Approved by Con
THE RIDER
Name: I’saak
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Appearance: I’saak is average, the kind of man who rarely inspires even a second glance. He looks a little older than he is, with his face already beginning to line, particularly on his forehead and around his mouth. Even his hair – dark, ashen brown-black – has recently begun to silver at the temples. He wears it short out of a sense of practicality, not humility, but if he were to grow it long, it would be wavy. His facial features are handsome enough: a strong, rounded jaw and slightly heavy brow-line, straight nose, and sharp blue eyes. He’s been told his eyes are his best feature – the color is quite pretty – but his tendency to focus on things with the intensity of a hawk occasionally detracts from that. Nonetheless, he does have a charming smile.
Height-wise, he’s tallish, at 6 foot even, and fairly heavy, with broad shoulders, a solid build, and a bit of extra weight, particularly in the stomach area. It's not that he's not solid - I'saak is plenty muscular enough to handle the heavy lifting and general physical demands of a dragonrider's life – but he's simply not invested in his body. He looks how he looks, and it doesn’t really matter to him. This shows in his bearing; he tends to slouch or hunch his shoulders, making him look a bit shorter than he actually is. He shaves fairly frequently, but is one of those men cursed with a quick-growing beard; he almost always sports a five o’clock shadow (and the rest of him is similarly fuzzy).
There is something about I’saak that never stops suggesting a degree of sensitivity. He moves with a presence – no swagger, no real confidence, just a general awareness of his body that indicates he’s perfectly aware of both his size and his strength. He tends to dress for comfort and practicality, preferring clothes in a combination of warm and cool tones, particularly turquoises, charcoals, and rusts. He puts a surprising amount of thought into his appearance on a day-to-day basis. Like most smiths and riders, he bears his share of scars: burns on his hands and forearms, a single long Threadscore across his right shoulder, and a crooked left ring finger from a badly-swung hammer in his youth.
Personality: I’saak is not a forward man. Quiet and fairly mild-mannered, he has always been more of a follower than a leader. A military sort, he knows how to follow orders and takes pleasure in doing the job he is meant to do—and doing it well. He works well with people, in fact preferring to be a part of a group to going it alone. The company is good, but more importantly, there’s always someone keeping an eye on things. While I’saak is perfectly capable of improvising and getting the job done, he’s just much more comfortable if he knows there’s someone else running the show if things go sour. The problem with this is that he has a tendency to be altogether too trusting. He rarely questions orders, even ones that will hurt him, almost always believes what he is told, and is extremely easy to manipulate. It’s surprisingly easy to take advantage of I’saak’s desire to please, and he likely won’t even notice until it’s too late.
There is something curiously delicate in the way I’saak relates to others – something that you wouldn’t expect from a dragonrider of fourteen turns. Maybe it’s because in spite of his militaristic upbringing and profession, I’saak has never needed to seriously hurt anyone. He’ll face down bullies. He’ll punch out anyone who threatens him. But he won’t make the first move and he hates causing permanent harm to others. It just isn’t in I’saak to injure without good reason – his instinct is to protect rather than hurt. He has seen enough harm caused by others to last him, and frankly doesn’t want to see any more. But it should be noted that “fairly mild-mannered” does not denote “unable to take care of himself in a crisis.” I’saak is a fighter when he has to be – his squiremaster drove combat skills home every day he worked under her. He hates it, but it doesn’t matter whether or not you enjoy doing something if the only other option is death.
Essentially, I’saak views the entire world as a puzzle waiting to be solved, and he’s very bright. Give him a little bit of time and the right tools and he can think his way out of most tight spots. He's no genius, but he's a quick enough thinker that he can manage even under serious time crunches. There’s very little that can distract I’saak when when he's got his mind set something, he'll work through whatever comes his way. This focus tends to result in consistently high results, even under pressure, and is one of the reasons he was attracted to Fourth Wing. The strategic aspects of disaster relief and specialized skillset necessary of the Fourth Wing riders appealed to both his and Ellibreth’s sensibilities.
That said, those skillsets can just as easily get in the way. When confronted with problems to solve, I’saak tends to go into "engineer mode," and won't break focus for almost anything until they’re resolved. He’s somewhat obsessive about this, and will more or less drop everything to fix things, no matter what he’s supposed to be doing. Failure weighs heavily on him, so he strives for perfection – and often disappoints himself in the process. It makes him somewhat difficult to interact with: he has a hard time with small talk and isn’t very good at expressing his feelings, either. It's made him somewhat people-shy, especially in situations where he might have to take the lead of a group. He can tamp it down when necessary, but I’saak’s a terrible leader, and has no aspirations to steal the spotlight any time soon.
That said, he’s quite social, much preferring to spend his time in groups of people than be left alone with his own thoughts. I’saak is by nature a gentle person – a lover, not a fighter – and craves the company of others who share this philosophy. There are few people he dislikes, and for the most part, he's nonconfrontational. He doesn’t discriminate (High Reaches’ attitude toward wing-segregations and female riders actually makes him a little sad) and will gladly socialize with just about anyone, but rarely opens up enough to make a friends. That said, those who do manage (through patience and gentle reassurance) to get close to him are in his good books forever, and he will do whatever it takes to take care of them.
History: I'saak doesn't remember much about his father. Most of what he remembers is stories about dragonriders, his great-great grandfathers and their grandfathers who protected High Reaches Weyr when Thread began to fall. They were old stories, of course - not a soul in Ildresaak's family had been near a dragon in over a hundred turns, having turned instead to the Smithcraft - but they were good ones. It's the stories he remembers because everything else about his father tends to fall flat.
The man walked away from his High Reaches family when his children were, respectively, eight, six, and two. Prior to that event, the family had been...if not happy, then at least contented. Or at least it had seemed that way. There were rumors in the small Hold that Samraak had been discontented with Marilde and her instability for turns before he left, though whether those rumors have any credence or not has always been anyone's guess. What was known for sure was that a young builder from a prestigious Smith family left his wife of nine turns alone with three children, for reasons nobody could ever adequately articulate. From there, things went downhill.
Samraak's abandonment shook Marilde to the core, and about a season after her husband left, her mental health began to decline. It started more or less innocuously, with absentmindedness and a tendency to cry over nothing, but became more and more insidious. By the time Ildresaak was eight, his sister's care had been taken over by the local Hold's head Smith, a man who had studied under Ildresaak's grandfather and wanted to do the family a favor. Ildresaak and his little sister Marisa's care was left primarily to maternal relatives - briefly grandparents, distant cousins for several months, then eventually an aunt and her partner. I'saak doesn't remember much about his childhood, except that he was frequently nervous and more frequently hungry. When his mother "converted" to Sofianism and left the Hold entirely, Ildresaak stopped caring about his situation.
Luckily, the Master Smith who had taken Ildresaak's elder sister Samarra under his wing was there to step in. Though Samarra's Apprenticeship was being paid for, the family couldn't afford to Apprentice another child. Still, Ildresaak's family line had a history of excellent Smith stock, something Samarra was already showing, and it certainly wouldn't be a sacrifice to evaluate a possible apprentice for suitability. Curious to see how his current star pupil's little brother would measure up, the Master gladly took Ildresaak into the forges for a test three days after his ninth birthday. The boy was too small to do any heavy crafting yet, but a cursory evaluation gave the man a chance to ply Ildresaak with puzzles and hypothetical questions, as well as asking him to tidy up the forge and giving him a chance to talk about what he had already heard from his sister's occasional visits home.
Ildresaak turned out to be full of potential: all the makings of a capable problem-solver with a penchant for working with his hands. As a favor to the family (and to himself, he wouldn't lie), the Master who was already instructing Ildresaak's older sister took the young boy on for free. He waved off the generosity with a laugh; he was already instructing one of the children, so if her little brother wanted to tag along, he could certainly use the extra hands! Ildresaak started out cleaning forges and wiping down anvils. Before long, he was putting metal into the forge to heat and hauling new buckets of water for rods. Samarra, two turns' worth of training ahead of him, had an incredibly keen aptitude for deciding what metals to use, and tried to give her brother remedial training whenever their Master was busy with his own work. It helped, and the Master appreciated the children's drive. As soon as Ildresaak was strong enough to swing a hammer, he had one in his hands.
When he was eleven, his paternal grandfather arrived from Crom. His wife had died, and with his own health declining, the former Mastersmith could no longer work. He had retired from his position as a buyer at Minecraft Hall to come home and spend his remaining years with his family. He was delighted to discover that two of his son's children shared an aptitude for his own craft, and though he could no longer swing a hammer or work metal, he was delighted to visit them at their Master's forge and instruct them in theory while their Master worked. For a long time, this is how the children's routine went. Ildresaak studied smithcrafting, with the intent of growing up and following in his grandfather's footsteps.
But he wanted something more. He was determined to be an excellent smith, but smithing was smithing. There was nothing noble or honorable about smithing. Secretly, in the back of his mind, Ildresaak wanted to Impress a dragon, like his ancestors had done before the family line was broken in favor of the Smithcraft. It wasn't that he didn't want to be a Smith - because he loved his work, loved every puzzle that came with it. He just wanted...well, he was young, and he wanted everything. But he couldn't bring himself to entirely tear himself away from his work, opting to sneak out of his master's workshop and present himself to Search dragons whenever they came through the Hold. It wasn't always possible, and one particularly egregious sneak-out when he was fourteen earned him a wallop that kept him well and firmly in the workshop the next time the riders came visiting, but Ildresaak's dream wouldn't die. He was determined to take to the skies someday.
But, it turned out, being Searched was more difficult than he had expected. Many dragons passed over the young man without a second sniff. After the third time this happened, Ildresaak had resigned himself to his fate: dragonrider lineage or not, he would never be fit to stand at a High Reaches Hatching. And so he continued his work as a Smith, learning to make things where Samarra was learning to design and describe them. He excelled in the projects he was given, learned at an astounding pace, and over time came to really love the craft. His talent shone through, and his Master was delighted. There was talk, on occasion, of sending him to Telgar early, to gain better instruction in the craft at Smithcraft Hall. Samarra had done it, but Ildresaak resisted a little. He wasn't ready, he insisted. It would take time.
Assuming the boy was just nervous about being so far from home, Ildresaak's master took pity on him and allowed him to stay for the time-being. He did, however, begin making preparations to send his talented young apprentice to Telgar to walk the tables. Ildresaak was his best student in turns, and he had no doubt that he'd be completely ready for his journeymanship at the age of eighteen. Ildresaak was flattered and began to accept the inevitability of Smithing forever. As a last hurrah, when Searchriders came to the hold the season after his seventeenth birthday, he snuck out of the workshop to present himself a final time. It was meant to be a tradition, more than anything. He certainly wasn't intending to actually be Searched.
And yet...he was.
His Master was...less than thrilled. And in hindsight, Ildresaak realizes that what he did was stupid. But he was seventeen and excited and the chance to go to the Weyr was far too tempting, and he ran away from his old life without a glance back. He was convinced it was going to be perfect. It...wasn't, which in hindsight isn't surprising at all. The first turn of Candidacy was hard - though Ildresaak was mostly-literate and in pretty good physical shape already. He moved through boot camp under the radar, working as hard as he could and determined to prove himself worthy of his selection. And his hard work paid off when it came time to assign squires. He was capable, strong, and eighteen - older than many of his peers and absolutely intent on proving himself. He was assigned a Third Wing greenrider - perhaps not the best of squiremasters, but certainly enough that he felt he had completely proved himself. And he was desperate to make his master proud, as well.
L'ris was...hard on him. Not harder than she needed to be, for the most part, but Ildresaak was profoundly noncombatant, and there was a certain degree of softness to the boy that the greenrider was able to hammer out of him. Before Candidacy, Ildresaak had only ever touched swords in lessons or in the forge, learning the balance and heft of them. L'ris was determined to give him the skills he needed to keep himself alive, and under her patient (if occasionally harsh) direction he learned what he'd need to hold his own in a fight. And the two of them got on well, as time passed. Ildresaak wasn't particularly ambitious, but he was a hard worker, and L'ris seemed to grow fond enough of him that she at least occasionally spoiled him with food. That's what I'saak remembers most about his two turns as a squire: growing out of that strange, lanky, made-of-limbs stage and into a more normal-looking young man with help from his squiremaster.
The work lasted two years, Ildresaak mercifully avoiding the worst of altercations and, for the most part, coming out of his service unscathed. When Pheneth clutched for what would be her final time, Ildresaak was among those who Stood for it. He wasn't expecting much - frankly, didn't consider himself to be a catch for any dragon - but met unavoidably with destiny when a lanky, teal-green hatchling spilled out of an egg, tripped across the Sands, and pooled at his feet.
Their Weyrlinghood was hard work and lots of it, I'saak and Ellibreth committing themselves to the work of the Weyr and doing everything they could to prove themselves worthy. I'saak had no illusions about his own capability - L'ris had done everything she could to instill proper drive and work ethic in him, and I'saak had internalized it, but he also knew from two turns' squiring with Third Wing that he wasn't cut out for work in the murder squad. And First and Second Wing were...far above his capacity. He lacked the ambition and the self-esteem to throw himself in among the hopefuls for those wings, and what's more - he didn't want it. Instead, his gaze turned to Fourth and Fifth Wings. Fifth was...not for him. I'saak didn't like numbers or finances unless they had practical applications, and Ellibreth had no interest in spending her life as a courier. The pair wanted to make a difference.
That was why Fourth Wing so quickly became the logical choice. While he knew there was some degree of a letdown for his squiremaster, I'saak was solid in his choice, and when he graduated, he requested it. For two turns, he and Ellibreth were content with their work. It made a difference, gave them a chance to hone their skills and problem-solve. I'saak loved it. Then plague came, and the Weyr began to fall apart. It happened so fast, I'saak barely had time to register it before dragons were dying. Ellibreth fell ill three weeks into the plague, and for several months it was touch-and-go. I'saak was completely absorbed in his dragon's illness, barely leaving her side. His own health suffered as his dragon's health declined, and by the time Ellibreth finally began to recover, I'saak had lost twenty pounds.
The two of them recovered just in time to help provide aid to those left holdless by civil war. Hiraeth's clutch at Igen went all but unnoticed while I'saak and Ellibreth threw themselves into their wing once again. Slowly - very slowly - things went back to normal. And for the next several, they worked with Fourth Wing. I'saak never aspired to more than that, and he was proud of his own work with Ellibreth. Their bond was tighter, after plague, and I'saak significantly more inclined to paranoia about his dragon's health, but beyond that, little had changed.
Little else changed until Thread began to fall. I'saak and Ellibreth were prepared - as prepared as riders can be for a threat they've never encountered, and when they took to the sky for their first Fall, it felt like a fulfillment of a dream. I'saak was finally doing what he had heard in the stories as a small child. First Fall went all right. It was short, sporadic...a confidence booster, in some ways. The second Fall was harder, with Thread falling thicker, and I'saak caught a strand to the shoulder. Ellibreth took him between quickly, but by the time she did, it had already gouged a large enough chunk out of him to scar thoroughly. Still, it missed anything that could have done serious damage. They were more careful after that.
THE DRAGON
Name: Ellibreth
Age: 14
Colour: Green
Feel of voice: Embers heating in the forges, plush deep-green velvet, a steel hammer striking a bell
Appearance: Ell is more blue than green, enough that I'saak is occasionally mistaken for a bluerider. Her hide is deep sea green, shading gently on her underbelly and legs into a soft teal. Her wingsails are flecked with faint pale sparks like distant stars. Apart from that her hide is devoid of markings, save for one unmistakable one: a narrow dorsal stripe runs from her muzzle all the way down to her tailtip, a thin line of neon teal.
She's not a little lady, but neither is she excessively large for a green. She's built long and lanky, a bit too gawky to be precisely elegant or feminine, but frankly she doesn't mind. Her long wings and good stamina make her a better candidate to be caught by larger dragons.
Personality: Life is wonderful, I'saak. Ellibreth is an eternal optimist. Every day is a bright new morning, and every situation is an opportunity. Or, at worst, it is a puzzle to be worked around. And she is very clever, and so is her rider, so between the two of them they'll work it out, won't they? Life wouldn't be interesting if everything just got handed to you! She's not ditzy or overly excitable, Faranth forbid, just... constantly pleasantly surprised by everything. Like her rider, she is a social butterfly, full of warmth and always pleased to see other dragons. It is likely that she will try to befriend every dragon in the weyr - and it's quite lucky she's a green, because this charming lady might even garner admirers.
Should the absolute worst happen, and a crisis should come to Pern - or just to her little family... Well, she still doesn't get angry. She will cuss beyond belief, probably a habit she picked up from her rider, but she won't get angry or lose her head. The more Ellibreth is backed against the wall, the more focused she becomes; if Thread fell out-of-pattern or bandits caught her and I'saak by surprise, she would just have to buckle down and everything got handled appropriately, wouldn't she? Optimist she is, yes - but a practical one. And that means she thinks on her feet and always, always has a plan. Ellibreth has no desire to lead others - in fact, that is just about the only thing she can't do, as the instant she has to order someone else around she will freeze up horribly. But she recognizes stupid or suicidal orders when she hears them from others, and she won't hesitate to chart herself a new course well before the metaphorical ship runs aground.
She's not a needy dragon, by any means. This isn't to say that she's distant, either - the green is a ridiculous cuddler, and will happily scoop I'saak into a warm dragony tangle of wings and forelegs and nuzzling whenever he wants it. She adores her rider fiercely, and spent most of her weyrlinghood trying to climb into his lap. But she can't be with him all the time (she doesn’t fit, more's the pity.) And, honestly, this isn't a problem for her. He's an adult. Faranth, that's why she picked him, because he wasn’t a raging bundle of teenage drama! So while I’saak is off doing his important rider things, Ellibreth will discreetly excuse herself to go grab a herdbeast for dinner, or just go bother one of her dragon friends for a while.
But if he ever needs her, all he has to do is reach out. She's right there in his head, always.
There is one curious thing about Ell: she's curiously bright for a green dragon, and has a peculiar memory for human things. Good enough that she's capable of interjecting herself into I'saak's routine and finding little methods of her own to help him streamline his work. She knows better than to interrupt 'engineer mode', but every now and then he might notice an attentive, curious dragony presence at the back of his head, looking through his eyes. And the more she looks, the more she gets the stupid engineer jokes and even engages in a little banter. I'saak, why are you using that equipment? Wouldn't it be easier this way?
Written by tuathade!
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