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Name: Maddock Cleary
Age: 19
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Craft: Herdsman (5th Generation)
Rank: Journeyman
Physical Description: Tall, lean, and athletic, this particular young man is well built and quite capable of handling himself. Used to dealing with dragons and wherries and all the weyrfolk in general, he’s possessed of a confident and yet differential posture in everything he does. He knows wherries, knows husbandry, knows how to handle the herds the dragons rely on and it permeates his movements. However, it’s not a grating sort of confidence… it just is. He’s the sort of man you know has grown up doing his craft simply by the way he walks and talks.

Standing at about six feet, his growth spurt has long since come and gone. Short cropped, chocolate hair frames a face with a strong jaw and noble features – for the most part. Unfornately, when he was younger he was head-butted by a wherry and broke his nose; it never quite healed properly. With calloused hands and feet, it’s clear he’s not afraid to get dirty.
Personality: Earnest, honest, and content, this young man is quite happy where he is. He’s only ever known Wherry Herding and yet it’s quite the priveledge. His family has lived in the Weyr for 5 generations now, caring for the food herds alongside the other families. He sees the dragons daily, interacts with adorable flits, and enjoys the company or rider and commoner alike.

That said, he hates it when there’s a rift between the two realms. The Weyr could no survive without the holds and the farm folk and the commoners could not survive without the Weyr. It is a lesson he’s lived by since a child – theirs is a proud family that stands by the reasons they joined the Weyr during the last Pass.

A trustworthy soul, he’ll treat riders and commoners with equal amounts of respect that can and does get him in trouble sometimes. Still, he’ll gladly inform a new rider of the dos and don’ts of wherry hunting, or the choice cuts of meat… or even the signs of a Flight he’s noticed. Not one for numbers, he’s more of a ‘feel it out’ kind of guy and has yet to be steered completely wrong by his instinctual approach.

His biggest pet peeve is when a dragon needless harries the herd before picking a wherry to feed on. Such distress causes illness, injuries, and even reduces the nutrition the prey animals offer because they run their fat off. He'll be the first to berate the rider, regardless of rank, and can get quite irate if the rider seems no harm in torturing the dragon's food supply.

As far as outside the Weyr goes, he's rather naive. Nearly all his immediate family resides in Ista so there's no reason to travel, result in his leading a sheltered (albeit privileged) life. On the off chance he's taken outside the protective caverns and bowl, he'll be almost too curious... kind of the like the country bumpkin in the big city.

Intensely private, he'll proudly profess his roots and his family's business but he'll avoid any truly personal questions like the plague. No one really knows why he's like this, but he's been so since a child. And, if you keep pushing, Maddock will get angry and will insist in none too polite terms for you to leave immediately.

And even though he's heterosexual, he's clueless when it comes to girls. It's always a professional relationship kind of set-up and he inadvertently puts himself in the friendship zone.... which makes him awkward and tight-lipped should he develop feelings for a particular woman. He also doesn't understand the amount of homosexuality in the Weyr... it seems to him that people should be able to keep control of themselves, regardless of whether or not their dragon is rising for a Flight. He actually finds it a rather disheartening show of lack of control, and while he doesn't say anything about it... it's clear when the subject comes up that he disapproves rather greatly.

History: His story, or rather, his family’s story begins in the 9th Pass 200 years ago. They were a family of herdsmen then too, but their livestock had been struck down but disease and drought, forcing them to seek shelter from Ista Weyr as they regrouped. When the Thread began to fall, it became clear to them that the Weyr needed help… and so, to relieve pressure and make available more familiar hands for the healing and the preparations and things that needed to be done for the Thread Falls, they offered to help manage the Wherries.

Their offer was accepted, and under the watchful eyes of the other families they proved their worth and thus contributed to the effort.

Five generations and roughly 200 years later, Maddock’s family still remains loyal to the Weyr. Each child that is born into the family is raised surrounded by dragons and wherries and flits and people from all walks of life. Taught to respect, admire, and care for all these things, the Cleary Clan is known for its genial temperament.

Born and raised in the Weyr, Maddock has come to love the place he once thought was a prison. As a child, he would often try to find ways to explore and discover secret passages or treasure troves no one else of… and the more he tried, the more he was convinced this was a place that held them all – his imagination ranged far beyond the simple Bowl and the Weyr’s hallways.

All this changed when he began his serious training as a herder and learned how much of a gratifying challenge it was to balance the dragon’s needs with that of the wherries. Excelling at the craft, it wasn’t long before he was leading things when his father had need of him. Now, under the watchful eye of his father, Maddock helps in managing the size of the herd… its health, how many can be culled from the herd for food without damaging its sustainability… These things he is beginning to master.
Pets: The herd he cares for! Otherwise, no real pets.
Other/Talents: Has an excellent feel for balance, strong body for laborious work, and an intuitive understanding of wherries that came from growing up around them.

Will this character be a candidate? Nope.

Picture: N/A

Nope, he's not meant to be a candidate. ^^ He's quite happy where he is and with his station in life. =3

Mn.... I kinda like the idea of him being a candidate with some of the flaws I put in. For now, he's not, but if I decide to make him a candidate, I'll get you to review this again? Or...? *ponders*