Rider Name: Luka
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Hetero
Rank: Wingrider
History:
Luka grew up near Benden in a small Holder family. They lived closely with the other families in their Holding raising caprines and growing basic hearty crops. Nothing terribly fancy and while they were close enough to the bustling Bitra to keep up on the ongoings of society, they were far enough away to keep that quiet almost tranquil feel to their community.
Luka was the second daughter of Kaerik and Luliane. Her elder sister made a favorable match with a younger son of a neighboring holder and lived with him on a new plot their father had carved from his own land. The rest, would go to Luka once she was married and her father retired or so Kaerik had hoped. Luka proved to be difficult to find a match for. Unlike proper holder daughters, like her sister, she wasn't exactly quiet and demure. She wasn't the type to learn womanly tasks and at the age of 17 had gained a less than respectful reputation. Not many wanted to saddle their sons with a wife like that and Luka was inclined to choose her own lover... which she did more than once.
Her most recent, a young man who himself was engaged to a younger woman, was just as wild as her in secret. It was well known that he enjoyed a drink with the boys and a game of dice maybe a little too much, but his affair with Luka was kept carefully quiet. For over a turn as he waited for his arranged bride to come of age, Luka and he met in private. Together they indulged in all of their shared vices, from drink, to betting, to less than savory acts. For appearances sake, Luka still flirted with the other boys, and when seen in public, they acted like casual friends. Luka thrilled with the forbidden secrecy of it.
When she discovered she was pregnant she hid it from her lover and her family, unsure and afraid of what to do. Pretending a problem doesn't exist doesn't make it go away though and after a time, it became obvious something had to be done.
Her lover wanted nothing to do with a child. He was engaged after all and stood to better his own situation once the marriage became official. Luka had been a place holder, a temporary fling in his mind. He cut off their relationship immediately and threatened to ruin her family should she name him the father.
A trip between was out of the question, even if they'd been close enough to a weyr to request the services of a rider they couldn't afford it. Nor was it early enough in the pregnancy for her to take an herbal mixture to abort the child. Luka found herself trapped in reality for the first time. Feeling cornered, she did everything she could to convince her lover to marry her instead. Even though she didn't want to be married, she wanted to raise a child on her own even less. She was rejected and threatened further every time.
When she looked at her reflection and realized she couldn't disguise her growing stomach anymore she snapped. In the darkness she took her father's hatchet and went on a rampage of her ex-lover's property. She tore down the fence of his pasture and broke open the stable doors, releasing most of his livestock.
She was caught in the act, the sound of a hatchet thudding into solid wood and the lowing of animals being hard to hide. The story got out as the Holders discovered the reasoning behind the rampage. All three families where shamed, and Luka was quickly tried and sentenced to exile. She had until she became too large to be useful, or the first Threadfall in the area to find shelter. If she didn't, well they weren't going to see her again anyways.
Lucky for her, it didn't take long for Luka to be discovered by a band of holdless and less time for her to worm her way into their community. It was among their number where she learned to use her natural tendencies towards manipulation and greed to benefit the group as a whole (which in turn heightened her own standing). It was also with them that she eventually gave birth to a daughter of her own who she named Kalua.
Their band generally roamed the area between Benden and Bitra, with their own 'home base' deeper in the valley to the west. While those with the skills to do so would hunt and scavenge for them, it was through petty theft that they made their living. As such, they were generally close enough to society that when the Revolution struck and Keller took control of Benden, they heard about it. Then, when he opened to gates to anyone willing to work towards the common goal, regardless of their background, they joined the flood that soon filled Benden's halls.
The moment Luka was officially a member of Benden, Kalua was dropped off in the creche to be raised by someone far more interested in the task than she was. Luka was still young at 19 and ready to see what this new wherhold had to offer her. Right off the bat she was accepted as a candidate and while the fact that she was expected to do chores and attend lessons burned, the thought of Her. Luka. Becoming a dragonrider after she was rejected and exiled from her home gave her a malicious sense of glee.
And if she aged out, she could always get herself a wher. A wher might even be better. IT at least can harm humans.
Too bad for the whers that Luka would not be looking for one of their number in the end. A bouncy, loud, and somewhat flashy blue found her at the first clutch laid after Keller's take over. If she thought candidate lessons and chores were tedious, now she was saddled with double the amount AND a baby dragon to care for on top of it.
Caring for Lophorinth never seemed as much of a hassle as caring for Kalua had been. Luka even enjoyed it and grew to love her blue more than anything she ever had before. Once they were out of weyrlinghood they were assigned a wing, and their own private weyr (another luxury that Luka reveled in), and initiated quickly into the plans and skills one would require to help preserve and expand Keller's ideas.
Young and full of bravado, Luka and Lophorinth were disappointed in their small role in the recent attacks. Loph's age, and Luka's contrariness when given orders put them low on the list of reliable wherholders. To add insult to injury, Luka fell prey to the poisoned rations left behind by the riders of Trine.
She spent two sevendays 'ill' and another claiming she was too weak to work with her wing. Only now, as the preparations for the gather get underway, has Luka come out of hiding looking surprisingly chipper for a woman who was supposedly near death.
Description:
Luka hasn't weathered her exile and the revolution well. At 5'4" and 120lbs she looks nothing like her former curvy self. Other women may be able to pull off petite but Luka's sharp hip bones and distinct collar bone show how much her body as lost. Any tan her skin may have had has faded from lack of sun exposure as she spent time indoors recuperating. Her once healthy brown hair is now kept short around her head. Luka's hazel eyes are still bright and un-yellowed.
She has few belongings, having lost everything only a few turns ago, but her time spent at the Weyr has been fruitful to say the least. She's cajoled and traded her way into a handsome set of riding leathers using items she lifted during the raids of Trine and scavenged leftovers found in abandoned weyrs. She decks herself out in the colors of her new home, dedicating her loyalties to Keller and his men, at least until such a time as the tide turns at which point this rider will be gone before Keller can blink.
Personality:
Luka is very self absorbed. She doesn't feel she is entitled to or deserves something but she WANTS it anyways. She's not the hardest worker, nor is she particularly driven to attain her desires through effort, but what she is is opportunistic. Luka can metaphorically lie-in-wait till she sees a clear shot or easy road to her desires then she'll jump on them. She's not above using anything in her arsenal of feminine charms to worm her way into someone's good graces.
Luka's main prerogative is to have fun. Whether that's actually being good and enjoying anothers company, or being bad and ignoring responsibility for personal pleasure it doesn't matter. So long as it's fun for her, she's in. Consequences and repercussions down the line barely phase her. She doesn't quite grasp the idea of punishment until it's already too late.
She is selfish and can be quite immature emotionally. Especially when upset. She's the type to throw a tantrum, to kick, scream and yell until she gets her way. Her outburst over her lover wasn't exactly out of character, but was more a desperate act of a woman prone to melodrama and at her wits end.
When it comes down to it, despite her selfishness, her vanity and her manipulative ways, Luka does just want to have fun, and you can't have fun if you make an enemy out of everyone you meet. On an average day in her normal life, Luka is friendly and sociable. She likes to gossip, she likes to chat, she likes to flirt with anyone who looks at her. Luka thrives among company. Her friends, when they're made, are loved and spoiled, because when people love you, you tend to reap the benefits.
Other: I asked Skie before writing her history if it was safe to assume there have been NPC/behind the scenes clutches at Benden and Malvren so Luka could Impress there.
Dragon
Name: Lophorinth
Age:3
Colour: Blue
Description: Lophorinth's...a bit funny-looking. His wings are enormous, oversized and ungainly, and his tail is long and thick. His legs are long - particularly his forelegs, giving him remarkable agility on the ground for a dragon. They will always be that way. He'll grow into the wings, but the tail is always going to be a bit long, and he's always going to have a tendency to thump things with it. As he grows, he'll more or less even out into a lean, broad-chested dragon, though his wings will always be quite large. Or maybe it's just that Loph is small and the wings would look better on a bigger blue. They don't offer any particular talent, though, as Lophorinth tends to be suited to short, quick flights from place to place. He's just more comfortable on the ground, simple as that.
Loph is going to be gorgeous when he grows up, hide darkening to midnight-blue save for a swathe of vibrant turquoise across his chest.
Size: Small
Build: Below Average
Personality:
Heeeeeeeeeeeeey sexy ladies!
Loph is...a little dragon with a big personality. He's loud, he's proud, and he's totally ready to get into as much trouble as physically possible. All the time. It's not malicious like some of his other siblings, though. Loph doesn't start fights or mischief, and he's not the kind of person going out playing pranks. His kind of trouble is more the "Oh, Faranth, where have you been...and how are you covered in paint? We don't even have paint at the Weyr" type. The kind that rarely makes sense but is always entertaining. The kind that gets him attention.
Lophorinth loves attention. He loves being looked at. This little blue has a swagger in his step to rival a bronze, and he's always ready for some new and interesting way to get all eyes on him. Loph either doesn't know that Benden is a Wherhold, or he just doesn't care. He sees the world as his playground, and he wants to share this view with his rider. Loph loves his rider standing out as much as he loves standing out. Here is his rider, everyone! Look at her! Isn't she awesome?
That's what Lophorinth thinks about most females. They're awesome. Human, dragon, wher...doesn't matter. Loph loves the ladies, and he wants all of them to love him, too. He's a shameless flirt, and quick to puff himself up and show off to try and catch a pretty female's attention. It might be in Luka's best interest never to tell him that his sire was brown - unless she wants him chasing the new Weyrwoman's dragon when she rises. And Loph would try, too. He'll try with every female dragon. But he's of the mind that it's not just the Flight where you have to impress them. No, they have to know who you are way before they rise. Which is why he will undoubtedly try to woo the ladies with his sweet dance moves. That's right. Loph dances. Admittedly, he dances badly, but he still does it. Lots of flailing wings and rhythmic tail slapping and generally getting up in ladies' faces. It doesn't earn him many admirers. He's convinced that someday, eventually, it will.
He views other male dragons as rivals. Luckily, Loph isn't really the fighting type. Instead, he's the "puff up and swagger and show off my sweet dance moves for the ladies" type. Most of his rivalry is good-natured, and it helps that he's small enough that most other males can sit on him if he gets too annoying. There's not much that can dissuade Loph from chatting someone up, though. He's a genuinely friendly dragon. Dragons, people, even whers - he's totally interested in everything everyone has to say, and he's the sort of dragon who's always going to have friends in unlikely places. Unfortunately, he doesn't really have a filter. It'll be up to Luka to keep him in check and make sure he's not chatting up the Traditionalists while she's not looking. Because Loph has a lot of things, but common sense? Reeeeeeeeeally not one of them.
When it comes to his siblings, Loph likes everyone. Even the grumpy ones. And most of them will be pretty all right with him, too - even if he annoys them sometimes. It's hard to hate someone who so genuinely wants to try.
Other: Lophorinth written by the wonderful people at Wardens Weyr!
