Name: Brynmor
Age: 24
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Unknown [he's never thought about it]
Craft: Glasscraft
Rank: Journeyman
Location: Tillek Hold
Physical Description: Brynmor’s looks do not exactly fit the classical definition of ‘handsome’. One of those men who started looking about 35 when he hit 18, his appearance already seems to carry a balance of experience that doesn’t quite mesh with the youth evident in his eyes. His is a face that it would be hard not to like or trust, with its strong features and clear hazel-blue eyes. The jawline is firm and square and his nose could almost be considered aquiline if it hadn’t been obviously broken at some point in the past. His eyes are set deeply beneath his broad forehead, giving him an almost perpetually thoughtful look, as though he is considering everything around him.
Slender in build, he stands noticeably taller than the average man (6’4”) and has the broad shoulders and vaguely-defined muscles of a man who has never really had to work very hard to keep in shape. There are a few scars here and there, mostly from burns that came as an unfortunate side-effect of his chosen profession. Also due to his Craft, he keeps his dark brown hair fairly short and out of the way. Not really one to worry about clothing, Brynmor prefers muted or neutral tones and can often be seen in dark greys or blues, with the occasional bit of white, vague red, or tan.
Personality: A sensible lad. Chances are, anyone asked about Brynmor would probably use those words to describe him. He has a thoughtful, steady demeanor that just seems to radiate someone who thinks before he acts, never does anything rashly, counts to ten before he gets angry, and indeed considers everything from all possible angles before making a final decision about anything. And some of that is even true.
Brynmor is a man of many facets. He is, in fact, a rather laid-back man, and it takes a lot to get him upset about anything, but it has been known to happen; his nose didn’t break itself, after all. His anger, however, is very like a dragon’s flame: when it appears, it is hot, intense, and can be destructive, but it’s gone just as quickly as it came. He has learned over the Turns to control it and has become far more levelheaded now that he’s out of his teens, but it’s still there waiting if he should ever need it again.
He likes a good joke, or an evening out – or in – with friends, some good wine, and perhaps a tall-tale contest or some other entertainment. Everyone needs some way to unwind, after all, and while he has his hobby sometimes that needs to be stepped away from too. Brynmor has had a tendency in the past to get so caught up in one facet of his work that he’ll forget about anything else and had to train himself out of it – eating and still having friends are kind of important things, after all.
An extremely creative man, Brynmor quite enjoys his work and has even turned part of his Craft into his hobby; while his specialty might be glasswork, he can often be found in his off-hours working on decorative tiles for various uses. On days with especially good weather – or when he has a surplus of time – he has even been known to make sandpaintings in the courtyard for the entertainment and amusement of the Holdfold – and the displeasure of the Headwoman, though that never seems to discourage him.
History: Brynmor was a Turnover baby, and half-unplanned. Indeed, the wedding of his parents was a slightly rushed affair as they realized their relationship was about to have unexpected – though certainly not unwelcomed – consequences. Morraine and Brynjarr had been engaged for a good half-Turn before it became apparent that they were going to have to speed the wedding up. The introduction of their son into the world was an event celebrated by all the small family, and little Brynmor was quite in danger of being spoilt as a baby – especially with the day of his birth being Turnover itself.
As the only grandchild, the doting continued well into Brynmor’s childhood with his grandmother sneaking him little sweets and bits from the kitchens and his grandfather making him little clay figurines to play with. Brynjarr and Morraine wanted more children, but it seemed fated never to be; after Morraine’s third miscarriage during Brynmor’s sixth Turn they finally gave up and Brynjarr turned his attention to making sure his son wouldn’t grow up too spoilt from all the attention.
Young Brynmor was indeed a little brat up until his tenth or eleventh Turn, with a temper to match. He disliked it intensely if he didn’t get something he wanted, though after getting grounded on his Turnday due to throwing a fit in the middle of the Turnover market when he was seven he began to keep his tantrums at least confined to the house. When he was eleven, his grandfather began taking more of a hand in keeping the youngster in line, taking him to the Craft Caverns and setting him to helping with the simpler, more mundane tasks. While there, Brynmor found that he was rather interested in his grandfather’s Craft, especially when it came to making the colors for the different materials, and promptly Apprenticed as a Glasscrafter as soon as he turned twelve.
Life as a Crafter did a lot to settle the young man out; when worth is suddenly defined not by who you are but by how skilled you are, it soon rearranges your priorities. Brynmor’s childish tantrums quickly came to a halt and he soon showed a decided knack for certain areas of the Craft. His temper, however, had not improved so well; he got into quite a few heated arguments and, at the age of fifteen, got in a fight with a fellow Apprentice over whose fault a kiln full of cracked pottery had been. They had both been nearby, but Brynmor had been deeply absorbed in a small piece of stained glass that was meant to grace a minor Lady Holder’s window as a suncatcher and had forgotten even to eat lunch that day, let alone that there was a kiln to mind, while the other Apprentice had been preoccupied with a visit from one of the young ladies of the Hold. The fight’s result was a black eye for the other young man, a broken nose for Brynmor, and remaking the entire order for the pair of them.
Feeling that his grandson might benefit from a location with more discipline, Jarrkein arranged for the fifteen-Turn-old Brynmor to complete his Apprenticeship at the proper Crafthall rather than continuing at High Reaches. Brynmor was less than pleased at the idea of leaving home, but eager to see what might be learned at a real Crafthall rather than being taught by those Glasscrafters stationed at home, so didn’t put up too much of an argument over it. It would be at the Crafthall that he would strengthen his knowledge of coloration, glazes, and colored glasswork, and at the Crafthall that he would further develop into the far more laid back man who would walk the tables at the age of twenty.
Mostly upon his own request, Brynmor’s first station was to be his home Hold of High Reaches. His family, overjoyed to have their young man home again, were surprised and pleased with the change in him. Brynmor was calmer, more level-headed, and had indeed grown into a sensible, quiet youth that was a far cry from the spoilt little brat he once had been. Everything seemed to be perfect and going forward splendidly...that is, until that fateful day when Thread returned to Pern.
It cost him most of his family. Both Morraine and Brynjarr succumbed to Threadscore, while his grandmother Maebryn – who had been having heart trouble – hadn’t been able to handle the strain of ground crew but had gone out anyway once it became clear the dragonriders could barely hold it back. Brynmor and Jarrkein – himself badly scored – made it out alive and Brynmor watched as his home fractured in the wake of the ‘Fall. Cries that more than only the High Reaches riders should have been prepared fell against pleas that no one could possibly have seen this coming, and all became deafening for the first few weeks after the initial 'Fall.
He has tried to stay out of that debate and move on from the shock, helping High Reaches to rebuild what damage was done however he can, and is only now able to bring his focus fully back to his Craft. That is not to say he is not under any pressure at all, however; Jarrkein seems to have been scored by more than just Thread, and has a desire to see the family line continue. As Brynmor is the only child, that duty falls to him...and he has no wife, let alone fiancée or ladyfriend. The young Journeyman is dearly hoping his grandfather won’t start truly pushing the issue, but that might not stop some of the older aunties from ‘encouraging’ a match between him and one of the young ladies of the Hold.
Other: I took a guess at what the possible civilian reaction to the return of Thread might have been ^^; let me know if I overstepped there.
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