Iskierka of Blue Ioth

[Ember]

Iskierka

44 (October 2978)
Female
Bisexual (no preference)
Wingrider

Physical Appearance;

Iskierka has long, greying black hair that ends just below her shoulder blades. She has abandoned the twin runner tail style and simply leaves her hair down all the time now, usually cast over her shoulders or tucked behind an ear to keep it out of the way. She has angular features that lend to her usual serious expressions. Dark blue eyes used to betray little emotion other than an occasional mocking glint. Nowadays they tend to have a slightly melancholy look to them, as if she's barely managing to reign something in. Her serious expressions and angular features give her a decidedly intimidating appearance even when she's not trying to. There are hints of the beauty her mother posessed in her face though there are also definite flares of masculinity. There’s an old scar that runs from the bottom edge of her jaw towards her left ear, among other plentiful scars. Most of the newer scars are the result of fighting felines.

There is no real thought given to how she dresses, same as how she never dons any sort of makeup. Most of her clothes are more or less the same; neutral or dark tones in the form of long sleeves and pants. She doesn't actually own any shorts, skirts, or dresses though she does have a couple of short sleeved tops. Mostly she avoid baring too much skin because she is slightly ashamed of the sheer number of scars on her body. Again she doesn't care about her physical appearance but rather her pride. Scars quite clearly indicate a failing on her part and she dislikes showing that to the world at large.

Iskierka is a thin woman and comparatively weaker than many fighters. She makes up for this in her speed and lightning quick reflexes. Her way of fighting is to wear down her opponents rather than overpower them. Though mostly due to her personality, she does have good endurance and has proven herself better able to outlast many a person. She also has an incredibly high pain tolerance and will often not even realize she's injured until much later. As far as a woman's figure goes, she doesn't really have much in the way of hips, though her bust is decent. She stands just slightly above average for a woman at 5'6.

Personality;

Iskierka is largely back to square one, to the way she had been before joining up with Selenitas. In fact, aside from the very few people close to her, she's perhaps even colder than before. The majority of what she genuinely feels past Sena and Elysia and maybe a couple others is overwhelming frustration and a piercing sorrow that she has little defence against. She has redirected those particular emotions towards hunting felines with Ioth. Should a mindhealer ever actually see a kill of hers they would likely start her on counseling immediately - she's needlessly vicious against the animals as it is her only outlet.

Towards most others Iskierka is entirely aloof. At least, on the outside. She rages and insults and is disgusted by others internally or simply indifferent to them entirely. The only real hints people will get are from her eyes, the emotions burning so strongly behind them if only they care to notice. Getting close to this woman anymore is a damn near impossible task though there are certain little ins people can exploit. Being a friend to Sena is a great one. Even better is being a friend to Ioth who seems to make up for the severe introversion of his rider.

She's still a deeply analytical person. She'll take her time going over any foreseeable motives behind a person's actions and base her decisions on that. While this often leads people to believe she's a little slow she's no less intelligent than the average person. Curiously she's still willing to provide assistance to others in a very aloof 'teach them to catch fish' kind of way. It is difficult to tell whether this is because she simply wants others to stop bothering her with their problems or if she actually still cares. Her default mode, however, is driven by selfish desire. What little of it is left, that is.

She still doesn't care much if people see her as some kind of monster. She's confident enough in the fact that she is a monster that she can't care if people say the truth about her. She'll still do very solely self-serving things on occasion though she'll try and use the path that least inconveniences or upsets her own allies. So, diminished but not completely gone is her selfishness. Much to her displeasure, her time as a Weyrlingmaster has made it easy to slip into a teaching role. She'll openly give advice to others or indirectly give them instructions if the opportunity arises.

The exception to...a lot of Iskierka's little rules and barriers is her niece Sena of blue Sensk. Never again did Iskierka expect to see her family and she'd shut off that part of herself on purpose to avoid the pain it could cause her. Sena's return, however, had revealed another side to Iskierka. One that is caring above all else and tolerant and willing to do ridiculous things. She would do anything for her niece if she asked just so and she suspects anyone who has seen her with Sena already knows this. It's a weakness she is more than willing to reveal because Faranth help the one who tries to get to her through her family. She refuses to let go of one of the few bright specks in her life.

History;

Birth and Early Turns (2978-2986)
Born to a brothel in Bitra, Iskierka spent several years not knowing anything about her parents or even her own name. One day the curious girl asked the brothel ladies she helped prepare for customers about her origins and she was told only that her mother, Yiera, died giving birth to a customer's child. Iskierka chose to give herself a name, borrowing a little from her unknown mother and life moved on. Despite getting little attention, the girl had a decent life. She had a roof and food and did very little to earn it. At the age of eight, Iskierka was sold for a measly three marks to a man.

Slavery (2986-2992)
The man who had bought her quickly put her to work fetching items, giving massages, and providing entertainment. It was there that Iskierka discovered the value of listening to orders. Pain always accompanied talking back or refusal to listen. Later on she would reflect that at least he hadn't used her sexually. Under his rule, she learned how to dance appealingly for audiences and gained a lithe dancer's body for her efforts. While providing entertainment for her master and a dragonrider visitor, the dragonrider informed her that she would be accompanying him back to Benden Weyr. She would have gone voluntarily but the man made it clear she had no option to stay anyways.

Benden Weyr (2992-2996)
Weyr life wasn’t so very different for her. More chores in exchange for no more performances; she could hardly complain about that. She had the beginnings of awkward teenage years and found that she was left relatively alone by the dragonriders. Still, the abuse she'd had in her life was beginning to show. She became qutie rude and alienated most of her fellow candidates. She spent most of her time alone until she Impressed a blue dragon by the name of Ioth, chaining her to Benden from the age of sixteen onwards. Iskierka was very strict with Ioth due to the horror of watching the culling of mutated hatchlings at the very clutch she Impressed at. This inhibited her bond with the blue but made sure he was safe.

War and Thread (2996-3013)
When war finally broke out in the north, Iskierka and Ioth stepped up their game. The goal was to survive and be useful to those in command. Iskierka excelled at backward wielding two knives with deadly precision while Ioth excelled at out maneouvering opponents and dropping on them from above. They gained a small amount of notoriety for their troubles. Changes to Benden came in the form of S'rei of Bronze Salenth. He saved Benden from certain defeat and for that Iskierka was almost grateful. She hated the war and she hated C'leon but without either she had no idea what her purpose would be. Despite being a shown capable of betrayal, she respected S'rei for being a different sort of man than she'd known.

The return of Thread was a surprise for all but Iskierka dismissed it as an inconvenience. Though it was supposed to be the original purpose of dragonriders to destroy the menace, she had a different purpose in life. Slowly, attention started to shift towards the little weyr on the southern continent. S'rei had transferred there and then Kaegan had fled there. Though she'd never admit it, Iskierka was a little envious of the easier lifestyle they led there and glad when C'leon failed to become its Weyrleader. She grew increasingly disgusted with the man's tactics but it was not her role to make judgements. More than ever she shut down her emotions. She learned to ignore things like the murder of the Fort leaders during a flight and Selenitas' Weyrwoman's death.

Iskierka was unable to ignore the Benden siege, though. She was ordered to help in the slaughter and she did so without complaints, as per usual. The Selenitas riders were clearly not ready for such an attack and many fell before her blades. She was at least willing to make their deaths as quick as she could, occasionally even stopping to administer a mercy killing when she could. The attack ended in a retreat when their Weyrleader and Weyrsecond were killed. Benden could have easily fallen into disarray if not for the arrival of J'lorin, formerly of Fort. The bluerider silently welcomed the change. It would not bring about the end of war and perhaps this new leader wouldn't be as bad as C'leon.

Selenitas Weyr (3013-3016)
Much to her surprise, Iskierka was chosen to join a group of others to teach Selenitas riders how to fight. She desperately wanted to question his sanity in sending her when he must have known she'd been a part of the siege but a turn before. The soft nature of the southern weyr astounded the woman, and not really in a good way. They were far too easygoing for her tastes. Fort was not long in proving the point Iskierka had been itching to make. Though she was not ordered to she volunteered to defend the weyr out of lingering respect for S'rei during the attack. She wasn't entirely sure how she'd managed it, but she was punished for pissing the bronzerider off by being given over to Ka'rys for secret training.

She quickly found her time limited with the training and the fact that she'd been made Assistant Weyrlingmaster. To top it all off she Impressed a brown salamandyr that ended up being named Rhino that could overwhelm her through their bond. Eventually the postion of Weyrlingmaster fell to her and her free time became almost nonexistant. She found that she didn't mind so much and even grew to somewhat enjoy life at Selenitas Weyr. Much to her chagrin, a teacher side to her formed and she ended up growing a little fond of the brats she taught. Her loyalties had effectively been switched and so when Wasteland took over and she was forced into exile with some other members of the weyr she was none too thrilled.

Burimyu Weyr (3016-3017)
Iskierka settled into the new and more secretive life at Burimyu Weyr with little trouble. The council system put into place was interesting and a conversation with one of the members of that council had some life changing effects. Not only did the councilwoman Meira assure her that she had worth, but the council actually proved it. There were no blue or greenriders on it at the time but the possibility for them to join it in the future was. While exploring her new home, Iskierka discovered a group of nests belonging to local predatory birds. She herself Impressed one of the adults - naming the bird Gawain - while she had her dragon call for people who ended up Impressing to two abandoned nests worth of babies.

Iskierka was later put in charge of a team to steal tithes from Selenitas Weyr to keep Burimyu going. Further proof that blueriders apparently had more worth than she'd previously thought. She didn't dwell on that long, though, as she and several other people from the hidden weyr went to scope out and get supplies at the Hyphen Hold Gather. Discovery by Wasteland awaited them and they lost one of their leaders by the end. A high price to pay for seeing some loved ones and getting supplies. Far more personally horrifying, however, was the loss of Meira when predators got into the records room. Meira, Elysia, Darya, Merridan, and herself had gone in to investigate when the guards had heard a commotion only to discover a hidden tunnel. Meira was dragged into the darkness and by the time the group had found her she had been partially eaten alive. Iskierka put the woman out of her misery and the group fled the tunnel as the creatures they'd startled off returned.

Iskierka had never been more terrified or disgusted in her life. Many sleepless and nightmare filled nights plagued her knowing those monsters were still in that tunnel. Eventually, though, life returned to normal. Well, as normal as it could get at Burimyu. They once again became in dire need of supplies and once again she was part of a tithe theft. That time around they were discovered by Selenitas sweeps and were forced to buy time for the grounded dragons to escape. She and Ioth escaped with minimal injuries.

The earthquake at Selenitas Weyr proved the catalyst to remerge the weyrs but Iskierka was a little less than pleased by the sudden increase of people all around her again. It did reunite her with X'rx though and she was rather fond of her ex-weyrling. There was also the return of Sena to her life. A certain brightness had entered Iskierka's life again and she was loathe to ever let it go again. Her struggles with feeling almost claustrophobic (despite good company) were not helped when a plague swept through the firelizards and salamandyrs and took her brown 'mandyr Rhino. The bond had never been super strong to begin with and the deterioration helped some but she found herself unpleasantly surprised by how much his loss affected her.

Sena's Impression to a wher helped distract Iskierka and she worried for the girl near constantly once she was largely out of sight from the bluerider. Her worry only increased when she learned of her niece's relationship to the new goldhandler. Iskierka ruefully acknowledged that she felt almost mother-like in her protective instincts towards Sena and has since tried to relax her worries some.

Role in the War (3018-3020)
Iskierka eventually found herself going back to Benden Weyr with Elysia in order to negotiate Selenitas' involvement in the far-too-long dragon war. Successful in their endeavor, Iskierka joined Benden wings once again to train in preparation for the war. At about the same time she embarked on a mutual friends-with-benefits agreement with Sel'n of Brown Kaaoloth. What she didn't expect was to actually fall for him. Or to lose him without ever actually getting up the nerve to tell him as much. Sel'n's death in the final battle and her own lack of purpose any longer spelled trouble for the elder bluerider.

Troubled Times (3020-present)
Trouble indeed. Iskierka withdrew from all but a few people and even those she spared from knowing the reasons for it. She let them make their assumptions and try to cheer her up until finally they just gave up. Or became quieter about their intentions. She became ever more proficient at killing felines as an outlet for her more turbulent emotions and continued to keep the world at bay with her aloof personality. She and Ioth grew closer though they would never be the closest pair. Their bond remained fractured just like before though perhaps the cracks weren't quite as wide. As a result of her one-sided romance with Sel'n Iskierka also grew to appreciate Sena having someone by her side that cared for her niece. While she never gave her blessing she stopped treating Kaius as the enemy. Now if only she could stop treating the world like her enemy.

Ioth

28 (April 2994)
Blue (A2ADD0)

Physical Appearance;

Ioth is on the smaller end of the spectrum in size. He is a thin and long dragon in proportion. Ioth's ridges are also less pronounced than most dragons. They are more round and smaller in size. Being on the small side his strength and endurance suffer but he vastly makes up for it with his agility. Lots of practise has given him easy and graceful movement in the skies that is at odds with his natural clumsiness on the land. There's no other word for it. Ioth is quite good at tripping himself up and is at risk of falling and hurting himself if he's not paying attention.

He is comparable to a cloudy day or even one of the moons in colour. He has a mottled pale azure and blue-grey colouring. The azure is the predominant part of his pattern. There is one notable patch of the blue-grey that takes up most of his chest and the left side of his neck. It is the largest solid bit of the blue-grey on his body. His wings are very close to being transparent and cast a slightly mottled shadow when spread out. His hide has been scarred many times in fights with other dragons.

Personality;

Ioth is a very active dragon. He feels mildly uncomfortable if he isn't doing something physical. As such he often practices his flying though he dislikes swimming. With the southern jungles so close at hand he is likely to help His hunt felines as something to do. Even while sleeping one part of him will be twitching in his desire to be moving. He has a secret playfulness that he gladly indulges in when he's not too busy looking after His.

With others Ioth is generally polite but a little too curious sometimes. He is prone to pressing for answers without quite realizing he's doing so. He has no problem approaching others first and striking up a conversation, but only if he is allowed. Every action Ioth takes is dependant on him receiving permission for it. At first he only ever asked His for permission but as it became habit to do so with her so to it became habit for him to ask everyone. All conversations started by him are lead by "May I speak with you?" With the changes in His, however, Ioth has changed too. While he may still ask he either no longer expects an answer or will do what he wants if he thinks it is for the best even if others say no.

Ioth may be polite but he is capable of turning violent at the tiniest hint of aggression from another in a moment's notice. If someone is threatening him or His by words or body language he will shut down everything but his fighting instinct until he deems the threat is over or Iskierka tells him to stop. Her word is law to him. The transition between his polite and violent sides is instantaneous when it occurs. There is only black and white, no grey. His bond with His has also improved if only because Iskierka doesn't actively try to hold back and Ioth's concern for her over events he no longer understands or even remembers is too great.

Gawain
7 (3015)
Male

Physical Appearance;

Small for a male razorclaw, this Avian is most recognizable for the fact that his tail feathers are on the long side, which gives him the distinct appearance of wearing a skirt. Or a trench coat, perhaps. He has a very angular face for a bird, bringing prominence to his round black eyes that are constantly alert, darting to-and-fro as though to take in his surroundings. His wings are large enough to lead to elegant gliding that will make him downright beautiful to watch in flight; agile, graceful, everything that one would imagine a bird of prey should be. His beak is slightly more hooked than most of his kind, though still not notably awkward to behold. Because his tail feathers are so long, he’s not a creature who will have any trouble with quick twists and turns, though long gliding is something that might take him longer; traveling great distances might take him longer than some of his kin as a result.

As far as coloring goes, this is a fairly typical razorclaw. His wings are primarily encompassed by a color that actually looks truly silver; from behind, he looks as if he’s striped. The backwash of his wings is a pale enough shade of gray to look white and the only thing that gives him away is his white ‘bib’ that spreads down his throat, over his stomach and onto the undersides of his feathers. He has dark masking over his eyes, dripping down into ‘teardrops’ that bleed back over his face into the silvery stripes of his back, so that his face nearly always looks sad. Similarly, his talons are pure black. There’s almost no brown on his feathers, with the only touches of it being down the backsides of his wings, patterned to resemble fading leaves. He blends in nearly flawlessly with cliff faces, which he’ll probably favor as a result~

Personality;

While most razorclaws are very shy when it comes to humans, this one is not. He’s not outgoing either, though, make no mistake: he’s simply fearless. Humans don’t intimidate him, and he’s not particularly frightened of dragons either. Firelizards and salamandyrs are pests he’s simply more likely to overlook than acknowledge, and prey? Prey is tunnelsnakes or wild feline cubs, nearly exclusively. This male likes to show off his hunting prowess by going after prey items that are definitely dangerous. And the more dangerous they are, the more he likes them. He’s good at it, too; wild feline cubs really don’t stand a chance where this little guy is concerned. His favored hunting habit is to follow them into clearings and then plummet down and use the force of his body descending coupled with his particularly nasty talons in order to shatter their necks, so that they can’t move. To him, it is a contest. Life is taking risks, and he doesn’t believe in fear. Let other creatures be scared. He doesn’t see a reason for that.

He’s smart, though. While he’s very hard to frighten, this razorclaw is prudent. He likes to take his time plotting things and as a result, he typically will only have one big kill per day, often using his weight to drag it somewhere where he can feed on it throughout the day instead. This prudence applies to all aspects of his life; he likes to take down bigger, more dangerous prey, but he won’t pointlessly put himself in danger. This is one avian who notices the details in things – smaller, minute details that most people or creatures would overlook. An overturned leaf; trap. A discoloration in the leaves; felines waiting to strike. Recently turned sand; a tunnelsnake hides. It’s close to impossible to sneak up on this little guy, and he takes care to not be reckless. There’s a very subtle, but important difference between what he is and that: he’s very fond of being alive.

With his chosen, he’s not an overly affectionate or needy creature. Having been ‘bonded’ as an adult, he’s not terribly close to his chosen yet; not to the level that he would’ve been if he’d met her when he was a hatchling. That aside, with a few polite words (requests, never demands; please and thank you go a long way), he’ll be more than happy to play messenger or retrieve things at his chosen’s request. As long as he’s treated with respect, he’ll be a steadfast friend. Humans other than the one that he chose are not welcome to touch him, though, and he’s not likely to perch on his for very long. Next to, yes. On, no. Curiously, he’s also smart enough to recognize her mindmates and will usually listen to her dragon as if it’s her – for better or worse~

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