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Name: Vaythel
Age: 19 Turns
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Craft: Harper Apprentice
Rank: Harper Apprentice/Candidate
Physical Description: Short, spiky black hair all tousled, from behind he just looks like any other ruffled Candidate. Turn him around, though, and he's something quite different. Icy blue eyes stare out from under arched eyebrows, set atop high cheekbones. His skin is a gently tanned olive, with no blemishes or freckles. He's a bit tall, being about 6'4", but he's probably not going to get any taller. He has a muscular, lithe, well-built body that can set many girls' hearts pounding. Vaythel knows he's handsome, but you won't find him amidst a tangle of anybody.

Personality: A bit solitary, Vaythel may seem like a mountain in the distance at first--far off, impossible to reach without a lot of work, and beautiful to the eye. He's got a cold aloofness that forms a sort of icy wall around himself, making it hard for anybody to really get to know him. If anybody managed to break through the outer wall, then you'd find that he's not too bad, just a bit chilly. Vaythel is gentle and kind, albeit a bit detached from his surroundings, but he's very compassionate and perfectly willing to help, even though it seems like he's not paying attention when he does. He's rather easy to get along with, but some feel that he's really just putting up a facade. Nobody's delved deep enough to find out, though.

Generally preferring to stay separate from others, Vaythel always seems a bit distracted by things. That's usually because he's thinking about something else, usually about keeping up with his studies and a few other secret, intricate things. He has a gift for composing songs and poems, but it's counteracted by his frequent bouts of writer's block. Even then, he manages to squeeze out a few good lines here and there. Vaythel is a bit of a musician at heart, being rather good at string instruments and a few winds. He prefers the middle-low instruments with smooth, flowing tones, but he's a bit shy about his playing. Vaythel rarely plays or sings in public, unless either forced to or somehow drunk.

History: Vaythel was born to a well-to-do family in Ista Hold, and raised as the scion of it. He was a bit spoiled, that much is true, but it didn't mess with him much. There was another older brother besides Keveri, the eldest, but he was...expunged from the family. Vaythel didn't ask too much about it, but it troubled him until he learned the truth. His brother had eloped with the rival family's daughter, earning the intense disapproval of his parents and the secret admiration of his grandfather for doing such a brazen, reckless thing. Janel was his name, and he was the second eldest. Vaythel always looked to him for advice, but he had known that one of these days, Janel was going to go off somewhere. Keveri picked up the slack, soon becoming Vaythel's idol. Meanwhile, his sister was his solid confidant, being a gentle, kind soul that he could trust with anything.

Vaythel never really bought into the whole 'you're gonna be a Harper' thing that his family went on and on about. (They wanted their boy to do something at least memorable, rather than just be a merchant like his parents.) He had one younger sister who was his junior by four Turns, two older brothers that were his seniors by one and two Turns respectively, as well as his mother, father, and grandfather, all of whom lived together. Vaythel and his sister, Amina, were very close, and always did things together. They lived together in relative happiness, until one day, when Vaythel was off at the market, his sister was killed in a herdbeast stampede that had swelled out into the area she was playing in. Ever since then, Vaythel has been surrounding himself with the wall of ice, hoping to keep others out so as to avoid being hurt like that again. His parents tried to break the wall, but even they couldn't do anything. Vaythel was just about to finish his Harper Apprentice lessons when he was Searched and brought to Ista. He still saves a little bet of time to at least tell his family and master how he's doing, sending messages back and forth via his master's firelizard, a little Green who visits him often.

His family was a bit leery of him going off into the Weyr at first. They had heard all the horror stories from grief-stricken parents about how their little darlings had been torn to ribbons by raging hatchlings on the Sands, and thus wanted him to stay and continue his studies. Eventually, he had to sort of sneak out to the Weyr, meeting one of the search parties as he went. Vaythel's family was at first enraged--minus his grandfather, again--but then, they eventually cooled down as they realized that this was a great chance for Vaythel to really do something memorable, rather than strum a harp and sing teaching ballads. Still, his mother often has second thoughts about maybe somehow getting him to come back, even though she supports him fully.

Pets: N/A (Though you could pretty much consider that flitt his pet, what with how often she shows up on his shoulder...)

Other/Talents: Vaythel is good at writing and playing instruments, and he's a fast runner.

Will this character be a candidate? Yes.

Picture: Nope.

Fixed. Thanks for pointing out what needed revising.