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Age: 18
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Straight
Craft: Tanner
Rank: Apprentice

Appearance: Z'ke already bears the broad shoulders and long limbs of a man born for an active lifestyle. He has shaggy brown hair that constantly falls into his blue eyes. His skin is brown like most southern pernese, burnt golden by the sun. Zarike looks like he's never seen the inside of a building with a tan like that. Which for the most part is true. He may enjoy reading but his preferred method of knowledge acquisition is experience and as such, spends much of his days outdoors.

He doesn't so much care for what he looks like so long as he's relatively clean and his clothes are in one piece. He has no preference for what colors he wears or any accessories. He keeps his hair just longer than his chin and has yet to grow any sort of beard.

Personality: Zarike's fearless, nothing intimidates this young man. You can't bully or threaten him into doing what you want. Instead kindness is the best route to take. Be kind to him and he'll return the favor, be cruel and watch out. Zarike doesn't tolerate bullies no matter how big. He has a noble heart and will always stand up for the little guy, the underdog, even if he himself is no match for his opponent. He believes the world should be fair to everyone.

Zarike will try to talk two parties of a problem more often than not but if people don't get his point quick enough for his tastes he will resort to violence in defence of who he sees as the victim, uncaring of the odds. He tries to wait for his opponent to make the first 'move' but his definition of that can be hazy once he gets riled up. In the end, the scraps are short lived, whether he wins or loses, and he'll almost always forgive the other party once they catch their breath.

As he ages he's working on his ability to use words over fists. He's less prone to breaking out into a fight now, though it does still happen on occasion.

Zarike has a thirst for knowledge, he loves to read and learn about almost any topic. He likes watching crafters at their work and helping if he's allowed. If not he'll ask questions for as long as his subject holds his attention. Which sometimes isn't long unfortunately. He tends to jump from subject to subject, unable to focus on just one at a time. More often than not in the end what he learns amounts to little more than 'trivia'.

Zarike hates being kept waiting. Things should happen Now, not Later. He'll get frustrated and even angry fairly quick when something doesn't happen fast enough for him. Zarike will dive headlong into something recklessly rather than wait for a solid plan or more information. Sitting still and quiet is hard if he's not being entertained by something.

He's not afraid to talk to anyone be they human, dragon, wher, or even the Weyrleader's and Lord Holder's themselves. Some might find it annoying or other's amusing, but he's very earnest and serious when doing so.

He wants to trust others, to believe that everyone's a good person but he's coming to accept that sometimes it's just not possible. For his safety and for that of those he loves, he can't just blindly put his faith in strangers hands. It hasn't stopped him from getting into trouble, finding at times that someone has taken advantage of him yet again.

It's been hard for him with the strained emotions and tension between people in the weyr. Certain views he'd held onto firmly growing up are starting to crack and if he's not careful he could develop a rather hurt and cynical view of life.

History: Zarike has led an interesting life so far. For being all of 18 turns, Zarike has traveled a good expanse of the Northern Continent with his family, one part of a large caravan of traders. He has seen the Seven Spindles of High Reaches, been up and down the rivers of Telgar, ran his hands over the smooth walls of Fort where he was born, and played in the black sands of Igen. He's yet to ever visit Benden or Ista, but he has a mind to someday.

He was about 14 when he family decided to apprentice him instead of training him further in their own ways. They were passing through Igen and the proximity of the Tanner Hall had inspired them. Their boy loved to learn, let him learn a trade and bring his knowledge back to the caravan. He would increase their own profits and benefit himself from the skills he learned.

They made a show of asking him though in the end he would be apprenticed somewhere at some point. Zarike was amiable enough to the suggestion. It would be interesting to stay in one place for a while! He never understood how others lived like that. This would be his chance to learn!

Well, learn he did for two turns. He learned being stuck in one location was mind-numbingly boring. When the Search rider came for Igen's previous clutch, Zarike nearly wept with joy at being chosen. Not because he could be a dragonrider, nor because he hated Tanning (he actually enjoyed the craft), but because he could get out of the Hall and be somewhere else for a change!

Once again though, having failed to Impress, Zarike finds himself stuck. And bored. He clings to gossip just out of a need for things to be different, to hear of other places and maybe catch wind of what his caravan was. They by the way, don't know of their son's departure from the TannerHall. After dropping him off they haven't been back through Igen, trusting him to be there for quite a few turns before he gains his Journeyman Knots.

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Finished

Zarike was taking his break period seriously. As in, getting outside of the Weyr walls and running through the open air pastures. Igen Weyr, being in the mountains above the desert, had breathtaking views of the land below. On a clear day such as it was, Zarike fancied he could even see the distant valley that held Southern Telgar Hold.

He had an hour at most. It was enough time to work out some energy, get a taste of fresh air and freedom, and shake the spinner webs from his mind before he had to return for his evening chores. Zarike skipped and slid down one of the steeper hills leading from the weyr, descending into the treeline and the slightly cooler temperature of the shade.

Trees, bushes, rocks... all were nice but none could hold the young man's attention for too long. He wandered among the more traveled paths for a time before breaking off into a thicket he was somewhat acquainted with. On occasion he would run into a creature he'd not seen before, or find the remains of one's passing through. It usually proved fairly interesting.

Today was no different in that respect, though what he discovered in his little hidey-hole was quite out of the ordinary. Little yellow jewels staring at him out from underneath the brush on the ground. Zarike's less than stealthy approach had startled the small green firelizard. "shhh Shhh..." Zarike coaxed, his face widening in a pleased smile... if only he had a snack on him! He'd heard you could sometimes Impress to wild lizards if they weren't too old. Even if it was only a rumor, he would have liked to try it!

His vocalizations only served to send the little creature into the air and between, leaving him alone in the trees. Disappointed, but still pleased with the sight, Zarike sat himself down in his favorite spot, near where the flit had hidden, and bent to pull up a dead twig off the ground. He paused, as another flash of color caught his eye. Eggs! Greens weren't as protective of their clutches... she must have chosen her own safety over that of the very small clutch he saw half hidden behind a wide leaf.

Zarike thought about it for half a second before reached beneath the leaf and extracted two of the eggs. A brightly patterned one with purple and green squiggles, and a somewhat plain blue one. He'd leave the rest for the clutchmother, should she return. He'd never had a flit before and he wasn't a terribly greedy person, despite his background. Stealing all of a mother's eggs seemed unbearably harsh, even if she was a green.

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