CHIEF FORESTER BAJARN

Persona : Bajarn
Writing Status : NPC/Free
Age : 35
Gender : Male
Rank/Craft : Chief Forester (no Craft affiliation)
Residence : WoodCraft Hall

Physical Description : Bajarn stands an intimidating six feet, two inches in his bare feet, none of it fat. Broad shoulders flare out from a thick neck over slim hips and a stomach whose muscles are so tight they could substitute for an old time washboard, while his legs and arms contain a stored strength honed by turns of heavy work. For all his bulk, however, the man moves as a true woodsman, silent as a chill mist on a cool morning, and leaving about as much sign of his passing.

At 35, Bajarn is just coming into his prime. Thin, straight, reddish-brown hair, kept trimmed above his collar, tops a rounded face inset with nondescript grey-brown eyes that give little insight into what their owner is thinking. His dress is, by needs, practical and suited to stand up to the rigorous workout it gets in his day-to-day tasks at the WoodCraft Hall. By preference, it is usually of colors that blend in with his surroundings, for Bajarn is not one who seeks to be in the public eye.

Personality : An introvert by nature, Bajarn rarely displays emotion, especially when he is among strangers. He comes across to them as a cold man, one who disdains the fellowship of others, and more than once it has been said that there is a hint of danger emanating from him. Those few who have seen him in the company of his wife, Kiessa, or the three children who grace their small cot would have quite a different perception, for the cold glower of his public face melts into a wreath of smiles, giving rare insight into the heart of gold that beats within. Should anything threaten his family, however, the thin veneer of civility would vanish, to be replaced by a thoroughly dangerous man.

Life Story : Born near Lemos Hold, Bajarn was the only child of lowly parents who wed late in life. His mother passed away when he had ten turns, after a particularly cold winter stole the breath from her, leaving fluid-filled lungs and pneumonia in its place. His father, a forester and woodsman by trade, had the skills of a reasonably well trained WoodCrafter but not the rank nor Craft affiliation, for his terrible temper saw to his ousting from the Hall at an early age. He never returned, even after the weight of turns had mellowed him.

Bajarn inherited his father's love for the forests and the feel of fine wood beneath his hands, and his father was a ready teacher for the boy's receptive young mind. Before he had gleaned a mere twenty-five turns, Bajarn had already joined his father on three CraftHall construction projects, working as skilled labor under the direction of WoodCraft journeymen and masters, and had then gone on to work on two more following his father's death a few turns later.

Unfortunately, Bajarn had also inherited his father's once-famous temper, and while he didn't lose it often, when he did it was an explosive thing to behold, despite its tendency to be expended in a single, short, violent burst. It was his temper that brought the murder warrant down on him. Five turns have passed since then, and Bajarn barely remembers what caused the argument. The memory of the man's death, however, is indelibly etched in his mind -- the swinging fists, the meaty thud of blows taken by both participants, his opponent's stumble and his own inability to pull the punch originally aimed at the other man's chin, the horror of seeing, of feeling, his own massive fist slam into the man's temple instead and seeing him drop bonelessly to the dust, never to rise again.

Few men who saw the fight blamed Bajarn for the vagaries of fate, despite the finality of the consequences, but the Holder on whose land he had been at the time chose to do just that. He was a mean and petty man who, it had been suspected, was jealous -- and possibly fearful -- of Bajarn's refusal to accord him the respect he felt was his due, and there was some suspicion that in drawing up a warrant against the woodsman, the Holder was ensuring the removal of someone he saw as a threat to his control over the folk of his hold. No one, however, spoke out, for when all was said and done, Bajarn was expendable, and no one wanted to risk his own standing.

And so Bajarn had fled south, across the broad ocean, into a land in which he had even less standing than he'd had in the North. Fear of the warrant following him led him into associations he would not have otherwise considered, and he found himself riding with a group of raiders under a cold and devious leader named Marne. They worked out of the Stony Waste and raided holds along the Black Rock River and up as far as Sonnette's Dawn. It was there he first saw Kiessa.

She was young -- eighteen turns to his thirty-three -- but he loved her, although he would have never thought of telling her. Garrett, one of the other raiders, had found out that she was an assistant to the steward at Sonnette's Dawn and a useful source of information for someone planning raids in the area. The unscrupulous raider played on the naive girl's emotions until Kiessa thought she was in love with Garrett. It was Kiessa, sure it was all some horrible mistake, who warned them that the holderfolk had identified Garrett as one of the raiders and were planning retaliation. The fear in her eyes for the one she loved turned quickly to stunned disbelief when Garrett, convinced that they had to cut and run, brushed her off and fled, leaving her standing alone. Pained and bereft and fearful of returning to the Hold and the accusing eyes that would censure her for her part in the whole affair, Kiessa let herself be led by the gentle giant of a man who took her up behind him on his runnerbeast and set out in Garrett's tracks.

The pair never returned to the raiders. Bajarn protected the young woman, never pressuring her despite his aching heart, and somewhere between Sonnette's Dawn Hold and the WoodCraft Hall, Kiessa's eyes were opened to the difference between Garrett's hollow words and the quiet steadfastness of a man who truly loved her. Their trail to the Hall was long and liberally strewn with hardships, but those hardships cemented a love that might never have come about without them. By the time the WoodCraft Hall came into sight, the pair were married and expecting a child.

The WoodCraft Hall was far enough from Sonnette's Dawn and the Stony Waste that almost no one knew of their past. F'len had known, of course, but the bronzerider had been killed by Marne in Turn 36, taking Bajarn's secrets with him. It had been because of his recommendation that Bajarn had confided in Master Chanthen, feeling it only fair that the kindly woodcrafter know the nature of the man he was asking to be his Chief Forester. The third person privy to the secret was F'len's wingsecond, O'rin, brought in only when F'len had no other choice. The breach of promise had bothered Bajarn when he first learned of it, but, knowing he respected F'len's judgment when the wingleader was alive, Bajarn feels he has no choice but to continue to do so after the bronzerider's death.

Bajarn and Kiessa share their small inconspicuous cot in the woods near the main Hall with three youngsters. Luegh has about eight turns -- no one is quite sure of his age -- and will never function much above that level. He was found with a group of people living holdless in the jungles, shunning civilization. They had returned to an almost feral existence, spending most of their waking hours simply surviving. When they posed a threat to the WoodCraft Hall and were broken up, no one claimed the strange, gentle child with the large, dark eyes. Kiessa's heart went out to him, and even though she was already heavy with child, she convinced Bajarn that Luegh would be a wonderful addition to their family, as he has since proven to be.

Along with Luegh came a fosterling -- young Damon, son of Ceilene and adopted son of G'darean, bluerider at Thread's End Weyr. Damon had been instrumental in drawing Luegh out when the frightened boy had first emerged from the forest, and the two boys had become as close as true brothers since then. It was at Master Chanthen's suggestion that the fostering of Damon with Kiessa and Bajarn was arranged.

And the newest member of their family is Baiessa, a bubbly one-turn old baby girl born in Month 3 of Turn 35. She's inherited her mother's cheerful nature and her father's hair and eyes, and she's adored by parents and siblings alike. To date, she's shown no signs of her father's fearful temper, and Bajarn is fervently hoping she has escaped that curse.

A home, a family, and honest work. Had you told him only two turns ago that these cherished things would be his, his rock-hard fist might have measured your length in the dust of the Waste. Now he accepts them, albeit with a modicum of bemused disbelief. And yet, still he worries. Someday, sometime...will someone come who remembers the old Bajarn? Someone who remembers the warrant? And then what will he do?

Last updated on 2-Nov-01.