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"Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again."
– Richard Branson
BASICS
RETIRE INFO: Retire
NAME: R'tel
GENDER: Cisgender Male
PRONOUNS: He/Him/His
ORIENTATION: Bisexual Greyromantic
BIRTHDATE: Early Winter 2722
AGE: 51 as of Summer 2774
LOCATION: Fort Weyr
OCCUPATION: Dragonrider, Apprentice Smithcrafter (Formerly)
WING: Daylight Wing
APPEARANCE
EYES: Light Brown
HAIR: Dark Brown
HEIGHT AND BUILD: Tall and fit
PLAY-BY: Art by Grimordius
FULL APPEARANCE: R'tel was probably extremely handsome, once. With a sharp jaw, intense light brown eyes, and dark brown hair falling nearly to his shoulders. While he's definitely still got a bit of rugged charm to him, it's definitely not quite what it once was. His nose is a little crooked, definitely having been broken more than once, and an ugly scar rips across his right eye--clouded and blind from the wound. His face bears constant scruff--never quite a beard, but more like he never bothers to shave off the unkempt stubble first thing in the morning. Which... may actually be the case.
Rough hands and muscles of a rider, someone who is constantly working physically on this or that--oiling his dragon, tending the leather riding gear. He's still in great shape even as he nears his fifth decade, but is starting to show a bit of his age in aches and pains. He has a slight limp from a former injury which he hides whenever in public. He has serious threadscore scarring running diagonal across his back from his right hip to his left shoulder. Burn scars and various nicks from Smithing tools are notable on his hands.
As far as clothing goes, he typically wears most of his riding gear at all times, and when not his choices are drab, dark-dyed garments and sturdy boots. Clearly, he'd rather blend into the background than stand out of the crowd.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY:
Thanks to his parents' hard teachings, R'tel is an extremely determined individual. Once he sets his mind to something, he will make every effort to succeed in his task. Had he not Impressed, he certainly would have climbed the ranks, following in the footsteps of his parents and become a Master Smith. His confidence definitely helps play a part in this--instead of growing frustrated with his inability and giving up at something, R'tel will continue telling himself he can succeed even if he initially fails. Or continues failing. He is stubborn to a fault, and has never quite shaken the mentality of holding others to his standards, leaving him particularly irritated with perceived failure.
While growing up, he was highly volatile, reckless and loudmouthed--but over the Turns he has definitely mellowed out. That rough, coarse person never exactly went away, he just got better at reining it in. Nowadays, he's much more likely to grumble to himself and walk away from a tense situation rather than initiate a physical fight... or a duel. He still maintains that crass aspect of himself, though, and often uses foul language. If curses were actually flavor words, he'd probably have a well-seasoned palate. He does still have an impulsive nature, sometimes acting and speaking without thinking, which can result in things like hurt feelings and misunderstandings. He's not one to sugarcoat things, and focuses on practicality and rationality over what might be easier for someone to stomach at the time.
Well aware of his faults now in his age, he tends to keep more to himself (and his dragon) rather than seek out friends and relationships, but doesn't actively turn people away from speaking to him, and isn't afraid to seek people out to speak to if needed.
HISTORY
FAMILY: Various fathered children as a result of Flights and casual flings (he does check up on them, but not openly), two older siblings, two younger siblings
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: N/A
BIRTHPLACE: Cothold in Telgar territory
HISTORY:
R'tel, formerly Rhistel, was born in a minor Telgar cothold to a pair of Master Smithcrafters who had migrated from Telgar Hold proper, the third of what would be five children. His childhood was largely uneventful. His family made good Marks and was never particularly wanting for food or supplies, even with such a large number of mouths to feed. His eldest sibling departed for Journeyman experience when R'tel was only five, his second when he was eight--neither of them followed their parents.
As a child, R'tel began training informally under his parents to become a smith, helping with their work since he was old enough to lift some of their tools. They were demanding teachers and he had to learn quickly, but he luckily only assisted with particularly large or particularly small projects. He suffered several minor burns while working under them and broke a finger once or twice, though his injuries were few and far between. He didn't mind their teaching and didn't hold any bitterness toward them for occasionally having to miss a lesson with the Harpers to help them out, knowing that it was his choice to do so and they were showing him what work would be like on his own one day.
Little did he know that his path was not to follow his parents. Not long after being sent to the Crafthall, R'tel was Searched at fifteen. While he knew his parents would be loath to let him leave, intending to see him return as a Master, his next-youngest sibling was following up in his footsteps and had already been showing immense promise.
Life in the Weyr was much different than life in the Hold. No family and none of the friends. He tried to continue working under the Smiths at the Weyr but their skill (to him) just didn't compare to his parents. Even so, he continued training with the Weyr's crafters while he waited for a clutch to harden on the sands and decide his fate, intending to return to the Crafthall if he failed to Impress. But fate always has a funny way of working and one fateful hatching a tiny, squalling Blue still nosed his way over. The pair worked well together. Jagath's personality suited him, especially in how R'tel had mellowed (if only slightly) as he grew older, less outright confrontational.
Unfortunately, after one particularly rough Threadfall, a serious injury would temporarily ground dragon and rider. Threadscored and with a crash landing, R'tel was left with a permanent limp, multiple scars, and an eye blinded by debris. Recovery was long and arduous for the rider, putting the pair out of commission for several Turns until his muscles were strong enough to ride an entire Fall without causing immense pain. Jagath had miraculously suffered only minor scoring and a few fractures, both of which healed quickly and with little to no scarring. "Back in the saddle," so to say, the pair were then back to their usual antics.
R'tel and Jagath chose to transfer to Fort after hearing word of yet another stolen clutch. Clearly there aren't enough eyes on the Sands.
