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INFORMATION

Name: Lu’reni (formerly Luyainreni) – often mistakenly pronounced as “Loony” by those who disagree with her position as a female dragonrider. She was met with a bit of resistance when she chose to honorize it.

Age: 23 Turns

Sex: Female

Orientation: Prefers men, but tends to end up quite attracted to the rider of whoever catches Lazulith in flight – and for a much longer period of time then she would like to admit.

Physical Description: Lu’reni is a fairly petite girl. She stands at about (in non-Pern measurements) five feet, four inches and has a very slight build. Her hair is a honey brown color and frizzy in texture. To control it, she typically keeps it in a long braid over one shoulder, tied off with a length of leathery skin. The young woman has wide oval eyes that are nearly the exact shade of purply-blue of her dragon – big, oval eyes that tend to give the impression that she is always in some state of amazement over the things she is examining. Her face is heart-shaped, and her nose aquiline, a smattering of pale freckles naturally covering the space below her eyes.

Personality: Lu’reni views herself as Lazulith’s keeper – the person whose purpose it is to keep the dragon well both in body and mind. (This is ironic, of course, because Lazulith feels the same way about Lu'reni.) Lu believes that, if Lazulith could only be a bit more decisive, she could be the Greatest Dragon Ever! Unfortunately, together, the dragon and rider only seem to distract each other even more. It is not uncommon for Lu’reni and Lazulith to be interacting with another dragon and rider, and suddenly, without warning, just slip into a conversation only between the two of them, completely forgetting about the others. Lu’reni always scolds herself for this afterward, but Lazulith tends to forget it even happened at all.

Utterly idealistic and optimistic, the young rider is the single greatest cheerleader a dragon could ask for, and quite regularly, Lu’reni will talk to Lazulith about all the things that they could do to improve themselves – and to prove themselves as an amazing dragon/rider team to the rest of the skeptical Weyr! Lazulith’s indecision and comfort in believing herself to be totally average is bothersome to Lu’reni. She is constantly searching for ways to make Pern and Igen Weyr a better, happier place and to boost Lazulith’s self-esteem. Sunshine almost radiates out of her ears. However, this makes Lu’reni a bit overly excited, and at times, she gets so carried away with Doing Good that she neglects her duties. Lu’reni never does these things out of rebellion. She is, to a fault, incredibly good-natured, just like her dragon, but Lu’reni is much more temperamental and opinionated than Lazulith. When incited to anger, Lu will often collapse in a heap of tears out of frustration.

At the same time, Lu’reni firmly believes that 99% of Pern would be happier if they only had someone to talk to, and in her life, Lu’reni has decided that she could be just that person! She listens to the indecisive rambling of her dragon with the same comforting smiles that she gives to all those who seek a shoulder to cry on, a person to talk to, just someone who cares. This kind of total kindness might lead people to believe that Lu’reni is a pushover or, perhaps, a bit of a dimglow – but these things are quite far from the truth. Lu’reni is an incredibly passionate person; she is just passionate about happiness. Should a person act in cruelty or with bad intent, Lu’reni would be the first person to call them out on it and to demand that they fix whatever it is that they have done. She believes in fundamental truths and the good of the team, and if you try to disturb that harmony – Faranth help her – she will be all up on you in a bad way.

Now, do not think that Lu’reni does not get sad; she does. She just doesn’t see the point in fretting over her sadness. What good will that do? Her dragon feels her sadness stronger than anyone else, and it is one of the only things that will force Lazulith to take a direct stance and let her own anger out. They might be an ineffective team, but they love each other for each and every fault that they might have. At times, they squabble over Laz’s inability to make decisions, or over Lu’s uncertainty over close connections. Laz does not often rise (mostly because she can never really decide if she wants to or not), but when she does, Lu’reni gets very uncomfortable. Lu’reni is a bit of an awkward girl, and the throes of passion that rush through her body each time this happens are extremely confusing for her. What’s worse, she tends to fall just a little bit in love with the rider of any dragon that flies Lazulith. Lu’reni has never had a partner choose to be with her – without the passion of a flight – and this is a point of insecurity for the girl. For all of the love and compassion that she has for people, Lu’reni never seems to make strong, lasting connections with anyone – other than Laz, that is. As a child, she was a happy loner, and as an adult, that mentality has stuck with her.

Even those who are hard on her for being a female greenrider do little to hurt her feelings… though it does get a bit old. She thinks that, in time, happiness and harmony will win out, and everyone will have a big group hug and skip off into the sunset together. Though her father was a member of the Flying Wherries, Lu’reni more or less considered herself a neutral party in the gangs of the Weyr. She doesn’t need power, but there is a part of her that feels called to make positive sustainable change. In fact, she is overjoyed to hear news of the new Werywoman. This must mean that things are changing for the better, right?

History: Lu’reni was born to a bluerider father and a beastcrafter mother at Igen Weyr. All her life, Lu’reni expected to be a beastcrafter like her mother. She would spend her days doing chores there, caring for the runnerbeasts and learning about every kind of animal that her mother knew of in Pern. (For example, she feels that wherries are grossly under-appreciated!) Sure, she has loved and admired dragons all her life, but she never thought that, as a woman, she would be a rider at Igen. It just was not common. So when Lu’reni was Searched, her family was a bit stunned. Her father loved her dearly and encouraged her to stand on the Sands, but truth be told, he never thought she would actually Impress. It would be great if she was a goldrider, but their family wasn’t really the type, he thought. Like many at Igen, her father thought of females only as goldriders. Her mother was equally shocked, but continued to train her daughter as if she would be walking the tables eventually, not taking to the skies on a dragon. It was not that her family did not have faith in her. No, Lu’reni grew up in a very loving household. It was just that her parents, like many Igen people, did not feel that women were destined to be riders like men were.

So it was even more shocking when Lu’reni did in fact Impress at her very first Hatching ever – and only when she was barely 14 turns old. Lazulith was the very, very last dragon to emerge from its shell that day; it was as if she could not make up her mind about being hatched. In fact, after the shell cracked, she only poked her snout out at then pulled it back in, over and over. Lu’reni took a single step toward the shell – and in that moment, Lazulith chose her. No one would challenge a dragon’s choice, but murmurs filled the cavern the instant their link snapped into place. With nine turns of riding under her belt, Lu’reni does not quite get the respect that she might deserve, and a good bit of this is her own fault. Lu’reni and Lazulith are a reliable team most of the time, but Lazulith absolutely crumbles without an order to follow. Lu has gotten much better about keeping Laz confident and focused in training, but recently, Lu’reni has begun to try to grow up a bit and to channel her dragon’s love into more self-developing avenues – namely, more confidence.

The only speed bump in an otherwise happy and healthy childhood was that Lu’reni had a twin sister when she was younger who fell ill and died. Part of the reason that Lu’reni clings so much to happiness is because she understands that life is short; she wants to make the most of it. In a lot of ways, Lu’reni looks at Lazulith as her sister. Together, they have grown up and tried to become better, even if they both share many of the same faults. They balance each other in their equal desire to satisfy their needs for happiness and companionship.

Family


Ek'tar -- Lu's father. He is a bluerider at Igen Weyr. He impressed at a late age, but is an incredibly reliable rider. He believes in the bronzerider tradition of the Weyr and feels like it is his job to support those riders who were good enough to impress a bronze -- riders who he knows are better than him. Ek'tar would be the ideal lackey for any major player, but since he was Searched at a Crafthall with no connections at Igen, he found himself a member of the Flying Wherries -- albeit an enthusiastic one. He is not involved in politics much now. He married very late in life and did not have children until he was 34 turns old, which is very unusual. Now, he is almost 60, and his health is not the best. Retired from active flying, he spends most of his days with his wife and his dragon and fighting to get healthier.

Braskallya -- Lu's mother. She was born at Igen Hall, but came to Igen Weyr in her mid-20s to study beastcraft with a friend of her father's. She fell in love with Ek'tar the moment she met him, but he did not notice her affections until they were both nearly 30 turns old. They wed, and Braskallya dedicated her life to her husband. When they had twin girls, she was delighted, and when Malureyn died, she felt crushed, as if she had failed as a mother in some way. She loves her daughter and imagined that Lu'reni would become a beastcrafter and marry a dragonrider just as she did. Truth be told, it is Braskallya who is the most uncomfortable with Lu being rider (since she is a girl). In the past, when Ek'tar dragon flew greens, she looked the other way. It was not something she saw as a transgression of any kind because she was still the only woman that he would be drawn to in life. However, the emergence of female dragonriders at Igen threatens that very compromise. How can the wives of Igen feel secure when their husbands risk getting tangled in a flight with a female and her dragon? It is a threat to her marriage, and ever since Lu'reni become a rider, their relationship has not been the same.

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