R'TAX
[drawing is a WIP] click for full version. illustration (c) me
theme song: Circa Survive - 1,000 Witnesses
BASICS
NAME: R'tax [ˌrə'tæks], Raftax ['ræfˌtæks] by birth.
GENDER: Nonbinary
PRONOUNS: He/They
ORIENTATION: Hahahaha.
BIRTHDATE: est. Late Fall of 2748
AGE: 28 Turns as of Early Spring 2777
LOCATION: Semaca Weyr
OCCUPATION: Dragonrider, former pirate.
WING: Nocturne
APPEARANCE
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Brown
HEIGHT AND BUILD: Raftax is 5'8" and has an androgynous frame, with a hearty balance of muscle and fat.
FULL APPEARANCE:
Raftax has a robust build. His tanned, olive-toned skin is pocked with scars and patched with sunburn; especially about the hands, shoulders, and face. His voice is deep but light, retaining a cooly masculine edge, with an accent that proudly betrays his deep-cothold origin. His outfit of choice consists of padded leather and wool that protects against the ocean's winds, but on hotter days may choose a soft blouse with free-flowing trousers.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY:
Raftax is not easy to read, but not unkind - just blunt, and not that verbally expressive at times. They can be pretty serious-looking, preferring to keep their unexpectedly colorful internal dialogue to themselves unless approached in a friendly manner -- they can have a surprising amount to say, though it's still not going to be a soliloquy. When engaging, expect potentially cryptic answers - the details that Raftax tends to fixate on are unusual, such as the color of someone's hat or how many little birds were pecking about such-and-such a scene.
Their innocuous exterior conceals a slow-burning temper. They don't often lose control, preferring to back off from most situations and go ruminate when they are upset, but there are a few things that can trigger it. The first is when people harass animals. The second is when people harass Raftax. They really don't care for internal politics, but would rather be sent to the wherry pens than suffer someone else's out-of-control ego.
Raftax is easily thrown off by information that they identify as obtuse, which can unfortunately be too broad of a category due to their initial prejudice against anything with lots of moving parts. When they come across information that they can't easily understand, they tend to react with frustration and closed-mindedness. Raftax is not very good at clerical tasks such as reading, writing, or math, and is irritated by flowery speech. They can't stand other peoples' squabbles, often classified as petty by their own arrogant standards, and are a bad listener.
They are prone to stubbornly retreating to the deepest, darkest corners of the weyr to cool off, to be found uselessly wringing their hands and brooding when things get complicated. They can be softened up with coaxing from friends. Despite their taciturn nature, Raftax feels lonely sometimes. Deep down, they do genuinely appreciate those who choose to associate with them, on the simple basis of the act itself -- though often without saying.
They can safely prepare wild game that they have caught, but the recipes that they currently know are not very complex. Good for survival, but it won't be pleasing any lordlings -- other than Stella.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
TW: Death
Mother: Aithne [deceased]
Father: Torlan [deceased]
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: N/A
BIRTHPLACE: A Very Minor Cothold by the Sea
HISTORY:
TW: Death
Raftax's mother Aithne would die in labor. Despite the struggle of eking out such a lifestyle on Pern, Raftax would form fond memories of working the land with their father Torlan from a young age, steadily taking on more and more of the back-breaking responsibility. Torlan would teach them to whittle, wood and bone; and Raftax would take great pleasure in indulging at the hearth every night before bed.
He would experience a life-changing interlude from this comfortable rhythm in the hot, humid Midsummer of 2756 - he could remember how loud the buzzing insects had been that Season. Two distant, hawk-like shadows had sliced across the dirt furrows, teasing his gaze. Two shining winged creatures, weaving deftly through the sky for a few precious moments before disappearing, pressed thin like folding paper and suddenly gone all at once. One blue, one green. Their bodies had pierced the overcast dawn, tearing an enormous streak through the thick pinkish-grey fog as their shining skins sparkled from touch of dust-strangled sunlight. They had moved so fast that their bugling cries, familiar yet indescribable, had echoed behind them.
Thread would score Pern again while he was still young, but he would personally never witness Threadfall, wind patterns mercifully protecting the stead; and so he would not see dragons in his waking-time again for what felt like his very own personal Long Interval.
TW: Death, Illness
In Raftax's 20th Turn, Torlan would succumb to the lingering effects of a disease that he had seemingly contracted the Turn prior. Raftax felt compelled by grief to leave Holding behind and rashly made a day's journey to the nearest seaport, seeking ways to dull the pain of remembrance. They found work as a drudge on a merchant ship that was in need of a handful of smallfolk to do the cooking and cleaning. In their 22nd Turn, the trading vessel would be raided by pirates. They would succeed in proving to the pirates that they were able-bodied and willing to be useful, selfishly sensing an opportunity to improve their own circumstances -- though even after being fully initiated into the pirate crew, they would never manage to rise above the rank of drudge. Raftax's late father had taught them to hunt wild game, but on the pirate-ship they learned how to fight men, and passably -- with a curved dagger, which they would keep on their person at all times. The ferocity of the pirates would leave its mark on them, and they would find themselves pushed to the fringes of society. In the Early Spring of 2775 they would arrive in Lominsa Hold. When willing hopefuls from the crew were presented to the Semacan Search-dragons, Raftax would be among those that had the spark - they would be Searched and sent to Semaca Weyr.
Just hours after receiving their Candidate knot, Raftax would meet Stella.
UPDATES
- Late Summer, 2775: After tripping over several dragonets, Impresses at their first ever Hatching & Gold Xialath's maiden clutch -- to bronze Valorath!
- Early Winter 2776: Valorath chases a rising dragon for the first time; somehow wins.
