Post by Ruby on May 10, 2011 19:36:38 GMT -5
Weyrleader H'nes
Name: H'nes (Hinesal)
Age: 43 (Born May 2973)
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Rank: Weyrleader
Physical Appearance:
H'nes is a curious mix of impressive and forgettable. Broad shoulders and a powerful frame are plenty memorable when all 6'2" of H'nes is looming over you, and arms and chest corded with muscle aren't especially comforting when you're the cause of the flash of anger in his eye, but otherwise his size isn't particularly noticeable. He's tall enough, broad enough, strong enough, but well-tailored clothes and the Bronzerider's usually mild nature hide that quite effectively. Essentially, he appears exactly as large or as small as he needs to be, given the situation. Usually, all anyone notices is a blurry, vaguely remembered shape in the background of important events. That's good enough for him.
When people do take the time to pay more attention to him, though, what they find is pleasant; perhaps surprisingly so. A strong, clean-shaven jaw is almost certainly the highlight of his face, although pale blue-grey eyes and prominent cheekbones help as well. A nondescript nose and mouth make up the remainder of his face, certainly attractive but without that special something that the most good-looking men have. Really, his only downside is his smile. Where other people's smiles light up their faces, H'nes' has never quite looked right, unless it is not quite sincere. More like a grimace than anything once it gets wider than a self-satisfied little quirk. Luckily, he rarely truly smiles; instead, H'nes' expression is almost always closely guarded.
Were he ever to let his medium brown hair tousle loosely over his brow as it does in the early morning, H'nes might be called rakishly handsome - it certainly looks good that way, especially since it softens his often harsh expression. That, however, will never happen. His hair is always perfect, slicked back from his forehead with not one lock out of place, as his clothes are always crisp and clean and professional. Not an inch of his person, however, is less than eminently manly. Yes, his clothes are clean and coordinated and fashionable, but that is because he makes a point of befriending the Headwoman, or taking lovers and weyrmates skilled in the dressing of men. If left on his own, the man would manage, but he certainly likes having a woman around. He takes personal grooming very seriously.
Personality:
Somewhat of an enigma, H'nes makes being mysterious an art. He is ambitious to a point, but would rather be in a position to influence things outside of the spotlight rather than appear as a figurehead. Strong, fair, and sensible is his favorite way to appear, and he believes in the phrase 'absolute power corrupts absolutely', but he interprets it slightly differently than others: to him, it means that if he can influence those in power without being in power himself, he can avoid absolute corruption. Perhaps because he believes this so strongly, Quarth has never flown a senior queen at a time when it would place H'nes in the position of Sr. Weyrleader. Junior queens and influential greens were always preferred by rider and dragon alike, and H'nes always preferred the position of advisor and occasionally something akin to spymaster to the men above him. Right-hand was never his choice position - too obvious - but he has occasionally served as Junior Weyrleader in the past, and often as a Wingleader.
Of course, few Bendeners are truly devoid of corruption, and H'nes is no exception. The difference, for him, is that he is painfully aware of the ways in which he fails, and it torments him... but not enough to get him to stop. His main vices are women and alcohol, but he also dabbles in lying, manipulation, infidelity, and pretty much anything else society might consider less than savory. He tries his best to present a squeaky-clean face to the world, appearing proper, capable, mild, and well-spoken, as a man should; that, his innate ability to charm, and his influence and powerful friends are generally enough to keep negative rumors at bay. This is not always the case, but H'nes is a skilled finesser of the truth, changing a detail here and a word there to make the accuser sound insane. His fuse is incredibly long, and it is nearly impossible to goad him into releasing some truth in a fit of anger.
Faranth protect those that do make him angry, however. Control (not power, the difference is subtle but there) is his number one goal, and those that take it away from him (without giving something in return) often find themselves in hot water. Smart and shrewd, he hardly ever resorts to violence, but whatever punishment he chooses he goes all out. It is never pleasant and usually ruinous to get on H'nes' bad side. Luckily, hardly anyone ever does - he much prefers to dispose of a troublesome person before they become a problem, and even that is exceedingly rare. Honestly, as a Wingleader, he is efficient, fair, and usually a good man to work with, assuming you are a straight man who doesn't mind hard work. Women are generally treated as useful only for their ability to 'please' him regardless of their talent, and H'nes is hugely homophobic. He will work with whatever wingriders he is given, but those on the 'wrong' side of the sheets should expect to be at the bottom of the pile, no matter what they ride.
History:
2973 - 2983: Bitra Hold; Early Life
H'nes was born Hinesal to a pair of drudges at Bitra Hold. Those few who remember the brown haired, surprisingly light-eyed, and somber child might recall that his father was a violent alcoholic and his mother was a Southerner (Blossom, actually) and somewhat slow of wit. Few would remember much of the boy at all, except that he was distinctly brighter than his parents. H'nes himself is notoriously quiet on the subject of his early years. Asking him about his life before Quarth is a really good way to end a conversation.
He wasn't even eleven when one of the Benden riders who frequented the gambling halls (and brothels) of Bitra took a fancy to the boy's pale eyes. When he discovered that Hinesal was the child of drudges, not yet sold to the mines or the whores - too pretty for the mines, his parents figured, they could get a better price from the pimps and madams once they were convinced that Hinesal's volatile breeding would come to naught - he bundled the child off to the Weyr under the name of Search.
2983 - 2985: Benden Weyr; Candidate, Weyrling
That was the Rider's last and greatest mistake: when he tried, that night, to bed Hinesal for the first time, the boy castrated him with a paring knife. When the Rider threw himself from his weyrledge to end the pain, few people questioned the suicide (he had been a miserable man after all), but they always wondered why his pants had been around his ankles.
Presenting himself to the Candidatemaster the next day, Hinesal claimed he had come with a recent tithe train, and no one questioned him. His candidacy was unremarkable, although he was widely considered a talented and hardworking child. When he reached the age of 15, he even caught the eye of the young and beautiful Lyanna, candidate for a queen egg. Nothing but a bit of kissing and hand-holding happened before Lyanna impressed - Green, not Queen, no Gold hatched that turn - and quickly became too busy with her handful of a dragon to carry on any sort of meaningful relationship. Nearly two turns later, Gilganeth laid another clutch, and Hinesal stood again - this time Impressing the clutch's only Bronze, Quarth. The 17 turn old entered Weyrling training with determination, becoming a competent rider, often overlooked in favor of the flashier browns in his class, but H'nes didn't mind. Once Lyanna graduated later that turn, the two picked up where they had left off, despite H'nes' preoccupation with training. Once he, too, graduated, he took her for a Weyrmate, and the two were joined before either of them had reached 20 turns.
2985 - 3012: Benden Weyr; Rider
Marital bliss lasted oh, a turn or so, until Lyanna's Green rose, leaving her in bed with the temporarily deposed Weyrleader, T'less. There was nothing at all between the two, and both parts of the young couple had known that these sorts of things would happen, but knowing that another Bronzerider had won her (however temporarily) drove H'nes mad with jealousy. All of his carefully cultivated self-control vanished, leading to both his first night of true drunkenness and his first affair. Doreah, one of H'nes' fellow wingriders, was older and more fiery than the blond and bland Lyanna, and discreet to boot. Lyanna suspected foul play, but without proof, and with a child on the way, she chose to give H'nes the benefit of the doubt.
That was a mistake.
H'nes spent the rest of the turn sleeping through the women of the Weyr, choosing mostly lower caverns women who wouldn't speak for fear of retribution and those who only visited the weyr temporarily, although Doreah continued to share his bed on a regular basis. H'nes' excuses got flimsier as Lyanna got more pregnant, until Gilganeth rose again, and a drunken and flight-befuddled H'nes discovered he had bedded the halfwit midwife on her way back from delivering his daughter, and not his wife.
The idiot woman told Lyanna and fled. They fought, Lyanna threatened to leave, H'nes smacked her, then repented and begged. Eventually, Lyanna was convinced to stay, although the couple fostered baby Lyesal to a Lower Caverns couple as soon as she was weaned. H'nes toned down his drinking and his infidelity, staying under the radar and unnoticed by his superiors, doing his best to cater to Lyanna's every whim (and only sleeping with Doreah occasionally). Lyanna pushed him to be a Wingleader, but it wasn't until the Dragonwar began in 2996 that H'nes and Quarth were raised to Wingsecond.
The years passed, T'less was killed - this helped H'nes and Lyanna's relationship exponentially, and his wife became pregnant once again - and C'leon took power, raising H'nes to Wingleader when he did. The men had never exactly been close, but H'nes had always harbored a grudge against T'less, and he was quick to attach himself to the Weyr's bright young leader. C'leon always rewarded his friends, and H'nes was loyal to this man in a way he never had been to his wife. S'rei, the Fort defector and Wingsecond on C'leon's wing, was no threat to H'nes, who had a wing of his own and no designs on the title of Weyrleader, or even Weyrleader's right hand - he avoided the Fortian bronzer out of hypocritical distrust. A strange twist of fate had Quarth win Rimeath's first flight, although the clutch was small and the title of Junior Weyrleader just that: a title. No one really thought of H'nes as the true Second of the Weyr, and that was just fine with him.
Not to mention that the title was short-lived. Just a turn later, Salenth caught Rimeath instead, and H'nes gladly gave up the title of Junior Weyrleader to the more well-known S'rei, content to return to his wing. The druggings never bothered H'nes, although Quarth disapproved of the cullings, in his own draconic way. While the Bronze held no specific love for Rimeath, he did have a passing affection for the young gold, and the loss of her children displeased him. The return of Threadfall, however, was distracting enough to keep the Bronze from truly rebelling, and H'nes grew into his position at the top of a Threadfall-specific wing admirably. Lyanna was still around, bearing the occasional child, and Doreah bore H'nes a son, too. The boy was placed discreetly at Benden Hold, and no further fuss was made.
And so it went. The Bronzerider was happy enough, with a beautiful wife at home and the occasional mistress on the side, pleased with his work and his position in C'leon's shadow. Then the man went and got himself killed by the Weyrwoman and her disobedient spawn during the failed Siege - H'nes was somewhat proud that he had little to do with that, but it led to naught. Only Quarth's insight and quick thinking saved the pair from the culling that took place immediately following C'leon's death; they barely escaped with their lives, disappearing Between only once H'nes was sure Lyanna had already been taken.
3012 - 3016: Around Pern, Wasteland, Selenitas; Exile
High Reaches would not do, so the Bronzepair risked returning to Benden Weyr in the dead of night, only long enough for H'nes to contact his few remaining friends. A tiny, ragged group of survivors formed, moving between abandoned Weyrs every few months for turns until, by chance, they connected with Ja'kin and the other Wastelanders. H'nes took up a place much like the one he had occupied with C'leon: shadowy hand of the Weyrleader, not the Junior Weyrleader but highly regarded, when people thought to notice him, anyway. He was instrumental in the invasion that put Wasteland in control of the Southern Weyr, and was assigned Air Wing, a special-forces strike team - a set-up he had specifically requested - once their victory was assured. Until Ja'kin chose to step down.
3016 - Present: Selenitas Weyr; Weyrleader
That left a paltry selection of Bronzeriders, H'nes suddenly realized. Ja'kin's Wingsecond and the man generally considered Weyrsecond despite the lack of a second mature Gold, K'ian, was charismatic but young and foolish enough to be swayed from their ultimate goal by the beauty and lazy ways of the South. Mi'rah was a Southerner at heart, although Ja'kin trusted him enough to let him live. R'kel might do, but H'nes didn't trust the younger man much more than K'ian, and H'nes - and the Weyr as a whole - was certain of one thing. H'nes was the oldest Bronzerider at Selenitas, and if Quarth tried, he had a fairly good chance of beating out the others if it came down to flight. It looked like H'nes was the new Weyrleader, whether he liked it or not.
Dragon:
Name: Quarth
Color: Bronze
Age: 26 (born August 2990)
Physical Appearance:
Unlike his rider, Quarth neither appears nor is a particularly impressive Bronze. Smaller than average, he is built more along the lines of a Brown than your traditional Bronze, with an especially long and lean form. Bones protrude, but not in a way that appears unhealthy - he's just a skinny guy, although not unattractively so. He doesn't appear especially powerful or strong, and honestly, he isn't really; he is really best suited to stealth and threadfall, where he uses his thin, whip-like form and improved agility to dodge clusters of the deadly spores. His wings aren't particularly wide, either - at least not as Bronze wings go, although fully spread they would dwarf the wings of most browns.
His color leaves no question about his rank in the Weyr, though. Not every dragon can be a Morsrath or a Salenth, and while Quarth might have the build of their awkward younger brother, he is bronze. He shines dramatically, and his color is precisely the shade of the polished metal his color is named for. Lighter patches dapple his hide, random smudges of near-gold appearing even brighter than the rest of him. Most don't seem to have any sense, although the one smudged over his left eye seems to be almost perfectly triangular. His hide is riddled with pale grey threadscores, but most are faded with age - Quarth hasn't been scored in years, and that's easy to see. He also lacks any further injuries, as he and His have rarely served on fighting wings, although as can be expected of any older dragon, his wingsails are beginning to look a little tattered, and his muzzle has the very beginnings of greying hide. Quarth doesn't mind - he thinks it makes him look more dangerous.
In the air, Quarth is impressively agile for his color, although his speed is average at best. His endurance depends directly on his agility: if he puts work into fancy tricks, he can last a full threadfall (just barely), but if he is flying straight he can last two. He rarely flies straight, however, especially since his low body weight makes him especially prone to being knocked off course by gusts of wind and errant thermals. Instead he twists and turns in the air, something that is also true on the ground. Even when sprawled in the sun or sitting still to eat some unlucky herdbeast, Quarth is never in a straightforward position; instead, his extra-long tail is draped over his front paw, his body is twisted into a corkscrew, or his head is cocked 90 degrees sideways. He's never, ever where you would expect him to be.
Personality:
There are few pairs closer than Quarth and H'nes. The Bronze knows all of his Rider's secrets, and keeps none from H'nes. Together, they are an impressive pair, both of their above-average intelligence combining to sort out exactly how to bend things in their favor. Quarth loves it when things go his way, and while H'nes will take what he wants and then spend days in existential crisis, Quarth is perfectly happy to do whatever he likes whenever he likes, and is pretty much moral-free. If he wants it, it must be good, and whatever he has to do to get it should be forgiven. However, His is Quarth's number one concern; when H'nes needs him, he is there, without the rider having to ask.
That said, some people would be interested to know how little H'nes and Quarth actually speak to one another. As much as they are an eternal pair, they spend most of their time going their own ways. H'nes has a Weyr to run and people to control; Quarth, on the other hand, is apathetic about humans and politics alike. Instead, he puts his energy into collections; when he gets his mind set on a new addition to some set he's working on, he'll go to the ends of the earth for it. One of his ongoing collections is females: once he catches a green he'll never chase her again, but he'll chase anything and everything until he catches her once (golds he must chase even if he has already caught them; biology's a bitch). The one exception is the Sr. Weyrwoman's dragon. Quarth is disrespectful when he can get away with it, and generally considers all dragons equal, but he knows how little H'nes wants to be Weyrleader, and he won't be trying to force His into leadership if he can avoid it. He'll chase - that he must do - but he will do everything in his power to sabotage himself, and keep himself from catching.
Luckily, Quarth is good at that, too. He's a slippery beast, excellent at making himself appear exactly how he wants people to see him. Where H'nes prefers to melt into the shadows, Quarth often takes a different road. Often, he's dry, sarcastic, and irritable unless he considers the dragon he's speaking with to be as intelligent as he is, which is rare; sometimes, he just kind of is, quietly observing and cataloging the things and dragons around him; occasionally he can even be charming and funny and over the top, especially when trying to get something out of someone. Unless you are H'nes, it is impossible to get Quarth to do something he doesn't want to do, but if you are H'nes, he is extremely cooperative. He's a one-man dragon: H'nes is more than enough for Quarth, and it will always be that way.
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