Age: 27
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Demisexual - He won't jump just anyone's bones. He's got to have at least an emotional connection to them first.
Craft: Harper - Focusing in History
Rank: Journeyman
Location: Western Weyr
Physical Description: Harol doesn't cut the most imposing figure. He's slim with a thin, diamond shaped face and angular features. Standing in at five foot, seven, he's hardly the tallest man out there, but his rangy limbs and long, lean silhouette could sometimes imply height that isn't there, especially when he straightens completely with his head up and shoulders back. His habit of bending over books or notes and leaning in to look over shoulders to check work lend him a sense of being somewhat shorter than he is. As far as clothing choices to put on his lean frame, he tends to choose pieces that don't cling too much, garments that breathe and are easy to move in, but with pockets a'plenty if he can help it. Harol has a head of light brown curly hair that he tends to keep shorter on the sides and in the back with the top mop being kept short enough to not fall into his eyes when it does fall forward. The harper has kindly blue gray eyes which are sometimes used for dramatic effect when he needs to harden his expression to play the part of steely disciplinarian should any of his students decide to act up or willfully misbehave. Being very expressive in his emoting, the harper tends to avoid gambling types of activities. (He has no 'poker face'. None what so ever. It's bad!) He has to consciously try to keep his expressions neutral and professional when deal with some scenarios involving his work, like kids doing something wrong but are hilarious at the same time or if he has meetings with any parents or caregivers that may wish to speak with him, elsewise his face will give away any and all clues about how he's feeling or what he's thinking.
Personality: > Hardworking and punctual, a real nose to the grindstone type of person, when researching, working, studying, what have you, Harol dives head long into the tasks before him. He takes his work quite seriously and wants to let others enjoy the benefits of his work as well. Why mess around and delay getting something done by complaining or procrastinating? By getting it done, you free yourself up for enjoying your free time sooner. Of course, his definition of time runs differently. Very much a "If we're not early, we're late" type of fellow, the Harper values punctuality highly, mostly for himself, though he did get some small gratification from driving his more 'I'll get there when I get there' elder sister up the wall when they were in the Harper Hall together. You can bet that he's always there to greet the first children to arrive when it comes time for his lectures or lessons with a smile and a 'how do you do?'. It should be noted, however, that habitual lateness is a pet peeve of his.
There is one great thing Harol enjoys seeing is when his own excitement can ignite the passion and interest of others. Be it regarding a shared past time with his friends or when a particular favor subject of his comes up for him to teach and discuss with his students, he becomes lively and animated, encouraging participation and sharing. If something is enjoyed, why not spread the love?! A kid seem unsure of something but are expressing interest? Harol will gently try to help them move towards at least giving the thing a try. His friends and his work certainly fall well into his realm of things he'll readily sacrifice for. Losing sleep? Fine, he can make it up later. A student struggling? He clock the extra time trying to help them understand what might be giving them trouble. He's got a ready smile and a warm, welcoming manner for most occasions. Harol's fully capable of laying down the law and standing his ground. There's a time for being buddy buddy and then there's time for making sure things are accomplished. He's there for the kids he teaches, but he's an adult and will not stand being disregarded or disrespected.
He has a hard time saying no and can be over accommodating. The harper, while hard working, has trouble not letting himself taking on more work than he is able to do. During his apprenticeship, he practically had catch phrases of "I'll do what I can" and "I'll see what I can do" and "Sure, happy to help". Those lazy or especially manipulative apprentices who took notice of his willingness to be of assistance could get away with tipping some form of small task or favor off on Harol. He likes being useful, but he gets aggravated when he obviously is being taken advantage of, particularly in regards to known offenders or those who go on to take credit for his hard work. He has particular difficulty in regards to peers, friends, or family, even if he isn't on fire for the task or favor being asked of him. Unfortunately for the kids he teaches, he's less likely to give into what they may be wanting him to do. It's his job to make sure they learn the material, begging or finagling isn't going to change that fact.
He's a bit of a scaredy-cat. Now, there isn't a lot Harol wouldn't outright consider trying at least once. Of course, there are a few things that he actively avoids if at all possible. Heights being a big one. Steep stairs make him nervous. Being up in high towers or if he has to be around cliffs or overlooks, he gives windows a wide berth and keeps well back from any edge. Looking down from such heights make his knees feel weak and makes him feel an awful mix between queasy and dizzy. Flying? You've got to be kidding! He feels that he'd either lose whatever meal he had last or forget how to breath. No, he's perfectly happy walking, or taking a runner or maybe tagging along with a caravan to get from point A to point B. Those aren't his only fears. No. Harol has a lesser fear of storms, specifically the thunder and lightning accompanied with them. He has no problem with rain. It could be raining sideways, in sheets, and he'd be fine. It's the teeth rattling booms and those dangerous flashes of lightning that put him on edge. You can bet, if it's a bad storm, he'll try his damnedest to avoid being out in it. They've always bothered him ever since he was a very small boy. Then, of course, there's felines and Thread, but that's more common sense than anything, in his opinion.
History: Born to Liat, a herbalist, and Senen, a harper with a focus in instrument crafting, in Fort Hold, Harol was the couple's second child together. His older sibling is a sister named, Yana. He was a fussy baby and toddler, his troublesome ears regularly making him hurt or cry. His parents were patient with him and as he grew out of toddlerhood, his ears weren't quite so acutely, painfully sensitive as they had been when he was very young. His upbringing was pretty standard and uneventful, in his own words. The family was well off enough that they never really were left wanting of anything, but they weren't exactly wealthy either. They were comfortable monetarily speaking. Being based in Fort didn't hurt this. His mother, Liat, could bring he or his sister along without too much trouble to watch her with the numerous plants she worked with. His father, due to some of the sharper and more dangerous tools of his chosen trade, had to wait until the kids were a mite older before bringing them to watch him work. They both took great pride and pleasure from their work and hoped to instill such interest, or passion, in their children, encouraging them to explore their interests, whatever they may be. His sister, while enamored with the beauty of newly crafted instruments, felt the pull to learn how to play them, and learn to make and perform music. So, when she was of age to take on a craft, she began her apprenticeship in the Harper Hall. Around the same time, another baby was born into their little family, a little girl they named Adar. At this time, Harol was already showing interest in picking up the Harpercraft as well. His mother would occasionally joke with their father that 'this one is mine', referring to his baby sister.
When he entered the craft himself, he tried on the various facets of the Harper Hall, and while interested in the musical end of the spectrum, it didn't stick. He really got his chance to shine in his studies and eventually went on to find a great deal of enjoyment in digging through the historical documents and notes available to him. He had found his specialization and he took great pleasure in it. Around the time he was nineteen, a few Search riders had stopped at the Hold. They stayed for short time, but while there one of the team stopped him, expressing that he was a valid candidate for their Search, that he had what it took to be a candidate and maybe go on to impress a dragon partner of his own. He blanched at the prospect, eyes wide, and his brows shot towards his hairline. Flying? The thought of the regular heights, and a knot of anxiety settled heavily in his gut making him feel suddenly queasy. He couldn't possibly! He was getting ready to walk-the-tables! He was going to go into teaching! Sure, the dragons were big, magnificent creatures, but the soaring, swooping, diving, and all manner of other aerial expectations were too much. The normally articulate teenager stammered a thank you and politely turned the rider's offer down before beating a hasty retreat back to the Hall.
After successfully walking-the-tables, Harol was given a posting for a position in Keroon, for further studying and assisting in teaching with one of the Harpers there. During his trip there, he was scheduled for picking up with a caravan of traders who were supposed to be heading that way. Some severe storms had swept through the area that day and into the night. Come the morningtime when he came upon where he was due to meet up with them, there seemed to be chaos. People were scattered about, many were crying or holding onto friends, family, loved ones, making sure to keep the younger folk away from a certain portion of their encampment. Evidently, sometime in the night, lightning had struck. A couple of caravans and a cart had caught on fire, there were a few people dead. Harol hadn't ever liked thunder, but the things he saw that morning firmly cemented his long standing fear of storms. Those poor people were devastated. He did what he could to assist to help them pick up the pieces. They were delayed for a day while they laid their fallen to rest and salvaged what they could from the ruined remnants of the affected transports. The ride into Keroon was a solemn, quiet one for the adults of the caravan. To help, Harol did his best to help keep the young kids busy and entertained to give the adults time with their thoughts.
He spent two turns in Keroon, where he got an even better appreciation for runners, then spent a turn in Ruatha helping out with an influx of refugees that had streamed in around the time of his arrival, before returning for most of a turn to Fort. Upon hearing of an opening to teach in his own right, Harol jumped at the chance, having really grown to enjoy striking out on his own. Sure, it was nice to see his mother, father, and sisters, but duty called! So to Western Weyr he went, to help teach the weyrbrats and creche-kids there. He has been in Western for coming up on four Turns now, enjoying his work with the kids and Weyr life in general. With the return of Thread, his mind can be prone to pondering the what ifs in slow or quiet moments. It scares him to no end, but his top priority is making sure his pupils, while in his care or under his tutelage, are kept safe and out of harm's way. He'll do just about anything for those kids. He's grown quite attached to them. Whenever one of the Golds clutch, he makes sure to try and find himself a seat in the stands to watch to see if any of the kids he's taught or helped Impress.
Other: He generally has a pair of half-moon pince-nez glasses tucked away somewhere on his person, unless they are actively in use. He can see perfectly fine at a distance, but anything closer than an arm's reach tends to get blurry.
Harol has pretty sensitive ears. While a keen ear sometimes comes in handy to make sure answers aren't being whispered during reviews/tests, or if chatter isn't going on during class/study times, or if he has to harmonize with someone in the odd event of him singing with/in front of others, it makes thunderstorms an ordeal. The thunder rattles him to his core, makes his head and ears hurt, sometimes coupled with ringing in his ears when the weather is directly over the Weyr. Coupled with his fear of severe weather, there are some nights where he just can't sleep because his ears/head is hurting and his heart is racing from his nerves. He'll just anxiously wait for the weather to move on and the night to quiet. He'll be jolted awake by approaching thunder. Klah is his dearest and most treasured friend after nights such as those.
While he greatly enjoys the musical facets of his craft, particularly the skill it takes to play instruments, Harol doesn't seem to have a knack for it. Can't get his fingers to cooperate, he says. However, he's a pretty good singer when a musical mood hits him, or when he believes he's alone while grading work or reviewing his plans for his students and sings quietly to himself. When caught, he jokingly chalks it up to the fact that he essentially talks for a living, that his vocal instrument is always warmed up.
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Candidate Specific Questions
Do you want them to have an official Search RP? No, that's fine. He's already turned it down. Thank you though.
Do you understand they will age every passing year regardless if you're there to RP the or not? Indeed I do.
Do you want them to have a possible Stands Impression? Yes, if for no other reason than it'd be funny interesting character growth to have him tackle his fears so directly. I am fully aware of the rareness and the less likely chances of it happening. I am absolutely game to play him strictly as Journeyman Harper/teacher to weyrbrats and creche-kids alike. It's just fun to have that slim chance of possibility on the table, if that's okay. If not, I can readily just cut this section off since I believe this is the only thing differs between a crafter and a candidate form.
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As an adoptable, if you feel he hasn't been portrayed in alignment with the blurb in the adoption thread, please, do let me know and I will adjust/edit accordingly! I am happy to do so!
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Father - Senen (52) // Instrument crafter
Mother - Liat (51) // Herbalist
Sister - Yana (Three years older - 30) // Musician (instrumental)
Himself - Harol (27) // Historian/teacher
Sister - Adar (Five years younger - 22) // Had been a healer apprentice, now a candidate over at HRW and has been for a couple of turns now
