Post by Briarwind on Nov 9, 2010 17:28:57 GMT -5
Harper, tell me of the road...
Username: Briarwind
Character Number: 4th
Name: Akantral
Age: 16
Birth Season: Winter
Gender: female
Location: Delant Hold
Rank: Courier
Candidate for: Dragon
That leads beyond this hold...
Appearance: Being of a trim, fit build with lean, wiry muscle, calloused hands, and a runner's physique, Akantral's appearance speaks unquestionably of a lower-class upbringing. She stands at a middling height, with long limbs, narrow shoulders, and thin, long-fingered hands. Her build is such that there is no mistaking her for a boy, even when she wears boys' clothing, and her features, for all that they are decidedly sharp and unrefined, are most definitely feminine. A pert, narrow nose and soft lips go a long way toward counteracting high cheekbones and an angular, stubborn jaw. Her long-lashed, large eyes betray intelligence from behind her spectacles, the colour teetering between a washed out blue and a faded green. Straight hair frames her face, brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades when it falls loosely, and is often drawn back into a high tail. It is a rich brown in colour, shot through with streaks of red and lines of ash to create an unusual, distinctive shade.
That wends its way around the hill...
Personality: It cannot be disputed that Akantral is a bright, intelligent young woman. She has a notable (and lamentable) fascination with scholarly pursuits, reveling in reading, researching, and even listening to tales. Unfortunately, most scholarly sources are difficult for her to reach, especially those in written format, but Akantral has always been a resourceful creature, and there are few documents that pass her hands without being given at least a brief read-through.
Being of a solitary nature, Akantral sought self-sufficiency at an early age, which has proven to be a boon for those around her. Her chosen lifestyle allows her to indulge her prickly nature and sharp tongue to her heart's content without subjecting her immediate fellows to her stinging (and sometimes unfairly cruel) barbs. In return for this freedom, Akantral forces her tongue to quiet obedience in the company of those she must interact with often. The easiest way she has found to do this is simply not to speak, and silence undoubtedly has its own rewards. Since tempering herself to quiet, Akantral has discovered that there is far more to be seen and heard with a still tongue than around one's own speech, and she has begun to learn, with some proficiency, how effective a few well-chosen words or a single, sharp barb can be in stirring an extraordinary response with very little effort.
This is a rather dangerous thing for the girl to be mastering, all told, as she has a history of holding some rather extraordinary grudges. Though no longer as swift to anger as she once was, Akantral is still fairly easily riled, and her anger tends to run cold rather than hot. The problem with cold anger is that it doesn't fade quickly, and Akantral's memory is very long. Turns might pass before the opportunity to exact her retribution presents itself, but it can be assured that Akantral will see to it that, the moment it does, she has her satisfaction of the situation.
For all her faults, those who know her well (and, in her cups, Akantral herself) will freely admit the young woman to be an honourable being. Grudgingly well-intentioned, she stands unwaveringly beside her own moral code, and is prone to offering up small kindnesses without a word. They are, however, something of a point of shame to her, and she prefers to pretend they don't happen whenever circumstances allow her this indulgence. Compassion is an exploitable trait, and so is honour. She prefers to tell herself that she possesses neither. Most days, she even believes it.
Does it go farther on until...
History: The problem with coming from a poorer family that is slowly tearing itself open at the seams is that it tends to leave the distinct impression on a child of being unwanted. Unfortunately for Akantral, that was precisely the home she came from. The eldest of three children in a deeply unhappy marriage, Akantral spent most of her early childhood feeling as though she was in the way. Several turns older than her siblings and inherently something of a misfit, Akantral found herself having problems adjusting to much of anything, at home or away from it. Being generally ignored, overlooked, or cast aside as a burden by her parents combined with feelings of rejection from her peers to leave her with the sensation of being very small and very weak.
Desperate for some vague feeling of acceptance, real or imagined, Akantral turned to the one area in which she excelled: schooling. She poured over every text the Harper at High Reaches allowed her, losing herself in fantasy worlds where anything she could fathom could become fact. Slowly, her dreaming began transforming feelings of weakness and isolation to feelings of anger. Why couldn't it be true? Why couldn't she be accepted as she was, the way she was in her daydreams? An aching need to be seen as worthy became a burning desire to prove herself greater and make everyone regret ignoring her or looking down on her.
By seven, the girl had grown out of that particular fury, growing into a rebellious streak that defied her superiors on principle, right or wrong. It was unfair, and occasionally, it was cruel, but defiance let her feel as though she was stealing something back from those who had hurt her. She never realized that she was hurting others, in the process, often others who had nothing whatsoever to do with her problems.
By the time she was ten, the situation at home had devolved to the point where Akantral could barely stand to be in the same building as her own kin, and her rebellious streak was slowly growing into a stubborn, rather more sensible pattern of behaviour. She stopped rebelling for the sake of rebelling, at least, and that was a decided improvement in her behaviour, but she was also coming of an age where refusal could truly be stood by, and she didn't hesitate to do so. It made her a very difficult child to handle.
Constant pushing from those around her, trying to drive her to some steadier, better conformed lifestyle swiftly began to cause serious conflict with the petulant child, until she developed a distinctly prickly personality, and most people finally gave up and stopped trying. It was a welcome, wonderful reprieve, and when it struck, Akantral found herself very much at a loss as to what to do with it. Abruptly, the constant conflict in her life evaporated to a handful of notably more manageable problems, and Akantral hadn't the foggiest idea what to do with her time.
One of the Master Weavers in the Hold quickly found a solution to that particular problem. The aging man began shoving messages he "didn't trust those stupid lizards" to get where they belonged into her hands as she passed and chasing her off to get them delivered where he needed them. Soon, packages began joining the messages as he sent her farther and farther afield. Then, the periodic half-mark found its way into her hand after a delivery, and a few of his fellows started asking her the same.
By her thirteenth turn, Akantral had become one of the most asked-for couriers in High Reaches Hold, her practiced efficiency and intimate familiarity with side paths and shortcuts giving her a remarkable advantage in the field. It seemed as though she had finally begun to make a place for herself, several turns later than intended, but with surprising success. Pleased, the girl began to ferret her money away, saving every mark and half mark in a care-worn pouch beneath her bed. She didn't intend to stay in her parents' home any longer than she had to, and it seemed as though she had found her way out.
A borrowed runner saw Akantral's courier work taking her outside of High Reaches, to neighboring Holds, for a rather larger pay, and after a turn of such errands, the girl allowed herself a small luxury, dipping into her savings to purchase a large firelizard egg. The creatures might be her greatest competition in the delivery of small messages, but they were also extremely useful, and a well-trained one would be the finest ally she could ask for. Two months into training the bronze she'd named Haldis, she had begun to doubt that particular belief, but by the time he'd started mastering the skills she set him to, she was certain that his acquisition was the wisest investment she had ever made, and well worth the delay in her departure.
Late in her fifteenth turn, Akantral counted her marks and decided she had finally earned enough to move out on her own. It was too late, now, for her to apprentice out, so she had little choice but to continue as she had been, if she was to maintain her own life, but that didn't phase her in the slightest, and the opportunity to leave home was too tempting to pass up. Quickly, she began laying plans to claim her life for herself.
It was the misfortune of time that saw an upset in Akantral's plans. For all that she had become a courier of some skill and use amongst many different denizens of the Hold, she had remained deeply, personally fond of the old Master Weaver who had set her on her path. When time and old age conspired, late in the fall before her sixteenth birthday, to claim his life, Akantral found herself considerably more distressed than she had ever expected to be. Suddenly, the notion of moving out of her parents' home and into a home in High Reaches Hold lost all appeal. The idea of continuing to trot past his Hall and strain to hear a voice that would never call her name again made her faintly queasy. No; this wasn't going to work out as she had planned at all.
Counting her marks, Akantral decided that if she'd had enough to establish herself here, then she had enough to try her luck on Lyeunia Island with all the other settlers. Packing those few possessions she cared about and bidding farewell to those few friends she had made herself, Akantral walked away from the only home she had known to build a life for herself someplace entirely new.
Lyeunia was small enough that Akantral found that she could easily serve as a courier in all three Holds, and likely even run messages to the Weyr, when it was called for. Far and away the most prolific supply of tasks, however, poured forth from the Collegium, and by her sixteenth birthday, Akantral had settled into a small, two-room home in Delant Hold. It wasn't much, but it was hers, and somehow, that was enough.
It ends in sunset gold?
Pets: Haldis
Pet Name: Haldis
Pet Appearance: Unmistakably large, Haldis measures fully as long as a man's arm, just short of the size of most gold firelizards. For all his size, however, he is lean of build, with sleek lines and an aerodynamic, wiry build. His tail is particularly long and whippish, and his wings are broad and markedly long. His soft hide is a pale, dusky hue, lacking most of the lustre common to bronze firelizards. Without that metallic sheen, he appears to be an unusually large brown under cursory inspection. Any more attentive examination, however, will pick out the faintly green tones that brush across the leading edge of his wings, betraying his true colour before fading into his more neutral, primary tone. This paler hue darkens near the trailing edge of his wings, along the end of his tail, and at the tips of his headknobs to a deeper, richer colour.
Pet Personality: Surprisingly quiet and exceedingly well-behaved, there can be no doubt that Haldis is very well-trained. He responds promptly and accurately to instructions, conducts himself with unflinching dignity, and maintains unwavering control under even considerable provocation. That is not, of course, to say that the flitter is without flaw. This is by no means the case. His thorough training has done much to temper his conduct, and his unshakable loyalty has been no small boon in advancing this case, but it cannot be denied that Haldis has his flaws. First and foremost among them is an overprotective nature. Certainly, loyalty is a valuable asset, but Haldis has a habit of taking it altogether too far, forcing Akantral to regularly and actively check his behavior with a sharp command whenever anything happens that might imply she is threatened. He, further, has a penchant for laziness, and is prone to laying about in the sun and napping whenever given the opportunity. Overall, however, he is an intelligent and obedient creature, and a loyal, beloved companion.
Are there any colours you will not accept? No
Are there any colours you would prefer? Why? No
Canon-only? No
Queen-only? No
PLEASE NOTE: There is no rush to search this candidate, as she is not eligible for impression at this first hatching. While she can be searched for it, if she is, she will be left standing, and the search in question is by no means a necessity.
