Character Name: R'baen (Ralbaen)
Age: 35 (b. 9.24)
Rank: Bronzerider
Description: R'baen has dark brown hair and green eyes. He stands at about 6', weighing 200 lbs give or take a few sweets. His skin started off a light, pale sort of brown but has been permanently tanned over the years to much darker. He has a long scar running down his right calf, and various freckles on his face and his arms. R'baen has worked hard to develop muscle, but he's only really succeeded in strengthening his legs.
Personality: R'baen is one of those guys who turns 'off' quite easily. He can be as serious as the situation demands, but when he's not at work he generally relaxes easily, especially with a glass of wine to help him along. R'baen's great love is the outdoors and being adventurous -- it's gotten him into trouble, but less often than it's given him a sense of wonder and beauty. R'baen is hard to offend and is generally someone to be relied on in a bad spot. Sometimes his lack of willingness to take things seriously annoys his friends. Only a few times in his life has R'baen gotten so wrapped up in his emotions that he's done something stupid. Other than that, he does his best to keep a level head. R'baen fits the "once bitten, twice shy" stereotype pretty well, as he's reluctant to get emotionally close with any woman.
Gender/sexual preference: Male/heterosexual
History: Ralbaen was born at High Reaches hold, the middle child of three to his parents, Ralya and Verbaen. Ralbaen was the outgoing one, always getting into trouble, never able to keep still for long. His older and younger sister both thought he was annoying and refused to play with him. He was very fidgety, and eventually his parents decided to try and apprentice him to a trade.
He went for something totally off the wall, becoming a Starsmith. Ralbaen became nocturnal, spending many nights out under the stars, documenting positions and pointing out constellations. He loved it -- until he was Searched. A searchrider from High Reaches Weyr came to the crafthall and took Ralbaen and several others to the Weyr. Ralbaen, then 16, stood for three clutches before Impressing bronze Peykanth on the fourth clutch. R'baen had begun to calm down and redirect his energies during his Starsmith days, but Candidate and Weyrlinghood had given him a sense of responsibility. The pair eventually graduated Weyrling training with flying colors.
R'baen and Peykanth worked hard in their wing, and made Wing Seconds when R'baen was 26. Soon after, Peykanth flew the Junior Queen, Jalefith, at High Reaches. R'baen's relationship with her rider, Trinnay, never evolved to anything beyond cordial friends, but they did sleep together more than that first time. Trinnay got pregnant, and delivered a girl they named Rianna. The girl was fostered almost immediately, as Trinnay had no time to raise her, and she and R'baen weren't willing to make a commitment to be together.
After five Turns of catching Jalefith, Peykanth finally lost, and R'baen and Trinnay parted ways. Secretly disappointed and half in love with Trinnay, R'baen did what he freely admitted to be the stupidest thing of his life. He went out into the wilds beyond High Reaches, just wandering around. He accidentally stumbled upon a den of canine pups, and decided to take one. Unfortunately, the mother had other ideas. After a short battle, which gave him the scar on his leg, R'baen made off with a brown-gray pup he named Tuffer, for the pup's 'tuff' nature. About a Turn later, after managing to train Tuffer, he was given a female pup he named Subla, because she was a sunny blonde color.
R'baen did his best to pop in and see his daughter while she was young, spending more time with her as she got older. At first it hurt to see Trinnay in her features, but he came to love the girl for herself. Rianna adored her father right back. He took lovers occasionally but kept the relationships casual, as much for their benefit as his. After getting back to a normal disposition, he realized that he was aching for another challenge. The Southern Continent seemed the ideal place to find the challenge, so he requested a transfer to Mountain Song Weyr. Rianna, who never saw much of her mother, begged her father to take her with him, and so R'baen agreed.
Pets: Canines Tuffer and Subla, ages 4 and 3. Tuffer has gray-brown fur and has a very tough, but comical personality. He is absolutely convinced that he is the toughest fighter in the world. Subla has sunny blonde fur, and tends to have lapses in judgement, making her seem stupid sometimes. Crafter: Yes
Craft: Starcrafter
Craft Rank: Sr. Apprentice
Specialties: Charting stars
Dragonrider: Yes
Dragon Name: Peykanth
Dragon Color: Bronze
Dragon Age: 18
Dragon Description: Long and skinny, Peykanth sometimes looks like he could disappear behind a building. A very large building, admittedly. His hide is a much lighter shade of bronze than most of the other dragons of his color, almost cream-colored at his head.
Dragon Personality: Peykanth *loves* to play. He's annoyed the canines time and time again by trying to act like one of them. Sometimes it seems like he's an eternal child. However, he's gotten a little bit of seriousness from his rider, but mostly only applies it when he's chasing golds or fighting Thread.
Strength's Weaknesses: Peykanth tends to be faster than most bronzes. He's also quite clever when he puts his mind to it. Sometimes the cleverness fails him, and he has to brute force his way out of the situation.