Name: Haliah
Age: 15
Sex: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Craft: Woodcrafter
Rank: Apprentice
Location: Western Weyr
Physical Description: Haliah has long, thick, curly (and sometimes a little frizzy) brown hair. She has a tawny complexion and warm brown eyes.
Personality: Haliah inherited much of her mother's freewheeling spirit, though fortunately not her complexes. She likes giving those she loves cheek, but knows enough not to try it with others. Not that she would anyway. To her, it's an expression of affection. She loved to sass her aunts and grandfather. With her, you'd only know you were really close when she started back talking you.
Haliah has always been pretty openly affectionate, the sort of little girl who was always stealing kisses wherever she could. With no parents, she took affection from whomever she could get it, always feeling a little insecure in people's love for her. As a consequence, she never lets her own feelings be in doubt. She's always telling her loved ones how much they mean to her, or doing little things to show her affection and make them happy.
Haliah has always been a wild one. Her mother's wanderlust infected her since childhood, always gazing into the next horizon with longing. But her deep ties to her family always just managed to keep it in check. Energetic and adventurous, she was always running about the hall like a bat out of hell. But Haliah is not quite as silly or ditzy as she first appears. She is the kind of person who likes to play dumb while secretly keeping tabs on everything and observing much more than anyone ever suspects.
Positive Trait List Free-spirited, Affectionate, Sharp
Negative Trait List Touchy, Cheeky, Lonely
History: Haliah's grandfather was a master woodcrafter. He raised his four daughters in the Hall, training them in the craft that went back generations in his family. The oldest two were twins, the next a bold and tomboyish girl who got along well with the other kids in the Hall. In a crowded hall with busy parents, the youngest daughter always felt unloved and out of place. Desperate for attention, she often attracted the wrong kind of person to her. By the time her family paid enough attention to notice she was falling for the worst kind of man, she was already in too deep.
When Lilah got pregnant, he left her. When she insisted he take responsibility for the child, her ruined her reputation by telling everyone how she slept around and the child could be anyone's. Still a young teenager, Lilah was distraught by this turn of events. Too ashamed to stay and face her family, she abandoned the baby at their door, then fled the Hall.
Haliah was raised by her grandparents and aunts, growing up in a world of ornate wooden inlays typically only seen in the grandest of Holds. Unsurprisingly, Haliah began to train in the same art almost as soon as she was able to hold a knife and a block of wood. Though she liked the craft, with no siblings and not many children around her age out there, she was always a little lonely. But one day, when her father was selling wares out in town, he came across a boy who expressed interest in taking up the craft. After finding out the boy had no where else to go, the kind old man invited him back to live with them and learn the craft. Haliah was delighted. Finally, she had something like a sibling! And the whole family treated him like one of their own.
When thread came, it was a shock to all of them. Their homes and workhouses were made of wood, although there was a small stone storehouse they were able to run to for shelter. Still, all their livestock, their family canine, and one of her aunt's children were killed as they fled the deadly rain. From their shelter, Haliah could do nothing but watch as their home all the beautiful creations her grandfather made were withered and destroyed. The shock was too much for her grandfather, whose heart had always caused him trouble. He suffered an attack, and though they were able to get him to a healer in time, he remained weak from then afterwards.
Moving into a small nearby Hold, they tried to set back up their small business, but her grandfather's health remained poor. One day while Haliah was buying food, a visiting dragonrider on a Search came to talk to her. At first, her heart soared. The chance to ride a dragon? Her? But then she thought about her grandfather. If she left now, it might be the last time she ever saw him. After a lot of thought, Haliah declined the offer, saying she had to stay to help support her grandfather. After that, she threw herself full force into her craft instead, spending 10-12 hours a day holed up by his bedside carving beautiful creations out of wood.
Sadly, the man never fully recovered, and after another turn, his heart finally gave out. Haliah did her best to stay cheerful for her family, but she was heartbroken. The man had been like her father all her life. While hid out in the Hold to get some time alone, she met the same dragonrider as before. She explained that her grandfather had died, and they reiterated their offer, saying they would take her to the Weyr if she wanted. This time, Haliah accepted, not wanting to burden her aunts any further, and filled with a desire to stop the menace that had cause her grandfather's decline in health in the first place.
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