Candidate Teva
Aricat
rkenagy@gmail.com
Common
Knowledge: Teva is B’ruk’s daughter and
Perone’s younger sister. She is apprenticed to Osidna, a cook at the weyr,
and intends to become a dragonrider someday. She admires her sister
greatly and hopes to live up to Perone’s reputation. She seems friendly
and light-hearted, a real people person.
Character Name:
Teva
Birthdate (age):
3304 (16 turns)
Gender: Female
Birthplace:
Southern Weyr
Current Location:
Last Hope Weyr
Family:
Father- B’ruk, of Horath, former weyrleader of Southern/Last
Hope Weyr
Sister – Perone of Wrath, weyrleader of Last Hope Weyr
Physical Description:
Teva shares her sister’s looks in many respects, though she tries to
minimize the similarities however she can. She has straight, jet black
hair which she keeps cropped short at about chin length in a style
drastically different from her sister’s. Her eyes are grey and almond
shaped, her nose small and flat. Her skin is a lightly toasted tan, from
living in the southern sun. She is a few inches taller than five feet, and
weighs perhaps 125 pounds.
Perone’s fondness for dresses has also left its mark on Teva – she wears
trousers and tunics whenever possible, avoiding the flowing, feminine
gowns Perone so often wears. Teva loves to wear bright, vivid colors – any
but her sister’s favorite, blue. She rarely wears jewelry.
Personality: All
her life, Teva has lived in other’s shadows. First she was B’ruk’s little
daughter; now Perone’s little sister. As a result, she is a bit of a free
spirit. She looks constantly for ways to distinguish herself from Perone
and prove herself equal to her sister. She admires Perone and gets along
well with her except for the occasional sisterly spat, but there is a
strong sense of competition underlying the relationship at least in Teva’s
mind. Even as she strives to prove herself, Teva is a peacemaker. She
hates to cause trouble, and will usually swallow her feelings, telling no
one, rather than stir up discord. She learned early that life isn’t fair,
accepted it, and works all the harder to overcome the disadvantages she
feels have been handed her. She is determined to make some great
contribution to Pern, to show everyone she’s not a dud born into a family
of heroes.
To the average observer, it’s obvious Teva has great ambition. What may
not be apparent is just how serious the drive to succeed is for her. She
rarely shares her problems, instead making light of them and apparently
letting them roll off her back. She’s outgoing and charming, affectionate
to her friends, vivacious, and certainly a people person. Not getting much
attention within her family, she automatically turned her attention
outward to those around her. She thrives on praise and attention from
others.
History: Teva
was born to Weyrleader B’ruk in 3304, 10 turns after he became weyrleader
and the plague spread to the weyrs as well as holds. When she was six
turns old, the Catalysts began to blame dragonriders for the crisis and
the weyrs consolidated and moved to Southern under B’ruk’s leadership. The
next turn, the plague disappeared, having run its course and killed
two-thirds of the planet’s population. Teva remembers the move and the
horrors of the plague, but not as vividly as many who were older during
that time. She does not remember a time before the dragonriders were
considered pariahs, hated by most holdfolk for their perceived role in
spreading the plague.
What she does remember is growing up in the shadow of B’ruk, once the
great weyrleader of all Pern, and Perone, Last Hope’s current and
unorthodox weyrleader. Teva has always struggled to establish her own
identity, more than just “B’ruk’s daughter” or “Perone’s sister.” She has
always been overlooked, never taken seriously. When they were young
children, B’ruk often pulled Perone out of the crèche to train with the
weyrwoman, Vimie, expecting his older daughter to become a goldrider
someday. Teva remained in the crèche with the other children, too young to
join in Perone’s tutelage even if it had occurred to B’ruk to include her.
She learned to accept that life wasn’t fair and take its injustices in
stride. She still enjoyed the companionship of her older sister and was
determined, someday, to live up to Perone’s precedent. When Teva was 9 and
Perone 14, Perone stood on the sands and came away with blue Wrath. Teva,
still too young to stand, accepted this development with equanimity. It
meant she saw less of her sister, and also that she had even bigger shoes
to fill. Three turns later, Perone displaced B’ruk as weyrleader. Teva
hated the problems this caused between her sister and father, and once
again faced an even higher standard if she was ever to catch up to her
sister.
When Teva was 13, Corath’s last egg lay on the sands. Rumors and
spectulation ran wild, and when Teva heard that Perone intended to choose
and train a single candidate for the egg, she suddenly saw her destiny.
Who better than Perone’s own younger sister to impress this egg? She who
had been Perone’s childhood companion, the daughter of one weyrleader and
sister of another. She was the perfect candidate. Confident she would be
chosen, Teva was shattered when the announcement was made that Santar and
Santar alone would stand before the egg. She felt betrayed, forgotten,
inadequate, lost once again in the shadows. She had known Santar all his
life: an amiable, mild-mannered young man, but what did Perone see in him
that Teva lacked? She had watched his impression with a heavy heart before
retreating to work out her feelings on the matter quietly. Eventually she
swallowed her bitterness and moved on, having shared her burden with no
one. When Truth rose and Wrath caught her, Teva had to face the turmoil of
her feelings once more. Hadn’t Perone had enough of the spotlight? How
could she ever catch up now?
The same turn that Perone became weyrleader, Teva apprenticed herself to
Osinda, a cook in the Lower Caverns and the headwoman’s mother. She threw
her energy into learning the craft, determined in at least one way to
prove herself capable. Here she had no older sister to outshine her, and
she excelled. She enjoys cooking, but her true aspiration is still to
become a dragonrider.
Now, at age 16, with Truth’s clutch on the sands, Teva once again sees her
way to greatness: the gold egg. She is determined she will impress the
young queen and become weyrwoman of Pern, finally equal to her older
sister.