Name: Rikah
Age: 26
Sex: Female
Sexual Orientation: Mostly Hetero, kind of bi-curious
Weyr: High Reaches Weyr
Rider Rank: Wingrider
Previous Rank/Craft: Drudge
Physical Description: Rikah stands at 5’4” and has a lithe figure, toned from riding her dragon. She has pale skin with very light freckles. Her slightly wavy, thick hair is cropped just past her chin, and it is a light shade of blonde. Her eyes are a medium grey, and they are very open and attentive. She has a scar from Thread burns that runs across the bridge of her nose and touches each cheek.
Personality: Rikah is a humble girl with a sense of wonder in the world still present in her soul. She struggles with being outgoing, but enjoys making friends and is happy to approach new people if they seem pleasant to her. She loves to encourage other people, thinking that if she could grow from such a low station in life to such a high one, that anyone could potentially accomplish anything. She’s a bit of a daydreamer, and unless she has something specific to focus on, her mind will usually wander to the more fanciful side of things.
Having grown up as a drudge, Rikah was shielded from much of the knowledge in Pern for the majority of her life, and still finds it difficult to grasp some concepts as she learns them. She is driven with her heart, which has a lot of love to offer. However, she’s been hurt too many times. The Thread stole a child from her, so she lashes out against it with a personal, fiery vigor. This is currently her main obsession, something that prevents her from being content. Because of this, she finds herself frequently restless, searching for something or looking for something to do with her hands. Even though she is a gold wingrider, she’ll still sometimes go down to the kitchens and assist, or help the Candidates with their chores.
Positive Trait List Industrious, Imaginative, Humble, Encouraging
Negative Trait List Fanciful, Short-tempered, Restless, Rash
History: Rikah was born at a minor hold in the Northern territory, to a drudge mother. She never knew her father, a journeyman who had only made a brief stop in the Hold, and who her mother had fallen dearly in love with. The hold was often teeming with brief visitors like that - people who just wandered in and out, rarely staying long enough to maintain the relationships they had created. Rikah did not regret the fact that she never met her father, but she often imagined different versions of who he was. Perhaps he was a Lord Holder’s son on the run from the complication of noble life. Perhaps he was a gentle merchant who hadn’t wanted to leave her behind. Her mother never told her details, and perhaps she never asked because she would have rather dreamed.
Rikah grew up as a drudge due to her parentage, often being one of the many workers cleaning the rooms of guests. She enjoyed the job, for the most part - it kept her hands and body busy, and allowed her mind to wander. She was good at cleaning, so she rarely received cruel words from the people she worked for. Grateful to have a roof over her head and food in her belly, Rikah was content with where she was in life, for the most part. Her mother grew frailer with age, but never lost her heart. She was an inspiration to Rikah - someone could life a full life as a drudge, and not regret it.
Despite being low on the rung of social scales, Rikah became notorious among the other drudges for her beauty. Older women would tell her that surely some nice young man would come and sweep her away into a marriage arrangement, bringing her to great heights in the world. The idea appealed to Rikah as being incredibly romantic, and she frequently daydreamed about it as a thought that could never possibly come true. At age fifteen, a handsome boy a few years older came to the hold and stayed in one of Rikah’s rooms. As it turned out, he actually was the son Heir of a Lord Holder from somewhere very far south. He was traveling with his father on a mission to arrange a marriage at Tillek Hold, and he was incredibly unenthusiastic about the whole ordeal. He confided his worries to Rikah, and began to call her into his room at indecent hours to speak with her. She fell deeply in love with him in the brief time they had together, and apparently so did he. But at the end of the week he was staying in the hold, he left, and she never heard from him again. Two months later, she found she was pregnant.
Elja, her son, was born without complications. It was not unusual for drudges to have children out of wedlock, and not particularly unusual for them to have children at such a young age themselves. Although Rikah would never again see her one-time paramour, she fell deeply in love with her son, hoping for the best for him. Better than her, at least. She encouraged him, as a young one, to find a craft he was interested in. He spent a lot of time between the ankles of the drudges in the kitchen, where Rikah’s mother worked, and found a love for cooking. Raising Elja together aged both Rikah and her mother quite a bit, but she was always grateful for the amount of love in her family. Her son was growing to be a sweet, humble boy who would make a difference in the world.
As soon as Elja turned eight turns old, Rikah arranged with some travelers to take him to the Southern Hold where he could learn Cooking Craft. She missed him dearly, but was confident in her decision. Shortly after he left, Riders came to the hold on a Search. They found her to be an eligible candidate, despite being so close to aging out at twenty-four. Her mother saw this as an opportunity for Rikah to also rise above her station, just as she wished for Elja. Finally understanding her mother’s aspirations for her child, Rikah agreed to leave the hold and travel to the High Reaches Weyr.
Rikah’s time as a Candidate was enlightening. She’d never been given so much to do with her brain - so much reading and learning songs and history. Chores came more easily to her, and she found great comfort in still having to do menial work. She wrote to both her mother and her son whenever she could, and received many more responses from Elja, as her mother was not greatly literate. After ten months in the Weyr, Rikah impressed - with shock and humility - a Gold dragon. She found her third great love in Sofieth, and the pair worked well together, growing side by side in maturity and happiness.
Two months after Sofieth’s hatching, the Thread returned. Rikah received notice from the Southern Hold that Elja had died in the chaos of the return, at age fourteen, as he had gone outside to retrieve a shipment of ingredients. Rikah was broken by the news, but she did not fall into depression. Instead, she grew voraciously into an unbridled rage, a personal feeling of vengeance against the Threadfall itself. How dare it take the one thing that was dear to her? She was so consumed by the rage, that in her first flight against the Threadfall she was careless and found herself scored across the face, the thread narrowly missing her eyes but still somewhat mutilating her visage.
For the last Turn, Rikah has been recovering from her emotional wounds, but she still harbors a deep rage towards the unnatural force that stole her child away from the world. Having Sofieth helps a great deal, because at least the world hasn’t taken that away, but Rikah feels that perhaps she will never be able to love anyone else again. Until she meets someone, she’ll valiantly fight against the Thread the best she can.
Other: 3nodding
DRAGON
Name: Sofieth (pronounced so-FYE-eth)
Age: 1 Turn
Color: Gold
Size: 47'
Physical Description: As a Gold, Sofieth is already an imposing size, but at only one year she is already larger than the biggest Bronze. She carries herself with pride, and she isn't afraid to take up space regardless of her size. The base color of her hide is a medium-toned gold, and her body is covered in darker swirls and some alternating lighter stripes. The membrane of her wings are a lighter gold. Since she is still so young and well-taken care of, she has yet to receive any mars or scars from the Thread, despite her rider having already earned one.
Personality: Sofieth is a cynical, sassy dragon whose down-to-earth attitude balances out Rikah’s tendency to fall into daydreaming. She frequently has something to remark in any conversation she overhears, and does not hesitate to broadcast her judgemental or sarcastic remarks into Rikah’s head. Rikah loves this, and thinks it’s hilarious, so Sofieth enjoys this part of herself, too.
Sofieth tends to agree with Rikah in most matters, especially regarding the fighting of the Thread. Although she never met Elja, Rikah’s son, she feels that the boy must have really been something special to hold such a spot in her Rider’s heart. She’s not filled with the same amount of heated need for revenge against the Thread, but Sofieth is happy to perform the act she was created for in helping Rikah to fight Thread.
Sofieth is very excited about the prospect of one day taking flight and having dragon hatchlings. She has not done so yet because she is still young, and she just simply hasn’t had the urge yet. However, she’s very social, and she does keep a tab on the eligible males around her. Sometimes she wonders if she hasn’t felt the urge for Flight yet because of how her Rider feels about making connections with people, since Rikah has been so guarded about her friendships since the return of Thread. But regardless, Sofieth feels that she has to be there for her Rider in whatever way she can.
Dragon Art or Proof of Obtainment: screeches
