“I may not be as strong as I think, but I know many tricks and I have resolution.”
― Ernest Hemingway
BASICS
NAME: Lemuel (Prefers his full name but can be called 'Lem' or unfortunately 'Lemmy' as he won't stop you, or any others thought of. If you want to be mean, 'Lemon' can also be used.)
GENDER: Male
PRONOUNS: He/him/his
ORIENTATION: Yar, Everything Tastes of the Sea! (Can you spot all the nautical refs?)
BIRTHDATE: Spring, 2749
AGE: 22 as of 2771
LOCATION: Semaca
OCCUPATION: Fisherman/ex-shiphand
APPEARANCE
EYES: Amber Brown
HAIR: Ashen Brown, lightened from constant sun exposure.
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 6'1'' - Very tall but relatively thin and lean. Fair amount of muscle on his arms and shoulders.
PLAY-BY: Original Art
FULL APPEARANCE:
Lemuel is a tall young man, but not who someone would describe as 'overly muscular'. His arms are toned with solid shoulders from constantly heaving the daily catches and heavy fishing equipment. The rest of him is relatively lean in frame. He has a long face and his features can sometimes appear a bit sunken in, as if he looks rather worn.
Constantly working under the blaring sun since his youth, Lemuel's hair is a very fair shade of ashen brown, though his skin is speckled with various off-color blotches and beauty-spots, as it did not fair as well as his hair. He is prone to sunburns but he's relatively used to it and does not notice anymore.
His hands, while gentle, are calloused and rough, bearing lined scars over his palms and wrists from the lines he's used for large fish and nets. Lemuel usually keeps his hair pulled back, long enough to reach his shoulders. The sea air used to dry and knot it terribly and he is a creature of habit.
As expected, Lemuel does not dress-to-impress, wearing relativity baggy clothes and dull colors. Flowy cotton shirts than can easily be removed or re-purposed as he needs and simple trousers with thick belts to keep things where they should be. He'll sometimes sport high leather boots, but much of the time, he'll forgo shoes all together. Shoes are prone to slipping on wet surfaces.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY:
Lemuel is a very quietly voiced and somber individual. Though his expression is relatively neutral most of the time, there seems a sadness about him. He always seems distant, often caught staring off to nothing, as if his mind is somewhere else, somewhere far away, that is impossible for a person to reach. However, he won't avoid conversation if it is offered, though he tends to find himself unsure of what to say in response(which he will admit fully). He also does not outwardly smile much, usually offering a tiny upward pull of his lips for a moment, though he will usually verbally comment if he finds something amusing. He is aware his expressions (or lack there of) tend to give people the wrong idea, so he's in the habit of explaining his feelings (if he can anyway).
Lemuel also has a strange habit of talking to himself when alone, namely when he fishes. Usually voicing his thoughts of what he should do or how his catch will respond. He is also leery of great heights, anything higher than the main mast on a ship. The sky reminds him too much of the ocean, fearing that at some point, he'll merely get pulled away into nothing, unable to return. Lemuel knows the ocean though and how to swim, but certainly nothing of the air, by comparison.
Lemuel is also exceptionally patient, as any good sea-fairer should be. It would probably take something immeasurable to test it.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
Grandfather – Manolin [Alive]
Father – Edmund [deceased]
Mother – Obra [deceased]
Various other aunts/uncles/cousins on Ista [dead probably]
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: N/A
BIRTHPLACE: Small fishing cothold on the southern end of Ista
HISTORY:TW: Death
Lemuel is from a long line of seafarers and fishing folk. Every member of his family, far passed his grandfather's grandfather has made their trade from the water's bountiful treasures. Despite being relatively close to a Weyr, no Searchrider has ever chosen someone from his bloodline, despite choosing others within close proximity. His grandfather, Manolin, always said that people like him and Lemuel were too attached to the sea. It was something Lemuel could not argue against, as he found himself most at peace when near the sea.
However, despite their devotion, the oceans have not been as benevolent to his family. His grandfather came to believe he'd cursed his family line, by committing a grave sin in his younger days. Upon a long voyage on a ship, boastful Manolin had struck down a great white wherry that had been following their ship for several days. The captain was enraged with him, senselessly killing what most thought to have been a good charm for their journey. Manolin merely thought it a farce, and hid away some of the beautiful tail feathers to bring home as souvenirs. However, from the day he returned to shore, misfortune would strike suddenly and brutally upon himself and those after him.
Lemuel's grandfather found he could never get work on a great ship again, being forced to remain on shore and go out in smaller boats for paltry catches. Disease soon rot his joints, leaving him unable to handle the workloads well before his time. Manolin could only offer the boy verbal lessons and stories, as his parents struggled to make a living for themselves.
The cothold vehemently embraced the idea that Lemuel and his family members were truly cursed, where there was once respect and admiration, now they only offered taunting jokes and mockery. From a young age, Lemuel learned to keep quiet and merely go about his business. Why argue when everyone including his family thought as such? Regardless, his grandfather taught him the way of catching fish and how to sail, hoping perhaps that Lemuel would be luckier than himself and his kin.
Lemuel grew very close to his grandfather, considering he was all he had for a long time. His father was lost at sea when lightening struck his small skooner and his mother followed a few short turns after, tragically caught in an accident involving a ship being repaired. What foul fortune would be in store for Lemuel, he and his grandfather wondered?
Surprisingly, a local captain offered the young man a chance to work on his ship, as he was good at following orders and knew his way around ropes and knots and various other important things. Despite unease on how his luck would fair, Lemuel would not pass the chance, being 15 turns and unwilling to never see more of what the ocean had to offer. For three years, he learned the trade of ships, seen the numerous bigger fish that could only venture into the deepest parts, and things he'd never imagined that lay on other coasts.
He returned from his travels, now 18 and what his grandfather thought as a proper adult, if not changed somehow. Though still calm and quiet, there was now an eerie sadness about his grandson. Lemuel never gave a specific reason, but he had once mentioned about a great Deep Dwelling One (whale), but perhaps that was simply a dream – one that he still has often.
It seemed his choice to leave had been a good one regardless, as in that time, plague(2764) had ravaged much of the people and land. Life at sea had been a hardship, but it seemed land life had fared no better.
Now back home and with Manolin for a few years, Lemuel seemed unsure of where he wanted to take his lot in life. He adored the ocean and all its wonder, but he worried for his grandfather and the pressing thought that someday it would be his turn to face the family curse. Manolin, thinking perhaps the curse linked to their home cothold, pushed Lemuel to go south, to the mysterious jungles where people now tried to make names for themselves in the once uninhabited wilds. There was a Weyr there now, new and struggling, and in need of all the skilled help they could get.
It was certainly not what he hoped or anticipated, but perhaps that was a good thing. Lemuel heard far-spread rumors of the endless tree tops, of the spotted felines on the sandy coast, and many other untamed things. It was nothing like home, it was not like anywhere else he imagined. Perhaps it truly was the best course...
Packing his things and ensuring his beloved grandfather would be taken care of, Lemuel made arrangements with a dragonrider who would carry him to Semaca. He carried little with him, as he rarely possessed much. All save for one keepsake he'd always had since he was a small boy, given to him by his grandfather.
...A white but old wherry feather.
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