Weyrwoman Alandra
Gold Lastianth
Persona Information:
Name: Alandra
Age: 37 Turns
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Rank/Craft: Journeywoman Beastcrafter, Weyrwoman
Mother: Seliuna, 66, Wife.
Father: Tanastor, 69, Cotholder
Siblings: Ianol, 35, Sr. Journeyman Beastcrafter
Foster Parents: None
Significant Other: None
Children: Forendron (At Fort Weyr; Candidate)
Persona Appearance:
Alandra is of medium height, not much past Five foot five, but she is an imposing woman. Her face is strong, with a firm, square jaw and well-defined cheekbones. Her eyes are large, almond shaped, and a grey-blue that change color according to her temper; when she is happy, they are bright, but when she is sad they turn grey and when angry they are a stormy grey-green. An angry Alandra is not a pleasant sight; she has a force of will that makes her seem a giant when enraged, and she is a very intimidating personage.
Her figure is not a bad one for a woman her age; despite childbirth, she has not become heavy. She is not slim, but she is muscular and fit, and she has large enough curves that she still seems feminine, for all her square-cut hair and determined, long-legged stride. Alandra's hair is a sandy blonde; it was nearly white-blonde when she was a child, but it darkened over time. In the Fortian winters her hair would go brown, but in the Southern sun her hair has lightened somewhat. Alandra always keeps her hair at chin length, and it is very straight, with just a little curve towards her face at the end.
Alandra is not a graceful woman, nor one of particularly good balance. As a child she was clumsy and gawky, and only time has given her a bit of poise. She doesn't trip as much as she used to, but her stride is not demure or graceful like some women's; she walks like a man, arms swinging by her sides and her stride long. She is a bit flat-footed, and also a bit bow-legged, a result of spending most of her life riding some creature or another. She isn't a remarkable looking woman, but she isn't ugly either.
Alandra wears blue, which is her best color, and red, because it is bold and rich. She pierced her ears when in candidacy, on a dare from the other girls, and she still wears gold studs in them, to show her rank. She carries a knife at all times, for defence and to spear her meat at mealtimes.
Persona Personality:
Alandra is smart. That's the first thing about her, her intelligence. She has a quick wit, and an inventive mind, not to mention a good memory for facts and data. She is also cunning, and practical; time in the political life of the Weyr has made her wise in the ways of humans, and it is hard to deceive her about much. She's also absent-minded and a tad disorganized, the second thing about her that is worth a note. If you don't remind her, she will forget to put on her knots, or will leave her papers in the Wingleader's office, and be at a loss to their whereabouts. Goldriding matured her somewhat; with her responsibilities, she learned to keep herself at least somewhat prepared and together, improving over time.
Alandra's ambition was what made her superiors at Fort so eager to transfer her. While the girl did not initially intend to pursue politics upon first impressing, later, after having seen the benefits and pleasures that power brought, she began to genuinely lust for it. Now, hardened by time in the political sphere of the Weyr, she is a canny tactician and ambassador, good at reading emotion, deciphering pieces of information, and making connections. She is an excellent public speaker, good with words, and also a decent actor; she is fully capable of rousing a crowd of dragonriders or pacifying an angry Lord if there is need. She does not like to compromise much, but she is generally wise enough to see the necessity.
Alandra is also stubborn. Politics taught her how to compromise and be respectful towards her superiors, but she has an independant, willful streak. She hates admitting that she might be wrong, or incorrect; she will fight until proof is shoved under her nose, and then her acceptance of the facts is a grudging one. She is crushing towards those she thinks stupider than her, putting them down often and rubbing their ignorance in their face. She has been known to make younger goldriders cry; infact, she makes a lot of younger pupils cry. She is a terrible teacher, and knows it; she delegates much of her responsibility as an instructor.
Persona History:
Alandra was born in a small cothold near Southern Boll hold. Her father ran a successful beasthold, where he bred runners for the holders, long-legged, strong creatures with easy strides and great endurance. He cared for his runners as much as for the humans whom he lived with, something that his daughter inherited. From the first, Alandra knew her place was not walking on the ground, but in the saddle of a swift and beautiful being. Her mother encouraged her, wanting her daughter to have skills that would allow her to do more than just marry. She had never had the chance at independance; few women did. She wanted her daughter to be more, have more.
Alandra's parents loved each other, but it was not an easy marriage, and they fought often. When that happened, Alandra and her brother Ianol would run to the runner stables and sit in a horse stall, on one of the many stools. They hated it, but it did not stop. Seliuna threatened many times to leave her husband, but she never did, for she loved the land, her children, and the runners.
Alandra and her brother received little former education; their hold was fairly back-woods and isolated. They usually only saw a harper once or twice a turn, and so Alandra's mother, who had received fairly good instruction, taught them the teaching songs, their letters, and a little arithmatic. This knowledge was supplemented later in Alandra's life, during her candidacy; she was a very quick learner, and still loves to read.
Alandra grew up a strong and happy farmer's girl, and when she was thirteen turns, she officially apprenticed herself to her father, learning the bloodlines of runners, how to tell if a creature was fast, strong, or athletic, what 'nicks,' crosses between bloodlines, would produce winning steeds, and basic healing skills for the animals. She was a fast and intelligent learner, and at seventeen turns, her father sent her to the Beastcraft Hall to earn her Journeyman's knots.
It was travelling back from the hall that she was searched by a Fort Weyr dragon. Her runner would have bolted if it could, but Alandra reined it in, and heard the rider out. There was a clutch on the sands at Fort, would she care to stand? Alandra declined, never having thought of any life but that of a beastcrafter and cotholder. The riders gave her a Candidate's token, so that if she changed her mind, she could present herself, but she did not choose to stand at that hatching.
For three more turns, she worked on her home holding, but something called her to the Weyr, a chance to impress, a chance to do something none in her family had ever done before. A chance to be one with the most beautiful, majestic creatures on Pern. Eventually, she acted upon her desire; while her parents were sad to lose a talented young worker, they prefered her to be happy, and so she rode to the Weyr on runnerback and presented her candidate token.
There was a clutch on the sands, to her delight, but no gold egg. She stood for that clutch, without impressing, and waited for another chance, impatient. While waiting, she became, for a brief period, the consort of a brownrider. However, their relationship ended in fighting - Alandra was too strong-willed, too independant for the close-minded and traditionalist rider. Alandra waited for years for the opportunity to impress; only on her 24th year, her last year as a candidate, was a clutch laid - one that included a gold.
Alandra, along with seventeen other girls and forty-two eager boys, stood on the sands on a sultry summer day, the hot sand underfoot scorching their feet. They had bigger matters to think on than their feet, though - the hatchlings emerged from their shells almost instantaneously, save for the Gold, whose larger, thicker egg seemed to be giving it some difficulty. All the dragonets paired up without great incident; all that was left was the queen dragonet. When it did hatch, in an explosion of golden shards and flailing appendages, it immediately began looking. Alandra, unafraid and indeed rather desperate to impress, approached the queen before any of the other girls; perhaps this boldness pleased the dragonet. In any case, the first girl Lastianth looked at was the last, as Alandra impressed her.
It was an uneasy Weyrlinghood. Alandra and the Sr. Weyrwoman did not get on well - they were too similar in their stubborness and pride - and a quarrel in the first month of Alandra's weyrlinghood made her contact with the Senior Goldrider minimal. Because the Sr. Weyrwoman refused to instruct Alandra, the young and flighty Jr. Weyrwoman was forced to, and Alandra learnt almost nothing from the foolish creature. Instead, she was forced to learn the hard way when goldrider duties were thrust upon her, and she was an awkward leader and worker at best for a few months. However, Alandra learnt on her feet, and to the Sr. Weyrwoman's displeasure, it was soon obvious that she was the most competant of the three junior riders. Alandra was delegated the responsibilities of dealing with the holders and overseeing the tithes; she was good at persuading Lords who balked at increased demands normally. She also began looking over the records when pregnant with her only child, the result of her first mating flight.
Alandra was too ambitious - she and the Weyrwoman constantly butted heads - and so the Weyrleadership started to work on moving her from the Weyr. However, no other Weyr wanted an ambitious younger goldrider, and so Alandra was seemingly a problem that would not go away. When the Weyrwoman at Atora began ailing, however, she sent out a request for a mature rider to be transferred in. In no way should the Weyrling gold be given the position of Weyrwoman, Santara wrote to the Council. So, to the delight of Fort's Weyrleading pair, Alandra was transferred out to Atora. She and Xianine have been dueling ever since - Xianine thought the Weyrwoman's position should have been hers - and Alandra has been trying to make her much coveted position secure.
Dragonrider Information:
Dragon's Name: Lastianth
Dragon's Age: 13 turns
Dragon's Color: Gold
Dragon's Appearance:
Lastianth is a big, strong gold. She isn't a lightweight by anyone's standards, a good ten feet larger than some bronzes, and at least five past the rest. She's the classic shade, burnished gold with slightly lighter undertones on her belly and wings, and her neckridges are a dark antique shade. Her head is elegant by draconic standards, narrowing to a small muzzle. Her neck has a graceful arch, and her ridges are curvy. Her body is slinky looking, for all that it's large, and her tail is long, and dances out behind her in flight like the tail of a kite. Her wings are wide, long, and powerful; so large, in fact, that when extended they make her body look small.
Dragon's Personality:
Lastianth is intelligent by draconic standards, and is not willing to let her rider know more than she. The queen likes to listen in on Alandra's thoughts when she is reading, or when meeting with dignitaries; Lastianth is quite determined to be an equal partner. Though both are very fond of each other, both want to be the dominant one; it is in Alandra's and Lastianth's natures to domineer, though neither likes being domineered. The queen is determined to remember what her rider will not, and she makes her rider tell her everything that she is doing and reading, to store it away in her head. She forgets much of it, but sometimes she can remember incredibly useful things that Alandra read years ago.
She's a demanding queen, wanting to be flattered and pampered by her rider and other dragons. When she flies, she taunts her chasers, and extends it far longer than really necessary before letting her chosen mate catch her, and on the sands she's a holy terror. She hates candidates, thinking them pests and marauders, and Faranth help any tresspasser to her eggs. She will not leave her clutch, demanding that her mate fetch her a buck every few days, and her bad temper affects Alandra.
Crafter Information:
Craft: Beastcrafting
Rank: Jr. Journeywoman
Specialty: Runners, Runner Breeding.
All references to worlds and characters based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are copyright© Anne McCaffrey 1967, 2001, all rights reserved, and used by permission of the author.
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