Approved by Tawny
Rider Name: Valdene
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Rank: Wingrider
History: Valdene came from a tradition of impressing. Many members of her family were notable wherhandlers serving in different holds, with a few blue, green, and one or two Atypical dragonriders thrown into the mix.
They were proud of their compatible minds and there was a tradition of training their children to be 'the best' candidates and wherhandlers.
Her family held discipline in high regard, and so Valdene, along with her siblings and cousins, was trained from a young age to have a high level of control, whether they wanted to or not. They learned to keep their heads under stress and to follow orders while still making educated decisions. They learned fighting skills and were made to be in good physical shape. Laziness was not tolerated.
This drove less attuned members of the family into apprenticeship in other professions. Which was mostly fine. As long as, if Searched, they did not turn down the duty of a candidate.
Valdene neither ran from the regimen of her family or, when she was searched by a relative and his blue, candidacy. What did annoy her was how unprepared all of the other candidates seemed. She stuck with what family she could find in the weyr, people who shared her experience and blood.
The one lenient thing about her family was that not impressing to a dragon was not an issue, as long as you Stood and Stood well. They made sure to train their children in the issues around being attacked by baby dragons on the sands. They told horrible stories of candidates dead or crippled, so Valdene was prepared for the worst. The worst did not come.
Valdene stood for four clutches, all fairly uneventful with a few scratches and bruises. She wasn't expecting to impress when she stood for clutch number 5. In fact, she was already sending out tendrils through family contacts to get herself a wher's egg.
Then Suuyeth came bouncing excitedly along the sands, bursting into her mind with his first ever story, and that was that. She was his and he was hers.
He was an atypical dragon, requiring a great deal of care, but Valdene's discipline did not let her falter in her care of the tiny black, and he eventually grew into a less tiny black dragon.
During their weyrling years, thread came back. It was a shock, but in the end proved fortunate for Valdene. The regimented nature of a wing under the pressure of thread suited her well. She was ready.
She was not, however, ready for the rebellion. Her family; handlers, civilians, and riders alike, heavily supported the revolution. They called on her to join it. Valdene, like a few others in her family, refused. She was conflicted about it, though- where could her loyalty lie? With her family? With her wing? She knew she was loyal to herself and her dragon, but what did that mean? Ultimately, she chose her weyr and her wing, but it still bothers her to this day. Her family cut off any association and contact with their 'traitor members' who remained neutral or on the side of the Resistance, and it hurts to be disconnected from family like that.
Ever since then, she's pretended nothing was the matter. She's been a good soldier, keeping herself, her lessers, and her dragon in line.
But she is still hurting, and only Suuyeth knows the truth. For all his trouble, he at least has been some comfort. They both hope that the Revolution sees the error of their ways: her because it would mean that her family will return to her and be safe and alive, him because it would make a good twist in the story. But this, at least, unites the odd pair.
Description: Valdene is about average height for a woman, obviously in good physical shape. She has shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, done up in a tight french braid. She has prominent facial bones, giving her face an angular sort of look, and small brown eyes. She would honestly be pretty if she would put on some makeup. But she does not.
Her rider uniform is as meticulously cared for as her dragon- she looks sharp, everything is in place. She has a pair of goggles, which she keeps ready around her neck in case she needs them. Other than being a snappy dresser, she is unremarkable.
Personality: Serious and stern with a little bit of snark mixed in, Valdene was never a sugar-and-spice sort of girl. She was raised by tough, intelligent, disciplined people to be a tough intelligent diciplined person, and that is what she tries to be.
She's definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she has never been one to disobey an order from her superior, and she excelled in the physical training and discipline aspects of her candidatehood. Everything must be in tip top condition for her- her uniform, her weyr, herself, and her dragon (who does require a lot of care). Any laxness on her part or others is met with scorn.
Rank means everything to her. A superior will get nothing less than complete obedience and devotion. She is a yes-man- if asked about her opinion on an issue she will agree wholeheartedly with her CO, no matter what she really thinks. Her loyalty is only matched by her desire to get more rank for herself. She wants power, but she will not connive and contrive to get it. Rank, she feels, will come to her if she is worthy and patient. It occasionally occurs to her that her dragon might be dragging her down, but in the end she grudgingly appreciates his chaos.
Because of her discipline from a young age, she keeps going when others tire and right up til she goes to sleep. She has few friends (other than Suuyeth who she is stuck with) and keeps most other potential friends at bay with an attitude problem. Its never so bad that she gets complaints but she is definitely not the sort of person that people get close to. Still, friend or not, she has your back.
Valdene craves order and stability. Thats just who she is. Ritual, tradition, law and order- these are things she holds dear. She is not good with sudden changes, especially if they cause chaos. She stumbles and staggers when carefully led strategic plans go awry, and reels at sudden deaths and changes in the status quo. Most of all, though, the revolution hit her hard. Fortunately for her, Suuyeth can handle change well, and this is helpful to her.
She does keep a hobby- she makes small detailed dolls. Suuyeth likes to play with them and she enjoys watching him play and listen to his stories. It feels frivolous and silly, but also right. She won't ever admit it, though.
Other: On Dragons: Dragons are, ultimately, tools to fight thread, and Valdene is honored to have the priviledge and duty to be a rider. Actually, they are better than mere tools like, say, a flamethrower because they are intelligent and understand their duty. Ultimately, they are as much soldiers as she thinks she is. She'd like Suuyeth to understand this.
On Whers: Secretly, Valdene wishes on some level that she was a wherhandler instead. They aren't bound up by the same rules as dragonriders, but are still a great companion for a soldier. Of course she would never give up Suuyeth, but she certainly has a great deal of respect for whers and their handlers.
On the Resistance: Valdene is all for the resistance. Order and tradition are important, they keep terrible things like thread at bay. Though she may disagree, Valdene will follow her weyrleader and wingleader's orders to the bitter end. She sees it as her duty to make sure Suuyeth does the same.
On the Revolution: Valdene has a deep respect for Whers and their handlers, but it does not extend to the revolution. She sees it as terrible, disorderly, and despicably violent. Much of her family serves that faction, and so she wishes the wherholders to see the error of their ways and for the revolution to dissolve.
On her Dragon: Suuyeth is annoying. Really annoying. She cannot help but love him because of the bond, but he is really REALLY annoying. She does what she can to control him and keep him from getting them both punishment duties or, worse, hurt. She does secretly enjoy his little stories though...
On Threadfall: She fights thread. This is what she is ordered to do, and it is her duty to do so, so she shall.
Dragon Name: Suuyeth
Age: 6
Colour: Black
Description: InspirationSuuyeth is a small-sized black dragon with a few subtle markings and a few crisp markings. He is very proud of all of his markings, though, especially the bow and arrow shape on his head and the line down his tail. He is very whippy, there is very little excess fat on him.
(Other markings: light dappling on rearquarters, star like)
Size: Below Average
Build: Below Average
Personality: Suuyeth loves people. He just absolutely loves people. Dragon or human, he wants to know all about you and all the little and big dramas that make up your life. He has a keen memory for gossip and will happily repeat what he has heard to anybody who will listen. He has a problem with keeping secrets, which may make him a bit untrustworthy, but he will listen to all your problems with equal importance. Bronze or Green or anything in between- Rider, crafter, drudge... whatever. They are all important and interesting to him.
His favorite sort of gossip, however, involves relationships. Whos weyrmated with who, who wants to be weyrmated with who, who cheats on who, who is trying to talk to who and failing because they are shy- these are his speciality. He has his own opinions on who should end up with who and how, and he is not shy about voicing them or not-so-subtly helping them out. He has a problem with minding his own business, and tends to be an interfering, giggling, self proclaimed matchmaker.
His rider manages to curb this behavior somewhat before it goes from annoying to offensive, and thus prevents him from getting into fights. He wouldn't win a fight. Suuyeth is a lover not a fighter, and tends to be friendly, especially to strangers. Threadfall is another story. He finds it fun, to be honest, and loves to broadcast a play-by-play to his wing. This can be handy because he is very observant of where others are and who had to make a quick between dodge or who is injured and not telling anybody, but it also comes with a constant stream of asides and gossip that can be distracting or annoying at worst. He does lighten the mood a little and, if managed right, could be great for morale. Valdene tries to keep him on topic, but does not always succeed.
However, just because he isn't a fighter doesnt mean he doesn't get pissy occasionally! He doesn't lash out so often with tooth or claw, but typically with words or mean spirited gossip. For anything other than gossip itself though, his memory is worse than one would usually expect of a dragon- he forgets slights and issues easily and tends to reset relationships that have gone sour. Someone who made a sharp-tongued enemy out of Suu may find him cheerfully greeting them at their weyr and babbling about the latest gossip a week later as if nothing had happened. He both forgives and forgets.
Suuyeth has a secret hobby, related to his matchmaking tendancies- he likes to make up stories about people. Usually they are dragons and humans he knows, and the occasional wher, but sometimes he makes up entire characters just for the story. In these stories, he explores what would happen if certain people got together, or if situations were different- basically he likes to make up RL fanfiction, often 'shipping' fanfiction to be specific. He is shy about these little stories though, and only shares them with his rider, who secretly enjoys them. He especially likes to 'act them out' with the little dolls and figurines his rider makes for him to nudge about with his claws.
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