whers don't mix, but he's hoping that his will be well-trained enough that chance meetings between his future wher and any future children he interacts with won't result in a mauling.

It isn't likely that he would sing with others around, but Alianar also has a passable tenor voice that he uses mostly to entertain children and sing songs that have caught his ear-- under his breath, of course. He knows he's no harper and like with any skills not involving the minecraft or wherhandling, he'll downplay even the smallest competence at them. The only things he knows he's good at are mining and-- he hopes-- wherhandling. Those he can tell you he is good at with a straight face and complete modesty. He's a conscientious worker, devoted to learning the right way to do things and following his teachers' instructions as closely as possible. He wants to learn and help his hold, and to do that he has to utilize what he's been told all his life: you respect and obey your elders. Maybe when he gets a little older and more competent with his skills he'll be less likely to follow like a sheep, but despite how he does feel confident in who he is and the things he knows he does well, he'll always let someone more competent take the lead in situations outside his small sphere of knowledge (and that includes social situations).

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