Approved by x_Nata_x
Name: Ghilani
Age: 19
Height: 6'2"
Sex: Male
Orientation: Heterosexual
Craft: Smithcraft, emphasis on Astronomy
Rank: Apprentice
Song: Follow Me
Physical Description: A tall and striking lad, Ghilani embodies most of what hold girls would call 'handsome.' Genetics gave him a strong set of even teeth that he maintains fastidiously, along with an athletic, correctly proportioned, build that will carry the full bloom of youth well into his late thirties. His dark brown hair is cut just above the shoulder and is slightly wavy, while his deep mahogany brown eyes carry an effervescent sparkle to them that speaks volumes of Lani's character. He has a tendency to walk straight and stare deep beyond the horizon line, though the reason for this is not purely for the romantic affect it has on females. 'Lani is a very deep young man, though as of yet his potential is untapped, but it shows in the little ways like in his ink stained hands and the far off look in his eyes once sunset approaches.
Personality: Cheerful and outgoing to a fault, Ghilani more then makes up for the stereotype of his craft. While his Master and the rest of the senior apprentices and Journeyman take pride in their personal work and achievements, 'Lani takes pride in them and their work as a craft. He truly believes that science and continued study of the Ancients will change the world, despite the efforts of critics and those ignorant people he dubs 'deadcells.' Surprisingly, 'Lani has remained pretty oblivious to the effect of his good looks on the females of the Hold, and if it weren't for his approachable smile and easy-going ways, he'd more then likely have more enemies then friends. Yet as it stands, his fellow apprentices value him as a comrade, and do nothing more then good-naturedly tease him when (yet another) girl confesses their affections to Ghilani's complete shock and embarrassment.
History:
Raised by a doting foster mother, Ghilani grew up none the worse for the attention amongst a slew of other fosterlings. As such his people skills and patience are very well developed, and he can often be found relaxing with friends cheerfully debating the technicalities of some bizarre cosmic occurrence or merely discussing the latest gossip.
From a very young age he was always somewhere near the top of the social hierarchy, and this trend continued through his apprenticeship to the Smithcrafthall. Sadly, he showed little aptitude for the more technical aspects of the Smithcraft, and despite his favorable build, the thought of slaving over a forge for the rest of his life did not stimulate him. The only thing he DID show great skill in was his Draftsmanship, and that was where he spent a great deal of time in his early apprentice years, until a chance visit by one of the oldest Mastersmiths in the craft.
Old Enilion was known throughout the craft as a Starsmith, one of the Skywatchers who had trained beneath some of the students of Master Wansor himself. He was at Lani's crafthold for a lecture, and after the first introduction to the world beyond Pern's skies, Ghilani knew he had found something.
After his petition to Master Enilion was approved, Ghilani traveled with his new Master all across Pern, lecturing other smith halls and giving demonstrations of the Master's work to the holderfolk, though Lani's own input into these sessions was minimal, he enjoyed the work and took extra care when reproducing charts and maps for those interested. His Master, however, was not entirely certain what to do with Lani. The lad certainly had his heart in the right place, and he did not lack for skill in drafting and copying, but when it came to the original ideas that marked the Starsmiths as innovators... Lani just didn't have it. He could stare up at the skies and marvel at their wonders, but until the boy began to question those stars, rather then just revere them, he was not going attain the rank of master, let alone journeyman.
So old Enilion waited, patiently trying to cultivate the boy's curiosity during moments of leisure, and mercilessly drilling him in the basic mathematics of their craft when they were not on a lecture tour.
Four years of this, and while 'Lani did eventually start to ask more questions and provide some useful layman's insight that proved valuable when teaching the average pernese, he never showed the skills required for him to be promoted. As such, he was kept mostly in the background, proofing lecture subjects and drafting maps, all the while growing more and more disheartened in his own private way at the dead end this promising life was taking. Around this time Master Enilion was asked to present some recent observations about the Red Star to the Ista Lord Holder at one of the Gathers, and in attendance would be quite a few of the Ista Weyr dragonriders.
During that Gather, while he was (to be honest) sulking near the fire heights while his master gave the speech he had prepped for errors and painstakingly reproduced from his Master's barely discernible scrawl, he came across a trio of young Ista Riders playing a game of chance. Being of the Crafts, dragonriders did not have aura about them that they did for Holders, since Ghilani actually had to deal with them on a fairly regular basis whenever his Master was asked to attend one of the Weyrleaders. So he knew these men to be people, just like him, and far more approachable then the Stars he was growing to dislike. What was surprising was that they made the first overture of friendship when they caught sight of him.
Ghilani may have been moping, but he was no fool, and he knew that any game of chance grew better with players that already looked mentally out of sorts, and by all appearances.. he sure looked the part. But the friendly request was refreshing, and he accepted since he only had a few marks to bet, and they were his Master's marks that he planned to spend anyway.
In the end, he didn't lose everything (though it had looked grim for a few moments) and the group of Blue and Greenriders had cheerfully invited him to join them down in the square rather then continue with whatever he was doing up in the heights. Since he hadn't had fun at a Gather in ages, let alone danced, Ghilani agreed mostly out of petulance and a devil-may-care outlook on what his Master might think.
What he was NOT ready for was while the group of four passed the dragons, one of the two blues swung his great head around and all but decapitated Lani in an attempt to get a better look at him. (Or so his rider said later, laughing.) Startled by the unfamiliar behavior, Lani nonetheless stood his ground and just kept his breathing even (much to the amusement of the riders) while the Blue thoroughly sniffed him over.
Anticlimactically, once he was done, the Blue just repositioned himself next to his friends and went back to sleep (earning another round of laughter from the riders) leaving Lani standing somewhat shocked and a little embarrassed. To him, it seemed everyone (including dragons apparently) were out to ridicule him in some subtle but still hurtful way. But his overall good nature kept him from reacting negatively and he just drew a shaking breath and took a playful swat at the riders for egging their dragons to scare him like that.
The riders, however, were hiding their own surprise behind the teasing. They were not on Search yet, but the Blue's rider, J'set, knew what that particular display meant. So he took note of this boy, and promised his Blue that when the time came they would return for him.
Pets: Tada, his Green firelizard.
Other/Talents: He is an EXCELLENT draftsman and mapmaker.
Will this character be a candidate? Yes.
RP LOGS
This is me, trying my best. : Ghilani, Ennrik, and Conomor
Worth a Little Spoiling : Ghilani and Florian
My Darling Green: Ghilani and Jevasi
Egg Touching : Ghilani, Florian, and misc candidates
Time to Eat, and place bets?: Ghilani, Florian, and misc candidates.
Work is just another part of life. : Ghilani and Tseka
Candidate Lessons : Ghilani, Florian and misc candidates
Hatching! : Ghilani, Florian, misc candidates, and Khunoth!
