"I consider myself a man who minds his own business."
BASICS
NAME: Ei
GENDER: Male
PRONOUNS: He/him/his
ORIENTATION: Demisexual
BIRTHDATE: Early Fall 2753
AGE: 20 as of 2773
LOCATION: Semaca Weyr
OCCUPATION: Wherhandler
WING: Weyr Guard
APPEARANCE
EYES: Grey
HAIR: Blond
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 5'10, slender
PLAY-BY: Ei Sekigahara (13 Sentinels)
FULL APPEARANCE: Ei carries himself like a professional. When not in his riding leathers, he favors simple clothes, in plain colors. He has blond hair, which he keeps cut short. Ei remains fairly pale despite his time in the south due to keeping mostly to a wher handler's nocturnal hours. He is of slightly below average height, with compact muscle maintained through regular training. His face still carries a trace of youthful roundness.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY: On the surface, Ei is unflappable, a stoic, focused young man. He rarely panics or loses his temper and rarely shows his feelings particularly strongly and doesn't particularly enjoy talking about them. He prefers to work alone with only his wher when he can or with a small number of trusted allies. Ei is actually a pretty bad liar, as he never gives enough details to sell the story and always looks vaguely uncomfortable.
Ei is goal oriented and not the sort to just wait for things to turn out his way. He'll pursue his goals with a relentless, single-minded determination and do whatever it takes to succeed. This can lead to him falling prey to tunnel-vision and doing some objectively unreasonable things or missing the forest for the trees. Collateral damage is acceptable to Ei and he doesn't always remember or care about potential messes for other people he leaves behind. He'll protect people weaker than him when he can and won't go out of his way to hurt anyone if it isn't necessary, but the mission comes first and he'll do some morally questionable things if he finds it necessary.
Ei cares deeply about a small number of people, namely Eisk and Ryoko. He considers Ryoko his family and cares deeply about her, although he sometimes doubts that he's as important to her as she is to him. He isn't the sort to make new friends quickly, but the handful of people he lets in are his priority. Ei isn't the "sacrifice for the greater good" type when it comes to himself and his inner circle. He'll run away and live to fight another day if necessary.
Ei isn't the most trusting of people and can be paranoid and suspicious around strangers. His instincts aren't always good, however, and sometimes he chooses the wrong people to trust.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
Father: Emon, harper
Mother: Miki, healer
Friend and honorary sister: Ryoko, formerly of Brown Ryokosk
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: N/A
BIRTHPLACE: Minor hold beholden to Benden
HISTORY: Ei was the only child of his small hold's only healer and harper. His parents' respective duties demanded much of their time and Ei never showed any interest in or talent for either craft. They ensured he was fed and educated, but he never felt particularly close to either of them and suspected they felt likewise.
The most important figure in his childhood was instead Ryoko, his neighbor one turn older than him. Ryoko was the sister Ei had always wished he had and Ei followed her around wherever he went. The pair remained close as they grew up. When Ei was old enough to be expected to work, he helped tend Ryoko's parents farm.
When they turned 17, a guard's green wher laid eggs. The guard, Ida, offered the clutch to anyone willing to enlist in the hold's guard. Ryoko wanted to apply and Ei decided to do the same. While he wasn't discontent with the way things were, he had no real passion for farming and a guard's life could be dangerous. Ryoko would need someone to watch her back.
Both Ryoko and Ei were given eggs. Ryoko's hatched a large brown and Ei's hatched a small, pudgy garnet who called herself Eisk. They began their guard training under Ida's supervision. Their hold was small and remote, threatened by wild animals and the holdless alike and soon, they would be its first line of defense.
When their whers were grown, the biggest threat to the hold was a local pack of wild whers who had taken to preying on their hold's herds. Their lord holder and the captain of the guards agreed it was too dangerous to go after them- the pack was too large and the hold didn't have enough handlers to take them out. Ida wanted to try anyway. If they succeeded, they would return to the hold as heroes. He convinced Ryoko first. Ei had some misgivings, but he wanted to protect his hold and adoptive sister and so ultimately allowed Ida to convince him to go along with the plan.
The small group was quickly overwhelmed. They barely managed to escape and Ryoko's brown was killed in the fight. Ryoko was never the same after losing him. No one in their hold knew how to help her or if there was even anything that could be done.
Ei decided to take Ryoko to Semaca. He didn't know much about the weyr specifically, but they were accepting anyone willing. Riders and handlers sometimes lost their partners to threadfall. Surely the weyr's healers would know what to do. The hold's guard would be stretched thin without him, but Ryoko was Ei's priority. They'd have to figure something out on their own.
In the short time since his arrival, Ei has been disconcerted to learn that Semaca too is threatened by wild beasts and by its own criminals.
