JOURNEYMAN VESRAEL

Persona : Vesrael
Writing Status : PC/Active
Age : 38
Gender : Male
Rank/Craft : Journeyman Fishcrafter
Residence : DolphinCraft Hall

Physical Description : Tall, muscled, and completely at home in rigging or on the deck, Vesrael has brown eyes and a thoughtful air about him. His experience after many Turns of advising captains has infused him throughout with a quiet confidence that makes other men unconsciously defer. He's so deeply black that it's often remarked, for he's nearly always the darkest-skinned man in a group, be it among sailors on the boat dock or representing his craft in meticulous finery at a Hold. He wears his curly hair very short and his neatly trimmed beard is turning to gray.

Personality : Vesrael's seen a lot of Pern and a lot of people, so he comes across as reserved because his default facial expression is very neutral. He's generous with those who do their work on the ship and he doesn't play music but he loves it. He would never be called fierce, just firm when the fish come into it and he knows he's right. His advice is sound, he accepts his mistakes without beating the messenger, and his underlying gentleness comes through when he mentors his apprentices

Life Story : The son of journeyfolk, particularly a Harper and a Healer, Vesrael spent his first six Turns underfoot on the docks of High Reaches Hold. There was some mix-up with his parents' respective Halls and their subsequent posting together at Telgar Weyr came after much political wrangling by his mother; he internalized that difficult period in the family and felt responsible. In the months after he'd moved to the landlocked, dragon-focused Telgar, his mother saw that he'd withdrawn and asked, was it the dolphins or the tall sailing ships he missed?

Just beginning to be aware what other people thought about the revived dolphincraft (especially the Oldtimers of Telgar Weyr), Vesrael lied. His mother took him at his word and began to talk of apprenticing him to the seacraft. Their next posting took them to Igen Hold and the ocean once again. He took to the sea as an apprentice on the fishing vessels and, though he often kept an eye out for the dolphins, began to see his childhood dream as a fantasy instead.

The day he discovered that he could specialize in fishing, ecology, and coastal conservation was the happiest of his life; he set to the rest of his apprenticeship with renewed enthusiasm, soaking up the knowledge of the sea between Igen, Nerat, and Keroon. His journeymanship took him west to the Big Bay, and at twenty-five he transferred to a distance cargo ship, working with dolphineers and the ship's captain.

He now holds an advisory position aboard the Third Lady with three apprentices of his own: the new boys, Vetch and Reedi, and his senior man, Naelo, whom he hopes to make a journeyman. The sailors half-jokingly call him the Senior Fisher. His former apprentice, C'zio, now flies on Aulunth for Ierne Island Weyr.

In month 4 of Turn 39, when the Third Lady came in for repairs at Sonnette's Dawn following the eruption of an undersea volcano, Vesrael accepted an invitation to be a temporary guest lecturer at the Dolphin Hall.

Pet Name : Mir
Pet Species : Firelizard
Pet Color : Gold

Pet Description : Mir's hide is a dark gold, tending to orange. She's notable mostly for her obedience, for Vesrael believes that a firelizard ought to be well-trained. Her responsive and attentive nature is a benefit as he teaches her to be a proper fisher's pet capable of flying out over the open water and sending back images useful to a ship's senior fisher. Her egg was a gift from Captain Ghaerr of the Third Lady in Month 5 of Turn 39 for Vesrael's turns of loyal service.

Last updated on 18-Jan-11.