Name: CharikAge: 21
Sex: Female
Sexual Orientation: Bi-Sexual and Polyromantic
Weyr: Seemingly unaffiliated, but reports to Western
Rider Rank: Junior Weyrwoman / Weyr Spy
Previous Rank/Craft: Journeyman Courtesan, specializing in Dance and Spymastery
Physical Description: 5'11" with a slim, but voluptuous build, pale skin, ice-blonde hair and bright blue-green eyes flecked with bronze. Charik has pierced her ears as well as her nose and sports some rather lovely and colorful tattoo work on her arms, back and across her collarbone. The tattoo features a design of fellis flowers, firelizards and flaming dragons. Additionally, she wears her pale hair in a sort of crest, with the sides shaved down and the top fluffed up and trailing down to a thick braid that hangs to her hips.
Personality: Charik is nothing if not bold. Though she much prefers the terms 'adventurous' and 'fiercely intelligent'. Granted, one doesn't get tapped to learn the spymaster craft if they're stupid. Still. Under her skin of the bold adventurer, Charik is supremely confident and possesses a code of ethics that makes her personal integrity nigh unbreakable. She will make is quite clear exactly where you stand with her and what you can reasonably expect from her.
Unfortunately, with that moral code comes a judgemental streak that can and has gotten her into trouble. First impressions always matters, but in Charik's case, those first impressions can either make or break you as she will form a snap judgement and then rarely, if ever, adjust it. Additionally, She's also been known to be reckless with her own safety and to act impulsively when the spirit of adventure seizes her. It's a pity how someone so intelligent so often acts without once thinking.
History: Charik was born to a pair of cotholders with Nabol, which in and of itself might not have been so bad. Had those same cotholders not had a reputation for selling anything they could to the Nabolese to ease their own debts and greed. Charik has murky memories of older siblings who simply... all disappeared one day when she was around six turns old. Later reflections led her to believe that her parents sold her sibs to Nabol's mines and brothels.
Growing up, her parents were distant, perpetually drunk and only interested in things that could bring them wealth. Fortunately for Charik, the cothold was also home to a couple of former traders. This pair became surrogate fathers to Charik and provided the child with the love and attention so lacking in her own parents. Their tales of life on the road enchanted the girl and their own scrupulous honesty provided the foundation for her own ethics. Sadly, when she was around eleven turns, Verik died of a fever and Ren mourned himself to death shortly after. The loss of the only stable influence in her life threw Charik into a depression, especially as around this time, she was entering puberty and her parents were, once again, in need of a source of money and saw their daughter as that source.
Though they told her they'd arranged a marriage contract for her, but late night snooping on her part found a letter from one of the uglier brothels stating they'd buy her once she'd turned twelve. Having no desire to be sold and her head being full of traders tales, Charik spent the next several days plotting. She had a small bag of marks thanks to her surrogate fathers, plenty of maps and just enough knowledge of which trains would be safest for her if she could reach them. Between that bag as well as the marks she took from her parents as they were sleeping off a drunken stupor one night, the girl snuck out of her hold and managed, over the course of several weeks, to escape Nabol entirely.
By sheerest luck, she managed to talk a traders train into letting her join them by virtue of name-dropping Verik and Ren and explaining why she'd run away. And as the train was destined for Western Hold and held other passengers, Charik was perfectly content and learned as much as the various adults were willing to teach. One of those was a Master Courtesan who spun such tales of life in her crafthall that Charik was intrigued. They made it to Western mere months after Charik turned twelve and the Master Courtesan immediately took her as an apprentice.
By virtue of the intelligence and initiative Charik had shown in escaping her original hold, she was quietly taught the art of spying. As a cover, she was also taught dance. She took to both facets of her craft like a fish to water and studied as hard as she could.
Charik walked the tables at sixteen and decided that if she was to give credence to her role as a mere dancer, she would make herself stand out from the other girls. Cutting her hair into a long crest, piercing her ears and nose and finally, enduring a painful tattooing session, Charik emerged as a beautifully barbaric figure. And it certainly made her stand out to those looking for potential dancers. Her lessons in spycraft were also becoming more intense and she was determined to make her Masters proud.
She was eighteen when the Weyr requested the Courtesan Hall to send a small troupe of dancers over to provide entertainment and Charik was one of those selected. All was going well enough and Charik was proud to have been chosen to dance for the Weyr. But by the time the night was over and everyone was getting ready to mount the dragons that would take them home, the little blue that Charik had been assigned to began to insist that she be kept as a Candidate for the eggs hardening in the Hatching Sands. Rather than risk offending the Weyr, Charik stayed with her Master's blessing. And when the eggs hatched, no one was more surprised than Charik to Impress golden Aelbeth.
For the next Turn, she trained as a weyrling and was eventually graduated as a junior weyrwoman. From there, she kept up her studies with the Courtesan Hall, even offering to teach interested weyrfolk some of the dances she knew. However, when Thread began to fall the Turn after, Charik saw the chaos and confusion and spent several nights sitting up with Aelbeth, the both of them thinking hard. When Charik emerged from her weyr, she went directly to the Weyrleaders and told them of her training in spymastery and of how she lacked only a Turn or two in attaining her Mastery. Then, she offered herself and Aelbeth as Weyr spies, having come to the conclusion that with as many riders as there were who lack attachment to any Weyr, it would behoove them all to know which groups were harmlessly independent. And which groups could pose a threat to Western should they become desperate enough as Thread continued to fall. By Charik and Aelbeth's logic, they were the best ones to send as the unaffiliated dragons would obey Aelbeth and as Charik was a very junior weyrwoman, she was the most expendable if something should go wrong. It took nearly a month of talking, consulting with her former Hall and Masters and careful planning before Charik's plan was put into effect. She and Aelbeth were given what supplies could be spared and sent off to investigate whatever weyrless dragonrider groups she could find and to report back on them to Western.
Other: Just Like Fire (Warriors Light 'Em Up) [Song]
DRAGON
Name: Aelbeth
Age: 3
Color: Gold
Size: 48'
Physical Description: Slim, graceful and sinuous, Aelbeth is a delight to watch during flight. As much as a beast of her size can, she's managed to learn sky-dancing and even taught herself how to walk gracefully when grounded. Her hide is a pale rose-gold color.
Personality: Nearly matching her rider in intelligence, Aelbeth looks upon being spies as something of a game. She enjoys fooling the weyrless dragons and is a dreadful flirt at times. She also has a small streak of vanity and adores it when admiration is being heaped upon her. However, underneath, the gold dragon has a core of steel when it comes to protecting her rider and Weyr. As long as those they spy upon remain harmless, Aelbeth is content to watch, question and flirt charmingly.
But should they find dragons willing to harm the Weyr, Aelbeth has no problem at all with destroying them and then sowing their ashes with salt.
QUEST INFO
Why do you want this character? The idea hit me at work and just seemed like it would be so much fun to play. It also seems like a logical thing for this version of Pern to have the weyr(s) sending spies out to check out the independent dragonrider groups. But mostly? it's just an idea that could be so so much fun.
What do you love most about this character, if anything? Charik is loosely based on one of my favorite Moonshop characters. And I like this iteration of her since she's always been this tough, smart, ethical barbarian. Adding spies into the mix just makes it more entertaining for me.
Anything else? Meep moop.