Orren
Name: Orren
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Candidate: Yes
Craft/Rank: Cook / Not Actually Awful At It (that's definitely a rank)
Appearance: Orren is a tall man, measuring 6'1'', but he is by no means a slender, delicate flower: his wide shoulders and sharp jaw are probably the first thing someone looking at him would notice. His hair is black, curly, and long enough to be tied back into an unruly ponytail at the nape of his neck -- he likes it out of his face at all times, given the sort of work he does. His eyes are light brown and sparsely lashed, half-hidden under thick black eyebrows. His tan skin is ruddy, especially around his aquiline nose, thanks to being inside in a hot kitchen most of the time, and his long, dextrous hands have their share of burn scars from picking up too-hot implements or being splashed with cooking oil. He is fairly well-muscled, though given his body-type it's more wiry muscle than anything one would see on a body-builder, and thus his fair amount of strength (especially in his upper body) often takes people by surprise.
Despite the seemingly menial, grunt-type of labor he does, Orren is a jovial man, and it shows on his face. His mouth is creased with laugh lines perhaps beyond its years, and his eyes are well on their way to developing crows feet: when he smiles, he smiles with his whole face. He wears simple clothing, well-worn, and it suits him: this is not a man who would look good in a high-ranking Weyrleader's outfit. He simply seems suited to blending into the background, and is quite good at it, despite his height.
Personality: As is made obvious in his appearance, Orren loves to smile and laugh. He is a jokester of the first degree, and will often pull harmless pranks on his fellow kitchen staff just to pass the time and lighten up their day. He is the type to try and make everyone's day a little brighter if he can: this mostly comes in the form of eating the food he cooks which, even when it's going to the prisoners, he puts as much care and work into as if it were going to the higher-ranking Weyr officials. It is his opinion that everyone, even criminals, still deserve some small sign of kindness, someone who at least sees them as human. This perhaps too-softhearted view of the world has gotten him mocked occasionally, but he sticks to it: Orren is a man of conviction. If he believes something, he'll continue to believe it until his dying day.
He is also not afraid to speak up if he believes something is wrong or unfair. He has a strong sense of justice, even if his concept of it is a little simple and perhaps too forgiving, and doesn't like to see anyone put down or hurt for no reason. Though he believes that the prisoners at Warden's are all incarcerated for a just cause and that the punishments they are given are generally deserved, if he sees or hears of something he believes to be above and beyond simple correctional activity, it will stay with him until he says something about it, even if that is merely writing a few paragraphs about it in the journal he religiously keeps. It is partially because of this mindset that he intends to attempt to impress: he feels his sense of fairness could be useful, and the only way to truly have it recognized would be to become part of the Watch.
He is also, by nature, a helpful man. That is, if you ask him to do you a favor, you need never worry that it won't get done or that he'll hold it over your head for a favor in return. Orren simply likes to be helpful, whether it gets him anything or not. He is perhaps a little simple in that regard: he grew up in an inn and barely ever left it, meaning that though many people came through and told fantastic stories of the world beyond, he himself remained firmly grounded in the here-and-now of simple life. He is not accustomed to those that would try and manipulate him or use him, because the thought of doing so would never cross his mind. Though he knows people can be cruel, he tends to believe the best of them until forcibly shown otherwise, which is a trait that will most likely one day get him into trouble.
He has never married, but he is something of a closet romantic and had his fair share of young maidens in the neighboring towns that caught his eye. Just as he idealizes riders as paragons of justice and virtue, so too does he idolize being in love. His parents are perhaps to blame for this, for they were always very close and did their best to teach their children that love and marriage did go together and that marrying for love was always the best choice, if possible. Though he may not find someone to his tastes at the Weyr, he is never one to dismiss a possibility, and still hopes that perhaps he'll meet someone and have a family of his own. That's one last important thing to mention about Orren: he adores children (of any species, it should be noted).
History:
Orren had a fairly normal life. He was born into a family who had owned an inn for generations and wasn't going to quit any time soon, and so his world was set out for him the moment he was born. Along with his two brothers and one sister, Orren learned the ins and outs of serving (and especially cooking) the moment he was old enough to hold the necessary tools. He was never dissatisfied with his lot in life: he had good friends in the additional hands, his family was close-knit, and the people they catered to were generally courteous (though he did learn at an early age, along with cooking, how to toss drunks out the door. His father didn't tolerate lewdness or brawling; keeping the inn looking pristine was tricky enough without collateral damage to worry about).
As the youngest of his family, Orren was generally stuck with the more menial tasks: fetching water, handling the small amount of livestock the family kept, cleaning up drunk messes that couldn't be avoided. Instead of making him feel bitter or put-upon, this instilled in him the sense of fairness that would later come to be one of his strongest traits. The entire family did important work: the work he was doing was just as essential as any of the more glamorous tasks reserved for his parents and his older siblings. So he did his work without complaint and grew tall and strong as the water vessels got bigger and handling the chickens and pigs turned to working the stalls for the traveler's animals as well.
When he heard about the creation of Warden's Weyr, and the fact that they were taking on applicants to bulk up an almost nonexistent staff, he jumped at the chance. He had always admired the Dragonriders for their (perhaps very exaggerated on his part) grandeur and sense of justice and to serve under them in some capacity, even if it was cooking for prisoners they caught, seemed like quite an adventure to the young man who hadn't been further away from his home than the next town down the road in thirty years. With his family's blessing, he set off to claim his place at the Weyr, and has now been working there for two turns, never complaining about his lot and never trying to gain favors or advance, save for his new ambition to Impress.
Other stuff: Bringing back an oldie from the original PB site (I think he'll be easier to play than Bastian and also I just really miss him)! I hope he still fits with the history; if not, I'm more than willing to edit him up past the little ones I already made.
