BLUERIDER SH'VAL

Persona : Sh'val
Writing Status : NPC/Owned
Age : 31
Gender : Male
Rank/Craft : Bluerider, Wingrider (TEW:CFMW)
Residence : Thread's End Weyr

Physical Description : If one word could be used to describe this blue rider it would be 'big.' Sh'val stands at a lofty six feet, five inches and is as solidly built as he is tall with wide muscular shoulders and a broad chest. The shape of his upper body forms an inverted triangle, tapering down to a wash-board stomach and slim hips. Sh'val's dark-blonde hair is bleached lighter by the sun, and his light aqua-blue eyes contrast strikingly with well tanned skin of light golden-brown. He could be described as ruggedly handsome, although he has never seen himself as such. The rigors of life both before and after he became a dragonrider have left him looking somewhat older than his thirty-one Turns.

Personality : Sh'val is a quiet, gentle giant who always goes out of his way to appear as unobtrusive as possible. He walks quietly, talks little and is quick to lend a helping hand. There is a sense of humour buried beneath the serious exterior, but few people get to see it; he is slow to smile and that trait alone has added weight to the general opinion that he is a humourless clod, or perhaps very slow on the uptake. Even so, he is generally liked by most, although some people have labelled him a loner and have long since given up trying to include him in social activities.

Life Story : There are only two people at Threads End Weyr who are aware of this blue rider's true life story, the first is Vl'mos, his wingleader, and the other Gr'gan, rider of green Gigayth -- a dubious associate and one-time lover of Sh'val's. On more than one occasion Sh'val has regretted confiding in Gr'gan as the green rider has shown that he is not beyond using this knowledge as an object of persuasion. As far as anyone else is concerned, they only know as much about Sh'val as he is willing to tell them, which will never extend beyond the time he was found on Search by an searchrider at twenty-three Turns of age.

At the time he was searched he was working as a general farm-hand at a small cothold beholden to Igen Hold. Naturally the searchrider was surprised to find that the mature-looking young man, whom his green insisted was 'one for the eggs,' was indeed of a searchable age.

After his unexpected introduction to weyrlife, Sh'val settled down to lead an unremarkable life as an Igen weyrling. He formed no lasting friendships at the Weyr and as soon he was able applied for a transfer to a Weyr in the south, quietly seeking to distance himself from all former ties and memories of the north.

Resigned to living a quiet, lonely life at Threads End, with only Gr'gan's purposefully rationed contact in place of a true friendship, Sh'val suddenly found his world spinning upside down after Celleth won the mating flight of another green. Her rider, a flirtatious man, was well known about the Weyr for being a weyr-hopping, indiscriminate bed partner. found himself drawn to him - a man who he quite willingly acknowledged to be the most annoying, frustrating and yet curiously engaging person he had ever met.

Unfortunately his association with the green rider brought more trouble than Sh'val could have anticipated. A series of 'accidents', all of them directed at his new partner eventually drove Sh'val to seek a transfer for them both to another Weyr.

Hoping for a fresh start in their new Weyr, they settled down as weyrmates for a time, which proved to be every bit as eventful as Sh'val feared, with more ups and downs than fighting thread in heavy turbulence. He could have put up with the wild ride, the messy weyr and late nights but what he could not adjust to was his weyrmate's insistence that he try and change, be more outgoing, be more sociable. The more he resisted his weyrmate's pressure to change the more restless and unhappy he became, until he was finally driven to apply for a transfer back to Threads End.

Alone now he had hoped to rebuild his life free from interfering green riders, but from his very first afternoon back in the Weyr he realised this was going to be a more difficult goal to accomplish than he had first anticipated.

Dragon's Name : Celleth
Dragon's Colour : Blue
Dragon's Age : 8
Sire/Dam : Transfer (Igen Weyr)
Rider's Age at Impression : 23

Physical Dragon : Just like his rider Celleth is big; his body easily close to the size of a small brown even if his tail is a fraction on the short side. He is a rich, dark blue which gleams like the twilight sky after he has been oiled; his underside and neck ridges are a faintly lighter shade with a barely perceptible warmer-blue toning. He is not the fastest of blues, but has great endurance and a neat, economical flame when fighting Thread. A few faint Thread scars mar his glossy blue hide, but these are mainly found on his wingtips, with one short scar on the right side of his muzzle and another slightly longer scar at the top of his tail.

Dragon's Personality : This large blue has become nearly as much of a curiosity to other dragons as his rider has become to his fellow dragonriders. They can sense that beneath Celleth's mature, restrained demeanour is a playful dragon who itches to join in and socialise, but who won't because of the social restraints of his rider, which he unwittingly mirrors to perfection. Celleth worries constantly for his rider. Only he alone knows the depths of Sh'val's loneliness.

Last updated on 21-Apr-08.