Name: Z'haq
Age: 29
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Weyr: Western Weyr
Rider Rank: Wingleader of Flame's Fury Wing
Previous Rank/Craft: Seacraft, informally (trained by his father)
Physical Description:
At 6'1", Z'haq is built long and lean, like a distance runner; he has nice strong shoulders and upper back, long-fingered, strong hands, and heavily calloused feet from years spent barefoot. His skin tone is a warm milk-chocolate brown. He has a straight nose that flattens slightly at the tip, set in an oval face with amber brown eyes, almond-shaped, bright and mischievous; his mouth sports thick full lips and a bright, ready smile. His body is littered with a few minor Threadscore scars, nothing more serious than that. He has tightly curly hair that's very dark brown, almost black; he's had it twisted into dreadlocks since he was a child. Once down to his waist, his dreads are just past shoulder-length now, and slightly sunbleached toward the tips. He wears them either partially tied back, or held off his face with a headscarf; when fighting Thread, he tucks the longer ends under the collar of his flight jacket.
Z'haq likes loose woven pants either tied round the ankles or cut off/rolled up to mid-calf and sleeveless shirts or jerkins, all in warm colours like golds, reds and browns. He rarely wears shoes or boots if he can get away with it. When it gets cold, he wears ankle-high wherhide boots, a neck scarf and his flight jacket to stave off the chill.
Personality:
Z'haq is definitely not your traditional bronzerider! Happy, good-natured, friendly and self-effacing, he lacks the arrogance of many of his fellows. He possesses a natural leadership ability, though he'd be the last to acknowledge it. He often ends up "taking charge" when things go south, just because someone has to -- he's not the least bit bossy, just very good at crisis management.
Z'haq is one of those people who has absolutely no fear -- again, this doesn't come from a place of arrogance, but rather from not understanding precisely what it is he's supposed to be afraid of or why. He has good common sense and a healthy respect for things that may harm him, like Thread of course, but he doesn't fear them. He won't hesitate to help someone in trouble -- he'll dive right in to help them without a thought of any potential danger to himself.
Z'haq loves the sea; he's lived near or on the sea his entire life, and is very happy to be near it at Western. He has a good degree of skill in seamanship, despite never officially becoming a seacrafter; he can navigate by the stars and coastal landmarks, rig sails, climb around in rigging, make rope and tie knots, and has even manned the tiller on occasion. He had a close, tight-knit relationship with the crew of his father's ship, which he's been able to transfer to his wingmates, who find in him a steadfast and loyal comrade. His Wing is his new family (and his Flight his extended family), and he's very protective of those he considers family. He's also protective of those he loves, principal among those being Teliresa of gold Lyraeth. He thinks she's the best.
He's not perfect, mind you. He has some residual confidence issues; his self-effacing humility isn't an act. He doesn't feel that he's quite Good Enough yet to earn the kind of attention he gets as a bronzerider or a Wingleader. He has a very slow-burning but bad temper; anyone who messes with his friends is liable to find themselves with his fist in their face without any warning. (He rarely gets into fights now, as he has his dragon to think about, but it still happens on rare occasion.) And he's a bit of a pickpocket (he always gives back what he nicks, though). And a klah addict. And he cheats at dice.
Z'haq learned leadership at his ship captain father's side, and he carries that through into the Wing; he runs the Furies like a sailing vessel, where everyone knows their job and works together like a well-oiled machine. Still, he runs a fairly loose "ship" as far as his Wing goes. There are rules to be followed, of course, and everyone in the wing has a job to do, but downtime is party time! Do your chores, then celebrate that you're still alive!
Positive Trait List Easy-going, natural leader, fearless
Negative Trait List Slow-burn temper, confidence issues, pickpockets for fun
History:
Zhahaq was born at his family's tiny seacot in Rubicon Hold territory, somewhere in the middle of 11 kids. His father, a merchant seaman and captain of the ocean-going schooner Windrace, brought the boy on ship early and taught him the ways of the sea, though he never actually sent him out for "official" crafting -- he didn't want to wait for the formal training process, and he figured he'd do just as good a job himself. Zhahaq grew up on deck and in the rigging, learning the ropes as it were from the rest of the crew of the Windrace; not only seamanship, but gambling, pickpocketing, knife-fighting and low-level piracy (Da had a "supplemental income" as a smuggler).
It was while the Windrace was docked at Rivercrest Hold on the Western Continent during a supply stopover that a dragonrider from Western Weyr came through. Caught up in the excitement of seeing his first dragon up close, the young teen was very surprised to find himself Searched. Da wasn't pleased by this -- he hated the idea of losing a good hand -- and Zhahaq himself was a little reluctant to go to the Weyr at first. In the end, though, both he and his father agreed that there was more of a future for him with the Weyr than there was aboard the Windrace (one of his older brothers was slated to inherit the ship upon his father's death, and Zhahaq would have likely ended up just a deckhand for the rest of his life). He Impressed bronze Eorawth at his second time on the sands at age 16, again much to his surprise.
Z'haq and Eorawth proved themselves to be skilled and gifted wingriders, a bit daredevil-ish at times, but always there and ready to help their fellow riders and dragons out. Assigned to Flame's Fury Wing, Z'haq loved life at Western Weyr. He found it surprisingly similar to life aboard his father's ship, where everyone had the same mission and worked together in a tight-knit team. The progressive attitude at Western suited him well; there was still a good amount of structure -- everyone pretty much knows where they fit at the Weyr -- but change was permitted. He couldn't see himself at a more rigidly-run Weyr like High Reaches at all.
Then Thread returned, catching the entire planet off-guard. Z'haq was horrified and furious. This wasn't supposed to happen. His father's ship was sunk in the sea off Telgar and his family's little seacot was destroyed, so it became personal with Z'haq. You don't mess with family, not even if you're Thread.
Partly due to attrition, partly due to his ferocity fighting Thread, Z'haq was quickly promoted to Wingsecond of Flame's Fury. He was surprised at first, but took to the new responsibility like he was born to it, assisting the Wingleader with organizing the Wing during Threadfall and running interference between the wingriders and the Wingleader. He enjoyed his new job immensely, until the Wingleader was killed during a 'Fall.
The Council at Western Weyr knew they needed to replace the Wingleader quickly, so Z'haq was selected to lead the Furies. Apart from having a thorough understanding of Thread fighting, his skills with people, his natural leadership ability and understanding of team dynamics are qualities the Council felt could best be used to lead his Wing against Thread. It's not unlike being captain of a ship.
Other: Nameday: 3544.13.10
DRAGON
Name: Eorawth
Age: 13, shelled at Western on 3560.07.11 from unaffiliated queen Veniath x Zehavath
Color: Bronze
Size: 42'
Physical Description: A handsome, well-formed bronze of average size, compact and muscular, with an impressive wingspan. His hide is on the greenish-gold side of the bronze spectrum, lightly speckled with darker streaks on his wing sails, his spines, and down the sides of his face. His head is long and wedge-shaped with pronounced eye ridges. He has only a few minor scars from Threadscore.
Personality:
Eorawth [pronounced Eeyore-roth] is an easy-going bronze who is supremely confident in both his abilities and his rider's. He's quite intelligent and has a rather dry sense of humor; he will often have Z'haq sputtering with laughter at the most inappropriate time with a random remark. Eorawth is not super-competitive in mating flights, but once he sets his mind on winning, he'll expend every ounce of energy he has in order to do so. He likes the greens as much as he likes the golds, though his favorite gold is Lyraeth -- he gets almost aggressive about catching her when she rises.
Eorawth is fairly agile for a bronze, with reasonably good staying power and a strong, long-lasting flame. He has a good instinct for Threadfall and rarely gets scored; like his rider, he's always watching out for his wingmates and will not hesitate to help them out when needed. Also like his rider, he's a bit of a daredevil in the air.
Dragon Art or Proof of Obtainment:
