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Rider
Name: Mercy
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Rank: Assistant Weyrling Master
History:

Before Malvren

Mercy's early life was pretty uneventful, her mother was a weaver and as Mercy was an only child spent many hours teaching her daughter the tricks of the trade. Mercy always felt that her mother wished for her to be a weaver herself - and understandably so as the craft was seldom lacking for work. As she grew however Mercy gained a growing desire to follow in her fathers footsteps as a healer and when she grew old enough apprenticed under him.

She spent several years like this, working diligently to someday become a surgeon and spending her free time with local friends. When the search dragon and his rider appeared Mercy was somewhat startled when she was asked to come to the Weyr and stand - and it would certainly put a hamper on her life plans now wouldn't it? But on the other hand...it was a chance to see someplace new, learn something different and who would turn down an adventure like that? If it didn't work out and she failed to impress by the time she aged out..well she could always go back to being a healer right? And certainly there must be healers in the Weyr that could work with her from time to time...Her decision made Mercy set off or this new adventure.

Malvren Weyr

Being a candidate was hard work - not that she was a stranger to hard work but it was certainly a different kind of hard work then she had ever known as an apprentice healer. Still she was learning a lot and that made things interesting enough. When at long last the eggs hatched and she impressed to Aerith, Mercy knew that her life would never, ever be the same but it was a change that she embraced, it was as though a part of her that had been missing was suddenly there.

Raising a white was a challenge, even more so then her fellows who had also impressed to atypicals. Aerith was weaker then her brethren and prone to getting cold until Mercy used her weaver background to knit her a sweater - a hatchling in a sweater was hilarious to everyone who saw it but it did the job and by the time the little dragon outgrew it she no longer needed it. Despite all the odds Aerith was small..but thriving. Of course that was little consolation when it came time for all of her fellows to fly - being smaller Aerith was held back for quite some time, not that it really matter as in the long run they wouldn't be allowed to fly in a wing regardless.

Unsure of their path in life, Mercy eventually turned to teaching, Sure she and Aerith couldn't fly thread but they knew the patterns, the formations and she knew a heck of a lot about keeping baby dragons alive thanks to Aerith's youthful frailty. As an Assistant Weyrling Master the pair felt as thought they were finally contributing to the Weyr and no longer lost about their direction in life threw themselves into the role with gusto.

When Keller suddenly rose to power Mercy and Aerith found themselves in the middle of a battle they were not prepared to fight, oh they tried to fight for their home but in the end wound up fleeing badly injured - it seemed that many of Keller's minions wanted to add Pern's white dragon to their list of trophies. With Aerith wounded and to tired to fly the pair took cover in a secluded beachside cove, there they planned to rest until Aeith could fly and then would escape the horror show that was Malvren. While hiding they were found by Fick and his green Wher Ficsk - although on opposite sides neither of them wanted to fight anymore and Fick even managed to retrieve some of Mercy's belongings from her Weyr before returning and telling her that Malvren was as good as lost and Kellers People were looking for her. Gratefully Mercy bid the man goodbye and fled Malvren for good.

Trine Weyr

Mercy and Aerith remained in the wilds for some time after fleeing Malvren - unsure of Trine's fate and not anxious to reenter the fighting they pair hid out until Aeriths injuries had mostly healed and Trines victory was assured. Once at Trine Mercy and Aerith were relieved to find that may of their friends had also made it to the sanctuary that the victorious Weyr offered and threw themselves into helping with the rebuilding. When things had settled down the pair received permission to continue teaching and while life wasn't in any way back to the way it had once been the small return to normalcy was quite welcome.

When the stolen gold egg impressed away from the Weyrand her new rider refused to choose a side Mercy and Aerith went along with the Trine ambassadors to speak with her and to offer some information that the young rider might otherwise be missing with the lack of Weyrling lessons. During the meeting however Mercy and Aerith found themselves on the end of an attack - by a former student gone rogue no less! Fleeing once more the knowledge that one of her own students had tried to kill her and her dragon was quite traumatizing - and for a while Mercy considered giving up teaching.

Aerith's gentle persuasions managed to change her mind however, reminding her rider that the nature and personalities of their former students were in no way their faults, if they had gone bad then that was entirely on them - surely their teachings had helped far more then they had hurt in the long run and so Mercy continued to teach...but perhaps a bit of her endless cheer had been worn down, the world was not quite as bright as it had once been though she still made an effort to make it seem so for the sake of others.

Perhaps even worse then the injuries that they had both sustained in the fighting, worse then the knowledge that someone they had tried to help had wanted to dead was having to watch how the war changed those around her, friends became colder, more withdrawn - all in all it was a rather dreary time to be alive.

But she tried, She put a smile on her face and brought her weary and worn down friends pastries and cheerful words, refusing to give up on them even if inwardly she completely understood and perhaps even wanted to give up herself. Being cheerful was hard when one disaster seemed to follow another so quickly in succession, even the lulls were stressful as everyone wondered just when and where the next hit would come.

Keller's eventual downfall was like a great weight being lifted from Mercy's shoulders - yes things were changing, something's were still terrible and hard to live with but other things were good and hopeful and maybe the scars were starting to fade just a little bit although Mercy wasn't sure they would ever go away completely. Although the pair stayed out of the fighting (really they had already learned that lesson thanks) they spent a great deal of time tending to the wounded and continuing to teach, in truth not much has changed for the pair - they had never really fit into the Weyr's power structure and they still didn't being hampered more by physical limitations then rules made no difference in the long run...but they are content with their lot in life and hopeful for the future.

Description:

Although she is not what one would call incredibly beautiful, she's not plain either. Mercy is what one might call the girl next door and her cheerful personality tends to make her seem prettier then she is. Her hair is medium length and reddish brown in color with natural highlights ater spending hours in the sunlight. Her features are soft and she has an athletic build. Mercy is a bit vain about her hair often braiding several strands and tying feathers,beads and other such things into it when she can. She also likes to dress nicely feeling that it is important to look good for any given situation, and enjoys testing the talnts her weaver mother taught her and making her own garments when she has the chance.

Her skin is typically tanned - especially in summer when she spends a great deal of time in the sun but pales in the colder months, her eyes are a smokey blue color.

Personality:

Mercy could probably be described best as even tempered with a stubborn streak a mile wide, typically she's cheerful and pleasant - sometimes entirely too cheerful, but once something is ingrained in her head as 'right' or the 'proper way' to do things good luck on trying to change her mind! She is a creature of habit and sometimes has trouble adjusting to sudden and wide reaching changes in her life and she can seem a bit out of sorts until she readjusts to this new situation.

For the most part, however, Mercy seems driven by an overwhelming urge to heal 'the broken', whether physically or mentally. She often plays the peacekeeper, doing her best to smooth ruffled feathers after an argument or explaining away comments or actions which might be taken the wrong way. She's typically up-beat and never shys away from a good time. She tends to consider almost everyone she meets as a friend and has a burning desire to know everything that going on at the Weyr at all times. She's not a gossip but she certanly collects information like one.

She does not appear to be a leader at first glance - while it is unusual for her to volunteer to be the organizer of a group or example...she does tend to befriend whomever is technically in charge and express her own thoughts and opinons in order to sway things in the direction she thinks to be best, though she seems content to let others take the credit when these ideas actually work. Mercy likes to help...but dislikes being the center of attention because of said help and so she is more of a behind he scene manipulator then anything else, this is likely due to some inner self confidence issues though she tries hard, sometimes to hard to project the image of a confident young women.

Other:

Dragon
Name: Aerith
Age: 19
Colour: White
Description:

Hatchling, Adult, Weyrling Master

Personality:

Whites are genderless - they have no reproductive organs and so are neither he nor she. However, they do have frames of minds, and in this case, Aerith is more feminine though she will likely have comments that are either strangely neutral in their gender perspective or swing the full spectrum.

Personality: Aerith is decisive, when she's decided that something is right then it's right and there's no if's and's or but's about it. She's not afraid to speak her mind or stand up for herself once she's made up her mind ad while this might get her into trouble she's not a mean spirited dragon and often bases her decisions on what she thinks would be best for everyone involved.

She's not one to seek advancement in the wing, in fact she's perfectly content to play second,third,forth or even fifth fiddle to others, whats important to Aerith is that they all work together for the common good, she believes that only through this co-operation will her wing be 'the best that is can be' and that’s important to her. When it comes to socializing and making friends however she can be a bit reserved, choosing to pick her company carefully rather then make friends with everyone who happens to walk by, once she does make a friend however it tends to be for life and she easily forgives any infractions or mistakes these friends might make along the way.

Even while reserved with her personal friendship she generally comes across as a pleasant dragon, rarely one to make waves unless she feels it necessary and rarely with a harsh word on her lips. She's a positive beast preferring to see the world in a good light - even when thing might seem a bit dark - striving to make others do the same.

Why Me!? Aerith found herself drawn to Mercy's kind hearted nature and sunny disposition, like Aerith, Mercy tends to see the world in tones of sunlight and happiness, together they are the team sure to brighten even the worst day by pointing out whatever small amount of good their might be hiding in the corners. Aerith also found Mercy's adherence to the 'proper way' appealing, there isn't many cases where doing the proper thing would be bad for everyone else and that's important to Aerith who desires the good of the group over the good of the individual. Where mercy might be a bit to free with her trust and friendship Aerith's reservation acts as a check that might well keep hers from giving her heart to freely to the wrong person while Mercys outgoing nature ensures that Aerith in her reservation doesn't become a hermit of a dragon. When Mercy's confidence in herself falters Aeriths decisive surety in her's will be there to shore her up and eventually as time goes on Mercy might just find that confident young women act isn't really an act anymore.

Other:

Bumping Up