BASICS
NAME: V'renn (formerly Vanrenn)
GENDER: Male
PRONOUNS: he/him/his
ORIENTATION: Biromantic Bisexual
BIRTHDATE: Fall 2742
AGE: 29 as of Fall 2771
LOCATION: Semaca Weyr
OCCUPATION: Wingrider, Hold-trained Tanner
WING: Chopin Squad
APPEARANCE
EYES: Blue
HAIR: Blond
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 6'10",
PLAY-BY: Brock O'Hurn
FULL APPEARANCE:
V'renn's size is almost certainly going to be the first thing people notice about him, there is no getting around it. He's 6'10" in bare feet and muscular to boot. Five turns of dragon riding have helped in this regard, but even before he impressed working with leather saw to it that he kept in shape and well - decades of friendly rivalry with his brother started it all and even maturity hasn't dimmed this habit.
Having grown up in a family where men over 6'7" were common (and his father is only an inch or so shorter than him), V'renn isn't one for slouching either, commonly standing to his full height without much real thought to how it might make him look intimidating. He's aware of it perhaps, and will use his height and build to his advantage there when he needs too, but he's not one to feel ashamed of his size, or that he ought to slouch to make himself feel smaller for other people's benefit.
Not that he sets out to make himself look exactly approachable either. His default expression is typically neither a smile or a frown, just something bordering on neutral, maybe polite indifference if he's at the edge of a group. He'll soften when spoken to directly, but it's only around friends (or his brother) that he'll truly soften, an impish grin often preceding the teasing challenge that he'll commonly goad his brother with.
With pale blue eyes, and dark blonde hair, V'renn's hair is a throwback to his teenage years - his father wasn't a fan, which just encouraged him even more to grow it out. It's become something he's fond of and as a result he's maintained it into his adult life. He did cut it shorter when he started weyrlinghood, but it's grown out again since and even despite the (relative) heat at Semaca, he's not yet had the urge to cut it shorter again yet. He keeps a full, but tidy, beard - again, just due to preference.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY:
More than happy to sit alone with his own thoughts, or with just Dionyenth for company, V'renn has never felt the need to offer idle chit chat to fill a silence. As a consequence, while he'll perhaps offer a polite nod or brief smile to someone new, he's rarely one to initiate a conversation with someone he doesn't know. It's led to him being misinterpreted as reserved in the past, even unfriendly, but in truth he's just content to leave others to lead the level of interaction they want.
V'renn will talk willingly enough once approached however, and people will find him to be a friendly enough companion, if perhaps a touch on the polite side. He will typically leave them to lead the conversation, happy to discuss the weather, or his craft, or any other subject they might choose, but he is not the quickest to lead the conversation down a different path.
The people who have, by circumstance or choice, become familiar to him - part of the family he adopts for himself - will find him to be the warmest. Around his brother especially, V'renn's guard is down and he'll smile and joke often. Sarcastic teasing is his default for interaction with those he cares about, and especially with Val'car there is a light hearted competitiveness. There is no real heat between them, but oh how they enjoy nudging each other on.
Quite used to his role as a big brother (even if it's been a while since he lived with most of his actual siblings), V'renn still maintains that protective side, being fiercely protective of those he considers his family (both biological and unofficially adopted). He'll rarely get to actual physical violence, all to aware of just how big he is (and especially with Dionyenth's calming influence on his mind), but he is definitely not afraid to use his size to his advantage - fully prepared to make himself as imposing looking as possible and physically inserting himself between people if it's needed.
He's also as fierce in terms of being stubborn. When it comes to things he cares about, or thinks are the right way of doing things, he can be quick to dig his heels in and refuse to change his mind. Consequently, changing his mind about things he's grown up knowing doesn't come easily to him. He grew up with all Weyrs being led by a Goldrider for example, considered it just the way the Weyrs worked, and the deviations from that still feel wrong, no matter how much he appreciates the logic behind the decisions that have been made. Accepting those things is something he also knows he needs to work on, and eventually he will adapt. It just might take a little time - although, having forced himself to confront it somewhat, by transferring to Semaca, hopefully it'll become more normal soon. Female bronzeriders for example, surprise him much less than they used to.
Which perhaps might seem at odds with his restless nature. For all that he appreciates things being as he thinks they should be, V'renn also craves change for himself - new experiences, new things to think about, new things to do. He didn't notice it too much at the Hold, perhaps unaware of what else was out there in the World, but he's found this restlessness growing since. The final few months of candidacy was a challenge, and again once they were graduated into the wings - if his life remains the same for too long, he gets restless for change, for a new environment, for a new challenge.
His restlessness is also visible on a more day to day basis to. Able to sit still and quietly while he has something to occupy his hands and his mind, when V'renn is forced to sit still with nothing in his hands, he finds himself restless - prone to fidgeting and shifting in his seat. Being forced to sit still and simply listen to something - a lecture, a wing meeting, an announcement - and V'renn's attention will wander and his thoughts will drift away from all but the most serious of conversations. He'll occasionally catch himself, but it's not been uncommon for him to have to ask Val'car or another member of their wing after the meeting.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
Mother: Iellin
Father: Tirtas
Brother: Val'car of Brown Laith
Other unspecified siblings.
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: None
BIRTHPLACE: A Hold in the Telgar Region
HISTORY:
Born in the Fall of 2742, as the first child to Tirtas and Iellin, Vanrenn arrived somewhat later than predicted based on how large Iellin grew during her pregnancy. All length when he was born though, it was evident early on that Vanrenn was going to take after his father in the height department, Tirtas standing 6'8" in his prime. Apparently Vanrenn's size didn't put Iellin off however, as she went on to have numerous other children over the following turns.
With only 18 months between Vanrenn and his brother Valacar, it was also apparent early on that Vanrenn wasn't jealous of his parent's attention being shared, instead loving the role of big brother and accepting each new arrival into the house happily enough. Even if it was Valacar was the one he remained closest to.
Which was the brother he was with when Tirtas finally had enough of their antics and decided the pair of them needed to buckle down and start putting their energy to good use... and separately at that. Chasing each other around the Hold and falling off roofs indeed. So, with their excuses that they had just been exploring being ignored and Vanrenn's broken leg set to keep him less mobile for a while, the boys were put to work - Vala tasked with helping the local smith with his work, while Van was kept home with his father to learn his father's skills with leather.
Which, if anything, only made the brothers closer. They no longer got to spend all day every day together, but they still had free time and still shared a room. It would have been different if they were sent off to a Crafthall, obviously, but Tirtas didn't see the need for them to be - he had learnt what he knew without leaving the Hold, as had his father, and his father before him. Their way worked just fine.
It did mean the boys talked about it sometimes though, wondered what else was out there for them. What were they missing out on? Should they be doing more with their lives? Seeing more of the world? Helping more somehow?
The plague in the Summer of 2764 was the final prompt however, the eventual catalyst that led to the brothers deciding they wanted more than the small corner of the world they had been raised in. At 21 and 20, the brothers were old enough to know they could do more, were confident enough to stand up to their father's opinions and stand their ground. It was still a month or two before they finally did leave, but shortly after Van's 22nd birthday, in the Fall they set out for Telgar Weyr.
Where they realised, all Weyr residents of an appropriate age could choose to be candidates it they wanted, so the pair did. Being searched had been a hope they'd both carried even if they'd been realistic enough to face the possibility they might not be found suitable. There was undoubtedly always going to be work for a smith and a tanner at the Weyr they'd reasoned, and since (from what he knew) the Weyr didn't usually send their children off to the Halls either, Van had doubted the Weyr would be picky enough to object to their their lack of Hall training.
It was just shy of two turns before their dragons found them, hatching in the same clutch in the late Summer of 2766. Dioyenth was one of the first in the clutch to hatch - bursting from his egg in a rush, before lingering where he'd hatched, studying things around him before finally hoisting himself up and making for the brothers stood together. "You," he'd declared, before bumping his head against Van's knees and herding him off in the direction of where his siblings were being led by their new riders.
The friendly rivalry between Van and Vala continued into their weyrlinghood, indulged (if not exactly encouraged) by their browns, both pairs are pulled up more than once during their Weyrlinghood for getting carried away for pushing each other a little too much. In truth, they are lucky that no-one was ever seriously injured during their attempts to outdo each other, however Dionyenth straining a wing a few months shy of graduation was a wake up to them all and while the competitive edge remained, a line had been drawn - neither would risk their dragons health again.
Their graduation into the fighting wings was smooth enough, and while events were happening in the wider world, none of them really impacted the brothers directly. They were enough to prompt V'renn to consider once again whether there was more they could be doing. Yes, they were riders, they were helping fighting thread - but those weren't their only skills, could they be doing more? So, his brothers suggestion of a transfer to Semaca was met with ready enough agreement, there they could do more.
