"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened"
- Anatole France
BASICS
NAME: Nix
GENDER: Male
PRONOUNS: He/Him/His
ORIENTATION: Bisexual
BIRTHDATE: Spring 2746
AGE: 31 as of Winter 2777
LOCATION: High Reaches Weyr
OCCUPATION: Dragonrider
WING: Stormlight Wing
APPEARANCE
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Blonde
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 6’4”, Toned
PLAY-BY: Giaro Giarratana
FULL APPEARANCE:
- Tall, Nix stands six foot and four inches in height with long very curly blonde hair, which is shiny and healthy with a lot of bounce to it. He has brown eyes and a goatee and has full lips and smallish ears - which are pierced, a single time each and he wears small barely noticeable rings in them. He dresses in practical clothes and generally in neutral tones, although he’s not opposed to it when some color finds its way into his wardrobe. He’s usually not quite sure how he got ahold of the more colorful items in his wardrobe - was it a gift? a laundry mix-up? - but he’s not opposed to them being there. He is frequently found smoking a pipe.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY:
- Friendly and outgoing, Nix is an observant sort. He's compassionate and good with animals. He always has been, starting with the feline kitten he rescued and nursed as a child. He is gentle and kind and tends towards caring for both human friends and the animals and dragonkin in his care. He is also quite reckless and frequently acts on impulse.
In addition, Nix has trouble letting things go. He gets ahold of an idea and … well, it’s in there. It’s not going anywhere. For example, Nix is oddly fixated on the status of the Queens of High Reaches Weyr and their reproductive prowess. This particular fixation may be a holdover from his early life as a herder, and perhaps he’ll relax his vigilance somewhat once there’s more than one clutching gold at the Weyr. At least he has the decency to keep his concerns to himself.
When it comes down to it, Nix can be a little obsessive. This can be a good thing - like when he focuses diligently on bathing and oiling Kyozuth - but it isn’t always as it can lead to him nitpicking others over things that don’t actually matter. He tries not to and he stops when he realizes he’s doing it, but it can be terribly annoying when he starts looking over shoulders despite having no actual authority over those people. Maybe one day he can turn that attention to detail to the good of the Weyr, but for now, it mostly irritates those around him.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
- Father, Norran, 57 [+26]
Mother, Ellix, 58 [+28]
Co-Parent, Killade, 35 [+4] Open Tie!
Daughter, Killax, 7 [-24] Open Tie!
BIRTHPLACE: River Bend in High Reaches territory
HISTORY:
- TW: ANIMAL DEATH, PLAGUE, DEATH
Born an only child to two herders, Nix was somewhat spoiled growing up. When he was six turns old, he found an abandoned kitten, which he nursed tenderly until she was eating meat scraps, and kept as a loyal companion until many, many turns later when she finally abandoned her mortal coil.
He was young when he started working alongside his parents, learning to manage the herdbeasts in their care. Nix adored the soft, woolly creatures and devoted himself to them. He couldn’t think of anything he might like better in life than caring for animals; it suited him to his toes.
The summer after he turned fifteen, Nix found a firelizard egg, lost or abandoned he did not know, but the egg was still viable and hatched into a white that he named Bai. The curious little flit quickly developed a fondness for attempting to groom Nix, and could frequently be found arranging their human’s hair to their liking.
Two turns later, shortly after Nix turned seventeen, he was Searched. It was hard to leave the herd he cared so much for, but fate had other plans for him, and who was he to deny his calling? He went gladly.
That autumn, Gold Otohith Impressed a non-binary candidate, Lain. It was something of a shock to Nix, who began idly wondering if perhaps he could possibly Impress Gold. It was a strange thought, but one that he wasn’t entirely opposed to. He would serve wherever he wound up, and the color of his dragon didn’t much matter to him. It was almost as startling when a garnet dragon laid a clutch for the first time before the end of the turn.
His life quickly became defined by classes and clutches. The one that Benden donated in the spring of 2764 was another one where Nix was left standing, but it didn’t bother him too much. He was still young. He still had turns left in which to find his match. That summer, though, things started to feel more urgent. Plague descended on Pern, which meant high levels of Threadfall injuries, more than the normal amount of riders being left dragonless, and - to Nix’s horror - young Lain of Gold Otohith being lost without the Queen ever laying a clutch.
The new Weyr Council, elected by the people, was an interesting change. Nix thought that maybe one day he might like to step up and take part in the new system, to put his name forward as a political candidate, but as he was still a candidate of the more traditional dragon-seeking sort that notion was something that was a long way off for him.
The winter of the following turn, tragedy struck. Gold Midath and Garnet Ariath rose on the same day, leading to Midath’s death and Ariath being permanently grounded. The loss of a Queen was always something to be felt sharply. In addition, Junior Weyrleader Zeresh of Green Alsasth was assassinated, leading to a great deal of confusion.
Late that winter, though, there was cause for joy. Gold Terminath’s maiden clutch was laid on the sands of High Reaches, and while there were several strange mutations among the new dragonets, the highlight for twenty-turn-old Nix was Kyozuth. The moment - and the words - were forever Impressed on Nix’s mind.
Nix! We are together now. Your Kyozuth is here!
Nix threw himself into his training as a weyrling, perfectly happy with his position as a brownrider. There was something wonderfully average about his newly found destiny. He could fit in anywhere with a brown, and that suited him just fine.
The first Threadfall they flew together as full riders, in 2767, led to heavy losses; Nix and Kyozuth were thankfully unscathed. Again, a Junior Weyrleader was targeted for assassination: this time Schneizel of Bronze Damocleth, although the move against him was not successful. The attempt disturbed Nix, as did the election that winter of a Senior Weyrleader who was strongly anti-gold. That hardly seemed like a sustainable attitude to Nix; without golds, the clutches were small and one had to wonder how a Weyr could survive.
Threadfall losses continued to be heavy, and eventually, Nix and Kyozuth ran out of luck. When Thread fell in the late summer of 2769, the brown caught a clump of Thread across his face, which blinded him in his right eye. Nix was devastated, but there was no way to save Kyozuth’s vision on that side, and in the end, there was nothing to do but mourn and move on.
The injury is not entirely without benefit. The dragonhealer who treated Kyozuth was a very pretty young woman named Killade; she and Nix hit it off, and before long she fell pregnant. They were absolutely delighted to welcome Killax into the world the following turn, a spot of joy among the drama of 2770.
And what a turn it was! Mystery eggs appeared, and after the fact it seems likely that they were stolen from Fort by some unidentified personage, which led to conflict between the two Weyrs. The escapade damaged faith in the current Council, which was replaced via emergency elections in the summer. Nix was worried about the state of things, but more than the political climate he thought the lack of a Queen at High Reaches was problematic. Thankfully, Gold Aldoeith hatched from a clutch donated by Ista.
Unfortunately, she did not stay. Her rider, Toki, wished to be at a Weyr with more traditional values, and while she agreed to stay for Aldoeith’s maiden clutch, she arranged a transfer to Benden. It was a relief (at least to Nix) when the clutch included Gold Galdeneth.
Who Impressed a man. Interesting.
Life at the Weyr continued. Plots were unraveled and elections continued. Galdeneth had her maiden clutch and in response, Nix felt a little like he could finally relax because the future of High Reaches felt much more secure. At that point, even riders appearing from the past felt like something he could handle; High Reaches had a clutching Queen and as such would continue to thrive. It wasn’t until Galdeneth chose a blue sire for her second clutch (the first was sired by a garnet) that Nix wondered if perhaps the gold might have rather unusual taste.
Oh, well. That hardly mattered. Life went on, as it always would. At least High Reaches had Galdeneth. Surely she would produce a gold daughter eventually.
UPDATES
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