- Name: Rykin
Age: 22
Nameday: 3551.11.07
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Flexible
Craft: Woodcrafter
Rank: Journeyman
Location: Western Weyr
Physical Description:
Rykin is the odd one out among his brothers: at 6'3", he's taller than any of the rest by several inches, and has a more slender build. He has the same black hair, but green eyes where they have brown.
Personality:
Rykin is a very subdued individual, to a degree that he can give the mistaken impression that he's indifferent or lazy, but that's not the case at all. He does care, and very much so, about everything, and especially about the feelings and opinions of others. He internalizes incredibly well...a little too well, maybe, after years of doing his best not to be as sensitive as he really is - doing his best not to be himself, since that was someone who didn't fit in at all where he grew up. While he's had several turns to start leaving that behind, he still defaults to pretending not to be hurt, whether the harm done was physical or emotional, or intentional or not. Outwardly, he brushes off any offense to the best of his ability, and may even have something scathing to say about or retaliate against intentional slights, but will save it to be dwelled on later.
Left to himself and his thoughts, he can tend toward morose, and often has a grim or self-deprecating edge to his humor, but in good company brightens considerably. He loves deeply, is unendingly loyal, and would do anything for the people he's trusted enough to let in - and it does take him time to trust, after having to keep secrets about himself in his youth. He's very tactile with friends and lovers alike, and can edge into clingy territory; he lost most of his blood family when they disowned him, and even before that was out of place and often lonely, so consequently he is desperate to hold on to what new connections he makes. He tries not to let himself expect love, but he wants it, so very much.
He is a diligent, detail-oriented worker, but not a fast one. He takes his time to make sure that everything is done exactly how it was meant to be, and if there is an artistic or design element, looks just how he envisioned it. This, unfortunately, can lead to a lot of do-overs that slow him down, but he is a patient young man who rarely gets frustrated...although someone else may well get frustrated with him for slowing progress or being late to finish. That, much moreso than having to restart a task, will be what distresses him.
Positive Trait List diligent, sensitive, loyal
Negative Trait List unhurried, slow to trust, internalizes/downplays negative emotions
History:
The youngest of five brothers, with one sister several years behind him, Rykin was far enough along in the string of children that he never merited much fuss or oversight. His father, Drykstan, was a Tanner, and his mother Malbrina was simply Drykstan's wife. She arrived by arrangement from another cothold at 15, and had her first strapping boy for him within the year. Both were perfectly content with the situation, and very quickly grew fond of each other...and had another boy, and another, and another, and another. The first became a Tanner like his father; the second became a Smith, the third and fourth added more Tanners to the family, which was just as well, as the first was Searched and became a dragonrider. When he was 5, his mother finally had the daughter she'd been wanting for well over a decade, and Rykin merited even less attention from his mother than before.
As he grew, Rykin learned the family craft from his father, primarily to fill his time and do something productive until he was old enough to decide if it was indeed the craft for him, or if he preferred another. The cothold certainly didn't need yet another Tanner, although he did have a good eye for detail and finer work. In his youth, he was often quietly shadowed by his little sister, Nadry, and the two became close, as the babies and odd-ones-out of the family. Where he got little attention from their mother, she got little from their father, as she was given no craft training. But she was curious, and when no one was looking, Rykin would sometimes share with her what he was learning.
Ultimately, however, Tannercraft held little appeal for him, and in his early teens he decided that Woodcrafting would be his path. It was different, but not so different as to raise eyebrows, but still with a strong element of design (and a lot less smell). Though he hoped to eventually go to Hall, to start he had to apprentice to a crafter the next cothold over, and for the next two turns saw much less of his family. He mainly caught up with them at Gathers, although that would turn out to not be such a great thing after all. At 16, he was caught kissing a Farmer's son, and suffice to say that that did not go over well with either conservative family. Rykin was disowned by his parents and most of his brothers, but fortunately for him, his oldest brother had been in a Weyr just long enough to have learned to disagree with at least some of his family's views. M'yk and his brown caught up with him and gave him a ride to Lemos, where he could continue his studies properly and leave the past behind him.
He thrived at Hall, walked the tables at 20, and at some point during that time, acquired a flit, allowing him to keep in contact with M'yk as well as his sister - who, not long after he became a Journeyman, was Searched to High Reaches. After she Impressed a brown, she became as much an exile from the family as Rykin. This has strained his previously good relationship with M'yk, since their older brother is as displeased with the turn of events as the rest of the family.
Recently, Rykin has been searched to Western Weyr. He knows he should be careful about expecting anything of it, but with two brownrider siblings, he can't help but think that he might have a chance.
Other: He has a firelizard named Burl.
