Name: Y'vel
Age: 43
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Homosexual
Weyr: Western Weyr
Rider Rank: Wingrider
Previous Rank/Craft: Journeyman Harper
Physical Description: Tall but not towering, Y'vel has piercing silver eyes and long raven black hair with a single white streak starting at his right temple. Broke many hearts in his ill spent youth. Possesses a faint air of tragedy, an intangible aura of regret.
Personality: Born the son of a minor holder, Y'vel felt the weight of responsibility almost immediately - and instantly rebelled against it. During his early Turns he was known for his showmanship and flair, and a certain devil-may-care attitude. Though he kept this mask up in the public's eye, in private moments with certain intimates he revealed a more tender, vulnerable side. The acerbic wit and arrogance that marked his encounters with the hungry public was exhausting for the young man to continuously portray, and he learned to avoid such encounters when possible. The contradictory elements, his reclusive nature and need for applause, finally fell flat when his father tired of his behavior. Ashamed, he fled to the Harper Hall to pursue further training and use his skills for good.
As he grew older, the weight of that responsibility became a yoke, a certain duty that he felt compelled to answer. With things strained between himself and his estranged family, and the loss of a dear lover, Y'vel turned to isolation to find desperately needed peace. He threw himself into his work, becoming all the more reclusive as he did so. Nothing could have changed the path he was set on-- nothing, except, of course, a single, tiny egg on the Hatching Sands when he went to perform for the occasion. The egg was still, not moving, but a tiny voice within cried out for his aid. Answering, Y'vel found himself a dragon rider, with a heart that opened only to the little creature whose devotion lay entirely with him.
He is a quiet man, conscious of his own guilt where his lover's death was concerned. Although he did not push him down that path he also did not hinder him. As the Turns have passed he has remained reclusive, no longer putting on the airs he did as a quite young man. His upbringing as a Holder's son is apparent in his carriage and demeanor, for he has taken on the more positive aspects of such, bearing himself with nobility and compassion. He has a fierce sense of justice and a need to protect those who look to him. That sense of duty extends beyond his own kith and kin, encompassing all those less fortunate than himself, and any who find themselves in peril.
Positive Trait List Noble, Loyal, Empathic
Negative Trait List Reclusive, Tortured, Self-Denying
History: In the early days following the so-called final Pass a small hold named Haven was formed by the son of a son of a Holder, although the exact lineage has not been clearly traced. Haven, founded in the newly discovered Western Continent, took advantage of its early start to grow into quite a trading hub, though not the main one on the continent. Of particular note are the fine runners that the Hold boasts, where lines have been carefully groomed and crossed in a manner unseen elsewhere in Pern, or so the Holders would have you believe. And so, over the Turns, Haven grew in wealth and prominence, created after the fashion of so many Holds before it, though without the aid of the ancient technologies. It is said that the finest of masons and smiths have been put to the task of outfitting the Hold as of old, though the design features significant wooden inlays in the interior, which are something of a departure from tradition.
Forty-three Turns prior to the 10th Pass a young scion of this Hold was born, bringing with him a controversy never before faced by his father. Was this lad his own true heir? While he closely resembled his mother, his features were too fine to belong to the rough hewn man. It seemed improbable, as the boy grew to be less and less like her father, that the lady had not strayed. So, although young Yavelan had done nothing to incur his father's wrath, the man spurned him all the same. When the boy developed a talent for music, his mother encouraged that interest, hiring him tutors and allowing him to spend extra candlemarks with the journeyman assigned to the Hold.
It was that time that got Yavelan in trouble, for the more he grew to know Aiden, the more fond he became. Knowing that it angered his father, the young man paraded himself about the Hold and put on airs, styling himself as would a more prominent Holder's son. He knew that he was attractive, and used it to gain the attention he so craved from his own kin. However, Aiden was not particularly impressed by his peacock ways, often poking fun at the young man and deflating his overly inflated persona. It was for this reason that the boy particularly admired him, although initially they were a little at odds.
He fell in love with Aiden before he knew what he was about, finally venting his frustration to the young harper before he could hold himself back. When the other confessed that he returned his affections, he knew precisely what he had to do. For Aiden felt that Yavelan possessed a certain talent that ought to be fostered at the Harper Hall. When he begged and pleaded with his father to allow him to go, he found the task all too easy. The Holder, he wished to instate his younger son as the heir, gave way without much of a fight, although he made it clear that he was ashamed of his son. Spurned by his father, Yavelan nonetheless ran away with Aiden to the Hall, where the journeyman was due to return anyway.
Once at the Hall, the young man discovered that he was a small fish in a sea of bigger fish, and regretted his rash actions. Yet it was too late. So, he turned his time and effort into becoming the best harper that he could, spending as much time with Aiden as was possible. Every moment seemed stolen, and he hated having to practically beg for the other's attentions. In a particularly low moment, he told him that he wanted nothing further to do with him. The journeyman harper, who had risked his career and everything that he held dear for the Holder's son, ran away once more. This time, however, he took a boat out to seek a hold on the other side of the world, far from Yavelan. It was only when his letter received no answer, and news trickled down to the lad that he realized that Aiden had been lost at sea.
Certain of his own culpability for that death, in terrible grief he threw himself entirely into his training, forsaking all else. He did not have a care for anything or anyone, least of all himself. He became more and more reclusive as time wore on, until at last his master requested that he attend a particular Hatching. He was to perform at the Hatching feast, and they had very little time, as they'd only just received word that the dragons had begun to hum. Rushing a-dragonback, the now-journeyman harper made it just in time for the very last eggs to hatch.
As it would happen, one of those eggs contained his future. From within a tiny egg, the frail voice of Desrath cried out, calling for the man. At first he did not answer, afraid to disrupt the ancient rite. When her calls became more and more frantic, he burst from the crowd, climbing down from the Stands as quickly as he could. He took his belt knife and pried the first shard of her shell free. As more and more of her tiny body was exposed, he knew that this little creature was his and his alone. And he was hers. My name is Desrath, and you are my rider, Y'vel! she spoke to him, and he marveled at the clarity of her thoughts as she turned suddenly rainbow eyes upon him.
In the turns that followed, he took to his duty as Desrath's rider with more grace and considerably greater comfort than he'd ever done in any other capacity. She eased some of the pain within him, loosing him from the shackles he'd unknowingly built for himself. While he carried grief within him, he was able to assuage some of that hurt by helping others, which he became obsessed with doing. As he'd thrown himself into his studies, he now threw himself into his duty as a dragonrider, for duty was something that he already knew all too well. In recent turns he has found himself forced to try to evade a quite determined young man who has pursued him rather relentlessly-- a man many turns his junior! He has thus far attempted to keep up a barrier between the two, not quite letting him in.
Other: He still plays his guitar and lute in his free time, performing only for those closest to him.
DRAGON
Name: Desrath
Age: 23
Color: White
Size: 10 feet
Physical Description: White from snout to tail, with pale stripes that wind up her tail and neck. Desrath is very, very petite, even for a White dragon. She's able to carry at the most, the absolute most, three adults and perhaps several children on top of that. Strong for her tiny stature, she makes up for her size in sheer speed. She takes a quiet pride in her own well portioned form. If she didn't, Y'vel would do so for her.
Personality: Brimming with quiet wisdom and serenity, Desrath fills her rider with a peace that he never had before he pried her from her shell. She has a nurturing nature, and delights in helping others to reach their personal best when possible. She also has a somewhat vain streak, and is well aware of how striking she and Y'vel are as a pair. While technically neuter, and disinterested in mating flights, Desrath has been known to cuddle up to other dragons for affection. In her heart of hearts she believes that one day she will find her one true friend. Perhaps that friend will be of a romantic nature, or perhaps they will simply keep her good company. She is conscious of how small she looms in a world of heroes, and intends to make a name for herself and Y'vel. When slighted, she very rarely forgets who did the slighting, and tends to find excuses to avoid them or to sidestep whatever it is that they wish of her. At her core, she fears rejection and abandonment, as she felt quite alone on the Hatching Sands. No Candidates drew near her shell, and she had to call for several minutes before Y'vel finally came to her aid.
