Approved by Tawny
Name: Stepren
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Craft/Rank: Beastcraft apprentice - specializing in draft runnerbeasts
Description: Stepren is fairly average in height, around 5'7" or 5'8". His skin is naturally as dark as a seaman's, and his hair is a deep mahogony brown. The hair is thick and slightly wavy, a mass of loose fringes covering his head and a long tail down his back, tied in two places to keep it somewhat under control. His gentle golden-brown eyes are a bit large for his face, seeming even moreso when he is lost in thought and staring into space. The tip of his nose curves downward, almost as if trying to point toward the dimple on his prominent chin. His upper body is quite muscular, particularly his arms, from working with powerful draftbeasts and their heavy tack. His legs are less robust, but are still sturdy. Due to old wounds received during the annexation of Benden Weyr, he walks with a slight hitch in the left leg that will disappear when shifting into a faster gait unless he is exhausted or has done a lot of travel on foot the day before. Stepren tends to wear a lot of mid-thigh length tunics, sleeveless as normal sleeves would usually need to be tailored to fit his arms. He prefers to knot instead of buckle a plain leather belt at the waist, and his slacks are always comfortably loose and tucked into leather boots.
Personality: Having grown up in a very peaceful environment, Step himself is a pretty peaceful soul. He is quietly confident in himself and his own abilities, particularly those of a physical nature. He has an affinity for animals and young people, focusing on ensuring their welfare.
Like the draftbeasts among which he spent his childhood, Stepren has little affectation in his nature. He tends to be very candid, occasionally embarrassing himself by speaking a stray thought aloud in a room full of people or forgetting to filter the current conversation to a socially appropriate level. Towards friends of the human kind, he is demonstratively affectionate -- a trait that applies to most animals as a default. He is not in any way a loner, but neither is he a social butterfly. He prefers a comfortable atmosphere with a small clan of friends over a room full of merrymakers. With such a group, he can chat freely without getting distracted by overhearing too many conversations. When wrestling with stress or anxiety, Step will first retreat to a quiet place if possible, be it an empty room or the back of a runnerbeast. If he fails to work it out on his own, he isn't above asking for help. He'll seek out a friend or trusted superior to help him talk it out, or take some action if necessary.
He is generally respectful and cooperative in all situations, but if he receives a direct order that goes against his nature or harm is done to an innocent, Step will excercise rebellion. He dislikes change that he does not purposely bring about himself and will struggle with it for a long time before accepting it. He can also have some difficulty switching gears, either during conversation or action. For example, being called away from washing dishes to turn a batch of firelizerd eggs -- he might wash the eggs instead of turn them!
Upon his impulsive relocation to Benden as a Candidate, Stepren received the customary education on Weyr life. He had heard a few things about Weyrs here and there, but Keroon River was a quiet hold with little concern for outside happenings. He won't admit it aloud, but he was very startled by the prevalence of non-marital relations among the weyrfolk. He has since come to understand that by and large that was caused by the near-constant procession of proddy greens on mating flights, but he does not personally wish to participate and avoids the courting dragons' flight paths whenever possible. As to what everyone else does with or without the "green effect" -- he doesn't care to dwell on others' private business.
Regarding his Candidacy -- at nineteen turns of age and having Stood for four years without Impressing, Step has been forced to face the possibility that he never will. He likes to brush it off in casual conversation, but in his heart a seed of fear is growing. He had, frankly, only left the hold because the appearance of the Searchriders was convenient when he was at odds with his foster father. But through the bloody events at Benden, he became bound to the Weyr in a sense far beyond tithing. He desires to see the Weyr and its people restored to rights, and wishes to be a part of that restoration. As just a man, and one with limited skills at that, Stepren feels himself to be a poor asset. On a dragon, however, he believes he could make a real difference. The two turns he has left on the sands of the hatching grounds might seem to be a long time to the boy that he was on the farm, but for the young man amidst the aftermath of war and expecting the enemy to return any day, that same two turns is the rapidly-approaching deadline for his usefulness.
Pre-Revolution History:
Stepren was born to a greenrider at Benden Weyr nine months after the rider's dragon rose to mate for the first time. It was rumored that his father was a bronze rider, but Step never learned which, for he was promptly sent away to Keroon River Hold to be fostered there. He also knew very little of his mother -- not even her name -- only that she had been born a holder's daughter and was adamant that her son be raised with holder values, which she still preferred over the liberal ways of weyr life -- which is why Step was not aborted between in the first place.
Sometime during early childhood, he came to learn of two additional rumors related to his birth: One, that his holdbound mother had expected to be faithful weyrmates with his father, whose bronze went on to fly a queen according to the man's desire to be a weyrleader, leaving the greenrider feeling betrayed and abandoned; and two, that his mother's dragon had suffered terribly during the pregnancy and birth, not wanting anyone else to occupy the attention of hers for very long.
Stepren's mother had sent him to the quiet, unassuming hold to prevent him from getting involved with a Weyr, but Searchriders came sniffing there for potential candidates before he was even old enough to walk. They came often throughout his childhood, but passed him over every time.
The boy grew up as an apprentice of beastcraft, raising and training immense draftbeasts to pull plow and wagon. It was the life he would have chosen for himself. He loved working with the other apprentices and with the huge equines, appreciating their strong, yet gentle nature. Part of his craft was protecting the beasts, too. While he was not big enough or skilled enough to take on predators that would hunt the young runnerbeasts, he developed a strong arm and an excellent aim throwing stones to help the older men drive them away.
In the spring of his thirteenth turn, the hold's mares began to foal, as usual. Stepren was present for as many births as he could, assisting some of the mares by himself while Master Vilring and the other apprentices were busy. When one of the maiden mares had difficulty, the boy was right there to help. The foal was positioned the wrong way and could not come into the world on its own. Step tried to right the baby, but it kept slipping back into its previous position. Hours later, the mare was nearing the end of her strength. Step called for his master, who arrived just as the mare gave a final, desperate push while the boy pulled with all his might. The foal slid out into the world and took in its first breath, coughing as it struggled to lift its head.
The foal, a pearl-colored colt, was weak in the beginning, but had such good bloodlines that he could not be left to risk nature's odds. His care was entrusted to Stepren, who enthusiastically committed himself to the little beast. The boy named his charge "Kotha." The colt grew into a fine creature, half again the size of some of his sire's other get. Kotha was able to be trained to haul and plow a full turn earlier than his agemates. At two turns old, he brought in a smashing good deal of marks when he was sold to Nerat Hold to work the fields.
What Master Vilring, whom Stepren looked to as a father, did not account for was the bond between boy and beast. The colt had been almost like a brother to Step, was his playmate and best friend. So the boy was shocked, then heartbroken. Then he was angry. It was during this phase of his reaction that the Searchriders returned to the hold. This time, the dragons sensed a change in him. Whether it was his age, his anger, or some other hidden quality only a dragon could sense, Stepren never knew or even thought about it. When he was invited to Stand at the upcoming hatching at Benden Weyr, Step did not hesitate. Master Vilring was against it, and argued with the Searchrider about something to do with Weyr politics, and the boy's tender age of fifteen turns. But in the end, he was convinced to let Stepren go.
Benden was the Weyr that Stepren's unknown greenrider mother and bronzerider father rode for. At the behest of her fearful, jealous dragon, his mother transferred to another Weyr before Step ever even started to look for her. She had insisted at her departure that no one tell her son who she was or to which Weyr she had gone to. It was no great emotional blow to the boy, as he had never met his mother and had enjoyed his life thus far -- he just had so many questions he'd wanted to ask her! Such as, who was his father? There were so many bronze riders there, and it was tempting too to suspect the odd brownrider who might in some way resemble Stepren. All he had to go on was rumors that he'd heard, or perhaps misheard, as a small child.
He did not get far in his investigations, for life in the Weyr was busy, especially for Candidates. With so little free time on his hands, Step submitted himself to his tasks. He managed to make a few friends here and there among the other young folks, and while he was not comfortable with all aspects of Weyr life, he did not feel out of place as his mother had when she became a Candidate.
Stepren did not Impress at that first hatching, but after seeing the spirit of himself and Kotha magnified hundreds of times over in the bond shared by those who Impressed and their dragons, he elected to stay and keep trying. He didn't dare admit it aloud, but he was also reluctant to return to Keroon River and Master Vilring after the ill-planned and ill-mannered exit he had executed.
During/Post Revolution History:
It was not long after his decision to remain in the Weyr that Stepren personally learned of the recent controversy that had been going on over ranks and the colors of dragons. The colors meant little to him at the time, but he thought it was strange that anyone felt that a system which had worked for hundreds of years needed to be changed. He was glad he'd ended up at Benden instead of a place that had converted to the new way.
When Benden Weyr was taken by the Wherholders, his somewhat indifferent views were hardened into true belief that things should have stayed the way they were. The violence was senseless to the point of obscenity. With nothing but courage and his beltknife, he fell to his most natural response to danger -- protect the weak. In this case, it was a pocket of weyrfolk defending a rider and dragon who were so badly injured that it would have been fatal for them go between together. He joined them all in fighting back, but they were no match against so many whers and their handlers.
The boy would have fallen to the whers had an older rider not forcibly yanked Step onto a dragon and taken him between. He was outraged that he should be saved, but not the injured rider. His rescuer, grieved and shaking with barely-contained emotion, bluntly informed him that, even if the rider had been rescued, he would have had to leave his dragon behind to die -- and likely would have committed suicide as a result. There was no time left to prepare a rescue, for Benden was already overrun by the Wherholders. The rider then pointed out that, as an unbonded youth, Stepren had a chance to Impress a strong dragon and fight on in their memory.
Now Stepren is one of the refugees at Trine Weyr, lending his skill to tending and working the draftbeasts that are used in the Weyr's recent farming ventures. At nineteen turns of age, Stepren has Stood for four years without Impressing, and again is reconsidering his decision to Stand. He wonders if he should return home and try to pick up his old, slow, and relatively safe life... assuming Master Vilring would take him back. But the words of his rescuer at Benden have stayed with him, keeping him from making any move. He could stay, and try to Impress a defender who would help him fight to bring peace to Pern. But if he stays in the Weyr to Stand again, would the joy of Impression be worth the possibility of losing his dragon in battle, perhaps even before they ever flew the skies together?
Other: Stepren does NOT have mommy or daddy issues. He is merely curious, especially about his father. I honestly have no idea how he would react upon meeting his father someday, but I'm sure he'll tell me eventually.
GOALS: My aspiration for Step and his future dragon is for them to be promoted to Warden rank to function as dedicated protectors of what Step sees as "good." He would also go for Wingsecond if a Wingleader he admires invited him to, but I don't think he has the ambition to go for Wingleader himself. Please forgive me if this is a faux pas, but my fervent hope is for him to Impress a virtual bulwark of a brown, silver or bronze dragon... perhaps crimson as well. I do prefer the canon colors, but an atypical could make for interesting character growth -- Step dealing with having his plans to fight foiled by a small, weak hatchling, only to have it to end up as big and strong as its bronze or brown counterpart! Really not interested in any other color besides those four due to my vision for the character and his massive guardian tankdragon. Willing to wait for a match in a preferred color! (Note: If Step Impresses a crimson, she WILL chew firestone, no question about it.)
Please feel free to correct me on any mistakes regarding the metaplot and timeline! I looked through as much info as I could find, but still feeling a little uncertain. Thanks!
