Post by Symphony on Feb 11, 2008 6:35:08 GMT -5
General Information
Name: Liyanna (lee ah-na)
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Rank: Senior Weyrwoman
Appearance
Hair: Black.
Eyes: Amber.
Height: 5'5"
Over-All: At five-foot-five, Liyanna does not cut an imposing physique. She is built small, with slender wrists and ankles that indicate she will never be a big woman, even if she were to let herself go. She is built slender and would not be properly described as overly feminine in stature; while she possesses some slight curves that make her gender hard to miss, in loose clothing it is easy to describe her build as boyish. Her facial structure, however, tells another story. Her face is heart-shaped, with defined cheekbones that give her a predatory grace that is only highlighted by the naturally long black lashes that she possesses. She has a full pouting bow of dark red lips that stand out against her face, and coupled with her slightly large eyes, there can be no denying that Liyanna is a woman. Perhaps one of her most identifiable features, though, is not her face but her hands, for she possesses delicate hands with long fingers and slightly long nails that are surprisingly tough; indeed, her hands appear to be almost artistic, alluding to a grace that is defined in each movement she makes, the slightest accent of her head to the side or a step forward toward someone. She exudes self-confidence and also danger; no doubt Liyanna is a woman who can take care of herself.
Her hair is the truest of blacks, like a Terran crow's wings, seeming to possess a blue-black shine in just the right light. Perfectly straight, Liyanna's hair length is hard to judge as it is rare for her to be seen without it tied back in an upswept twist with various clips and combs of vibrant colors to contrast how truly dark her hair is. The actual length is cut at an angle along her arms, the longest strands falling to the young woman's elbows, and the shortest to just below her shoulders. She has slightly large eyes that are a haunting shade of amber better described as yellow and her gaze has a vaguely feline quality to it, as though her mother messed around with a cat and came away with child. Considering Liyanna's natural grace, there are some who would not be surprised. Over her nose is a pale dusting of freckles that becomes more prominent when she spends much time outside, as if to add a touch of innocence to her otherwise dangerous features.
Personality
"Every rose has its thorns." In the case of Liyanna, the thorns almost outnumber the petals. On first meeting she is exceptionally cold and distant, offering no interest to people whatsoever. She presents herself as a woman who couldn't care any less about her surroundings if she tried, and yes, you're bothering her. This is not completely untrue as when she wants someone's attention, she will ask for it, and expects others to leave her alone otherwise. She prefers solitude and rarely seeks out the company of others. While she speaks fluently, eloquently, and with a sense of dignity befitting one of her title, her tone is perpetually bored, as if she does not appreciate people wasting her time by speaking to her. Nothing about her is disarming; indeed, on first meeting Liyanna seems to be very intense, someone who looks down on others, or perhaps simply doesn't care enough to try and be friendly. Her greatest criticism could be that she possesses a natural superiority complex, and a lack of tolerance for being questioned on any matter. She is Weyrwoman; she has the final say. Deal with it.
However, Liyanna is not entirely unpleasant. While she has little tolerance for others trying to talk to or befriend her, she does possess a fierce loyalty and drive that can be frightening when put to the test. It takes a lot to earn this woman's friendship or indeed her acknowledgment at all, but once you have earned it, her allegiance is for life, so long as you don't betray her. She stands by her convictions with the kind of determination that Terran warriors of old possessed, and she is willing to fight to defend what she feels is hers. In the case of Sanctum Weyr, she is more than willing to fight to defend the Weyr and its people, regardless of what that will mean for her. She is extraordinarily passionate about the people who she is responsible for, and will do whatever she can to see to it that they are safe and healthy, if not necessarily happy all the time. And she is an exceptionally hard worker. True enough is it that that work ethic comes at the price of her cynicism, but if she says she'll do something, by the Egg, she'll do it or tear Pern apart trying.
Her public face is that of a composed, cold woman who couldn't care less about other people. However, the truth beneath her masks is that Liyanna cares more than she should, about things that are not necessarily that important. She has a vindictive streak, and her sense of honor is somewhat warped. Because she believes the past should be learned from and let go, she sees the treatment of Sanctum Weyr as the ultimate dishonor, and hates the northern Weyrs for daring to insult her people that way. But she would never admit it aloud, out of fear of appearing weak... and the last thing that Liyanna wants is for people to perceive her as weak. To her, there is no greater insult.
History
Liyanna's life began in a very unflattering, unsophisticated manner. Born during a thunder storm at Sanctum Hold to a drudge mother, she was a small child, healthy enough, though there was nothing remarkable about her in the beginning. She stayed with her mother for as short a time as could be allowed before she was given to one of the cooks as a fosterling. The cook raised the babe as her own, and she had a very typical childhood for girls at Sanctum Hold. She was educated and trained as a Harper by her father from an early age, though she possessed no fabulous talent for the field; but all children at Sanctum Hold take up a craft and little Liyanna was no exception. Her primary talents lay in her ability to weave stories the way others would music and fabric, and were it not for her barely-decent singing voice, one might have thought her an exceptional artist. As it was, much of her early Turns were instead spent amusing the Holdbrats. But it was a good life.
Never did Liyanna think of her life at Sanctum Hold as plain until she was sought on Search by a bluerider from the Weyr. She was sixteen then, an unremarkable girl with a talent for amusing children and being overlooked by the hold boys for her almost prudeish ways. Transferring to the Weyr meant leaving her world behind and only after much persuasion was she convinced that it was to her own benefit. She arrived at the Weyr and kept to herself save for candidate lessons, but she was a hard worker and Weyrwoman Yaelina was impressed by her work ethic, if not her attitude. "Snobby" was the term coined to describe the girl, as she seemed to exude an arrogance unbefitting of a candidate... or so people thought.
However, that aloof arrogance endeared her to someone more important than any of the people at the Weyr. During the hatching, the second to last egg to hatch revealed a delicate, pale gold queen, long and slender, a beauty to be sure... and the young queen passed by all the girls on the Sands without looking at any of them. From the moment of her hatching, she'd known who she wanted, and she stopped to look up at Liyanna with whirling rainbow eyes. She was Ariannalyth, and her Liyanna would find that they would be legends soon enough - never again would Liyanna be unremarkable. From then forth, she would be Liyanna of Gold Ariannalyth, and Ariannalyth would be remembered for all time. Both girl and dragon would see to that.
The fact that Liyanna and Ariannalyth were determined to be something special was evidenced in Weyrling Training, when they spent more time studying and practicing than even the hardest workers of their class. Ariannalyth learned to fly faster than many of her clutchmates, and though there was no queen's wing at Sanctum Weyr (due to the number of queens rarely exceeding two), she made her mark as one of the most impressive fliers of her age and graduated with respect from her peers. She became Junior Weyrwoman at eighteen turns, and her official job was to deal with the candidates and new Weyrlings, making sure they settled in and kept themselves in line. Liyanna excelled at her position, and earned herself quite a few allies among the Weyr. The Weyrwoman tolerated her. The Weyrleader liked her. The Wingleaders adored her.
It came as little surprise when Ariannalyth flew and was caught by one of the bronze wingleaders. Her clutch was moderately sized and there was no queen egg, but for a first clutching, that was unsurprising. Queens were more rare at Sanctum Weyr than any other dragon color and the number never seemed to exceed two at a time. Ariannalyth was no exception; turns passed, with her never caught by the same bronze twice in a row, and while she laid many impressive clutches, there was no queen among them to boast. However, by her third clutch it became obvious that Ariannalyth produced more bronzes than her dame ever did, and just because she could not boast a queen did not make her clutches any less impressive to behold. And her rider was proud of her beyond words.
Then one day, when Liyanna was twenty-two turns old, one of the blue riders from the Weyr went to the north to filch supplies due to a shortage brought by a harsh summer in the south. Intrigued by the prospect of leaving the safety of the south if only for a short time, Liyanna disguised herself and went with him - and discovered the other Weyrs for the first time. What she found fascinated and annoyed her; why, her Ariannalyth was superior to their queens, their bronzes larger, faster, better -- why in Faranth's name were they made to hide in the south like inferiors when these northerners flourished in their pathetic state? Why were they treated with such insult, their existence ignored? The thought bred in her mind, and when she returned to the Weyr she pled with Yaelina to make their presence known to the north. But both Yaelina and her Weyrleader were against the prospect of an all-out war as them revealing themselves might have caused, and in the end her pleas were over-ruled.
Though she outwardly accepted the Weyrleaders' demands, an animosity toward the north was bred inside of Liyanna from that day forth. In secret she bullied other riders to take her to gathers in the north and used her natural charm to spy on what was taking place there, on the status of their Weyrs and their dragons. She could not bring her own beloved Ariannalyth, for her dazzling golden hide would spark questions, but she reported back, and in secret, the two began to plot the day when they would be free of Yaelina and her pacifist ways. The fact that Yaelina had become with child (very late in life, in fact) tempered Liyanna's inner hostility of her, at least temporarily, but she waited, eagerly, for the Weyrwoman to retire. When she was Weyrwoman, things would change.
And soon enough, the first in a chain of events that would lead to her ambitions being fulfilled occurred. The Weyrleader, older in age, died of a heart attack during Threadfall, sending his bronze between. Yaelina was heartbroken, eight months pregnant and her queen egg-heavy from her last flight. Her depression spiraled rapidly out of control and no one seemed able to pull Yaelina out of it, not that Liyanna tried very hard. When she went into labor, she birthed a healthy son, but she herself was lost in the process, and her queen lost between with her clutch left on the Sands for Ariannalyth, the last queen at Sanctum Weyr, to brood over. Liyanna was Weyrwoman at last... and soon, things would change.
Dragon
Name: Ariannalyth
Age: 7
Color: Gold
Description: For a queen, Ariannalyth is best described as long. She is built slender, more serpentine than most dragons, with long and wide wings that make gliding and long, drawn out flights easy on her. Her build is stream-lined and muscular, anything but bulky, and the word graceful is often used to describe the fine angles that make up her hide. As far as coloring goes, she is a very pale gold, with darker accents on the edges of her wings that set off her appearance and give the illusion of shadows playing over her hide. Her natural sheen is a bright, vibrant yellow gold, the color of Rukbat through tree leaves, truest brilliance. However, despite being 'long', Ariannalyth is not small for a queen in bulk, either. In fact, she is considerably larger than even the largest of the bronzes at Sanctum Weyr, and she commands an authority with her movements that makes it clear she is queen and she is to be obeyed at all times.
Personality: Liyanna and Ariannalyth are fire and water, with Ariannalyth being water. She is composed and calm at all times, her patience and tolerance exceeding her rider's at every turn. She deals well with other people, delegating responsibility while being willing to work to prove herself as well. But like all queens, she commands and demands respect at all times, and does not easily forget transgressions against her. It takes a lot to earn Ariannalyth's favor, though it also takes a lot to anger her; she will not tolerate disrespect, but she does not become angry by it so much as a cold pathology. Her biggest flaw, however, is that she is prone to jealous and possessive snits, though she refuses to confess that this is truly what motivates her anger. She does not express her feelings. Fortunately, she has Liyanna to do that for her, which she does extremely well.