Approved by Tawny

Name: Nyasa

Age: 19

Gender: Female

Sexual Orientation: Homosexual

Rank: Holdless

History: All children are of course affected by their parents, their home, and their history. This is especially true of Nyasa. She was born to Naysen and Miska, a holdless couple. Growing up in a holdless caravan meant Nyasa had a profoundly different start to her life compared to most of her peers. For one, no single place was “home” outside of the caravan itself, which moved frequently. For another, her parents’ unfavorable opinion of holds and Weyrs was seemingly in the minority on Pern.

Naysen, Nyasa’s father, was originally from a hold under Malvren’s protection. There he struggled to get by with his fair woodworking skills, but his love of the bottle meant he drank away most of the profits he made. He eventually took to “taking” from people – in his mind it wasn’t “stealing” because stealing was bad; he only took things he thought wouldn’t be missed or could be replaced – which got him in trouble. One night he drunkenly tried to pick another man’s pocket. Said man noticed his clumsy attempts and took offense. They ended up in a brawl, and Naysen pulled his knife out to ward the man off. Somehow his knife ended up in the man’s gut, the man ended up in the Healer’s ward, and Naysen ended up Holdless.

Unlike Naysen, Nyasa’s other Miska was born Holdless. She was a quiet woman, but resilient and cunning, hardened by a lifetime of Holdless living. When she initially paired up with Naysen, it was not for love or even lust, but for a want of children. It was only with time and prolonged association that Miska developed a sort of fondness for Naysen.

In the caravan, Naysen used his skills to try to lengthen the lifespan of the carts and wooden instruments. He created bows, and eventually – with Miska’s prodding – created one for a young Nyasa. Nyasa proved fairly adept, and once she was old enough, she joined the other caravan hunters. Her mother, skilled with a bow, would join them when she could take time away from caring for Nyasa’s little brother. On occasion Naysen would decide to try and teach Nyasa some woodworking, but those lessons inevitably devolved into rants about the corruption of Holds and the smug superiority of Weyrs.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Naysen died while Nyasa was still young; just starting puberty, in fact. During the last six moons of his life, he took on an unhealthy yellow cast and his stomach pained him. His old habit of drinking was blamed, and his passing was not mourned long. Miska had never loved her husband, only liked him as one might a pet, so didn’t let her children fall too deeply into depression. Instead she took the opportunity her husband’s passing presented to rectify the gaps in her children’s education.

Nyasa and her brother were taught that their father’s untimely death was because of their Holdless state. In fact, most of their problems came from being Holdless. The Holds and Weyrs had turned their backs on them, and so they had to do what was necessary to survive. Miska taught them to haggle, charm, distract, and pick-pocket. She taught them to take advantage of the opportunities afforded to them, whatever they might be. Nyasa and her brother gained an eclectic skill set, picking up what they could from whoever, wherever. Leathercraft was Nyasa’s most profitable “honest” skill, and she was good enough to make bracelets, simple greaves, and the occasional satchel to sell.

News was slow to reach the Holdless about the revolution, but when it did, the caravan was interested in it. There was a sense of curiosity in the air, and in Miska’s case, vague excitement. Then they learned of the failed revolution in Trine, and the impending double-hatching. Seeing an opportunity, Miska dispatched Nysasa to the Weyr.

Description: If Nyasa is a fierce looking woman. She has a strong jaw, strong shoulders, lean muscles, and cropped black hair. She has a generous bottom and hips that, combined with the skimpy clothing she prefers - designed to show off her “assets” – ensure she’s not immediately mistaken for a man. In the wrong clothing though it’s easy to understand how some people might confuse her gender. Completing her appearance is dark skin and slightly slanted black eyes, proof of her mixed heritage.

Personality : (Confident, unruffled, practical, loyal, cynical, unsympathetic, opportunistic)

Nyasa very much has a “survival of the fittest” mentality. She has no sympathy for fools, believing they deserve whatever troubles they get. In fact, she’ll take advantage of them if they offer the opportunity, figuring someone would probably take advantage of them anyway, so might as well be her.

She is a ruthlessly practical person. A dead person hardly needs material goods, so she'd have no qualms with taking things from a corpse - even a fresh one - or a grave. The death of a sickly child would be met without sympathy, her opinion being that it is better they died quickly and got it over with rather than linger, suffering and draining resources. She can sacrifice the few for the many and get her hands dirty as necessary. Cynical and seemingly lacking in empathy, she can come across as quite cold.

Despite this, Nyasa is not a completely terrible person. Her cynical nature stems from an "Us vs. The World" mentality she developed as a result of being Holdless. She views "outsiders" with distrust and keeps her guard up around them, but is much more at ease with those that manage to befriend her, as they are "insiders." She is loyal to her friends almost to a fault, willing to take blame and/or go against authority for them. Her friends would have to betray her or do something truly horrific for her to turn against them.

Nyasa isn't overly fond of emotional displays, especially not in public. To her they are a sign of weakness, and potentially gives weapons to her enemies. She tends to keep things bottled up, letting loose only in private or redirecting her emotions through various activities. She's not above scuffling, and she finds running and hunting to be good outlets. She's actually a pretty active person, not liking to waste time by just lazing about.

Between restraining her emotions and her upbringing as a part-time thief, Nyasa comes across as a very calm, grounded person. It's difficult to ruffle her or provoke an emotional reaction. She can keep her head even in highly stressful situations and that, combined with her natural, subdued confidence, has seen her through several situations.

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