WEYRLINGMASTER A'FAR

Persona : A'far
Writing Status : NPC/free
Age : 50
Gender : Male
Rank/Craft : Weyrlingmaster
Residence : Ierne Island Weyr

Physical Description : A'far is a muscled, brown-skinned man of average height with long fingers and big feet. One of the oldest riders in wings of Ierne, he worked hard to restrain himself from shaving his wiry, curly hair and beard when he began to find the gray, but has come to accept himself, lips twitching in a self-teasing smile when he catches the unexpected wrinkles in a mirror.

He has brown eyes and a voice pitched higher than you'd expect for a manly bronzeriding dragonman; he wears as much clothing as is comfortable in the Iernian heat, from thin long-sleeved jackets to thick working trousers, and never anything above the knee. He never removes his shell necklace but sometimes he'll be seen without his leather/metal right wrist-brace.

Personality : A'far Impressed and learned to fly surrounded by Oldtimers, so he absorbed much of that culture as a young man. He has now flown Fall for thirty five turns and is deeply serious when it comes to dragons and Thread, often to the point of fault. He is usually guilty of holding his riders to standards they cannot meet. But he's not immune to humor, at least not after the work is done, and he has a handful of very close friends among the ranking riders.

He is reliable, thoughtful, patient, and can provide keen insight for those he likes. He tends to use his power for good, not evil, so he has no patience for evildoers (or slackers, which is, to his mind, the same thing) and wholeheartedly believes in thorough punishment of errant wingriders, both to teach them a lesson and to serve as an example for the Weyr.

He believes Weyr business should stay Weyr business - always - and he believes in the power of writing letters to other leaders to address matters. His pedantry is occasionally infuriating but he does love the Harpers and can tell a good story when the drink comes around. Most importantly, he is a firm supporter of the new papercraft. He has spent good marks on notebooks and has two full shelves of them (in his own neat handwriting) in his cliff weyr, which he maintains impeccably so as always to be ready for visitors.

Life Story : Born at High Reaches Hold to a guardsman father -- a hard man who did not resist the conqueror Lord Fax's brutal orders -- A'far grew up on handed-down stories to explain the empty, silent Weyr. He'd barely come to the age of discarding the idea of 'dragons' as far-away childish notions when the High Reaches wings under the incredibly conservative T'kul and bronze Salth came forward to reclaim the heights. The Oldtimers had not brought enough candidates with them from their previous caverns and so, in the fourth Turn of the Pass, they came and Searched the fifteen-turn old Afaron.

He was a good, strong boy raised with expectations of joining the milita so it was no surprise when he Impressed on his first try to the big bronze Umberlith.

A'far's injuries until he transferred south were rare and relatively minor; his affairs more long-lasting and dramatic. He was known for ambition, making a point to cultivate mentors among the senior bronzeriders at High Reaches and to develop an eye for records-keeping. He flew eleven turns as a wingsecond and six as wingleader for High Reaches; frustrated with his lack of upward mobility there, he answered the call for experienced riders to found Ierne Island Weyr.

Flying as Lower Flight wingsecond there for three turns with his eye on Weyrleadership, A'far's promotion prospects came to a sudden and catastrophic end early in a Fall in T38 when his Umberlith collided with Sizifith, big bronze propelling tiny green into a clump that seared through her leather harness and sent her rider, T'zip, tumbling to his death on the rocks near North Tip Fishing Hold.

A'far sustained serious physical injuries but would not admit to emotional injury for several months; he spent a full fifteen months in the Gold Wing. On his return to active duty, then-Weyrleader Tr'dav -- well aware of A'far's designs on a wingleader position -- assigned him as a wingsecond to Center Flight's Right Flank with instructions to mentor the young N'cio until a wingleader position came open again. That happened when Wingleader Cr'leb sustained serious injuries during a nasty fall off his weyrledge.

Rejoicing at having a proper office in which to display his beloved books, A'far accepted the shoulder-knots and prepared to lay down the law in Upper Flight's Left Tip Wing through forced group exercise, ridiculous rules, and unfair punishments. The Weyr still remembers the cold winter night he put fifteen dragons on the heights for watchduty.

Weyrwoman Meruya's gold Sinevath rose to mate not more than a month later and A'far found himself in possession of his dearest dream: Weyrleadership. But it didn't go according to plan; Meruya barely spoke to him, and his wingleaders accorded him the least possible respect.

It was perhaps good fortune for the Weyr - or a night spent consoling himself with a skin of wine - that led to A'far misjudging the catch on a firestone sack on D25, M8, T39. He dislocated his right shoulder seriously, and managed to do a fair amount of damage to his wrist as well. Not only has this led to healers declaring him unfit to ride in Fall for at least six months, it's put a serious cramp on his usual obsessive writing. Realising that a Weyrleader who can't fly Fall for that long is useless to the Weyr, he stood down; his last act as Weyrleader was to announce that he would take over as Weyrlingmaster.

He occasionally thinks of the end of the Pass, some ten turns hence, when he will be retiring and able to (he hopes) learn the papercraft trade. In his heart, in some alternate timeline, he would've liked to wear a Master Woodcrafter's knots.

Dragon's Name : Umberlith
Dragon's Colour : Bronze
Dragon's Age : 35
Sire/Dam : Transfer
Rider's Age at Impression : 15

Physical Dragon : Built wide through the shoulders and hindquarters, Umberlith is a good-sized bronze with a gorgeous hide like a copper breastplate his rider had spent a good many hours polishing. His right rump and back leg bear the scars of Thread, so that he limps on the ground, but his wings and lungs are as good as new. He can easily last the entire Fall with enough energy left over to make a low pass over an open field to chase and pounce on an ovine, or four.

Dragon's Personality:Umberlith is characterized most by quiet but boundless confidence. His word is law, to his mind, to the point where A'far has to occasionally step in and try to get him to see the other point of view. Umberlith has a keen eye for detail and so, unfortunately, he sees and objects to a lot of the small things that go on in the Weyr that other leaders would ignore as healthy for the troops. Instead, Umberlith has quite certain notions about how dragons ought to act and he gets very bothered by younger folk (dragon and rider alike) not doing what he says right when he says it.

Pet Name : Fifthmark
Pet Species : Feline

Pet Description : Descended from the lanky Abyssian breed, Fifthmark has cream-colored short fur and oversized, pointy ears. She has no real value except as a pet, her hunting days in the Lower Caverns of High Reaches cut short by a tunnelsnake injury. She came into A'far's hands and who would tell the then-wingleader to give her up? She adores A'far now, chirping at him constantly when he's around the weyr, and she loves to 'help' him with his evening writing in his study.

A consummate indoor weyrcat, she often sleeps outside on Umberlith's ledge and has never fallen. She is very friendly when visitors come by. The best of A'far's friends will remember to bring her a small treat. There is no backstory for her name but A'far likes to pretend there is.

Last updated on 06-May-12.