Approved by Tawny
Handler
Name: Perchen
Age: 35
Gender: male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Rank: Master Woodcrafter (carpentry focus)
History:
Perche was born in Telgar hold to parents who were skilled craftsmen. They wanted their children to find a craft they were good at, so he and his two siblings were sent to try a variety of crafts with other craftsfolk around the hold, to learn the rudiments of them and see what they had an interest in. Perchen found he liked woodworking the best, and after a while he spent much of his free time with the woodcraftsmen, watching them work and helping with small tasks. He enjoyed watching them build large structures the best; he liked seeing something big and useful rise where nothing had been before, though at the well-established hold they rarely got to construct anything larger than a shed. He found repairing structures to be less fun, but felt better about it once he decided to look at it as a puzzle to try and select the right materials and arrange them in the optimum way.
He studied some basics with the woodcrafters at the hold, and at age 13 he sent to the woodcraft hall for further study. There he engaged in general studies for a few years, then studied directly under the Master of construction for the rest of his apprenticeship. He studied diligently, helping wither several small-scale construction projects at the crafthall and in the surrounding area, and at age 19 he was promoted to Journeyman. Within the Turn he was assigned to a hold on the Southern continent that was looking to expand, and needed a number of new buildings constructed. A Master was directing the work there, but wanted some Journeyman skilled in construction to assist.
The Master also had a wher to assist him at his work. Yet since the Master was growing old and felt he wouldn’t be able to reasonably tend the wher for much longer, he took the chance to test the Journeymen to see who would be best suited to wher handling. Perchen saw how useful and tame the creature was (rather at odds with what he usually heard about whers), and was interested in learning to care for him. The wher got along with him and the Master judged that out of all the Journeymen, he was best able to care for it, so he started training Perchen in the care and handling of a wher.
The wherhandling lessons continued after the construction project finished, so Perchen stayed at the hold and continued training with the Master while the other Journeymen were reassigned to other holdings. He studied wherhandling for about 3 years before the Master retired and Perchen became the wher’s handler. The newly renamed Persk traveled with Perchen from then on. Since some holdings didn’t want a wher around, even one so tame as Persk, that did limit his available job postings somewhat. Regardless, he managed to find several postings where his skill at construction and the wher’s strength was useful, and continued to refine his craft over the years.
When it became clear that Thread was imminent, many buildings that were previously solid wood had to be either rebuilt in stone or instead add protective outer layers of stone or tile. For a time Persk’s strength was employed hauling stone instead of wood, and Perchen worked with stonecrafters to renovate many buildings to be Thread-ready. -When the bulk of this work was complete, Perchen was called back to the Woodcraft hall to be promoted to Master, in light of his skill and dedication to the craft.
Thread began falling soon after. Perchen was initially worried that Persk might have an adverse reaction to Thread, Since dragons were said to have an innate desireto fight Thread, and whers where, after all, kin to dragons. But in time he found that Persk seemed to have only a passing interest in Thread, and was content to stay under cover or continue whatever he was doing during a Fall.
Perchen stayed at the crafthall for a while, helping to teach classes and educating people on how useful whers could be in their craft. Then a request came in for a major renovation project; a Southern hold hadn’t properly prepared their buildings for Thread and one of their largest structures was severely damaged by a stray strand before they managed to kill it. They needed someone versed in construction to assess the damage and direct repairs. Perchen was the most skilled craftsmen available, so he took the job. Once he got there he found the building was too damaged to fix, so it had to be torn down and entirely rebuilt.
While engaged in that project, the Revolution happened. As soon as news of the violent uprising, and the part whers played in it, reached the hold, some people began to cast suspicious eyes at Persk. Perchen found this exasperating. The holders and craftsmen had lived and worked with Persk for months now and never had any reason to complain about him before, and now because of the actions of people half a planet away, they thought he might be a danger? Even worse, some of them were giving Perchen the fisheye for being his handler, when they had welcomed him with open arms when he’d first arrived.
Once the building project was completed, he had originally planned to stay at the hold to help with any smaller projects for a time. But as the work neared completion, the Lord Holder began to politely hint that his skill might be better employed elsewhere. Other holders were not so polite, and loudly gossiped about him where he might easily hear. Even though the gossip had little base in fact, their callousness rankled and he was happy to get out of there when he had the chance.
The question was, where would he go from there? Back to the crafthall was the obvious choice, but word had it that while Trine was still under the control of riders, it was damaged and overcrowded. His skill and construction and repair would be very useful there, and after the Revolutionists had cast suspicion on his innocent wher, he was inclined to feel sympathy for the riders. But would they accept an unknown craftsman who arrived with a wher beside him? To be safe, he sent to the Master of his craft for a letter of introduction attesting to his skill and dedication at his craft, as well as the docility of his wher. This was sufficient to get him work at the Weyr, though he was employed mostly in the outer reaches for a time.
While he was there, a Revolutionist set fire to some buildings, resulting in yet more damage to be repaired. Perchen found it a terrible waste of effort, but returned to his work. Later the attempted theft of dragons eggs had little effect on him, though he sympathized with the upset mother dragons, and was glad to hear that the hatchlings were returned safely. Or at least all alive and well, as one seemed to be staying at a hold.
Things were quiet for a long while then, and life settled into a rhythm for a while. There was plenty of work to be done, repairs and new construction both, and although there was an underlying tension to everything, there were no conflicts for a while. Then the weyrfolk started recruiting people to train for sabotage missions against the Revolutionists. Although he understood to a point why they were striking back, he did not relish the conflicts resuming, had no wish to take part in it and kept firmly out of it all. Unfortunately, the Revolutionists did the same, attacking Trine and then raiding it to recover their captured allies. Although Persk was unfazed by the noise and confusion as ever, Perchen spent the conflict focused on keeping the wher away from anyone who might do him harm.
He was getting fed up with both sides at this point. Although there was perpetually work to be done at the weyr, he was considering leaving and going back to the Crafthall to look for a new post. When word got out that the rider of the gold who had stayed at a hold was trying to set up a new settlement, one unaffiliated with either side where everyone would get an equal say, it caught his interest. That sounded to him like a far more reasonable response to this conflict that repeatedly attacking each other. Better still, they were just starting out and needed someone to help build it literally from the ground up. He expected that the weyr and (particularly) the Revolutionists would not let her be, but he was willing to risk it and help her anyway. Besides, if the Revolutionists kept up their acts, he worried that soon there would be few places where Persk would be welcome, and he was too fond of his wher to get rid of the beast. The weyrhold promised to treat him fairly, too. So they set out for Euclid Weyrhold to lend their efforts to the cause.
Description:
Perchen is tall and broad-shouldered, with a build that is muscular but not thickset. He has dark brown hair that he keeps cropped quite short, lighter brown eyes, and square-jawed face with plain features. His hands are calloused and have a firm grim from many years of work. His clothes tend to be simple and sturdy, and he hears no ornamentation, it would only get in the way when he works. He does own a set of nice Gather clothes, but doesn’t bother to get more than one.
Personality:
In general, Perchen tends to present a businesslike manner when interacting with people; polite, professional and to the point. He’s not good at winding down and engaging in more casual social interactions, and any attempts to do so tend to come off as stiff or too formal. He’s honest and industrious, but somewhat of a perfectionist. He’s strict about getting the work done to his standards, and may insist that he or those working under him redo a thing until he feels it’s done right, even if that makes the work take longer than a timetable they were aiming for. He’s always willing to learn something new that could improve his work, and will polietly listen to people of all crafts and skill levels if what they have to say is useful.
He is happiest when he’s building; he likes to see new structures take shape, either by his own hands or under his direction. He works mainly on large projects, since he can’t get the hang of fine details or carving, and has little sense of style. Anything he designs tends to be sturdy and useful rather than aesthetically pleasing. He’s perfectly willing and able to follow any blueprints you give him, but not is that creative when coming up with any on his own. In his spare time he enjoys logic puzzles or similar games that require logic or strategy, like chess (or the Pernese equivalent).
Other:
Wher
Name: Persk
Age: 24
Colour: Bronze
Description:
This large wher is built like a draft horse, with a barrel chest, a broad back and well-muscled legs. His neck is arched, though a little short for his size, and his head is somewhat narrow. His wings and tail are about average in size and shape.
(Pattern is colorist’s choice. Go wild! If you need inspiration, try looking at some horse coat patterns: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_complex#Patterns )
Requested Size: Large
Requested Build: Very muscular
Personality:
The overall impression that anyone gets of Persk is that he’s docile. He’s a patient where and willing to work. He is, however, slow to get started and slow to stop, but steady once you get him moving. Once moving and he settled into a task he can pick up his speed a little, but is by no means quick even as the best of times. He doesn’t spook easily, and is in fact slow to react to most stimuli. He’d need a pretty big scare to get any major reaction from him. While he’s not exactly dim, his mental processes can be a bit slow. He may need some time to understand instructions if his task is any more complicated than “pull this cart until I tell you to stop.” Perchen has to be firm and often repeat himself a time or two to make sure the instruction sticks.
He is a food-motivated wher. A quick way to get him moving is to promise him a treat or hold food out for him. He may occasionally amble off if there’s meat in his vicinity, but unless it’s sitting unguarded on the ground, he just kind of hovers hopefully instead of trying to snatch anything. People have offered him bites of food enough times that he continues to sit around people with food looking attentive unless made to leave.
Although he dislikes light, like all whers, his previous handler had rigged up a set of blinders that limit his vision to a narrow band ahead of him. Combined with his general unflappable nature, they leave him willing to work in the daylight if called upon, though of course be prefers to work at night or in dim light
Other:
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