Post by hseru on May 14, 2009 11:29:29 GMT -5
Humans:
Name: Zanalorin
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Flaming Homosexual
Rank: Candidate - Journeyman Dolphineer
Physical Appearance: Zan is the epitome of a manly looking man. Standing at a good 5' 10", his figure is well formed and fully defined from hours of swimming, giving him a sporting, well muscled look, a narrow waist and a deep tan. A square jaw bottoms his face, coming in to a more narrow chin, angling his features at a slight cant and bringing his pronounced cheekbones and aquiline nose into balance with the rest of his face. Bright cerulean blue eyes look at the world with a self-assured sense of sarcasm in the face of too much seriousness. His hair is just long enough to pull most of it back into a runnertail, is usually wet, and despite being so shines a brilliant sun-bleached blond at all times. His left ear is pierced once, testament to only one of the many times Anz talked him into something ridiculous. The small earring he kept, claiming it was to teach himself a lesson. Hanging about an inch in total length from hook to bottom, the main of the earring is a circle of silver with silver webbing running through the center. There's a small, smooth blue-green gem on the very short chain connecting the hoop to the hook in his ear.
He is most often found in close-fitting clothing of any range of hues, from light to dark to colorful to dull, with the only constant being that whatever color his ensemble happens to be, his entire outfit matches, from shoulders to boots and whatever accoutrements lie between. The only difference to this is the dark brown leather of the hip knife always on his person, and a careful hand that speaks worlds of his knowledge about how to use it. The insignia of the Dolphineers is stamped into the leather with a heavy hand, and covered with its signature blue-green color, outlining and highlighting the shipfish imagery. The belt its attached to is also of the same dark leather with blue-green stitching and the same insignia for the buckle in a dull silver metal. A promise to him from his father that should he give up this foolishness of being a candidate, he was welcome to come back home to a skill he was actually good at.
Personality:
If he appears to be masculine enough in build, Zan matches it to some degree with his actions and mannerisms. He likes doing physical things, swimming, riding, running. His good health is important to him, as the well-being of his body was drilled into him early by his father, a man who saw nothing but the son all too able to follow in his footsteps as a renowned dolphineer. The training of his early years has instilled an ability towards extreme focus, and despite not really being the brightest person, he can bring his limited knowledge all to a focused edge, and remove himself from a given situation to gain a clear view and make a reasonable, detached opinion or decision. If he thinks something important enough to know or do, he tackles it with single-minded intensity, often doing quite foolhardy things just to gain a clear understanding or some other objective of personal worth.
Zan is a bit serious, but only if he feels the situation warrants it, which is rare if truth be told. Few things are important to him other than the things he wants and needs, as he's very selfish. Otherwise, he's a knucklehead, acting up to attract attention or just to have a laugh. His overall view of the world is one of heavy sarcasm, and every situation short of life and death (and sometimes even then) is even game for him. He is most inventive in this vein, and his somewhat limited wit is put to the task of thinking up the snappy, sarcastic remarks he is too often full of. If he fails to come up with something satisfactory to his way of thinking, he might say something stupid on the spot, realize this, and fume on it for a few minutes before something better comes to mind, to which he comments as if he never even said the previous remark. If he loses the person or people he's talking to on the way, well, then, they obviously couldn't see the awesome majesty of his wit.
Zan likes the boys. Plain and simple. Another of his failings, as far as his father is concerned, but it is a passable failing when placed against his success in dolphineering. He, however, is not ashamed of it in the least. Oh no, he's very, very open and far too forward for his own good. Remember that skill for focusing entirely on something he wants? He's not above stalking boys he's interested in and trying to woo them, often against their will. What's that, a nice tight ass? Well, it just begs to be grabbed, of course, and Zan's just the man to do it and do it right! A constant flirt, and even though he'd never even consider going further with a female, they can be a temporary entertainment, and Zan isn't above stringing some hapless girl along only to reveal that she 'turned him gay, thanks.'
He isn't without his romantic side, and those he favors will often find flowers, gifts, and other such niceties left in obvious places for their enjoyment. The one downside to anyone who decides to return his feelings, is that he quickly looses interest and grows bored, which never has anything to do with the boy in question, but has all to do with Zan's lack of commitment and short attention span. It is possible that he'd find someone to linger longer with, and if they are able enough, said person would earn the loyalty of a determined lover in return. Zan is more likely to sleep around though, and the thought of losing his frequent lays is too horrible to bear.
He doesn't find it difficult to make friends, with his open personality, but they have to be capable of taking his sarcastic remarks without insult or injury, as he doesn't really mean them to harm. Once past that barrier, Zan's a good friend, sometimes fair weather, and sometimes the most steadfast companion one could wish for. His inclination changes from person to person, and incident to incident. His one constant friend, and probably the one person he will ever continually stick up for verbally, and physically, is his 'older' brother, Anz. Obviously someone so thin can't possibly stand up for themselves, and Zan will sometimes jump into a conversation with the wrong impression and make to 'protect' his brother. To this end, he's as vulnerable as everyone else to the boy's sweet talk, and Anz has dragged him into more than one situation, including his current occupation of the Candidate position. Thanks Anz.
History:
Zanalorin was born in Blossom hold to Alorin and Zanova, a married pair of dolphineers who had fallen quite in with each other while in basic training. Alorin was a Senior Journeyman Dolphineer, most notable for his flirtatious tendencies. Though he was happily married to Zanova, a journeyman dolphineer specializing in the injuries and illnesses of their water-borne brethren in her own right, he had many female admirers throughout Blossom Hold. It was unsurprising as to why: Handsome, charismatic and friendly, it was hard not to like the man. His most endearing trait was his generosity; almost everyone at Blossom Hold at least knew his name, and he was renowned at Dolphincraft Hall as one of the most gifted dolphineers since the Hall reopening.
Perhaps because of his reputation (which preceded him all the way to Selenitas Weyr, let alone just in the Hold) it would come as little surprise to many to find out that one day, after a little bit too much of the sweet red wine produced by the Hold, he’d fallen into the arms of a woman who was decidedly not his wife. She was, in fact, his wife’s half sister Zalla, an apprentice dolphineer, and a mere sixteen when the affair took place.
Zanova didn't quite know how to handle the situation. On one hand, she knew her younger sister. Zalla wasn't the type to just... well, the girl was fairly innocent in her views of the world. On the other hand.. there had to have been some attraction, because despite her husband's excesses, Zalla had given in willingly enough. She had probably been drunk as well, but Zanova shut out much of the commonsense details after hearing about the incident. It took her two months to forgive Alorin, and she finally gave into his gentle advances with a lust for the man that had been carried unsatiated for too many sevendays. That single coupling proved far too potent, as the couple was soon blessed with the knowledge that they were expecting.
With Zanalorin’s birth, things changed around the household. Alorin obviously wanted the child to follow him into his craft, and Zanalorin became a waterbaby almost as soon as he was out of the womb. Luckily for him, he took to the water well, and was soon enough canine paddling with the best, under the watchful eyes of both parents. It was almost as if his birth helped to draw his mother and father closer, back to the couple they used to be before the ‘incident.’ Zanova didn’t really speak again with her sister until some five years after the boys’ birth, when a chance encounter brought them all face to face, and the half-brothers took to each other as if they’d been together the whole time. Zanalorin was a rather shy child, and the friendly forwardness of his ‘older’ brother helped to bring him out of his shell. More at home in the water than with people, the next several years of his life changed him dramatically. In part due to his father and training and in part to Anzalorin’s constant influence. Part also came from the attack on Lake Dolphin Hall. His mother was injured in the attack, losing much of the use of her left leg for several months afterwards. Being so intertwined already with the Hall and the simple fact that both of his parents were dolphineers, he felt the disturbance it caused, despite his youth. True, things improved afterwards, but the fear beforehand… it matured him faster. Things came into focus for the young boy, and for several years after, he withdrew even further, saved from a life of solitude by the efforts of his loved ones. He dove into his training, in a manner of speaking, and at 10 became an official apprentice dolphineer.
Zanalorin enjoyed the life of a dolphineer for the next several years. His brother was constantly visiting, and Zanalorin on each occasion invited his brother to join them in the water, only to be refused. Finally he gave up on getting Anzalorin to swim with him, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed his brother’s presence any less. The one thing he could count on in the craft was that there were few hardships that dealt with the heart, and he focused on mastering the inherent physical hardships of being a dolphineer. A facet of the selfishness that would begin to define him started to show, as he only had the time of day for what he wanted to do and have, his father, mother, and Anzalorin. If it didn’t pertain to him or his, then he cared not one wit about it, and that included the death of the Lord Holder, or the death of any person so high above him that he barely knew their name. If anything, the apprentice dolphineer began to develop a slight contempt for people of power, and his way of coping with it was to, well, break the rules. He became a boy who delighted in foisting others whenever possible. Luckily for him, most of his attempts ended in harmless joking and non-serious rule-breaking that only landed him brief punishments. Perhaps the one thing that became serious for him during this period was his choice of sexual partner. He never stayed with one girl for long, introduced to the ‘game’ earlier than most due to his father’s encouragement. Unfortunately for his father, the boy didn’t quite end up the way he had anticipated. See, Zanalorin didn’t really care for girls or their picky ways. Sure, he could see them as being pretty and appreciate it, but he felt the same way about boys, often watching the good looking ones in a state of high interest. This ambivalence made him decide to try a night with a male. Sheer bliss, and quite a bit more excitement was his reward. He was delighted with his find, and added it to his deliberate list of things to do to outrage his father, and anyone else who happened to be interested. As such, he was never close-mouthed about it, and the forwardness that had been cultivated by his brother led him to being a flirtatious and presumptuous individual where his love life was concerned.
His father, aware that the boy was beginning to wander in his focus, started training him harder, and for a while after, Zanalorin went from sunup to sundown in constant motion, a difficult time for the boy that often saw him disgruntled and unhappy as he began to lose the drive for his craft. In a last ditch effort to gain the proper dolphineer son he wanted so desperately, Alorin introduced him early to the pod of lake dolphins who most closely worked with both his mother and father, and that seemed to do the trick above and beyond what his ceaseless training did. A young female named Alta almost immediately singled him out as someone interesting, and Zanalorin began spending time with her in the special training saved for those who have joined with a partner dolphin.
Alta became Zanalorin’s world, and for a time, his thoughts were of her and her welfare, giving him the novel experience of really caring for someone else above the obligatory family duties. She was a sleek, lovely creature, a bit on the small side for her brethren, but fast as lightning through the water, and more agile than her peers by half. Her skin had few marring scars, showing both her youth and her cleverness. At the age of 16, they were officially joined as a pair sanctioned by both the human and dolphin halves of the partnership, as was traditional. It was a glorious time, and to those closest to Zanalorin, it was obvious that he was really and truly happy with the path life had given him. It was during this time that he finally realized that his brother had become close to a girl. So wrapped up in himself, he’d not bothered to notice the girl Anzalorin was often around. It seemed he’d come to the conclusion just as the pair broke up, as it were, and Zanalorin felt his new sense of caring reaching out to his most supportive family member, trying to give back to his brother all the comfort and attention he’d received when they were younger.
He put forth his best effort to cheer his brother, and it seemed like the largest gather Blossom Hold had ever seen would be the perfect place to do so. He took part in the celebration with Alta, putting on the best show for everyone, but dedicating it in his mind to his brother. As if to satisfy that part of him that still craved mischief, a green dragon rose while the gather was in full swing, causing no end of chaos for the celebrants. He found it particularly hilarious, and all in all, put the dragons in a good standing with him. After the gather, it seemed like everything was right with the world for a few more weeks, until Zanalorin had the most difficult shock of his life. Alta was pulled to shore by two of her podmates, a deep bleeding wound all along her side. Zanalorin was called to the dock in a rush, frantic with the news. The pod maneuvered Alta into the healing nets, but there wasn’t much even the dolphineers would be able to do for the critically injured dolphin. Her breathing was labored, and her blood seeped into the river water at an alarming rate. She explained that she’d been patrolling the inlet water just before it went salty, and something blindsided her. She didn’t even see what it was, but her echo-location caught it just before it got out of range… something large.
Zanalorin stayed with her until night fell, stroking her smooth head and beak in comfort until she slipped quietly away to a place of peace. Later that night her pod took her small body back to the river with them, giving her to the waters, as they said. He wished he could follow, but it was strictly a dolphin rite that humans had no place in. He almost got sick waiting in the water for dawn, but there was no power that could get him to move any sooner. For days after, he fell into a deep well of depression, missing his partner like he’d never missed anything before. He no longer cared about being a dolphineer, and it seemed like nothing would be able to rekindle that spark in him. It wasn’t for lack of trying though. Much like he had when they were younger, Anzalorin attached himself to Zan with the serious design of cheering him up, or helping in any way.
Despite his outward denial for the need, he appreciated the support his ‘older’ brother provided. It wasn’t enough though. Everything reminded him of Alta, and short of going to live somewhere other than Blossom Hold, Zanalorin couldn’t see any way to remedy his pain. The troubles for the Weyr were only the most distant thought in relation to the small, encompassing world Zanalorin had created for himself. It wasn’t until Anzalorin suggested that they actually leave Blossom for Selenitas that he came up for a breath of air, so to speak. It seemed that in his funk, he’d missed some important and shattering troubles that the Weyr had experienced. They were severely short on personnel, and riders, and there was a relief caravan being gathered to go help the beleaguered Weyr. Only days before it was to set out, Anzalorin suggested to him that they leave with it, to make a new life at Selenitas.
At first he refused. What would there be for him at the Weyr? He was a teenage journeyman dolphineer who’d lost his partner to the unforgiving waters. Besides that, he had no viable trade that would be helpful, even if that were his goal. On the other hand, what was there left for him at Blossom? A disappointed family, a Hold that pitied him, and eighteen years of effort put into a lifestyle worth nothing now. Selenitas was starting to sound better every minute. It was his father’s reaction to the possibility of him leaving that finally drove him into going with Anzalorin, though, as his brother had so astutely pointed out, his sexual preferences would be much better tolerated at the Weyr with their riders and Rises and such. His father outright denied him the right to go, refusing to listen to the possibilities his son would have at the Weyr. After a long, loud argument which ended with Zan packing his things right then and there, his father finally calmed enough to see the reality of the situation. He begged his son to stay, but it was too late. Zanalorin’s stubborn pride wouldn’t allow him to remain in his family’s home, and truth be told, he was relieved to be going. It was like the decision had been taken out of his hands. In retrospect, he would have thought his father more able to understand how his son worked after so long, but Alorin still considered himself the endall, and undisputed leader of the decision-making process. He would likely never accept any decision Zan made that wasn’t expressly encouraged by him.
In the end, Alorin wasn’t there when Zanalorin and Anzalorin left with the relief caravan. Zanova was the only one to see him off, passing on a gift and message from his father. The gift was an elaborate hip dagger much like the one he had, only much finer, and a few inches longer in the blade. The sheath was imprinted with the dolphineer insignia lined with their signature blue-green, and the wide leather belt was clasped with a steel buckle of the same insignia. His mother passed on the message verbally; that he would still be welcome back after this folly was over. Her soft smile and encouraging hug spoke volumes about her own feelings, but she didn’t openly deny the message’s intent. Instead, she watched until they were out of sight, a comforting arm around her sister’s shoulders until Zalla’s husband gathered her and Zanova was left alone.
Their arrival was inauspicious, just two among many who were there to help. Zanalorin had no idea just how they’d convince the people of the Weyr that he and his brother should be allowed to stay. Anz assured him it could be done, and he let his brother take care of things. While he waited, he sought out things to do to take his mind off of the past. He found himself diving in the river, dredging the bottom for refuse from the attack, and the occasional body. It was a difficult, morbid task that left him feeling, oddly enough, better afterwards. He still enjoyed being in the water, and the dead, well, they helped put things in perspective for him. The simple change of pace brought on by the new places to wander, the new faces, the new boys… Zanalorin thought that he might just be able to live at Selenitas without missing his old life. Shortly after arriving, Anzalorin ran him the news; they were going to be allowed to stand as candidates. He hadn’t really been aware of just how much his older brother really wanted to do this, and the excitement on Anzalorin’s face made him grin. So, it looked like they really were staying at Selenitas.
Candidates Only
Name Contraction (Males Only): Z'lor
Queen Only? (Females Only):
Desired Dragon Color: Greeeeeeeeeeen
Dragon, Wher, or both?: who knows
[x] By checking this box, I am saying that I have read the Rules and History, and will follow them.