Status: Commoner, House Born child
Age: 18
Gender: female
Siblings: 4
Born: next to last
plus one unexpected younger half-sibling from their father's indescretions
Legitimacy: brought into the world with two loving parents
Childhood Health: often quite sickly
Adult Height: a bit short for an adult
Adult Build: all muscle, bulky
Skin Tone: very pale, almost albino
Hair Color: darkly brown
Hair Style: held back with a bandana
Hair Length: cut short to ears
Eye Color: hazel gold
Literacy Level: cannot read, they're illiterate
Politeness Level: everyone knows them as a rude person
Focus: they are able to focus easily on the tasks at hand
This character is certainly one of the best looking folks around
They give and take without thinking of consequences of either

Values and Goals
Has fun with: their mother
Enjoys deeply: a Dragonry or Hatchery
Strong goal: travel
Overwhelming fear: flitters
Moderate goal: marry and have a family
Odd Skill (learned outside of craft if any): town crier/announcments

Originally From: lightly forrested community
Location size: smallish
Location climate: temperate
Searched: as a youth

It was when her youngest brother was born that the family knew there wouldn't be enough room for everyone. Though she was the youngest girl, she was also the loudest child in the Hold, and probably for that reason Nian was the one selected to be fostered away for a bit.

Well, not so much fostered, as foisted, upon the Weyr above the big crowded sea hold. When Nian was seven turns old, therefore, she became the attendant to one of the stewards' families. She had a strong mind, even as a young child. When told to find a particular person, she went and did it, knowing by name instead of having to be told over and over how to get where she needed to be, or who to ask for directions. She was given quite a lot of tasks, running errands and to tell someone this-or-that. And, moreover, she was trustworthy. Though she almost always barged in on someone's privacy with her noisy 'heyo! message!' at the door, she always waited until the person acknowledged her and gave her messages only when privacy was possible. Boisterous while wandering, but certainly all business by the time she passed information.

No one had ever heard anything from her that wasn't factual, as well - she was known to question orders, in fact, questioning the very Weyrleader one time in sending for a particular person. "He's off sick, if you bring him to the meeting, everyone will get ill, and then no one can ride for Thread!" she had said when he summoned her to bring their recordskeeper.

"Well, why don't you sit in and take notes instead," the man suggested. At first he thought nothing of it, a joke - but she stood there patiently watching them. No quill or wherhide came out though - and he didn't realize she was memorizing what they were saying and acting upon just by standing there.

She went later, to the records room and blurted out all manner of it - sometimes having to go back over it and say bits again. And she looked extremely relieved when it was done to her satisfaction. The ill scribe coughed out, "why not just short-hand it?"

"I don't read," she said bluntly. "No one ever taught me." Now, she was ten at that point, and probably should have learned at least some lessons from the Weyr or her Hold's scribes. But hadn't, and instead relied upon her sharp memory (it wasn't perfect, but it was good enough for running through halls, wasn't it?) to complete her tasks.

The scribe was almost furious - more at himself for not having noticed, than anything else. True she never once looked over his shoulder, and true she'd never said anything about the hides which had more secretive messages on them between people. It hadn't occurred to him that it was because she couldn't actually read what was on them.

The Weyrleader, too, was impressed at this. "The whole meeting?" He had asked the scribe, and the older man presented four full hides of notes. When the Weyrleader looked them over, his expression went from disbelief to true amazement. They both looked at the younger girl, who was sitting with her feet banging against the stone of a counter.

She heard the older man whisper, "she's going to be beautiful, when she grows older. Planning on keeping her here then?"

"Actually," the Weyrleader announced more loudly, "I'm not, if only because we've got a bit of a poor selection of eggs on the sands." He meant no eggs, there was no queen, and hadn't been for two turns. There would be no queen to rise for at least another full turn, at this Weyr, because theirs had left no adult offspring and gotten herself killed. It was a sad situation, for him too - because he had loved the Weyrwoman dearly. He knew that his status couldn't last, when that next gold rose it would have to be a younger bronze to catch her. He would train whoever came on, he would. But for the moment, Nian didn't really even understand what he was saying just now. She didn't really think he was talking to, or even about, her. "I'm going to have to send her somewhere that does have a good queen to lay, though from what I've heard they will have my hide if they learn she's illiterate..."

"Wait," the scribe said, noting Nian's distant gaze as she fiddled with a quill and ignored its true purpose entirely. "You're searching her? The Weyrleader! Oh-Ho!" He chuckled as though the girl were his own. "Nian! Nian, girl, didn't you hear that?"

"Someone's searched," she commented without raising her eyes. Then she narrowed them, held the quill a little too hard and it broke. "... You've... searched me?" She turned to look at the bronze rider and his elderly companion. The older man had a huge grin on his wrinkled face, and the Weyrleader... Why if he puffed up any more she thought he'd explode. As though he'd never Searched anyone before...

***

Though Dragonhope was a smaller Weyr, in a much colder region, they could stand to grow a lot before being considered crowded. A lot. They had a couple gorgeous golds - and some that weren't quite all gold. Nian wondered about those, but then she was going to get a lot closer to them than she'd ever expected to.

She had to (embarrassingly enough) admit to the fact that she'd never learned to read nor write, and in this Weyr they had no Harpers properly to sing and listen to. She had to sit down with one of the scribes, but they were kind, organized, and actually she learned quite a lot in the first few days. She'd never be more than adequate with her script, and she couldn't really recognize some longer words right off - but she could speak with dreadful clarity and loudness whatever she'd been told.

By the time she was fourteen, and had been passed up by two clutches of Nozomith's, the Weyrleaders decided she'd go somewhere else to stand. But it did take a while. They had to be careful who they sent out queries to, they weren't sure how she'd be reacting in which Weyrs. Depending of course upon their humans, their dragons, and their flitter population...

Especially after that flitter incident.

No one had known that the flits nearby would have responded that way - Nian was asked to take a little box containing a treat of some kind, to someone's lover up in the corridors. Perhaps they did know that if it'd gone by flitter-leg it might never have reached its destination? When she started running through the halls to get up there, she had seen one or two flits fly in from between and hang around. But then she realized it was the same three, and then they were joined by others. Were they following her? What was up with that?!

She cornered around a steep ramp, and suddenly a batch of flits, probably a dozen of them of varying sizes and ranks, descended upon her. Squawking madly, tearing at her hair and her hands - they wanted that package and she wouldn't let it go. She huddled over it, trying desperately not to crush it but ...

They landed on her back, her shoulders, her feet, she cried out but there was no one nearby. Her hair was a mess, they'd ripped off the cloth she almost always had on her head, and were busy trying to claw around her neck and shoulders to reach the box. When someone did hear, and saw what was happening to the girl, they shooed the flits away but they came back repeatedly. Angry, noisy, with claws and teeth. It took two people, one of whom was trying to calm his own flitter who went bonkers when he arrived, to get them all away.

Bloodied and bruised, with holes in her clothing and bits of hair torn out, it was the first time anyone had seen Nian crying. Her hand shook as she held out the box to the girl who was supposed to get the gift, and was unapologetic when she yelled, "it's from B'zad, and if he ever sends anything to you again, I hope for your sake it's not whatever's in there. It better be worth it." She tried stomping off to the infirmary, but had to be carried, she could hardly stand from the shaking she was doing. In shock, she was treated. Her hair would grow back, her clothing was replaced (not mended, she didn't want to touch it with all the memories those stitches would bring), and her hair was done up eventually with a soft cloth again.

Did she ever look at a flitter the same way? Of course not. She was almost petrified of them, but more angry and would certainly never allow one to get too near her. Even if they didn't remember why, she certainly would.

It didn't deter her, fortunately, from wanting to be around dragons. She knew perfectly well that they would never harm her - not like the brainless little flitters. The Weyrleader S'xon sat her down when she turned eighteen, and gave her some questions.

"I think that I've found a good Weyr for you to stand again," he started. "It's Isla Weyr, and actually one of the Protectorate's dragons has sired the clutch on the sands."

That drew a bit of a blank stare from her, "the... protectowhat?"

S'xon blinked. Oh yes. "Er.... Batch of riders I'm familiar with, nothing, don't pay that any mind."

"Ah, a secret society of dragon riders?" Nian grinned.

"Well, not really - unless you count that most of them won't be born for another thousand years or more..." S'xon looked right at her, seriously, daring her to say anything more about it. She didn't rise to that, she knew that look, she realized that it was something he ought not to have said, anyway. It brought up all manner of questions. She'd ask later - maybe, once she came back flying on a dragon. That would at least give her a little leeway when asking about it. It might come two, even three years later. But she'd remember to ask again.

After the bit of silence, "Did you think you'd ever be a dragon rider, Nian?" He asked. She tilted her head, shrugged.

"No, not really, but I never really gave it any thought either way. It's not like you can choose a career on a dragon, they have to choose you, right?"

"That is indeed, correct," S'xon said, nodding. "Have you ever been anywhere else? Your home Hold, the Weyr, and here?"

"Nope, I was never really out much. I'd love to see more, this place is great, but it's freezing all the time," she clutched her shoulders, "I wouldn't mind seeing a warmer place now and then. I suppose a dragon could take me, huh?"

"A dragon could," S'xon said, "yours, which is why I think you should ride. What about anything else, you've done an exemplary job as an announcer, a delivery runner, do you want to continue doing that? Or maybe have a family, raise children?"

"Can't I do both?" She said, smiling crookedly. "I mean, you're a Weyrleader and you've raised two families."

Two, well there we go, he thought. She knew, could easily see, how many of the crafters and riders were of his own broods. While he was in thought and quiet, she giggled, "I know she knows, but does Weyrwoman Kira actually, like, know who Master S'vax's mother is?"

Without missing a beat, S'xon said, "oh you know, it's hard to even remember all those women I bedded when I was younger..." He waved his long fingers, rolling his yellow eyes, and then they both laughed. "I don't think she minds, and that's the important part, isn't it?"

"I suppose so, my mom was okay when my dad's girl gave him my little brother. Then again I haven't really seen them since I left home..."

"You want to go home and find out?" S'xon said, "I could take you there before bringing you to Isla Weyr."

She didn't even pause, "could you? I really would like to see my familiy again. I know they're all right, people've gotten me word now and then. But I wouldn't mind telling them I'm Searched, too!"

***

They looked a little worse for wear, because Threadfall had taken Nian's elder sister Nuna. But aside from that, and such was to be expected from a dying Weyr and a Hold which had little more going for it now that the Weyrleader's son had botched things... Without even stopping for breath, as they mounted back up onto the Weyrleader's bronze (being escorted to a Weyr by the Weyrleader! She did know what an honor that was, and she also knew it put her into an ideal position to ask...) she said, "sir, could you pick them up and bring them to Dragonhope?"

They were already flying, soaring above the Hold and below the Weyr, when he looked over his shoulder and said, "of course I can. They won't expect it, but I'll do it for you. They will find a good place in the Seahold, I think."

That was all that needed to be said. She knew he was absolutely good for his word. She'd toyed with the idea of even seducing him (but then, what girl hadn't, that met him?) to try and get her family safe. But she didn't need to. She'd find someone else to show off as a husband, or even just as the father of her children, when she wound up having any. If she did - the life of a dragon rider was busy!

But then, she'd also be able to continue doing her announcements! And from dragon-back! What could possibly be better than that?!

Very little was better than the ride to Isla. She found it warm, comfortable, but a little odd. There was a mood pervading the place, one of a distant kind of sadness and a wariness that warned something else was going to happen soon enough. Though she didn't know a soul there - except perhaps the other Dragonhope-led candidate Lavus - she could just tell there was an odd thing going on here.

Well, whatever it was, it didn't deter the eggs. The rain outside was a really pleasant change from the sleet, hail or snow that Dragonhope held. Nian had to come in from it, change quickly, her hair was still a bit wet as the eggs hatched.

Two eggs bolted open at the start, a night-colored blue, and a green. The spindly-legged green flopped about, but was confident enough that when she nosed into the sand she was miffed rather than injured.

Nian sprang to her side, knowing that the dragon would have to choose her - she would want to keep any dragon safe, not just hers.

Well I hope you keep me safe, I will do the same my one. I am Aozakith and I am yours.

Nian cried, gleefully tugging the dragonet's head to her chest and helping her walk away from the messy sands.

When she was old enough to learn to fly, was when S'xon and some other Dragonhope riders came back to Isla to bring Aoz and Nian back to the frigid lands. He promised her, "we need you there, and can train you with the best conditions. Everything else will be easy once you've learned at Dragonhope," S'xon winked. She believed him, trusted him, but oh how she would miss the nice warm climate here!

When they went between, it was with the massive bronze Bhavayatath guiding the much smaller green, brown and night-blue dragons, along with a pair of browns fully grown. The riders of the younger dragons remained on the backs of the bigger ones - they couldn't afford to be distracted just yet, and who best to teach a dragon, than another dragon?

They arrived back to Dragonhope in time for a beautiful spring shower - chilly but at least there was pleasant sunlight afterward. And then, Nian got to run back to her own weyr and meet her parents again. They had nothing but praise for the dragon she rode, and for her part, Aozakith found them to be quite entertaining themselves.

I like them, but they will remain down below? The Hold is more their home, than here.

"Yes, that's right," Nian said. "Well, we've got work cut out for us, Aoz, running messages will mean your wings have to be in perfect shape!"

They would in fact be flying between Weyrs, holds and crafthalls, not Searching but definitely delivering messages or goods, or even people, that were more important or impossible to ship with a flitter. Good she thought, cursed little things can't be trusted with anything.

The Weyr was actually quite busy for the next year or more. People came and went more frequently - something about training them. There was one guy, the rider of the night-blue who hatched with Aoz, who was actually from some time in the future? Well, that would be all right, Aoz and Nian seemed quite capable of traveling back and forth through time, space or whatever they needed to do - with a quick forming memory like Nian's, and sturdy small dragon like Aozakith they were welcome almost anywhere too. They didn't make much of a fuss in courtyards - though Nian's loud voice almost overtook Aoz's trumpet when they arrived!

And some day, maybe, that idea of having babies? Perhaps... There was a boy her age, and he rode of all things a red dragon. L'ul and Taiinath were just as good at teleportation as Aoz and she were - and they had an odd relationship already. Fortunately he didn't have a flitter. But he was a bit scared of a steward that Nian thought highly of. More though... L'ul was telepathic and could sense Nian's attraction. He didn't use it against her, hardly, in fact the opposite!

I think he likes you, Aoz proclaimed when they had come home to the chilly weyr. He has asked for a bigger weyr for us... Are you going to join him?

"He what?" Nian laughed, and then blushed, "I think so, I think that would be fine... We both so love children, and wouldn't it be good to have more little riders? And he's so handsome..." He was, rich dark skin so opposite her own - and his hair too was brightly blond where hers was dark. And their dragons too: red and green!

Fairly soon they were handfasted, not as common as in a Hold here in the Weyr for riders to do so. But he was not a true fighting rider, L'uz was a hunter and could not generally be spared to fight for that reason. If the Holds refused or could not provide meat, then he certainly could. Perhaps some day, soon, while their first child was on the way, Aoz and Taiinath would have their own clutch. Since Aozakith didn't chew firestone, that would be far more likely. What a pair!