Hex

Male, age 19

Hold Born, Guard

Relatives/Family: parents alive, several brothers and sisters, many cousins

Physical Description: 5'11", 160, muscular and barrel chested, Hadex is very strong indeed. He has tanned skin, with black and pink hair. His hair is a monument to curiosity, it is curly naturally, and falls to his shoulders, but the top of it he dyed on a dare, and liked it so much he has always kept it pink. He wears a fluffy mustache as well, fortunately not pink. His eyes are brown, and wide, under very thick dark eyebrows. He is an attractive man with boyish looks, even with the eyebrows and mustache! His voice is clear, smooth and deep, after it changed (there are stories about that). He wears loosely cut clothes, which allow him to move and fight easily.

Emotional/Mental Description: strong and capable. He is a doer and quick thinker, though he is not an intellectual he does have a great grasp on things other than just fighting and dragon riding. He studies tactics and such, and is able to apply them to real world activities. He is devoted to Hold and his girlfriend, but she has not been Searched (yet). Even if she is not, he will marry her and keep his promises to her. He is a loving man, and enjoys time with his younger siblings and relatives. Highly empathic, but not specific to any person or animal.

History: born in the Hold but educated in the Weyr nearby. He was sent back largely to keep the old Holder Deon from getting too many powerful people in his ranks. He knows this, and his hidden education in politics keeps his loyalty where it ought to be. When he was Searched it was no surprise. He has been said to be a great candidate for Bronze, at least that is the hopes of his trainers.

Notes and Special Information: Hadex's loyalty is in fact strong enough that he will defend his home from the inside and out, with his body if he has to. He has taken blows that might have broken bones in weaker men, and often by his stamina alone defeats his enemies.

Skills: trained as a guard, and learned tactics from Skylar at Blackstone Weyr. He is good at kick boxing, and other very physical sports. He has very strong hand-eye coordination, and can use a sword like a professional. His balance is terrific, and he has trained himself up to be able to do certain acrobatic moves. Should he Impress, he might even be able to do stunts while walking on the back of a dragon!

Pets/Hobbies/Posessions: he has only the hobby of Sharmen, his lover. He is very much in love with her, and hopes that some day she might be called upon to Impress as well.

It was a suitably marvelous day to be out and about around Dawnlight Hold. Hadex was helping one of the crafters raise a metal roof over a stone shack near the edge of the fields, when they both saw a large form in the sky. Dragons were common enough out this way but this one came from the other direction they were used to!

"I wonder who that could be," Hadex said, holding the rag he had over his eyes to shade them.

The dragon landed and off came a sturdy rider, with a badge that appeared to be from Aden weyr. Relatively far off, Hadex considered. But near by any flying standards. As anything was.

"Heyo," called out the rider, and flagged the pair over. Hadex and the crafter moved quickly, and saw that the rider carried a message tube. "This is for someone named Hadex. I was told he was out tending something... And that he had pink hair... They were right!"

The man chuckled and rubbed his head, the pink curls dancing in what little wind there was. "It certainly is," he said. "It's for me? I wasn't really expecting anything."

"You'll like this," the rider said, smiling mysteriously.

As Hadex opened the tube he was startled to discover that there was a request for him to be brought to the Aden Weyr sands! Well, he had been searched earlier. Now this was odd, though. That usually meant that he would stand on Alabaster or Blackstone's sand, but here was Aden, asking.

"I suppose I will get my things together," Hadex said. "How did you know that I was searched?"

"We all share," the rider winked. His blue dragon also seemed to wink and snorted at the crafter to scratch his nose while Hadex ran into the Hold.

***

Later on, Hadex had said his goodbyes to people, his parents and mainly Sharmon. The woman hoped that he would be back soon, but knew that it would be at least two turns before she would see him come back. Perhaps between now and then she would Impress herself!

Hadex saluted the guards whom he was abandoning, and lugged up his sack to the ridged back of the blue dragon. Once up there, they betweened and showed up to Aden!

Aden's hatching just HAD to happen in the middle of the night! Hadex sighed and groaned a bit, when the strange call went out from the queen on the sands.

The hatching! Eggs were hatching!

Drudges and riders, holders and weyrbrats alike all bolted to the sands. Led more or less patiently into the sands themselves were the candidates.

Hadex wished that Sharmon could be with him, but she was still at Dawnlight's hold and could not attend especially at such short notice! It was almost solemn, save for the wakening crowd.

Then, the eggs began hatching! A green came first, followed by a brown and a blue. Hadex sighed, hoping that the next one would be for him. He saw two bronzes hatch, lifting his spirits, but only to be crushed by passing him by in both cases. Further, a green and a blue impressed next. Then not only a green but the golden egg burst open. Of course, neither of those were for Hadex...

Both Vollimar and Wenn had impressed, folk that Hadex had met near or around Dawnlight. Vollimar had impressed the last brown to hatch, mooments before a green snuggled down to one of the girls.

Hadex was ready to give up on this hatching. There were only a couple candidates left, and only a few eggs, but he...

Felt something glance by his mind. A word, perhaps. Bireth.

The shattering of the egg nearby brought his attention to it, and the bold brown who came from it looked at Hadex with a swirl of blue and green and hungry-red eyes!

"Bireth? Come then! We will find you some food at once!" He'd impressed!

I give up, why IS your hair like that and no one else's is?

Bireth, I have told you several times not to ask me that.

But I want to have black on the bottom too...

H'ex glanced at the dragon, whose nose poked into his weyr with a snuffle.

"No you do not, you silly beast! It's for hair, not hide!"

But I could ... sit in it, and maybe get dark that way... I know! I shall find a tarpit and make myself a black bottom like that!

Just barely before H'ex could react, Bireth was out the ledge and into the air. The weyrling had caught onto flight before all the others, and while proud of him, H'ex worried that the dragon could get into trouble.

H'ex managed to keep his dragon's butt out of the tarpits for more than another turn. It was hard work. Every time he turned around, the dragon was covering his rear end and tail in dark coal or soot. At least soot washed off easily, H'ex pondered.

I still think tar would be far more permanent.

"And it'd burn your tail right off! You know that!"

I am joking, my rider... Can't you take a joke?

When you're telling it, my friend, I always have to wonder...

I wonder about that little thing you and Sharmon have been fawning over for the last Turn. What is it?

That's our son, Zarap, Bireth. Remember him?

He is cute. Kind of wiggly. Will he shed and grow everytime he eats?

"Like you? Shards, I hope not!!"