Character Name
Name: Rokana
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Candidate: Yes
Craft/Rank: apprentice vintner crafter Guard. How degrading.
Appearance: Rokana is a lean and long young man, quick and detailed in most of his ways. His long black hair falls down past his shoulders, usually combed back and braided, but on occasion loose and hanging about his face. Bright blue eyes sit atop beautiful, high cheekbones, and almost always have a sly sparkle to them. His skin is a beautiful shade of olive, lips delicately thin, but full. Unlike some at wardens, like that nasty girl Brakesh, he is almost obsessively clean, and while he does not expressively despise being dirty, he will give you a dirty look if you stain his clothes. Most of his appearance is manicured, a telling sign of his richer bloodlines, and rather odd for a guard. In fact, most things about this young man seem manicured: the way he annunciates his words, the way he moves, but there is also a boldness about him, a certain lack of fear that shines through in that cocky smile of his, and those sly, sparkling eyes. Someone from earth might liken his over all demeanor as something between a fox and a snake. By some, and far from his egotistical ears, he's been described as having a dangerous sort of beauty, not unlike the grace of a tiger and the gleam of its eyes just before it eats you alive. He is muscled, but leanly, practically. He despise bulky, cumbersome bodies, instead favoring his quickness and accuracy over brute strength any day. Not that this hasn't stopped him from getting his nose bloodied when his big mouth refused to shut.
Personality:
Rokana is a sly creature, ever planning in every direction. His usual demeanor could be described as calm, almost gentle, if not for those sparkling sly eyes betraying his true nature. Those sparkling eyes see everything, ever observing and watchful for every little detail. He has his father's talent for striking deals, but is very crafty in his risks. If the possibility of a deal going sour might damage his other plans, he will likely engineer things in advance so he might not even be connected. You may know he's responsible, but you'll never be able to prove it.
On most days, it seems impossible to ruffle his feathers. He will laugh off an insult, only to retort in his own sly, intelligent, smart-a** manner. In some cases, his insults can be so flowered and filled with cumbersome words that it leaves those on the duller side wondering if in fact they have been insulted at all. That sort is his favorite, when he manages to call someone stupid, and prove it at the same time. He is a creature who is driven by interest and want. If he finds something fascinating, regardless of wether he truly likes it or not, he will stick around, observe and watch. Most people make friends of people they like, but Rokana will look past just about any fault if he finds you interesting--but sadly, most simply bore him to death. As for his want... If there is something that Rokana wants, there is nothing that will keep him from getting it. He will plan. He will be patient. He will stand there, with that sly gleam in his eye, knowing that you will give him exactly what he wants, exactly how he wants it, you just don't know it yet.
Restlessness and boredom are his most bitter enemies. He despises being idle, and one will never see him more irritated than when he is bored. Those sparkling eyes go dull and angered, while his lips press into a fine line. He is constantly searching for something to keep his interest, something to amuse. If not, he's working on his plans to claw his way out of Warden's. Of current, he has a few plans set in the beginnings of motion, the idea of running a Winery for one, his tea for another, along with other plans. He is under no illusions, and knows that most of these plans will not succeed, and so he has begun a spider web approach, chipping away at every angle he can, and will use sheer determination if he has to, in order to get out of this filth hole.
Most see him as a charming, but cocky individual, fascinating in his ways. The particular way his uniform is always perfect when it shouldn't be so, the way he will hold a genial conversation with just about any prisoner as if he'd just met them on the street of the marketplace. He finds those in the unstable block (the few times he has helped patrol there) terribly fascinating, and would yammer with them for hours if given the chance, puzzling over exactly how things work in their fractured noggins. He is anything but straight forward, and has been known to give the most confusing run around most have ever witnessed. He can talk you in circles for hours, and has an overly simple, blunt answer for everything. When heated, he can come off as a know it all, and there are times when the thinks he actually does. At very least, he is sure he knows more than they do.
The one thing he cannot tolerate is stupidity. If you are stupid and cute, then perhaps you have a chance of being spared, and getting ignored instead. If you are simply stupid, he will not give you the time of day. He is curt with stupidity, and will talk down to anyone who dares to (as he puts things) 'insult his intelligence with such dull nonsense.' In his mind, everyone should take the time to educate themselves, perhaps not with books, but something. Nothing will rile him more than sheer stupidity. That much can be promised. "You. Are. An. Idiot. I'm unsure why you bother breathing, because by my calculations you're lowring the intelegence of the entire Weyr--and most around here can't afford to lose anything to begin with."
History: Rokana's father built his trade business from the ground up, quite litterally. He strained through most of his life to create the lifestyle he raised his son in, a heap of hard work that likely did no good, not as far as the child was concerned. Rokana grew up a very privileged child. When he ran in to trouble, his father was always there to bail him out, which in retrospect, only worsened his behavior. Unlike most, Rokana never had to work a day in his life before he came to Warden's, not really. In his adolescence, he was sent to learn a craft, and to his nature he chose Vintnercraft. What better way was there to make money than dumping fruit in a barrel and letting it do its own work? Of course it was far from being as simple as it seemed, but the nature of the work suited him rather well. He grew his little crops, and tended his little brews, and blew whatever money he made on whatever he pleased--after all, his father provided everything of consequence to him. Cocky and self serving, he would pick fights, start crap, just to sit and watch the fireworks fly. Every thing he had done was simply for his amusement, and he refused to do anything for any other reason.
There came a day, as there does with every parent, when his father was quite simply tired of his s**t. This was a man who had gone to the ends of the earth to ensure that his son never had to live the way he had, never had a want for anything, and now he had ended up with a rather useless son who hardly did anything but cause trouble and drink the wine he was supposed to be selling, but there was nothing to be done! What could he do, send his son to the streets, to beg and plead, and become yet another duster husk? Just the thought of doing something so horrible to his son turned his stomach, even if the little b*****d deserved it horribly. Then came the day when Warden's Weyr opened its doors. Rokana was not the only member of his family who was terribly sly--after all, the trader had been keen enough to build a rather solid empire. He laid down the foundation of his plan carefully, making sure his son had no inkling of what was to happen.
When the day came that his plans had been laid out, and properly prepared, Rokana never saw it comming. At dinner, his father had a gleam in his eye, one that Rokana knew better than to ignore. Something was going to happen, and if he trusted his instinct (which tended to be right about such things) it rather bluntly meant that something bad was in store for him. Surely enough, as his father finished his plate, he stood, and proclaimed that he had an announcement to make. Rokana could only stare in stupified awe as his father proceeded to tell him that he would go to Wardens to find work--his father had already prepared the paperwork and transport would be ready in the morning, where he would make a living on his own--for his father would put his foot down, and refuse all communication with him much less any funds the young man might need, and lastly, he would return to them when he had made a life and fortune of his own--for if he did not, the old man would write him out of the will, and instead make a very generous donation to Warden's itself to pay for the trouble that he was sure his son would cause. It would be a vast understatement to say that the young man was less than pleased.
Rokana's first year as a guard was hard. It was far more labor than he liked--not to say that he lacked the strength, but rather the want. Guard life ill suited him--the pay was bad, and the work was hard, but soon he had a small crop of fruits--tended in his spare time--which along with his reserves would begin a small, home run winery. To further add to his repitoir, he purchased various other herbs and plants, drying them for teas and spices. Slowly, he's begun to realize that he enjoys the work of tending his little crops and wines, but most of all, his teas. There was something about the aroma of a fine tea, the way it flowered and blossomed when the water was just right. It became his therapy, in a way. Of current, he has ammassed quite an array of teas through traders and his own skill, ranging in those that simply taste nice, to those that will help cure ailments and heal the body. Mind you, he never directly claims they'll actually do anything,but if it will increase a sale,well then...
He had been a very angry young man when he had been thrust into Warden's, blackmailed by his account to do so, but with time, things began to change. It was obvious that he would not be able to wriggle his way out of this one, and once his anger subsided, the clever boy's planning began. He aims, rather determinedly, to make his way out of Warden's one day, and he'll be damned if anyone will tell him otherwise.
Other stuff: To balance him in his ways, I would love him to have a strong willed dragon, someone who will quickly pick up on his shenannigans and refuse to be a pawn in it, perhaps even throw a wrench in his plans if the dragon thinks it would teach him a good lesson. Or, a dragon who would be more than happy to collaborate in his rider's plans, but again, refuse to be a simple pawn. Color and sex are not important but the need for someone who can stand on equal ground with him when it comes to schemeing is essential. On the same note, however, to have a weaker willed dragon of whom he takes advantage of would be a very fun dynamic as well, and perhaps would teach him an even better lesson. He has never had any qualms about using others to his advantage, its the entire reason for his genial and friendly nature, but to take advantage of someone he has such a deep connection with, a connection deeper and unlike any he has ever had before, to feel the wound once the dragon found out it's beloved rider had used them as a pawn, might make him think twice about doing it again. It likely wouldn't stop his behavior completely, but to feel what others feel when he takes advantage of them is a fun prospect. So, I suppose either way. A strong willed dragon who will eventually either worsen his behavior by promoting it, or take it upon themselves to ruin a few of his plans, teach him a lesson or at least keep his antics in check. A weak willed dragon who will make him realize first hand how it feels to be used, and have to,and want to, apologize and make things right. I'm very excited to play either dynamic.
