Name: Tyalar
Age: 14
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Craft/Rank:Apprentice Leatherworker (Harnesses & Saddles, mostly)
History:
You were raised in Benden Hold, but the first thing you remember is the Weyr. Your family has been Leatherworkers for as long as they've been in Benden - your Mother never ceases to mention that when she's bragging, and she brags a lot. Over the past couple of generations you've specialised in harnesses and saddles, especially for dragons. Whilst you don't often fit the harnesses yourself, you go to the Weyr with them so adjustments can be made if needed. The first memory that really sticks out to you is being on the cart, kicking your tiny legs out, with your two older brothers behind you with the harnesses and your Mother and Father either side. It's a pleasant memory - you were young enough to think Father just quiet instead of browbeaten, and the tension between your brothers and indeed your parents had yet to flare up.
Subsequent visits went downhill quickly. Your middle brother was stocky, well-built and masculine. The perfect son. He woo'ed women and worked leather with perhaps not skill but definitely enthusiasm. You were a sickly child, and many trips to the healer were taken for your poor constitution which added stress to an already unhappy family. Your oldest brother had never taken to leatherworking and was banished to the storefront. But that was not the main source of tension.
Your oldest brother refused to be wed, or even take a girlfriend. This was a constant dissapointment to your loud and somewhat overbearing mother. You don't remember your father having much to say on the subject, but then again your father never had much to say about anything. You get your colouring from him as he's the one with darker shades but you get your build and eyes from your mother - with fiery red hair, green eyes and a build that could best be described as 'generous' nobody ever seems to be able to overlook her, not even those who rather would.
Your mother doted on you, though. For the first six turns of your life you worshipped her, with her cool cloths and strong arms that rocked you to sleep when you were feverish. But then things started to change. Your sicknesses started to die off, you spent longer and longer being well - and with that you started seeing more of your brothers. Your middle brother you weren't fond of. Somewhat of a brash bully you thought him mean and brutish, although you understood why he acted that way because well.
The brother you got on best with acted the complete opposite. Gentle and kind with long hair and your father's slender physique, Faral helped you save small animals and covered for you if your mother found them. You became closer to him and less close to your mother. This perhaps culminated in the bird incident where you and he raised a bird and your mother snapped your neck.
After that you started really looking at your mother. You didn't really like what you found - but she was your mother, so you ignored it. She'd always looked after you after all. But you became closer to your eldest brother, even helping him out in the shop when you could.
But the real change in your life came when you were nine turns and just starting to become an apprentice leatherworker. It was a little young for most but it was a family business so you'd been around it all your life. You were working with Faral one day when your mother came storming in shouting things you were too young to understand. (when you were older you understood them all too well - for something that was no fault of his own, for choosing to love someone, your brother had been cast out.)
You didn't understand at the time but you understood that your mother had sent your brother - your favourite person - away. You closed up after that, started working on mastering your emotions, presenting a facade to the world. Five turns later, you've pretty much mastered this art and your life is going along a straight line.
And then Benden fell to the whers. It wrecks you. Though you've never admitted it you've always dreamed of bonding to a dragon. You make excuses to make the trip to the Weyr every time a hatching happens. And this is far beyond anything you could have imagined happening. Thankfully before you go hatching any great plans to do anything irredeemably stupid your mother announces you are evacuating to Trine. Your business relies on dragons to survive and anyway, she doesn't trust this new fangled technology.
For once, you are grateful.
Description: Dark skin, Dark hair, green eyes. Somewhat babyish face/late bloomer but beginning to bulk out a little. Definitely of a somewhat stocky build despite the childish edge to his features. Promises to grow up to be tall and broad. Arms/hands are dye-splattered and scarred. Short hair.
Personality:
You live with unstable people who you disagree with on fundamental parts of life, and interact with many different kinds of people in the forms of customers, most of whom have strong opinions on things. You've long since learned to keep what you actually feel under wraps and present an appropriate facade to whoever you are speaking to, even if all you want to do is scream at them and kick them in the shins. Your fake smiles are almost entirely as accurate as the one you give when you're truly happy, and you do your crying whilst bathing. This also means you make an excellent people-person because on a visceral level (though it has been polished with practice) you get people as well as being able to predict what and what isn't an appropriate reaction. It isn't always pleasant, though.
Because you really do get people. You understand where peoople are coming from even though you don't want to, sometimes, and when people tell sad stories you really feel for them and those connected to them. Frankly, you're pretty emotional and when you were little you were the kid that cried and cried and cried. Partially because you were a sickly little thing, but also because e-e-everything was so saaaaad. You remember one particular incident in which you brought home an injured bird, intending to nurse it back to health. Your mother found it and snapped it's neck. You cried later, curled into your brother's shirt as he petted your head. There was no comfort to be found from your parents, so when he left you learnt to control your feelings - or at least stop them from showing on your face.
One of the ways you like to deal with your feelings is music. You aren't up to Harper standard or anything like that, but you do have a good voice. Whether this continues after puberty is yet to be seen - your voice hasn't dropped yet, and you aren't even getting the squeaky cracking the other boys your age are being mocked about. You can understand and repeat tunes easily whether through humming or singing. You don't have the time to learn to play an instrument but should you go to a gathering people often request you to sing along.
Another reason you like music is because in your mother's words - "STOP FIDGETING." Whilst you do have good control over your emotions and interactions you have less control (see: almost none) over the overwhelming urge you have to fidget and keep moving. Sometimes this is fine- twitching your toes or tapping a foot or making melodies with your fingers on your pantleg is hardly noticeable in everyday life, but if you're working with leather it can be dangerous. You have a large scar on your forearm from one incident, actually. After that you decided to fidget with your voice instead.
Tanning and working with leather is something you've been doing since you were very young, only ten turns old. Whilst a little young for most apprentices it's a family business and you had a knack for it. But a knack will only get you so far - what's really seen you through is the fact that you don't like to give up. Occasionally this gets you in a spot of trouble, as such traits are wont to do, but most of the time it's useful for your work and you tend to know when to back off unless you're really caught up in the heat of the moment.
This is not to say you are stubborn, however. Despite your determination to see things through to the end the method is not set. You're used to acting in different ways round different people and this has led you to being flexible in almost all aspects of your life from leathering techniques to achieving your goals. For example you know you can't be a candidate but perhaps maybe if you always make sure to sit at the front of the stands and wish /really hard/.
But sometimes you compromise too much - the issue regarding candidacy is one of the prime examples, though there are others at play if you were to examine your life in any detail. This however, whilst certainly an issue for you, is not your biggest. Your biggest flaw for certain is cautiousness. This often makes you come across as wishy-washy and indesicive, as well as sometimes making you seem like a coward. Whilst you like to see things through, committing in the first place is not something you do often and you far prefer to be on the fence.
You prefer to be a peacemaker, compromising your own safety, emotions and belief as to not stir up turmoil.
You worry about people - yourself, your family, your friends and even the stranger across the street who looks sickly. If it were up to you you would gather them all up in a giant hug and fix them one by one. But on the other hand you are aware that many people cannot be fixed and hide troublesome sentiments. You're often torn between the urge to help people and the fear of revealing your softness to them. You struggle to be truthful in your emotions and responses because your instinct is to keep every social interaction on an even keel rather than stir up trouble. To find away around a problem rather than tackling it straight on.
In the end if we were to play on common fantasy tropes,you're more a rogue than a warrior, and that suits you just fine.
Other: Sometimes wishes he found men attractive so he could be like his brother - however really, really doesn't and already has the adolescent reaction to attractive women (ie: all of them) though he's good at hiding his blushing.
