Post by tarra on Mar 3, 2010 22:31:25 GMT -5
Killed In Wasteland Invasion
Name: Ar'ren (Arr–ren)
Age: 29 turns [b. April 2985]
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual in preference, bisexual in practice.
Rank: Brownrider
Wing: Legatus
Physical Appearance:
Ar'ren stands at a good 6’2” - a tall fellow, slender almost to the point of being willowy, yet mostly well-proportioned despite the litheness of his frame. The strenuous life of a dragonrider keeps him in shape, granting him both the scars and the moderate musculature to prove it. Scars trace the length of his arms, and one ragged gray line runs down his left hand from just above the wrist to the joint of the index finger. Dark brown hair lies ragged atop his head, giving him an almost roguish appearance against the distinct sharpness of his aquiline nose and jowl. A few bangs scatter his forehead lightly and contrast his hazel-brown eyes, framed by light eyebrows of the same hue. For a Northerner, his skin tone might be considered coppery from the long hours spent in the sun; to the Southerners, however, he would seem as pale as any other rider from the North.
The brownrider's dressing tends to differ depending on his moods, but he favours earth-brown, sable blue or dark blue and dark wine-red shades which he feels match better with his hair colour. Working tunics and hardy jodhpurs or breeches suit him best for his daily duties, with a pair of knee-high wherhide boots to complete the outfit. He favours moccasins when he can get them, however, and prefers knee-high boots beneath his riding leathers when he’s on Ysaloth for any length of time.
Ar'ren is simple in his choice of weaponry: he usually totes a long fighting knife on his belt, and as a precaution usually carries a second, shorter knife in his boot. Not that anyone need know of that second blade, of course. His greatest skill, however, is in his fists. Trained in unarmed combat from childhood, Ar'ren is a natural in the use of his bare hands, and for that reason often carries a pair of metal-speckled gloves tucked into his belt beside the knife.
Personality
Ar'ren appears, at first glance, as his reputation makes him out to be: quiet, astute and very observant. Polite at all times save when stress or pressure drive him to gruffness, and rather straightforward in matters of fact (such as death and dying). A thinker more than a man of action, though certainly capable of holding his own in a scuffle or spar. Such is usually the initial impression, and though Ar'ren is a good fighter in his own right, it is his reputation as a remarkable and very talented strategist that shapes how many see him from afar. Exceptionally perceptive of his surroundings and very quick to spot discrepancies, he is capable of making projections and/or deductions at speed, and his mind has been trained by circumstances to be very fast and sharp under pressure. In keeping with his strong sense of fair play, he strives at all times to logical and unbiased in his deductions, and is usually very accurate as a result (as a matter of fact, almost all of Ysaloth’s plans in the attack on Selenitas had come from Ar’ren).
However, the Ar'ren beneath the cool exterior and tendency for bluntness is a man defined by his attitudes rather than his intellect. It would not be wrong to say that those who know him well consider him an embodiment of the old-type dragonriders; the kind that many would (rightly) consider extinct. Loyal and faithful to a fault, he usually places the wants and needs of others - both superiors and subordinates alike - above his own, and strives often to be the best he can be for everyone around him. Not that he is hesitant of questioning his leaders' orders if he doesn't like certain things, but at the end of the day orders are still orders and he usually carries them out to the letter anyway.
A hard and honest worker with a remarkable patience to match, Ar'ren considers himself directly responsible for those under him and will do everything in his power to look out for them. It helps that he seems to have been granted a generous helping of that good, old-fashioned sense of honour; and possesses a certain “captain goes down with his ship” mentality that usually ensures he is amongst the last to leave any field of battle or conflict. Not surprisingly, he also detests torture and pointless violence, though that has not stopped him from carrying out his orders as needed. Such attributes have gained him the respect of many a wingrider, in particular the lower dragon colors under his command.
1. A Fortian Born and Bred
To the boy child Arlendiren, growing up in Fort Weyr amongst dozens of other children, there was no life outside the Creche and no world beyond the stone-hewn walls of the Weyr. Left in the Creche almost from birth, he never learnt who his parents were, and his entire childhood universe consisted of the Weyr's strict rituals and the pecking order it inspired amongst its children. A scramp like all other weyrbrats, Arlendiren's mischievous and playful nature was given both form and focus by the militaristic nature of Fort. A follower more than a leader by preference, he was rarely on the frontlines of any problem behaviours amongst the children, but was never slow to create his share of the pranks around the Creche. He developed strategy and tactfulness as he matured, his natural playfulness showing mostly through his shining eyes, or through the eloquent twist of a verb or noun to suit his purpose - giving insult or praise without ever being explicit enough for his still-young peers to fully reason what he meant.
Though there were few adult figures who took any particular interest in the young boy, there were nonetheless a few that he looked up to and admired; some that he just naturally gravitated towards. Not least of them was the Candidate Master, a brownrider of strict principle and firm loyalties. Gos'far was kind to the child as he was responsible towards all who were under him, and on his example Arlendiren built the foundations of the steadfast and honest character that would mark him for turns to come.
As was expected of a Weyr-born child, Arlendiren stood for his first clutch at the age of 12 turns. He did not Impress, but that did not stop him from standing again later that same turn, and again when he was 13. It was at his fifth Hatching, however, that the 14 turn old boy finally came face-to-face - quite inadvertantly! - with a small brown dragonet whilst he rushed to escape a stampede caused by an onrush of two dragonets. The creeling hatchling butted him head-first, sending him tumbling into the sand, and apologized for having to stop him so abruptly - though there really hadn't been any choice as he had been about to miss him completely in his haste. The dragonet's speech stopped Arlendiren short in his scramble to rise, and in the silence that seemed to have fallen on them both he heard Ysaloth introduce himself before (courteously) pointing out that his name was now Ar'ren and he really shouldn't be thinking of himself as anything else anymore.
So began Ar'ren and Ysaloth's existence at Fort Weyr; and from the same Hatching that gave bronze Ciceroth to Ka'rys and blue Kindrith to E'yan, no less. The effect of Impression on Ar'ren became gradually more visible over weyrlinghood, as the brown's natural logic and sense of fair play brought out similar depths in the boy, building and refining what had already began when he looked to old Gos'far as his mentor and role model.
2. A history made in blood
Whilst things had always been bad between Fort and Benden, they deteriorated yet more with the death of the Fort Junior Queen an the desperate theft of Benden's eggs. Ar'ren never agreed with the whole theft idea, but being fresh out of weyrlinghood he had no say in such things. And no matter how he felt that what followed could all have been so easily averted, history was made in blood when dragonrider turned on dragonrider and war came to the Weyrs of the North.
Thus it was that Ar'ren's training would be put to the ultimate test almost upon graduation. Unhappy and unwilling though he was, Ar'ren nonetheless went into battle with all he could give as he was commanded to. Not that there was much of it - as one of the youngest and least experienced riders, he was more often than not assigned to guard duty and patrols that stayed within sight of the Weyr. His first kill, however, came just weeks after the first battles were fought, when a bold Benden incursion attempted to sabotage Fort Weyr during a larger battle elsewhere. The young brownrider's first kill came then: a bluerider no older than himself, and the effect on him was predictable even if traumatic. Ar'ren threw up in mid-air in the midst of that skirmish, and was plagued with nightmares that gave even Ysaloth sleepless nights for days afterward.
Ar'ren hated the development of the interrogation methods under Kamerai, and usually tried his best to stay out of using them, though he sometimes had to ply them as per orders from above. One thing remained constant however: he never participated in the execution of any captured dragons, using his considerable tact and intellect to wheedle and worm his way out of such things (even if it meant extra guard duty at times). As he was a competent and obedient wingrider with no apparently strong character traits, he was usually let off the hook.
He learnt to cope eventually, of course; anyone who couldn't was invariably culled, one way or another, and he loved Ysaloth too much to let that happen. Burying his disgust and distaste for the killing and torture under a general guise of being loyal to his own, young Ar'ren went about his duties as asked. So successful was he at this self-deception that he soon all but believed it himself: the killing was just part of his duty to Weyr and Wing, and whether he liked it or not, orders were orders. Being smart, he also learnt fast to keep a low profile out of simple instinct to survive; though he would always be too strongly loyal to his wingmates to let them die in front of him without a fight. He eventually gained some independence from his leaders as they saw he had some sense of strategy and intuitive tactics in battle. And from the lower dragon colors he earned much respect as he used that intelligence to protect them and minimise the 'acceptable losses'.
Fortunately for Fort, however, the competency of their leadership meant those losses were usually minimal when compared to that of Benden. Ar'ren was, even if grudgingly, grateful for D'loro and Kamerai, as their careful strategies and continued victories usually meant that things went well enough for Fort to avoid loosing more riders than they needed to. None of that meaningless savagery and backstabbing that was said to characterise Benden under C'leon; loyalty was the by-word at Fort, and Ar'ren tried his very best to be that loyalty as well.
3. In chaos and in love
Unfortunately, however, the reign of D'loro and Kamerai could not last. Ar'ren was 25 turns of age when the pair were killed in the goldflight of 3010, having been assassinated by C'leon even as their dragons were in Flight. Their deaths stunned the Weyr, and in the chaos that ensued the bronzerider R'anatar took power. Ar'ren had never liked the man, considering him a turncoat and an oddity for having transferred successfully from Selenitas to Fort during their most xenophobic period; and he liked him even less as time passed and things in the Weyr went from bad to worse. The next few turns were times of tumult as Eliara abandoned ship to flee to High Reaches, R'anatar cemented his power by winning Doryith's maiden flight, and those loyal to old Fort either disappeared or left with J'lorin during his takeover of Benden.
Things were relatively peaceful in Theta Wing, however, and thanks in no small part to Ar'ren's cautious behind-the-scenes management of the riders and their relations with their various Wingleaders. With the exodus of loyal D'loro followers and the growing unhappiness in the ranks, however, things gradually got tougher. The mortality rate, for one, was becoming atrocious; and now there were executions of Fort riders as well, and not merely captured enemies. Ar'ren and Ysaloth were spared the worst of it as they had always been low-profile and were known for their unshakable reputation for sticking to orders. But even they could not stay out of the limelight forever; and when Wingsecond Gr'yar of brown Tolseth fell in combat under suspicious circumstances, they were elevated to Wingsecond of Theta in their place. Ar'ren was non-plussed, but not altogether unhappy; dangerous though this place would be, it also gave him the power he now needed to keep his Wing in line and minimize their casualties as much as possible. Too much had already been lost, not least of all the loyalties of many younger dragonriders; but in Theta Wing he hoped that they might, at least, retain the faith of those beneath them with their steadfast attention to caring for each rider and dragon.
It was in later 3012 that Ar'ren became involved with a young drudge and Creche Worker of the Lower Caverns: a young, 18-turn-old Weyr-bred women named Lelian who had stood for candidacy twice but failed to Impress so far. Their meetings were coincidental - Ar'ren had a tendency to slip into the kitchens after dark for some peace and a bite or two, whilst Lelian was usually the last out of the place, cleaning up after the day's work. Thus it was that their nightly meetings became, eventually, a routine of sorts; and after the initial uncertainties they became fairly open with one another, seeing in each other a source of comfort and confidentiality that was becoming ever harder to find as Fort evolved under R'anatar.
It was not until mid-3013, however, that Ar'ren and Lelian finally admitted they had grown to feel more than friendship for one another, and with that realization came increased caution. Blackmail was now common within Fort, and to protect one another they kept their relationship and their tyrsts secret; so secret, in fact, that even Ysaloth would sometimes shut his mind off at his rider's request to keep from accidentally revealing their whereabouts. So it was that even as the turns lengthened, and R'anatar's on Fort hardened into steel, Ar'ren and Lelian found comfort in their love for another amidst the turbulences of the times.
4.The Southern Weyr
It was in Spring of the turn 3014 that events came about which would change life forever for Ar'ren and Ysaloth. The first they knew of it were the orders: to move against High Reaches, tearing apart the already-doomed Weyr which lacked a Queen and sending it to its demise earlier. As ever, he could see no reason for such orders (surely there had never been a reason to pick an argument with High Reaches), but like the obedient Wingsecond he was, he and Ysaloth led the rest behind their Wingleader in the assault on the smaller Weyr. The slaughter was unlike anything he could recall, if only because they spared no one, not even the babes. Hardened warriors though they were, Ar'ren and Ysaloth still felt their stomachs twist as they saw the carnage through. They were then ordered to back their Wingleader as they made their pursuit of the escaped High Reaches dragonriders across the seas to the Southern Weyr of Selenitas.
And it was at Selenitas that fierce battle ensued when Weyrleader S'rei refused the Fortians their demand, provoking an attack. Ar'ren and Ysaloth refused to participate in mindless carnage such as they had just witnessed in High Reaches; but when their attempts at reasoning were thrown back in their faces by the bronze dragon Morreliath, they too shifted into a full assault on the Selenitas dragons.
Unfortunately for them, however, Selenitas as led by S'rei and Ka'rys would prove to have more to them than mere softness as their reputation had always suggested. The Fort Wing was thrown back, over half its riders killed and the rest sent packing. Ar'ren and Ysaloth's section suffered the least casualties, but both Ysaloth himself and their fellow wingmate, A'emi of green Kyrahth, were wounded and forced to ground. A third wingmate, E'rel of brown Operath, took serious injuries from a bronze dragon and were eventually killed. Wounded as they were, the brown-pair expected that they would soon be tortured and killed; or at least that Ysaloth might be, and Ar'ren made into one of the dragonless slaves so common in the North. With that in mind they were prepared to fight to the death, or at least to go down fighting.
To their astonishment however, nothing of that sort came to pass. They were, instead, taken alive, given a weyr of their own, and even had their wounds tended. Granted, they were still hostages and under a sort of watch at all times; but it was certainly more than Ar'ren or Ysaloth had expected. Gradually, their open hostility faded to careful and nuanced openness with the Selenitas riders, and a certain grudgingly given gratitude for being allowed to live. Though the brown-pair has settled in somewhat, they remain very much isolated and prefer to keep company with A'emi and Kyrahth, if not remaining by themselves only. Ar'ren thinks of Lelian every night as well, and though he would never admit it to anyone, Ysaloth knows well how his rider fears for the safety of the girl he has been forced to leave in Fort. However, with his usual loyalty to his riders, Ar'ren has no intention of leaving Selenitas without A'emi; though with each passing day he wonders if it would not be better for both of them if they simply stayed at Selenitas...
Name: Ysaloth (sah-loth - as in 'loft')
Color: Brown (cdc2a6)
Age: 15 turns [b. October 2999]
Physical Description:
Ysaloth is a small brown. He just tops the size of a large blue in both height and length, though alongside the lithe blues he is easily recognizable as brown by the heft of his frame and the strength inherent in his well-built neck, shoulders, back and flanks. His musculature is solid and powerful: a little reminiscent of a wher, perhaps, but that comparison would be hard to draw, obvious only to those adept at dragon anatomy. Coupled with the arching span and depth of his wings, and the handsome squarish curves of his jaw, headknobs and talons, he is a dragon built for stamina at little cost to the speed and agility levels available to his colour.
The little dragon's coloration is mostly pale - a cool, off-colour shade that is not unlike the hue of sand. The color darkens along his extremities (nose, headknobs, eye cavities, spines and tail-tip), but is otherwise solid. Scars mark him across the wings and hindquarters, with a nice line running down his left foreleg from elbow joint to talons. Ysaloth's unique characteristic, apart from the usual scarring, is a series of darker dapples along his flanks near the hindquarters. The markings are somewhat marred by the light scarring over his flanks - smaller dragons, in particular, seem to like going for the back since they can't quite face a brown head-on - but the dappling still manages to resemble little chocolate spots in the right lighting.
Personality:
Not unlike his rider, Ysaloth is a creature of logic and rational thought, with an intellect the match of his rider's for analysis and mental capacity. He prefers to see things from every angle he can possibly consider before coming to a conclusion, and with his meticulous methods of analysis he is usually right about things in general. Polite and formal by nature, he prefers to leave the socializing to his rider, taking the chance instead to observe things whilst passing his opinions and considerations to Ar'ren instead.
Ysaloth's mindvoice, when he does speak, is typically laden with protocol and courteous above all else. Though he might bend truth a little at times to protect his rider or those around him, he finds it impossible to lie, not even to his rider in teasing or otherwise. His loyalty to Ar'ren is complete, so much so that he does much of his most elaborate truth-bending for his sake - even if it goes against his nature so much that it can feel like trying to enjoy grass as a food source. He is, like his rider, also strongly responsible for those considered "his" - his to care for, his to protect - and will go out of his way to see that they are looked after properly.
A gentleman at heart, Ysaloth's sense of fair play is rivaled only by his rider's sense of honour, and in keeping with this the brown treats those around him as equals unless there are good reasons not to. The notable exception would be metallics and others who might rank above him; in such company he tends to be cowed, uncertain and intimidated by the very real and dangerous powers that such people wield. A prudent soul, he also hates wastage of any sort, and as such is in full agreement with his rider on what might constitute 'acceptable losses' amongst their Wings.
Surrounded (Plot)
(#1)Legatus Wing Drills
Morning's wakening
In the forests of the night
Penance
The worst is the waiting
The Rider
Name: Ar'ren (Arr–ren)
Age: 29 turns [b. April 2985]
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual in preference, bisexual in practice.
Rank: Brownrider
Wing: Legatus
Physical Appearance:
Ar'ren stands at a good 6’2” - a tall fellow, slender almost to the point of being willowy, yet mostly well-proportioned despite the litheness of his frame. The strenuous life of a dragonrider keeps him in shape, granting him both the scars and the moderate musculature to prove it. Scars trace the length of his arms, and one ragged gray line runs down his left hand from just above the wrist to the joint of the index finger. Dark brown hair lies ragged atop his head, giving him an almost roguish appearance against the distinct sharpness of his aquiline nose and jowl. A few bangs scatter his forehead lightly and contrast his hazel-brown eyes, framed by light eyebrows of the same hue. For a Northerner, his skin tone might be considered coppery from the long hours spent in the sun; to the Southerners, however, he would seem as pale as any other rider from the North.
The brownrider's dressing tends to differ depending on his moods, but he favours earth-brown, sable blue or dark blue and dark wine-red shades which he feels match better with his hair colour. Working tunics and hardy jodhpurs or breeches suit him best for his daily duties, with a pair of knee-high wherhide boots to complete the outfit. He favours moccasins when he can get them, however, and prefers knee-high boots beneath his riding leathers when he’s on Ysaloth for any length of time.
Ar'ren is simple in his choice of weaponry: he usually totes a long fighting knife on his belt, and as a precaution usually carries a second, shorter knife in his boot. Not that anyone need know of that second blade, of course. His greatest skill, however, is in his fists. Trained in unarmed combat from childhood, Ar'ren is a natural in the use of his bare hands, and for that reason often carries a pair of metal-speckled gloves tucked into his belt beside the knife.
Personality
Ar'ren appears, at first glance, as his reputation makes him out to be: quiet, astute and very observant. Polite at all times save when stress or pressure drive him to gruffness, and rather straightforward in matters of fact (such as death and dying). A thinker more than a man of action, though certainly capable of holding his own in a scuffle or spar. Such is usually the initial impression, and though Ar'ren is a good fighter in his own right, it is his reputation as a remarkable and very talented strategist that shapes how many see him from afar. Exceptionally perceptive of his surroundings and very quick to spot discrepancies, he is capable of making projections and/or deductions at speed, and his mind has been trained by circumstances to be very fast and sharp under pressure. In keeping with his strong sense of fair play, he strives at all times to logical and unbiased in his deductions, and is usually very accurate as a result (as a matter of fact, almost all of Ysaloth’s plans in the attack on Selenitas had come from Ar’ren).
However, the Ar'ren beneath the cool exterior and tendency for bluntness is a man defined by his attitudes rather than his intellect. It would not be wrong to say that those who know him well consider him an embodiment of the old-type dragonriders; the kind that many would (rightly) consider extinct. Loyal and faithful to a fault, he usually places the wants and needs of others - both superiors and subordinates alike - above his own, and strives often to be the best he can be for everyone around him. Not that he is hesitant of questioning his leaders' orders if he doesn't like certain things, but at the end of the day orders are still orders and he usually carries them out to the letter anyway.
A hard and honest worker with a remarkable patience to match, Ar'ren considers himself directly responsible for those under him and will do everything in his power to look out for them. It helps that he seems to have been granted a generous helping of that good, old-fashioned sense of honour; and possesses a certain “captain goes down with his ship” mentality that usually ensures he is amongst the last to leave any field of battle or conflict. Not surprisingly, he also detests torture and pointless violence, though that has not stopped him from carrying out his orders as needed. Such attributes have gained him the respect of many a wingrider, in particular the lower dragon colors under his command.
The Prequel
1. A Fortian Born and Bred
To the boy child Arlendiren, growing up in Fort Weyr amongst dozens of other children, there was no life outside the Creche and no world beyond the stone-hewn walls of the Weyr. Left in the Creche almost from birth, he never learnt who his parents were, and his entire childhood universe consisted of the Weyr's strict rituals and the pecking order it inspired amongst its children. A scramp like all other weyrbrats, Arlendiren's mischievous and playful nature was given both form and focus by the militaristic nature of Fort. A follower more than a leader by preference, he was rarely on the frontlines of any problem behaviours amongst the children, but was never slow to create his share of the pranks around the Creche. He developed strategy and tactfulness as he matured, his natural playfulness showing mostly through his shining eyes, or through the eloquent twist of a verb or noun to suit his purpose - giving insult or praise without ever being explicit enough for his still-young peers to fully reason what he meant.
Though there were few adult figures who took any particular interest in the young boy, there were nonetheless a few that he looked up to and admired; some that he just naturally gravitated towards. Not least of them was the Candidate Master, a brownrider of strict principle and firm loyalties. Gos'far was kind to the child as he was responsible towards all who were under him, and on his example Arlendiren built the foundations of the steadfast and honest character that would mark him for turns to come.
As was expected of a Weyr-born child, Arlendiren stood for his first clutch at the age of 12 turns. He did not Impress, but that did not stop him from standing again later that same turn, and again when he was 13. It was at his fifth Hatching, however, that the 14 turn old boy finally came face-to-face - quite inadvertantly! - with a small brown dragonet whilst he rushed to escape a stampede caused by an onrush of two dragonets. The creeling hatchling butted him head-first, sending him tumbling into the sand, and apologized for having to stop him so abruptly - though there really hadn't been any choice as he had been about to miss him completely in his haste. The dragonet's speech stopped Arlendiren short in his scramble to rise, and in the silence that seemed to have fallen on them both he heard Ysaloth introduce himself before (courteously) pointing out that his name was now Ar'ren and he really shouldn't be thinking of himself as anything else anymore.
So began Ar'ren and Ysaloth's existence at Fort Weyr; and from the same Hatching that gave bronze Ciceroth to Ka'rys and blue Kindrith to E'yan, no less. The effect of Impression on Ar'ren became gradually more visible over weyrlinghood, as the brown's natural logic and sense of fair play brought out similar depths in the boy, building and refining what had already began when he looked to old Gos'far as his mentor and role model.
2. A history made in blood
Whilst things had always been bad between Fort and Benden, they deteriorated yet more with the death of the Fort Junior Queen an the desperate theft of Benden's eggs. Ar'ren never agreed with the whole theft idea, but being fresh out of weyrlinghood he had no say in such things. And no matter how he felt that what followed could all have been so easily averted, history was made in blood when dragonrider turned on dragonrider and war came to the Weyrs of the North.
Thus it was that Ar'ren's training would be put to the ultimate test almost upon graduation. Unhappy and unwilling though he was, Ar'ren nonetheless went into battle with all he could give as he was commanded to. Not that there was much of it - as one of the youngest and least experienced riders, he was more often than not assigned to guard duty and patrols that stayed within sight of the Weyr. His first kill, however, came just weeks after the first battles were fought, when a bold Benden incursion attempted to sabotage Fort Weyr during a larger battle elsewhere. The young brownrider's first kill came then: a bluerider no older than himself, and the effect on him was predictable even if traumatic. Ar'ren threw up in mid-air in the midst of that skirmish, and was plagued with nightmares that gave even Ysaloth sleepless nights for days afterward.
Ar'ren hated the development of the interrogation methods under Kamerai, and usually tried his best to stay out of using them, though he sometimes had to ply them as per orders from above. One thing remained constant however: he never participated in the execution of any captured dragons, using his considerable tact and intellect to wheedle and worm his way out of such things (even if it meant extra guard duty at times). As he was a competent and obedient wingrider with no apparently strong character traits, he was usually let off the hook.
He learnt to cope eventually, of course; anyone who couldn't was invariably culled, one way or another, and he loved Ysaloth too much to let that happen. Burying his disgust and distaste for the killing and torture under a general guise of being loyal to his own, young Ar'ren went about his duties as asked. So successful was he at this self-deception that he soon all but believed it himself: the killing was just part of his duty to Weyr and Wing, and whether he liked it or not, orders were orders. Being smart, he also learnt fast to keep a low profile out of simple instinct to survive; though he would always be too strongly loyal to his wingmates to let them die in front of him without a fight. He eventually gained some independence from his leaders as they saw he had some sense of strategy and intuitive tactics in battle. And from the lower dragon colors he earned much respect as he used that intelligence to protect them and minimise the 'acceptable losses'.
Fortunately for Fort, however, the competency of their leadership meant those losses were usually minimal when compared to that of Benden. Ar'ren was, even if grudgingly, grateful for D'loro and Kamerai, as their careful strategies and continued victories usually meant that things went well enough for Fort to avoid loosing more riders than they needed to. None of that meaningless savagery and backstabbing that was said to characterise Benden under C'leon; loyalty was the by-word at Fort, and Ar'ren tried his very best to be that loyalty as well.
3. In chaos and in love
Unfortunately, however, the reign of D'loro and Kamerai could not last. Ar'ren was 25 turns of age when the pair were killed in the goldflight of 3010, having been assassinated by C'leon even as their dragons were in Flight. Their deaths stunned the Weyr, and in the chaos that ensued the bronzerider R'anatar took power. Ar'ren had never liked the man, considering him a turncoat and an oddity for having transferred successfully from Selenitas to Fort during their most xenophobic period; and he liked him even less as time passed and things in the Weyr went from bad to worse. The next few turns were times of tumult as Eliara abandoned ship to flee to High Reaches, R'anatar cemented his power by winning Doryith's maiden flight, and those loyal to old Fort either disappeared or left with J'lorin during his takeover of Benden.
Things were relatively peaceful in Theta Wing, however, and thanks in no small part to Ar'ren's cautious behind-the-scenes management of the riders and their relations with their various Wingleaders. With the exodus of loyal D'loro followers and the growing unhappiness in the ranks, however, things gradually got tougher. The mortality rate, for one, was becoming atrocious; and now there were executions of Fort riders as well, and not merely captured enemies. Ar'ren and Ysaloth were spared the worst of it as they had always been low-profile and were known for their unshakable reputation for sticking to orders. But even they could not stay out of the limelight forever; and when Wingsecond Gr'yar of brown Tolseth fell in combat under suspicious circumstances, they were elevated to Wingsecond of Theta in their place. Ar'ren was non-plussed, but not altogether unhappy; dangerous though this place would be, it also gave him the power he now needed to keep his Wing in line and minimize their casualties as much as possible. Too much had already been lost, not least of all the loyalties of many younger dragonriders; but in Theta Wing he hoped that they might, at least, retain the faith of those beneath them with their steadfast attention to caring for each rider and dragon.
It was in later 3012 that Ar'ren became involved with a young drudge and Creche Worker of the Lower Caverns: a young, 18-turn-old Weyr-bred women named Lelian who had stood for candidacy twice but failed to Impress so far. Their meetings were coincidental - Ar'ren had a tendency to slip into the kitchens after dark for some peace and a bite or two, whilst Lelian was usually the last out of the place, cleaning up after the day's work. Thus it was that their nightly meetings became, eventually, a routine of sorts; and after the initial uncertainties they became fairly open with one another, seeing in each other a source of comfort and confidentiality that was becoming ever harder to find as Fort evolved under R'anatar.
It was not until mid-3013, however, that Ar'ren and Lelian finally admitted they had grown to feel more than friendship for one another, and with that realization came increased caution. Blackmail was now common within Fort, and to protect one another they kept their relationship and their tyrsts secret; so secret, in fact, that even Ysaloth would sometimes shut his mind off at his rider's request to keep from accidentally revealing their whereabouts. So it was that even as the turns lengthened, and R'anatar's on Fort hardened into steel, Ar'ren and Lelian found comfort in their love for another amidst the turbulences of the times.
4.The Southern Weyr
It was in Spring of the turn 3014 that events came about which would change life forever for Ar'ren and Ysaloth. The first they knew of it were the orders: to move against High Reaches, tearing apart the already-doomed Weyr which lacked a Queen and sending it to its demise earlier. As ever, he could see no reason for such orders (surely there had never been a reason to pick an argument with High Reaches), but like the obedient Wingsecond he was, he and Ysaloth led the rest behind their Wingleader in the assault on the smaller Weyr. The slaughter was unlike anything he could recall, if only because they spared no one, not even the babes. Hardened warriors though they were, Ar'ren and Ysaloth still felt their stomachs twist as they saw the carnage through. They were then ordered to back their Wingleader as they made their pursuit of the escaped High Reaches dragonriders across the seas to the Southern Weyr of Selenitas.
And it was at Selenitas that fierce battle ensued when Weyrleader S'rei refused the Fortians their demand, provoking an attack. Ar'ren and Ysaloth refused to participate in mindless carnage such as they had just witnessed in High Reaches; but when their attempts at reasoning were thrown back in their faces by the bronze dragon Morreliath, they too shifted into a full assault on the Selenitas dragons.
Unfortunately for them, however, Selenitas as led by S'rei and Ka'rys would prove to have more to them than mere softness as their reputation had always suggested. The Fort Wing was thrown back, over half its riders killed and the rest sent packing. Ar'ren and Ysaloth's section suffered the least casualties, but both Ysaloth himself and their fellow wingmate, A'emi of green Kyrahth, were wounded and forced to ground. A third wingmate, E'rel of brown Operath, took serious injuries from a bronze dragon and were eventually killed. Wounded as they were, the brown-pair expected that they would soon be tortured and killed; or at least that Ysaloth might be, and Ar'ren made into one of the dragonless slaves so common in the North. With that in mind they were prepared to fight to the death, or at least to go down fighting.
To their astonishment however, nothing of that sort came to pass. They were, instead, taken alive, given a weyr of their own, and even had their wounds tended. Granted, they were still hostages and under a sort of watch at all times; but it was certainly more than Ar'ren or Ysaloth had expected. Gradually, their open hostility faded to careful and nuanced openness with the Selenitas riders, and a certain grudgingly given gratitude for being allowed to live. Though the brown-pair has settled in somewhat, they remain very much isolated and prefer to keep company with A'emi and Kyrahth, if not remaining by themselves only. Ar'ren thinks of Lelian every night as well, and though he would never admit it to anyone, Ysaloth knows well how his rider fears for the safety of the girl he has been forced to leave in Fort. However, with his usual loyalty to his riders, Ar'ren has no intention of leaving Selenitas without A'emi; though with each passing day he wonders if it would not be better for both of them if they simply stayed at Selenitas...
The Dragon
Name: Ysaloth (sah-loth - as in 'loft')
Color: Brown (cdc2a6)
Age: 15 turns [b. October 2999]
Physical Description:
Ysaloth is a small brown. He just tops the size of a large blue in both height and length, though alongside the lithe blues he is easily recognizable as brown by the heft of his frame and the strength inherent in his well-built neck, shoulders, back and flanks. His musculature is solid and powerful: a little reminiscent of a wher, perhaps, but that comparison would be hard to draw, obvious only to those adept at dragon anatomy. Coupled with the arching span and depth of his wings, and the handsome squarish curves of his jaw, headknobs and talons, he is a dragon built for stamina at little cost to the speed and agility levels available to his colour.
The little dragon's coloration is mostly pale - a cool, off-colour shade that is not unlike the hue of sand. The color darkens along his extremities (nose, headknobs, eye cavities, spines and tail-tip), but is otherwise solid. Scars mark him across the wings and hindquarters, with a nice line running down his left foreleg from elbow joint to talons. Ysaloth's unique characteristic, apart from the usual scarring, is a series of darker dapples along his flanks near the hindquarters. The markings are somewhat marred by the light scarring over his flanks - smaller dragons, in particular, seem to like going for the back since they can't quite face a brown head-on - but the dappling still manages to resemble little chocolate spots in the right lighting.
Personality:
Not unlike his rider, Ysaloth is a creature of logic and rational thought, with an intellect the match of his rider's for analysis and mental capacity. He prefers to see things from every angle he can possibly consider before coming to a conclusion, and with his meticulous methods of analysis he is usually right about things in general. Polite and formal by nature, he prefers to leave the socializing to his rider, taking the chance instead to observe things whilst passing his opinions and considerations to Ar'ren instead.
Ysaloth's mindvoice, when he does speak, is typically laden with protocol and courteous above all else. Though he might bend truth a little at times to protect his rider or those around him, he finds it impossible to lie, not even to his rider in teasing or otherwise. His loyalty to Ar'ren is complete, so much so that he does much of his most elaborate truth-bending for his sake - even if it goes against his nature so much that it can feel like trying to enjoy grass as a food source. He is, like his rider, also strongly responsible for those considered "his" - his to care for, his to protect - and will go out of his way to see that they are looked after properly.
A gentleman at heart, Ysaloth's sense of fair play is rivaled only by his rider's sense of honour, and in keeping with this the brown treats those around him as equals unless there are good reasons not to. The notable exception would be metallics and others who might rank above him; in such company he tends to be cowed, uncertain and intimidated by the very real and dangerous powers that such people wield. A prudent soul, he also hates wastage of any sort, and as such is in full agreement with his rider on what might constitute 'acceptable losses' amongst their Wings.
The Story continues...
Surrounded (Plot)
(#1)Legatus Wing Drills
Morning's wakening
In the forests of the night
Penance
The worst is the waiting