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Name: Morrigna
Age: 74
Sex: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Weyr: High Reaches Weyr
Rider Rank: Weyrhealer
Previous Rank/Craft: Master Healer
Physical Description: Morrigna is a teeny tiny old lady, whose cracked skin and silver hair conceal an almost viper-like vitality. She's as spry as someone half her age, and not afraid to show it. Her hair is grey right the way through, with a streak of white on the front right side. She often wears it in a bun, or held back with a cloth hairband. Though she usually wears a scowl of one kind or another (whether menacing or playful), there's a light to her eyes that reveals more emotion than her face is ever likely to.

Personality: Morrigna gives off a general aura of 'I don't have time for your s**t'. She's a severe woman, who does not suffer fools lightly. Though she is more sympathetic than she seems, she needs a certain amount of callousness to do her job right. From setting bones to demanding answers to 'stop blubbering and push, woman!' there are many facets of her job that require a less-than-gentle touch. Better that people fear her a little, if it gets them to do what she says when it really matters. She's always put on a tough face, scowling and clicking her tongue, but in reality there's very little she wouldn't do for someone, even a stranger. Compassion lingers just beneath the surface, her callousness is only there to protect her. The truth is she likes to play the grumpy old lady, but underneath, she's just a softy that tries desperately hard not to let that show.

Morrigna was probably not built to be a teacher. She works at a fast pace and makes no allowances for anyone. Healing has always come naturally to her? Why shouldn't it for everyone else? Those who work under her need to be talented, diligent, or very thick skinned (most likely, all three) in order to survive. She has very little patience and would rather muscle someone out of the way with an 'oh, I'll just do it myself!' than take the time to slow down and explain something. Yet if you can get past all that, she has a spark of genius and an enthusiasm for her craft that make her an enviable Master for those who manage to stick her out.

Morrigna has a lot of rules and particularities, but none great than this: she cannot abide liars. She's seen everything you can imagine, and does not judge, but do not lie to her. Honesty is the one thing she always demands, and will always return in kind, whether it's wanted or not. She is of the belief that an unspoken truth is often worse than a spoken one, and seeks to bring everything into the light. The flip side of that is an unflinching acceptance of most anything people find embarrassing or shameful, and a patience to help them through their difficulties. She will not lie to patients, something that doesn't sit right with some people who would prefer that she soften the blow for those who are beyond hope. More than anything, she has an overwhelming sense of fairness that always guides her decisions. She will always treat every patient just the same, whether they are a murderer or a town hero makes absolutely no difference to her. Trying to get her to do otherwise will prove a fruitless, if not dangerous endeavor. She pushes her morals to the extreme, never backing down from a conviction, and would likely be willing to die in order to uphold them.

Morrigna can be stubborn as a draybeast sometimes. She often digs her heels in, and is prone to arguing. When she really gets into it with someone, she pulls no punches, saying anything that will support her point, no matter how hurtful. She's not afraid to go for the jugular when you make her angry. This often leads her to say things she regrets in the heat of the moment, and she is quick to own up to her mistakes once she's cooled down, though she will rarely apologize if something was her true opinion.

History: Since she was young, playing doctor with her dolls and nursing injured wherries back to health, Morrigna always knew that she wanted to be a healer. Medical notes made strange bedtime stories for a child her age, but Morrigna was obsessed, reading anything she could get ahold of. Her parents thought her morbid, never shying from a dead body (in fact, most of her Hold did), but when she started at the Healer hall, she was already a leg ahead, racing through her work and getting well on track to walk the tables early, until Vanth had to go and ruin it (she would tease him).

She'd been volunteering as a healer for the hatching, when Vanth decided no white-clad candidate would do for him and she was forced to take a break from healing as she completed her training as a Weyrling. But Morrigna had never intended to be a dragonrider, and when the turn was up, she left to finish her craft training and graduated to journeyman shortly thereafter. Young and eager to set out on her own, she moved to a small hold on the Southern Continent where she set to work. She worked primarily as a midwife, but with a shortage of other healers, quickly diversified her skill set to includes all kinds of trauma medicine. The Hold was poor but new, filled with endless hope and hoards of northern immigrants and a feeling that anything was possible.

The Holder was a good man, but his son and heir was known to be loose in his morals, likely to look the other way when it came to the trading of stolen goods, as long as he got his cut. When he took over after his father's death, the port town soon became a notorious den of thieves. Still, it was her home now, and Morrigna had no intention of leaving. She healed the pirates along with the rest of them. She served life., that was her one calling, and even by then, she was already gaining notoriety as a talented healer.

It wasn't all that surprising, in those parts, for a baby to be abandoned at the doorstep of a healer. Some desperate women often resorted to that, figuring the child would at least be cared for. Instead of giving the infant over to the Hold's creche, where who knows what would become of him, Morrigna decided to raise the child herself. She'd always wanted children, made a good living, and didn't currently have anyone in her life, so it seemed like fate.

With a son to think of now, Morrigna eventually moved from the port town to another coastal Weyrhold, where Vanth could enjoy the company of other dragons and she could raise Esobok in relative safety. It was here that she met Y'raj, after he wandered into her infirmary with a nasty gash on his arm and wouldn't stop flirting with her for the three months it took to recover. He was a tease, as charming as they come, and the young healer found herself head over heels for him. But while she loved him, and he loved her, it soon became clear that he did not love Esobok. Still, she figured she could love him enough for both of them. She thought maybe he just wasn't that fond of children. Everything was fine, it seemed, until they had a baby of their own. Y'raj's favoritism of Olethra was clear from the get-go, and he became increasingly distrustful of the older boy.

Things were only made worse when Morrigna adopted another child. A plague ship had come to the port, full mostly of immigrants setting out to start life in the Southern continent, as she once had. Morrgina went aboard, along with several other healers, to do what she could for the dying, but there were very few survivors. Miraculously, one young child had escaped the illness. Morrigna was the one to treat his dying mother, who begged her to take care of her child. How could she say no? Y'raj was furious. They already (according to him) didn't have enough for the four of them. To which she (heatedly) reminded him that she made the majority of their income and would do with it as she pleased. As you can imagine, this did not help matters much. She hoped it would all blow over, but as the turns went by, they only became more tense.

Things came to a head when she returned home one day to a panicked Shoki saying that Olethra told her father Esobok hurt her, and he was 'scared of what he might do'. She walked in on Y'raj hitting the boy, and exploded. How dare he hurt her child. He was lucky she didn't murder him where he stood! The briefest of interrogations got Olethra to admit she'd been lying, and though Y'raj was regretful, it was clear that his favorite was not just hurtful but dangerous. It might only be one slap (not all that unusual in those parts), but as the culmination of a turns-long toxic situation, she knew she had to get Esobok and Shoki out of there. She wanted to take all three children, but Yamaraj refused to give up his daughter. In the end, she had to give in. She knew that he loved his daughter, and would never hurt her. It was more important that she take her sons away from a dangerous situation. She left the same night, taking Vanth with no real idea where.

In the end she stayed at a craft hall for a time, until she heard of a position for a healer opening up in High Reaches Weyr. It seemed like a good place to start over, and the boys were overjoyed to be living in a place with dragons, quickly bouncing back from the gloom that had overtaken them these last few turns. But though she tried her best to put it all behind her, a part of her was still stuck in the past. Bitter over the loss of her love, and heartbroken over the loss of her child, Morrigna began to withdraw somewhat, though she tried to keep up a brave face for her children. Still, as soon as Shoki was old enough to become a candidate, Morrigna retired from the Weyr, retreating to the nearby mountains instead.

Throwing herself full-force into her research, she was soon named a Master of her craft. And that meant taking on apprentices, something she was none-too-keen on. Between the harsh climate and her harsh attitude, she was able to scare off more than a few apprentices, until they found two older girls who were willing to stick it out. Despite her frosty exterior, Morrigna soon warmed to the young women who flourished under her care. She may pretend otherwise, but in truth, she was glad for the company. No longer was hers a life of brooding solitude, but of quiet company instead. She found it suited her quite well. And some of the hope and spirit that had been lost over the turns was returned through their companionship.

For the past ten turns, Morrigna has been continuing her little mountain practice, treating all those who seek her, regardless of past or crimes or station. Lord Holders and exiled nomads are both on her patient list. After thread returned, she's had her mind set on returning to the Weyr, where they surely need more healers, but needs to wrap up and hand off her current patients safely first.

Other:

DRAGON
Name: Vanth
Age: 45
Color: Blue
Size: 31'
Personality: Vanth is a stoic and serious blue. He's as dedicated to the cause as his rider, but just what 'the cause' is, is up to her. Vanth is her steadfast guardian. And Morrigna is his paragon of virtue. In his mind, she can do no wrong. If she does or says something, then it must be the just and correct course, and no one (often not even Morrigna herself) can convince him otherwise. Try to take a swing at her, and you will be met with swift and rightful punishment. Vanth extends this protectiveness to anyone he sees as serving the same mission, though he will turn on a dime if Morrigna's favor ever leaves them.This is particularly the case with Morrigna's apprentices, whether they welcome his (over)protectiveness or not. They are his precious little soldiers of justice, serving a righteous and noble cause (what was it again? Oh right, healing.. That was it) and must be protected.

For all his love of logic, Vanth is not above fallacy. In fact, this dragon can be easily manipulated by those humans he happens to trust, taking some people's word as absolute fact. Logic is second only to the word of those he loves, and he is willing to bend reality and argue until the sun comes up in order to prove them right (even when they are not!).

Solitude suited Vanth as well as Morrigna. He doesn't need other dragons as much as some, and has lost all but passing interest in chasing. He enjoys the company of his small band of humans, and doesn't mind being the only dragon among them. He is fairly reticent, with his and other dragons, speaking only when necessary. Unless it's to argue some point of morality, in which case he could talk your ear off.

Quest Grant

I'm putting her in the Queen's Wing Wildfire Wing due to her slightly older age and the fact that she's a Master Healer. Right now they'd prefer her to focus on healing if things get bad!