"The moon will sing a song for me
I loved you like the sun
Bore the shadows that you made
With no light of my own"
- The Moon Will Sing, The Crane Wives
BASICS
NAME: Anthony
GENDER: Male
PRONOUNS: He/Him/His
ORIENTATION: Heterosexual
BIRTHDATE: Late Summer 2742
AGE: 30 as of Late Fall 2772
LOCATION: Fort Weyr
OCCUPATION: Drudge
APPEARANCE
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Brown
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 6'1", lanky
PLAY-BY: Jonathan Bailey
FULL APPEARANCE:
Just over average height with a somewhat lanky build, dark eyes, and short, slightly-tousled brown hair, Anthony is reasonably good-looking and seems to know it. He carries himself with the air of a noble despite his newfound station, and keeps as well-groomed as he possibly can given the work he finds himself obliged to do. He has an oval-shaped face, a slightly broad nose, thick eyebrows, and rather bushy sideburns that he seems oddly proud of and refuses to shave off despite it not being a particularly popular style at the Weyr.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY:
Anthony is, first and foremost, an absolutely hopeless romantic. He strongly believes in the existence and power of love, and furthermore believes that true love is something that is out there for everyone and all people deserve it above all else. He wears his emotions on his sleeve too, making it very clear when he's interested in a woman, and equally clear when his passion has cooled. Despite this emotional openness, he's not a particularly truthful person. He lies (or tries to) when the truth is hard, and is adamantly convinced that a lie of omission or avoiding a tricky subject entirely isn't really such a bad thing.
He likes to think he's more class-blind than he really is, and believes he treats everyone equally when it's clear that he has a much lower opinion of those of lesser birth. He has a great deal of pride, and hates accepting anything that feels remotely like charity. Facing his mother is also something he is certain he can't do, because it would mean admitting he was wrong.
For all his faults however, Anthony is a man who cares deeply about his family. He loves them all, and wants them to be happy. He'd do just about anything to keep them safe, including swallowing his own pride... though what he can do to keep riders and candidates and people far away safe, he's really not sure.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
Father, Edmund (Deceased)
Mother, Violet
Younger Brother, Benedict
Younger Brother, Colin
Younger Sister, Eloise
Younger Sister, Francesca
Younger Sister, Hyacinth
Younger Brother, Gregory
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: None
BIRTHPLACE: Minor hold beholden to Fort
HISTORY:
Born the oldest son of a well-to-do Holder family, Anthony was groomed for as long as he can remember to inherit the Hold someday. His education was all given with that particular end goal in mind, and he did his duty diligently. He rarely complained that he didn't have as much time to play as some other children, accepted that he'd have to marry someday in order to continue thee family line, and tried to ensure that he fully understood financial matters. He was at least gifted a fire lizard egg for his tenth birthday, and named the blue the rather uncreative "Skyflit". At least Skyflit was an unwavering friend, sort of.
He didn't expect to have to take the place granted to him by birth as young as he did in the end, but he accepted it as his lot in life. He worried about his mother, who had lost the man she'd loved so soon, but he worried more about his younger siblings' futures and his family's continued prosperity. He worked hard to ensure things stayed good for them, even if he neglected other aspects of their lives like trying to secure acceptable suitors for them when they came of age. Truth be told, he neglected that for himself; oh, there was a stream of women that he saw, but most of them were unsuitable for one reason or other--he tries not to think about the implications of seeing women he knew he considered below his station. Plus there were the times he found a woman he liked, proposed, and subsequently found another woman he liked more.
Turns passed, and Anthony remained a bachelor, but at least he kept his family steady. His reputation for the most part remained untarnished despite his womanizing ways; he never did really consider just how lucky he was that that was the case.
Things took a turn for the strange and, to Anthony's mind, wonderful when a Searchrider came and her dragon declared Eloise suitable for Candidacy. He was all but certain that his sister would be happier at the Weyr, and he thought the rider was pretty. Very pretty, and she apparently found him equally attractive because they managed to have a brief fling while Eloise packed. Letters were later exchanged between the two of them via fire lizard, and Anthony became wholly convinced that he was head over heels in love with her and she with him.
Benedict left for a Gather one day and just never came back, apparently Searched.
All at once, his duty seemed to be too much. He'd had other relationships fail because he couldn't possibly marry a woman who wasn't of the right station, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. What about his happiness? Besides, he was certain that his mother could sort things out. One of his other siblings could inherit, probably Colin; he'd always been better at the whole propriety thing than Anthony anyway. Or maybe even Daphne. She was Little Miss Perfect after all, and he'd heard of some Holds being led by women, bizarre a concept as it may have been.
So he abdicated his duty and left in the night--during the very beginning of winter so that he could be assured of safety from Thread. He left a note for his mother to at least apologize for doing what he had to and explain that he was no longer willing to sacrifice his own chance at happiness. Not when he'd seen how blissfully happy his parents had been together when his father was still alive. He wanted that for himself too.
He eventually reached the Weyr, having gotten some help from a very baffled Trader caravan making their last trip through the mountains before the passes became impossible to traverse due to the weather. He found little welcome there; he learned that the rider was attracted to him, but not interested in a long-term romantic entanglement. She thought she was clear about that in her letters to him, just as he thought he'd been clear that he was in love.
Going home wasn't an option. After what he'd done, he couldn't bring himself to face his mother. He couldn't even bring himself to seek out his siblings, and some of those were at the Weyr! The Weyr, however, was not especially eager to just welcome with open arms someone who'd gone and abandoned his duty. Not into any of the clerical positions he thought he wanted, at least. He'd considered lying about why he left, but when asked had simply panicked and told the truth. So he took the only thing he could really get given his general lack of practical skills: a position as a drudge, and tried his utmost to avoid his siblings and the shame he was certain they would heap upon him after what he'd done.
