Post by Xinnai on May 28, 2008 12:24:45 GMT -8
Name: Salina
("solemn")
Gender: Female
Age: Sixteen turns
Rank:Weyrling
She's small, delicate and very fragile-looking. She stands at an extremely petite 5'1" with long legs and arms for her small frame. Her skin is pale, almost pure white, with the faintest hint of cream to make her look less like someone who has recently drowned. She looks very solemn and could be compared to a late night winter snow-clean, pure and always so quiet. Her big gray eyes are like smoke, always staring and absorbing-just as quiet and unsettled in her heart-shaped face as before. Her hair falls in a long, gentle golden waves to the very middle of her back. She is a naturally graceful girl, one who is likely to become almost perfectly so in years to come. She wears simple clothes in neutral colors and when it comes down to it, pastels. When she finds something of interest, something that truly pleases her, she lights up with life and looks like an entirely different person.
She's quiet, demure, with an iron will beneath it. She didn't face much hardship in her life, but that simple and fulfilling dragon-filled life has instilled in her a rock-solid foundation that could never be shaken. She's a force of nature within herself when unleashed-which, undoubtedly, it takes a lot to release. She's patient and kind, never fading or losing grip, like a rock in the middle of the river. She's modest and humble, not to the point where she'd become a little mouse of a girl, but neither is she cocky and arrogant. She has wished desperately since she was very young to become a rider, but does not think herself worthy of becoming the bonded of the golden creature that all girls try to bond with. Underneath the fragile and solemn exterior is an untapped source of something, a something that runs hot and passionate. It's slipped through in temper, in small fits of passion, but has never been fully unleashed. It scares and invigorates her whenever it does slip through. She feels alive and human those few moments before slipping back into the familiar facade. It is a facade. Salina has never had something tremendous happen that would tear that serenity apart.When that veil is finally torn, a whole new person will emerge, still with her unflappable calm and patience, but hot-blooded with that innate strength in full evidence. It is thought, especially by herself, that that calm and patience will return, but having no real experience with it, she's still not sure on what her metamorphosis might bring. A butterfly or a moth?
She lived a very simple and full life. She was the daughter of a woman who had stayed at the Weyr after not being accepted at a hatching and a bluerider who had been looking for some companionship. It's said that her calm nature stems from her sire's bond with his blue. She didn't know either of her parents very well. Her father was a rider and she didn't know him. He'd just come. Her relationship with her mother was nearly nonexistent as well. It's said that her mother didn't want a babe planted in her belly and the minute that Salina had been borne, she passed her off to one of the resident softies, a woman who took in any children a woman didn't want to have. Salina grew up in the care of Mother Terri and her constantly changing brood. Whatever the case of her parenting, as she ran through the caverns of Telgar, she became known as the little mother of her friends; bandaging knees, getting food and drink and other such little everyday things. The nickname especially came into effect when her best friend, Remmo, got into a brawl with a much older boy. After the fight was over, Salina calmly stepped in and led Remmo away, washing the blood from his face and ordering him to lie down while she got some food and bandages. She was only eight turns. She grew into the solemn girl she is and was always surrounded by and loved dragons. At the most recent search by Telgar, she decided she would like to stand for the most recent clutch and put herself forward to be a candidate. On the day of the Hatching, she waited anxious and eager like the other girls for the golden egg to hatch. It took an abnormally long time, but when it did, Deoneth chose Salina to be her rider and the girl's entire life changed.
Dragon's Name: Deoneth
Color: Gold
Age: Five months
Though very small for a queen, Deoneth has none of the dainty frailty that other petite dragons possess. She is sturdily built, a blending of strength and grace. From nose to tailtip she's the bright gold of polished buckles, crisp and clean. Round eyes are brilliant and attentive, limbs and torso are well-formed and though her wings are large, the width of their span seems a fitting balance for her muscled form. When spread, their 'sails begin with the same brilliant color as the rest of her, but fade into near-transparency along their edges in a random and ragged pattern like tattered hems. No airy and graceful dancer, she moves with the fluid elegance of a predator.
There is no such thing as surrender. Deoneth doesn't spend every moment of her life driven to chase after causes or right wrongs. In fact, she is fairly discerning about what does and does not rank as important enough to hold her attention. But once she's got her claws around something, get ready for a long and bumpy road. She doesn't care how long the odds are or how unlikely her success. She cannot be talked away from a problem or convinced to let it go. She will see things through to the bitter end, and on the way will sacrifice all and sundry (up to and including her own well-being) to see her own goals realized. Succeed or fail, Deoneth doesn't quit. She takes her responsibilities as a queen, to protect and enrich her Weyr, extremely seriously.
There have been queens with more calming voices than Deoneth's; in fact there have probably been few queens whose mental contact was more jarring. Bold and bright, her words are like the sounds that metal make, sometimes ringing with blindingly beautiful clarity and sometimes clashing chaotically like sword on shield. She conveys images just as powerfully with an almost painful exactitude, often accompanied by the tangy aromas of conflict and stubborn determination. (Color C8A000)
In the Battle of Thermopylae (as detailed almost entirely by Herodotus), which occurred in 480 BCE, an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian Empire at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the Persians for three days in one of history's most famous last stands. A small force led by King Leonidas I of Sparta blocked the only road through which the massive army of Xerxes I of Persia could pass. After three days of battle, a local resident named Ephialtes is believed to have betrayed the Greeks by revealing a mountain path that led behind the Greek lines. Dismissing the rest of the army, King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans, 700 Thespian volunteers, 400 Thebans that had been pressed into service, and 900 Helots.
The Persians succeeded in taking the pass but sustained losses disproportionate to those of the Greeks. The fierce resistance of the Spartan-led army offered Athens the invaluable time to prepare for a decisive naval battle that would come to determine the outcome of the war. The subsequent Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis left much of the Persian Empire's navy destroyed and Xerxes retreated to Asia, leaving a force in Greece under Mardonius, who was to meet the Greeks in battle one last time. The Spartans assembled at full strength and led a pan-Greek army that defeated the Persians decisively at the Battle of Plataea, ending the Greco-Persian War and with it, the expansion of the Persian Empire into Europe.
Deoneth is named for the Spartan soldier Dienekes. According to Herodotus, when he was told the arrows of the Persian army were so many that they would blot out the sun, he replied "So much the better; we shall fight in the shade."
Have you read Game Philosophy and The Rules of Tempus Fugit?
Yes'm.
("solemn")
Gender: Female
Age: Sixteen turns
Rank:Weyrling
Physical Description
She's small, delicate and very fragile-looking. She stands at an extremely petite 5'1" with long legs and arms for her small frame. Her skin is pale, almost pure white, with the faintest hint of cream to make her look less like someone who has recently drowned. She looks very solemn and could be compared to a late night winter snow-clean, pure and always so quiet. Her big gray eyes are like smoke, always staring and absorbing-just as quiet and unsettled in her heart-shaped face as before. Her hair falls in a long, gentle golden waves to the very middle of her back. She is a naturally graceful girl, one who is likely to become almost perfectly so in years to come. She wears simple clothes in neutral colors and when it comes down to it, pastels. When she finds something of interest, something that truly pleases her, she lights up with life and looks like an entirely different person.
Personality
She's quiet, demure, with an iron will beneath it. She didn't face much hardship in her life, but that simple and fulfilling dragon-filled life has instilled in her a rock-solid foundation that could never be shaken. She's a force of nature within herself when unleashed-which, undoubtedly, it takes a lot to release. She's patient and kind, never fading or losing grip, like a rock in the middle of the river. She's modest and humble, not to the point where she'd become a little mouse of a girl, but neither is she cocky and arrogant. She has wished desperately since she was very young to become a rider, but does not think herself worthy of becoming the bonded of the golden creature that all girls try to bond with. Underneath the fragile and solemn exterior is an untapped source of something, a something that runs hot and passionate. It's slipped through in temper, in small fits of passion, but has never been fully unleashed. It scares and invigorates her whenever it does slip through. She feels alive and human those few moments before slipping back into the familiar facade. It is a facade. Salina has never had something tremendous happen that would tear that serenity apart.When that veil is finally torn, a whole new person will emerge, still with her unflappable calm and patience, but hot-blooded with that innate strength in full evidence. It is thought, especially by herself, that that calm and patience will return, but having no real experience with it, she's still not sure on what her metamorphosis might bring. A butterfly or a moth?
Background
She lived a very simple and full life. She was the daughter of a woman who had stayed at the Weyr after not being accepted at a hatching and a bluerider who had been looking for some companionship. It's said that her calm nature stems from her sire's bond with his blue. She didn't know either of her parents very well. Her father was a rider and she didn't know him. He'd just come. Her relationship with her mother was nearly nonexistent as well. It's said that her mother didn't want a babe planted in her belly and the minute that Salina had been borne, she passed her off to one of the resident softies, a woman who took in any children a woman didn't want to have. Salina grew up in the care of Mother Terri and her constantly changing brood. Whatever the case of her parenting, as she ran through the caverns of Telgar, she became known as the little mother of her friends; bandaging knees, getting food and drink and other such little everyday things. The nickname especially came into effect when her best friend, Remmo, got into a brawl with a much older boy. After the fight was over, Salina calmly stepped in and led Remmo away, washing the blood from his face and ordering him to lie down while she got some food and bandages. She was only eight turns. She grew into the solemn girl she is and was always surrounded by and loved dragons. At the most recent search by Telgar, she decided she would like to stand for the most recent clutch and put herself forward to be a candidate. On the day of the Hatching, she waited anxious and eager like the other girls for the golden egg to hatch. It took an abnormally long time, but when it did, Deoneth chose Salina to be her rider and the girl's entire life changed.
Riders
Dragon's Name: Deoneth
Color: Gold
Age: Five months
Physical Description
Though very small for a queen, Deoneth has none of the dainty frailty that other petite dragons possess. She is sturdily built, a blending of strength and grace. From nose to tailtip she's the bright gold of polished buckles, crisp and clean. Round eyes are brilliant and attentive, limbs and torso are well-formed and though her wings are large, the width of their span seems a fitting balance for her muscled form. When spread, their 'sails begin with the same brilliant color as the rest of her, but fade into near-transparency along their edges in a random and ragged pattern like tattered hems. No airy and graceful dancer, she moves with the fluid elegance of a predator.
Personality
There is no such thing as surrender. Deoneth doesn't spend every moment of her life driven to chase after causes or right wrongs. In fact, she is fairly discerning about what does and does not rank as important enough to hold her attention. But once she's got her claws around something, get ready for a long and bumpy road. She doesn't care how long the odds are or how unlikely her success. She cannot be talked away from a problem or convinced to let it go. She will see things through to the bitter end, and on the way will sacrifice all and sundry (up to and including her own well-being) to see her own goals realized. Succeed or fail, Deoneth doesn't quit. She takes her responsibilities as a queen, to protect and enrich her Weyr, extremely seriously.
Other
There have been queens with more calming voices than Deoneth's; in fact there have probably been few queens whose mental contact was more jarring. Bold and bright, her words are like the sounds that metal make, sometimes ringing with blindingly beautiful clarity and sometimes clashing chaotically like sword on shield. She conveys images just as powerfully with an almost painful exactitude, often accompanied by the tangy aromas of conflict and stubborn determination. (Color C8A000)
Deoneth's inspiration
In the Battle of Thermopylae (as detailed almost entirely by Herodotus), which occurred in 480 BCE, an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian Empire at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the Persians for three days in one of history's most famous last stands. A small force led by King Leonidas I of Sparta blocked the only road through which the massive army of Xerxes I of Persia could pass. After three days of battle, a local resident named Ephialtes is believed to have betrayed the Greeks by revealing a mountain path that led behind the Greek lines. Dismissing the rest of the army, King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans, 700 Thespian volunteers, 400 Thebans that had been pressed into service, and 900 Helots.
The Persians succeeded in taking the pass but sustained losses disproportionate to those of the Greeks. The fierce resistance of the Spartan-led army offered Athens the invaluable time to prepare for a decisive naval battle that would come to determine the outcome of the war. The subsequent Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis left much of the Persian Empire's navy destroyed and Xerxes retreated to Asia, leaving a force in Greece under Mardonius, who was to meet the Greeks in battle one last time. The Spartans assembled at full strength and led a pan-Greek army that defeated the Persians decisively at the Battle of Plataea, ending the Greco-Persian War and with it, the expansion of the Persian Empire into Europe.
Deoneth is named for the Spartan soldier Dienekes. According to Herodotus, when he was told the arrows of the Persian army were so many that they would blot out the sun, he replied "So much the better; we shall fight in the shade."
Have you read Game Philosophy and The Rules of Tempus Fugit?
Yes'm.
