[Benden] A'nos and bronze Acriculeth

[TawnyAngel]

Welcome to A'nos and Acriculeth's weyr



Take a look around, but don't mess with their stuff, or they'll make sure you suffer for it.

 

[TawnyAngel]

The bronze rider's weyr is set high up on the Weyrbowl, and is accessible only on dragonback. It is rather large and well appointed; it probably belonged to a wingleader or wingsecond before the revolution, and most of that rider's furnishings and possessions have been retained by the new resident.

1. The entrance - Welcome
2. You are here - Contents
3. An instrument box - History
4. A flight jacket - A'nos
5. The dragon bed - Acriculeth
6. A small basket - Flitts
7. The rider's bed - Acquaintances
8. A sheaf of notes - Logs and journal links  

[TawnyAngel]

A wooden box, which looks as though it holds a musical instrument, nestles neatly in one of the storage alcoves. The wood is lovingly polished to a warm sheen, and carved with a beautiful pattern of firelizards.

Pre-game history

Antigonos was a bit of a naughty boy when he was very little. He stole, he lied, he cheated, and he cared nothing for other people. As he aged he seemed to be growing out of these traits, much to the relief of his mother and father a woodcrafter and a farmcrafter respectively, living in a small hold close to Benden Weyr. The truth, however, was quite different; Antigonos wasn't turning into a sweet charming young man, he was just learning to act like one. He stole discreetly, he told believable lies, he cheated well and he gave the appearance of caring about people. Why? He wasn't abused, he never witnessed any traumatic events, he was just a selfish boy with enough cunning and charm to get away with it. When he turned ten, having shown a little flare for music and of course a whole shipload of charm he was sent to Harper Hall to become an apprentice.

He had a decent voice, played a few instruments passably and played the lyre, his chosen speciality, rather well (he did enjoy his little joke with that one). Over the turns he made a lot of friends at the Hall, and secretly cheated and lied to every single on of them whenever it suited him to do so. He managed never to get caught out on a lie or to be seen stealing, however, and walked the tables aged nineteen. As a journeyman he specialized in arbitration, remaining at the Hall for some months to study and aid with the teaching of apprentices here and there. Just after he turned twenty an opportunity to transfer to Benden Weyr came up, and he couldn't apply soon enough. There were only a couple of spots and several journeymen interested in going, but silver-tongued serpent Antigonos managed to be one of the lucky ones.

Luckily for him as it was a Weyr he was heading to there was no long uncomfortable journey over land and over sea involved, just on quick jump between. The experience of that total nothing both rattled and fascinated Antigonos, and when he arrived at the Weyr he started asking around about when the next hatching might be. Dragons did Impress from the stands at times after all, and maybe if he managed to show himself to a dragon he would even be searched for the next clutch. The chance to Impress a dragon was hugely exciting to Antigonos; having a powerful creature to aid him in his schemes and take him anywhere in the world he fancied going was too great for him to ignore, he didn't really care about the rest of a rider's duties but he was willing to tolerate them in exchange for a dragon. If it didn't happen, however, he was still a journeyman in a good position; he wouldn't exactly be heartbroken over it. After all, he could always befriend riders and persuade them to take him where he wanted to go; having his own dragon would be nice, but was hardly necessary.

Within a couple of sevendays of arriving, Antigonos had managed to befriend a vintercraft journeywoman who just so happened to have a golden flitt with a clutch. Having become Friends with the handsome harper, she thought it was only right that he should have one of them. She had already given away or sold most of the eggs, but there were two small ones left and she gave Antigonos his pick. When her egg hatched into a little blue, which she impressed, Antigonos' showed no sign of movement, and so he cracked it unceremoniously against the edge of the table. A crimson flitt fell into his hand, and quickly impressed to him as it licked the blood away from a cut on his finger, given to him by a shard of shell. He named the little creature Symphony, and decided that she was a very fine pet indeed; not as good a status symbol as a dragon, but nice all the same.

When his little pet was only a few days old, Antigonos found himself sitting next to a Searchrider at dinner... okay, not really found; he carefully engineered it but still. The pair chattered a little over food, and once they had finished the rider offered to take Antigonos out to meet his lifemate. After inspecting him for a few moments the green decided that he had the potential to Impress, and her rider offered him the chance to stand as a candidate. Antigonos professed shock at being picked out, and claimed he had never seriously considered life as a rider, though like any boy he had dreamed... Seen as he was almost too old to Impress, he said, he could put his studies on hold for just a few months and stand at the next clutch. If his fate was to become a dragon man, he was sure that His would find him out there on the sands.

Candidacy and Impression

Antigonos found himself thrust into the world of a candidate where he was no more special than any other. He did he best to stand out from the crowd, but didn't manage to make much of an impression on the candidatemaster. He entered the Touching unperturbed, however, and for once in his life took (almost) innocent joy in the occasion. His personal preference lay with the Reef Triggerfish and the Emperor Angelfish eggs due to their size, but he felt as though the Eel egg was claiming him as its rider right there and then. Speaking to others afterwords, however, revealed that many of the others had felt the same, and so he dismissed the feeling as nothing.

When the hatching finally came around, Antigonos was almost bursting with excitement. As green after green hatched, he began to think that it might be a good idea to feel more open towards all of the hatchlings rather than trying to shut them out, hoping for a bigger dragon. As it turned out he needn't have worried; bronze Acriculeth finally burst out of the Emperor Angelfish egg and chose him without much fuss towards the end of the hatching.  

[TawnyAngel]

A flight jacket made of dark brown leather hangs neatly from a peg on the wall. It is good quality, but clearly practical rather than for show.

Appearance
Age: 23 turns
Height: 6'0"
Build: Toned
Hair: Black, straight, quite short
Eyes: Brown/black
Skin: Fairly pale
Detailed description: A'nos is hot stuff. He has a classically handsome face; defined cheekbones, a strong jaw, and a straight nose. He keeps his black hair fairly short, but not so short that it wouldn't be ruffled appealingly by the wind or he couldn't run his fingers through it alluringly; it is straight, soft, shiny, and full of body. He stands a fairly impressive six foot, and his body is well muscled and broad shouldered; he's no bodybuilder but there is definite power there. His brown-black eyes excel at giving smouldering glances, and stand out well from his fairly pale northern skintone. When not busy with his candidate chores he dresses in Harper blue; the outfit is expertly cut, and flatters his physique nicely.


Personality
Snapshot: Smooth, utterly selfish, outwardly charming and generous
Quote:
Character tracks: The World is Not Enough
Detailed personality: A handsome, charming, clever young man; a good young man with a taste for the finest things in life, and a great passion for his art! His voice is a wonderful tenor, not exceptional by harper standards but easily good enough to make the grade, same with his playing of the lyre. It's his skill with crafting words that make him stand out though; why young A'nos could talk a feline into handing over its teeth and going vegetarian!...

Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under't.

Macbeth: Act 1, Scene 5

...Or then again he could talk it into dispatching somebody who's getting in his way. A'nos is a ruthless, selfish, hedonist with a silver tongue. He knows what he wants, and he knows how to get it. A lot of the time it's all charm, using his wit and looks to their best advantage. Many a young lady has been smoothly talked into bed and then felt quite unable to accuse this serpent of any wrongdoing when he moves along. After all, how could someone like him be captivated by such a dull little creature for very long? He'll never call anyone dull or stupid, he'll just make offers to help them out with this, that, and the other ever so kindly because they seem to be struggling. Picking up girls with low self-esteem to begin with helps too, of course, they're much easier to twist around your finger.

If it's not just charm he's using to get what he's after, then it's lies and theft. A'nos has been lying almost since he learned to speak, and started pilfering small items not long after he learned to walk; he wanted it, so why should he have it? He almost never keeps anything he takes for more than a day or two, usually he wants to take something far more than he wanted to actually have it. Once he tires of an item he'll either throw it away, or slip it into somebody else's possessions; he doesn't want to alarm you but he thinks he saw your favorite brooch in that shifty lad's bag. If he's caught actually holding a stolen item he'll insist he found it lying around, or in somebody else's things and was just coming to give it back to you, and as he is so seldom actually seen with a stolen item the story has held up just fine to date.

In a group, A'nos slots himself in wherever it suits him to be. He can be a shining leader, a witty genial follower, or a sly power behind a leader who lacks direction of their own, or who's just dim enough to be steered into thinking his ideas were theirs all along. His personal preference is for either the former or the latter; just remaining a follower isn't going to help him make powerful friends, get nice things, get invited to fancy parties... Having Impressed a bronze certainly improves his chances at social climbing, but if he is stuck in a position without power, he'll manipulate his way into getting things he wants all the same one way or another.  

[TawnyAngel]

The dragon's ledge looks out over the Weyrbowl. A desirable position accessible only by flight, it might once upon a time have belonged to a wingleader.


Hatchling
Sr. Weyrling

Stats
Agility: -2
HP: 58

EXP log
Malvren Fall +1
Spy Event - Gold diggers +2
Spy Event - Trine Rescue +2
Benden Hold Fall +1

Personality
Snapshot: Smooth, utterly selfish, unashamed magnificent b*****d, plotter
Quote:
Character tracks: Heat
Detailed personality: Acriculeth is an unashamed magnificent b*****d. He's ambitious, he's tough, he's smart and quick with clever cutting retorts. The idea that other people really matter in the end is laughable to him, all he cares about is himself, and His. Though he makes this quite clear, he also makes it clear that he plans to rise into power and to manage that power well. Not one to charge into any situation rashly, Acriculeth always has a plan, a back up plan or two, and when push comes to shove he can come up with something passable on the fly as well. His lack of concern for people, however, will ensure that if he does rise to power he will never be a popular leader. This doesn't bother him, however, as he really doesn't think their opinions count. Besides, he has His to be charming for him, it's not like he has to have every skill needed in life himself.

His willingness to rely on Antigonos is fortunate, as his memory is poor even for a dragon. He will remember physical skills well, but he'll never recall that rider's name let alone how they could be useful. A nudge from His will remind him but he will always have to ask how awful he can be to somebody, or whether a particular kind of awfulness would help Antigonos' plans for them. Yes, while he might not care for anyone himself, if there is somebody His is grooming for some purpose or other he is willing to focus his ire elsewhere, at least until whoever it is has outlived their usefulness; as a smart dragon he is aware that there are some things that can be achieved better with a stoke to the cheek than a slash to the face, just don't expect him to do the stroking.

While he might be nasty, Acriculeth is seldom actually angry. He's smooth, and very hard to ruffle, perhaps mostly because he doesn't care if people thing he's the son of a wherry and that the Thread should take him. Every word, every action, every expression is smooth, cool, and calculated. He manages to seem as if he expects everything that happens; it isn't true but it's his natural tendency to think calmly before he speaks anyway, and as he can come up with a plan or a reply pretty quickly it would take an observant person to notice the difference between him reacting to something he was aware of, and something that threw him for a loop a little.

Happy at the bottom of the heap Acriculeth will never be; he knows he's got the strength and the skills to lead, and he doesn't see why some idiots he cares nothing for should get the spot instead of him. As such, he will always strive to stand out in lessons, and later on in drills. He believes that it is his right to lead some day, and will do whatever he must to rise as high in the ranks of the Weyr as he possibly can.

Why Me!?
On the outside, Acriculeth chose a nice charming man to balance out his nastiness, with whom he shared intelligence and wit. On the inside, he chose a man just like himself who just chooses to hide his true nature rather than flaunting it to the world. The pair of them desire power, and will do pretty much anything to get it. They are loyal to themselves, and themselves only. Everyone else is either a tool or a rival, and this doesn't look like it will change any time soon.

The Emperor Angelfish

The Emperor Angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator) is also known as Imperial Angelfish and Imperator Angelfish. The name is commonly shortened to Emperor Angel, Imperial Angel, or Imperator Angel in everyday speech.

Juvenile Emperors have white concentric rings all over their deep blue bodies. Adults have a dark blue/purple body with horizontal yellow lines streaking towards its tail. It wears a black mask outlined by neon blue across its eyes. fully grown, the Emperor is one of the three most popular large angelfish in the saltwater aquarium hobby. The other two are the queen angelfish (Holacanthus Ciliaris) and the french angelfish (Pomacanthus Paru).

It is a commonly found fish, hailing from throughout the Indo-Pacific; juveniles set up cleaning stations in the wild, where they are visited by other fish looking to rid themselves of parasites. The Emperor is highly territorial towards members of its own species and angelfish from other species, but this behavior is seldom exhibited around other species of fish.  

[TawnyAngel]

Hanging from a spare peg by a leather strap is a small wicker basket lined with scraps of cloth; presumably it is a bed for a firelizard.




Symphony is an obedient, well trained flitt. Her master's word is law, and she wouldn't disobey him for the world; while she has been treated kindly she has never been spoiled, and has been firmly disciplined when she has done wrong in the past. She sees A'nos as the leader of their own little faire, and looks to him for direction, and for validation; she would much rather he praise her than give her a treat. She is also rather in love with Acriculeth, thinking him far superior to any firelizard male. She often brings him little love tokens such as shiny stones, or unattended bangles.  

[TawnyAngel]

The rider's bed looks rather inviting; it's big enough for a tall man to stretch out comfortably in, and covered with fairly good quality furs. It has been neatly made, so whether or not it has recently seen visitors is unclear.

The Coral Reef Clutch
Green Halifanth (1/2. LT: Eliaza. Sea Turtle) - The dragon is as daft as they come, the rider has a competitive streak a mile wide. Could be useful if handled properly.
Green Danath (2/1. LT: T'san. Flamingo Tongue Snail) - The dragon knows her place, and so does the rider. Plenty of potential there.
Green Merenith (3/3 LT: M'than. Eel) - The dragon thinks she owns the world, and the rider shares her ego. They'll learn their place.
Blue Ninaeth (4/4 LT: K'day. Clownfish) - It's going to be hard to get any decent work out of this pair. Might be useful in other ways though.
Brown Stoloth (5/5. LT: T'go. Reef Tigerfish) - The rider could be used very easily if not for the paranoid dragon. At least they're not a threat.
Green Yanath (6/6. LT: Tia. Nembrotha Kubaryana) - Massive brute of a green, fixated on Tatath. Her rider seems like she'd be tough to manipulate, but we might be able to work something out.
Green Tatath (7/8. LT: Canoke. Nembrotha Cristata) - Vanity embodied, a bit of ego stroking could get these two on our side.
Bronze Acriculeth (8/7. LT: A'nos. Emperor Angelfish) - What a pair we are.
Crimson Saazeyth (9/9. LT: Aislin, Majestic Angelfish) - A red. Not sure what to do about her yet, we'll have to think carefully.


Allies


Useful people

Canoke and Green Tatath
A'nos - She is a clutch sibling who, like me, chose to join the revolution. She's very bright, and rather ruthless; definitely a useful sort of person. Doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes.
Acriculeth - I feel much the same, though of course they are aware of my nature, unlike my rider's, which makes relations simpler.


Possibly useful people


Threats  

[TawnyAngel]

Tucked into one of the storage alcoves is a sheaf of notes scribbled on bits of hide; most of them seem to deal with dragon care, but one or two pertain to music and arbitration.

RP log
Coral Reef candidate lesson
A rare respite
Coral Reef Touching
Meta - Record diving
Coral Reef Hatching
Coral Reef Hatching Feast
Meta - For the record - Abandoned?
[Meta] - Council speeches (Full speech)

Journal entry log
Thoughts on a Touching
Acriculeth and I
A'nos and Acriculeth vote Yay  

[TawnyAngel]

From an outsider's perspective, it was a pretty pathetic excuse for a hatching. One bronze, one brown, one blue, a handful of greens, and then a red to top it all off. It turned out rather well for me though; I Impressed that single bronze, and it doesn't look as though the brown in the clutch will be entering a power struggle with me.

So, here I sit at the top of the food chain with bronze Acriculeth. It's so strange to find a mind so like my own, strange and wonderful. Right now I can't even focus on plotting how best to take advantage of this for more than a few moments at a time.

Like love at first sight across a crowded room; it truly is.

He understands me, and I understand him. We're the perfect team. I couldn't be happier, and I can't imagine now how I lived so long without him. The other half of me. One who will do anything for me, and who I will do anything for in return.

We're going to take on the world, Acriculeth and I, and we intend to come out on top.  

[TawnyAngel]

The trip from Benden had been... interesting, mostly thanks to the odd brown they’d piggy-backed between with. The old beast, Acriculeth informed him, had rambled on and made little to no sense the whole time. He’d almost wished the rider would do the same to him, but the most he’d managed to get out of the grey-haired rider had been grunts or yes/no answers. At least they hadn’t been forced to spend too long with the crazy pair though, and for this chance it had certainly been a frustration worth putting up with.

As their names were called, A’nos rose fluidly to his feet and headed up to the dais with Acriculeth at his side. He wore his smartest outfit today; a handsome Harper blue tunic with white leggings and good black leather knee boots, not forgetting of course his weyrling’s shoulder knots. On a day as important as today he was not going to show himself up by standing before all the Weyrs of Pern in rough work clothes, but equally as this was a serious occasion not a gather he hadn’t added any frivolous touches like a ruffled shirt or jewellry. Smart enough to show respect, but not so fancy that he looked as though he was taking this lightly, or using it as an excuse to show off. Balance, that was the thing.

“Even now you are plotting and scheming, planning out how you show yourself to the world,” Acriculeth commented privately to his rider as he eyed the weyrwomen of Pern before them.

“Of course,” A’nos responded, “Did you expect any less of me?”

“Of course not,” the young dragon looked up at his rider and gave a soft rumble, “if you were not, I would be concerned for your health... I should very much like to fly one of those queens one day. I would lead a Weyr well.”

“As would I... But for now, let us focus on the matter at hand. If we don’t get this sorted out, you won’t have the chance to sire the next generation of queens.”

“As you say, Mine, as you say.”

As he reached the raised platform, the young bronze rider and his lifemate made a short bow to the leaders of Pern before turning to face the assembled masses. “Fellow riders, crafters, weyrfolk,” the former Harper’s voice rang through the air rich and clear, “Acriculeth and I are thankful for the chance to stand before you today, to be a part of this decision which shall go down in history as one of the greatest ever made.” One way or the other, for better or for worse. For better, he hoped; life would have far fewer opportunities if the world went into decline. “Desperate times, it is said, call for desperate measures,” A’nos went on, meeting the gaze of his peers, superiors, and inferiors with easy confidence, “and yet we cannot rush into this choice like panicked herdbeasts. The technology of the AIVAS machine has long been left to decay, and for good reason; we all know very well what using it did to our world in the past. Even knowing this, however, can we afford to keep shutting it out now? In the north, our queens’ clutches are suffering. Before too long, that will mean that the Weyrs as a whole suffer, and in turn the Holds will suffer. I may only recently have become a rider, but already I know my duty, the duty of every rider on Pern; to serve, to protect, and I do not wish to live in times where every passing turn makes the struggle to fulfill this duty harder.”

Pausing for breath, A’nos looked around at the assembled masses, wondering what was running through each head at that moment. So many serious faces, no doubt many of the riders truly taking their duty as seriously as he said he did. Frankly he couldn’t care very much less about his ‘duty’, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t fulfill it to the best of his ability. If he wanted to go up in the world, he needed to be the very best rider he could be.

“With this in mind,” the former Harper went on, “I have come to the conclusion that we must take the risk of using the AIVAS machine’s technology as Ancientcrafter Archimonde has suggested. The sooner we can reverse this trend the better; if we don’t act soon then in a few turns time we in the north will find our wings thin, and with no young queens to replenish them, and it cannot be long before the southern Weyrs follow us. If we do not take this leap of faith now, I believe it may be too late. Perhaps traditional methods could bring mystweed back from the brink, but could they do it soon enough? Perhaps crimson dragons could keep the Weyrs full if all of them took the route of breeding and we embraced atypicals in the old Weyrs, but would there be enough large dragons to make up a proper wing, and would their clutching be reliable enough for us to count on? I feel that these are too many risks, too many perhapses when it is the fate of the whole world that is at stake. As I said earlier, however, I also believe that we cannot rush in blindly. I say let us use Ancientcraft techniques, but keep on with traditional methods as well. When the fate of the world is at stake, fellow riders, crafters, and weyrfolk, I ultimately believe that we cannot afford to keep all of our eggs in one basket. Thank you.”

As his rider finished speaking, Acriculeth rumbled deep in his chest and addressed the assembled dragons. “Mine speaks for me. We cannot risk the end of our kind just because we fear this old technology. Let us use the AIVAS techniques, and bring back prosperity to our Weyrs.” He might ‘only’ be a hatching, but that didn’t mean he was incapable of making logical deductions. They needed mystweed. The Ancientcraft could give it to them. Anybody who turned their back on the opportunity had to be really very stupid indeed.

Silently agreeing with his dragon’s thoughts, A’nos made a brief bow to the crowd and then to the leaders on the dais before returning to his place to hear the rest of the speeches.
 

[TawnyAngel]

I can understand why people are reluctant to use the ancientcraft techniques, but I believed that we must. Of course there's risk involved, I have no doubt that there was risk involved when the first rider bonded to the first dragon. There's risk with the first trip between, but that doesn't stop werylings from taking it. We must be courageous, we must face our fears. Letting our dragons dwindle more than they already have isn't an option; we must take this chance, we must trust the ancientcraft techniques. If we don't do that today, we risk the end of all things as we know them. Try reviving mystweed through the farmcraft, yes, but focus on the ancientcraft. Acriculeth and I vote for the use of the old techniques.  

[TawnyAngel]

Now that things have settled into a new routine I at last have time to sit and write again.

The revolution swept through Benden almost too swiftly for me to sign up for this interesting new venture. As a bronze rider of course it was rather difficult to persuade anyone to listen to me, but once I had a willing ear my reasons for joining satisfied them. Justice for all. Equality. Merit determining where a person stands in life.

To me it seemed a better gamble than the old game of riders; power shifts far too easily for my tastes, a new Weyrleader can change the standing of all a Weyr's wingleaders and attaching oneself to a Weyrleader as a power in the shadows is even more unstable than heading up a wing. No, I prefer this way of things, where my words can earn me a permanent position in life.

Interestingly it seems even a gold has decided we are the faction to join; she is newly arrived, I haven't yet had a chance to speak with her but doing so will be interesting. She and her dragon could be useful to know; they claim no special rank of course but if I can befriend them then perhaps that useful Command ability can be mine to request in a tight corner.

In other news of interest it appears that Trine is to have a double clutch; one of our own dwarf golds (Sunnath), and a red dragon whose name I have yet to gather. I imagine they will be celebrating the new hope these new dragons represent. I also imagine those riders who have moved from Benden are somewhat less than pleased about the red! It would be amusing to see them trying to smile politely, and the look on the face of little Kindra when she is forced to allow atypes to come from her precious queen! Alas I shall have to content myself with my imagination.

I must sign off now; Acriculeth and I are transporting some goods and passengers to Malvren Weyr. Not especially prestigious, but it is important to show that we are willing to be called upon at all times and for any task that is required of us.