Handler

Name: Valcea
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Rank: Lady Holder/Journeywoman Handler/Mining Specialist
Specialization: Mining

History: A native of Telgar Hold, Valcea left only to pursue the profession of being a wherhandler after her first few Turns of training. She was sent to Nabol to continue her apprenticeship, which was where she met Rillaren. A tender 16-Turn-old, Valcea was charmed by Rillaren at their first meeting and it was easy for her to fall in love with him; their long Turns dating during her time at Nabol turned the initial infatuation and young love into true, deep love and commitment to one another. They were exceedingly well suited to one another in temperament and opinions, and Valcea found it easy to agree to let Rillaren come with her once she had Impressed a Wher. A Turn later, she had her opportunity at a Clutch and was allowed to take an egg. She took the first egg she could get her hands on with one eye still on the Gold presiding over the Clutch. She nursed the egg as all other apprentice handlers do, and was lucky enough to receive a strapping Brown when the egg hatched. Valcesk was the kind of wher who would be well-suited to a life of mining, the exact specification for which Valcea had been practicing, and she Blooded him on the spot (though not without some wincing on her part). The pair along with Rillaren left to return to Telgar Hold, her new assignment, once her initial Turn of training with her new partner was complete.

Valcea and Valcesk made mistakes while they were at Telgar, but they were always mistakes they could learn from rather than ones they would regret. It was also during this time that Rillaren proposed to Valcea and she wholeheartedly said yes. Their wedding was held at Telgar Hold, much to her mother's delight, and Valcea and Valerie threw themselves into wedding preparations with zeal. They didn't always see eye to eye on what they wanted, but Valerie was a wise enough mother to let her daughter have her own way (provided the choices Valcea made weren't too horrendous). Rillaren's family came for the event and the pair were married on a day not too cloudy and not too cold, a blessing for their outdoor reception afterward.

It wasn't long after the wedding that Rillaren and Valcea began seriously discussing their future. Valcea knew there were other mines where whers could be of use, but none offered the chance for Rillaren to receive a leadership position, which both of them believed he deserved. No Holds on the Northen Continent, anyway. Travel had never been a problem for Valcea, so when Rillaren posed the idea of moving to Western, she agreed with only a few questions about how it was going to be done. Before they could leave, Valcea discovered she was pregnant and made Rillaren agree to let her have the baby at Telgar Hold before they left, rather than among strangers a full continent away from her mother. The pregnancy delayed their departure by almost 10 months, but then Valcea, Rillaren and their month-old daughter Arcea moved to Halevin Hold.

Although wherhandling was, even this much time later, primarily a profession considered best-run by men, Valcea made her own mark among the wherhandlers and miners of Halevin while her husband was making his name well-known. Her hardworking and no-nonsense attitude made others wary of her at first, but soon her dedication to her craft and the miners "under her protection" made Halevin natives cautiously come out of their shells and begin to accept her. Although it took longer for Valcea to earn a position of respect than Rillaren, earn it she did and it made the transition to Lady Holder that much easier for her. In spite of technically being in charge of the Hold, Valcea still insists on taking shifts in the mine and performing the duties expected of her as a handler. When questioned, she always responds that Valcesk might be happy being pampered, but he was not meant to be a pet and neither was she.

Family: Valerie, Mother
Rillaren, Husband
Arcea, Daughter

Personality: Tough, stubborn and strong, Valcea has no doubts about her abilities as a wherhandler or her qualifications for being a good Lady Holder. She is not the kind of woman to simply step aside when something is going on; she prefers to be in the thick of whatever it is, keeping an eye on the people involved and making sure nothing is missed. Although her stubbornness and opinionated personality have sometimes led people to call her heartless and uncompromising, Valcea's resilience in the face of adversity is a trait that none of her Holders would ever slight. Although she was only trained in her Craft and with the basic training received by Hold children, she is intelligent and clever and applies that to everything she does.

Valcea is a loving and compassionate mother to her children and that maternal instinct extends to other children in the form of protecting them from harm, though she would not "mother" anyone else's child. Although she is not overly affectionate in public to anyone other than her children, she is very affectionate with her husband in private.

Valcea smiles and laughs as much as any other average person and she is incredibly down-to-earth, a trait which makes her approachable. The fact that she wants to continue working in spite of her new title and continues to get her hands dirty in the mines also encourages people to think of her as a Lady Holder they can relate to. Valcea is willing to listen when there are concerns, but unless someone gives her all of the information from the start, she will jump to conclusions and might act on them before the rest of the story comes out. Once more information is presented that shows her initial thought may have been wrong, Valcea will change tracks without thinking her original goals a mistake. She will believe since it was the right call based on what she knew, there isn't any need for her to be ashamed of her reactions.

Physical Description: Valcea is tall for a woman (though comfortable for Rillaren) at 5' 8". She wears her long black hair braided the majority of the time and it is rare to see her without it pulled back out of her way in some manner. She has strikingly bright blue eyes, nearly perfectly proportioned facial features, and a modest amount of curves. She also happens to be gifted with the muscles and fit form of a wherhandler, which is usually visible due to the tight breeches she chooses to wear as part of her working attire. Valcea cleans up nicely for formal functions and enjoys wearing gowns as much as the next girl, but since she is a girl who is used to working hard, it is more common to see her in the type of clothing a female rider or wherhandler would wear (tight breeches, loose shirt or closer-fitting narrow-sleeved shirt with a vest, and boots). Her hands do bear some scars from training with Valcesk and several mishaps in Telgar Hold's mines.

Other:

Wher:
Name: Valcesk
Age: 10
Color: Brown
Blooded: Y
Physical Description: In terms of stature and form, Valcesk is your stereotypical big Brown wher. Standard brown in color, he sports darker brown wing membranes, a tan underbelly straight up under his chin, and russet spots on his back.
Personality: If Valcesk was a brown dragon, you would not be surprised by his personality at all. Friendly, charming, and almost goofy, those who know Valcesk can call him a pleasant creature without even a hint of facetiousness. He can be a bit of an attention hog when he gets the opportunity to show off to those he likes, but he does it with the best of intentions (for himself) and would never willingly bite the hand that feeds him (literally or figuratively).

Valcesk can be grumpy or slightly hostile due to anxiety, especially around strangers. It takes a few meetings for him to fully warm up to someone, but once he does you are pretty much in the clear of being on the receiving end of one of Valcesk's bad moods. However, if he doesn't like you after a few meetings the chances are very good that he never will. You also do not want to challenge Valcesk on his territory (which is pretty much all of Halevin), but for a wher his bad temper generally tends to be mild.