Wendir

Description: A smallish man, about 5 feet 5 inches tall. He is built heavily, low to the ground, with thick forearms and a wide neck. He is the typical looking Smith. His hair is short, dark, dirty blond with flecks of grey at the nape of his neck. His pate is thinning above his forehead but he combs it over as well as he can each morning. He wears an unusual amount of bracelets, ear cuffs, necklaces, and torques (Arm bands) for a man.

Personality: He is a friendly and active, work-oriented man. He likes to participate in many things in whatever community he is living in at the time, acting as an advisor to the leadership, a teacher to the young, a mediator among families, and a dependable friendly to many. Even after the death of is young wife, Regina, he has maintained as much of a busy and happy life as a widower can.

Gender/sexual preference: Male, Heterosexual

History: Born and raised to a closely knit family of Smiths, starsmiths, jewelry smiths, black smiths, you name it. He grew up in the throngs of other smith children that flocked around Yaven Hold until he was sent to apprentice at the Smith Hall at the age of eleven. He was a diligent student who showed promise with his strength at a young age. He was put to work early with the refining forges where he grew to love taking the raw ores and making them into useful bars and sheets of fine metal.

The young man often spent most of his time in the forges, failing to display the stages of distraction and tardiness that overcame most young smiths as soon as puberty arrived. Though he was very social he always put his work before any potential personal life. He was constantly busy participating on committees, helping younger crafters, selling wares, organizing Gathers, and helping Masters to advocate their needs to other Halls and Holds. When he walked the tables to become a Journeyman he moved out of the Hall to work in various holds all over Northern Pern. He did a lot of refining and work for the smaller holds, especially cotholds, at nearly no cost or took goods like clothing or a good home-cooked supper at payment.

Finally, after ten turns on the road, Wendir took a special trip home to see his family and take a short vacation. He was welcomed home warmly by the small Yaven Hold. But there was an unfamiliar face among the crowd that didn’t smile and shake his hand when he arrived. New people at Yaven were rare, especially if they weren’t crafters. Many at Yaven had tried to greet Regina in their familiar warm way, but they had been turned away with callous disinterest. After spending as much time as he had among strangers, Wendir took Regina’s coldness on as a challenge. The next day she returned to her small room with a basket of new blouses sitting on her step with an invitation to lunch. She arrived at Wendir’s room looking timid and tired. Calixen was sleeping comfortably in her arms. His heart melted for the young woman. He invited her in and they ate together. After speaking with her for only a candlemark Regina began to open up. Her past, her lost dragon, her only son, her entire family on dragons that brought her heartbreak, her fears that her son had no future. She had nothing for him. No way to teach him.

By dawn, Wendir was captured. The loneliness in his heart reached out to sooth the dragonless woman. A sevenday later they married in a small ceremony. Wendir took Calixen on to be his own son and no one ever challenged him even though the people of Yaven knew Regina had arrived with the baby long before she met their minor hold native.

Wendir took up a permanent position as the Senior Smith at the hold and made his large apartment into a home for his small family. Calixen grew quickly and prospered under the small hold care. He took after his ‘father’ and learned smithing as soon as his little hands could stand the heat. He trained the boy how to fight, to lead, and even tried to instill in him all of the even-mindedness he thought the people of Pern so often lacked. Regina kept quietly to the background of their outings. She was a careful and caring mother for her son and a devoted wife to her husband. While Wendir was the teacher, she became Calixen’s confidante. She knew long before he did that their son was a special boy. And she had mourned his loss long before the dragonriders came to take him.

When Regina’s brother R’and Searched Calixen, Wendir’s heart broke. Mostly he felt for Regina who had loved the boy second only to her lost dragon. He watched with an aching soul as her sadness took her away from him, day by day. There was nothing for it, he knew. He held her and comforted her as well as he could for as long as he could until one morning he woke to find her gone. He dressed and found her in the fields, laying in the grass, cold and gone. Wendir carried his wife’s body back to the healers where she was prepared and buried that afternoon.

With no reason to remain pinned down any longer, Wendir returned to his roaming ways. He gave his rooms over to another family in need of a large accommodation, packed his things, and headed to Igen. After a tearful goodbye to his now motherless son, Wendir took a ship from the Weyr down to the Southern continent where he currently works with a traveling band of traders in Monacco Bay.