Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2012 22:25:04 GMT -5
Gerran
NAME: Gerran
RANK: Journeyman Beastcrafter
AGE IN TURNS: 49
FAMILY:
Spouse Layka (46)
Son Greym (30)
Daughter Gisellaine (26)
Daughter Karredy (19)
Daughter-in-law Nehauka (32)
Grandsons Nereym (11) and Greyston (8)
Five of his latest breeding canines, plus six pups
APPEARANCE: While his oldest daughter's insecurity leads people to overlook that she's one of the most beautiful dragonriders ever to Impress (though since he's her father, there may be slight exaggeration somewhere), Gerran is quite the opposite. He's not much to look at; brown hair, green eyes that are more brownish than the preferred truer shades, and average height. However, his unwavering stance and intense personality lends him quite a lot of charisma. …Or it did thirty Turns ago. His personality has changed little, but his looks haven't fared so well; he's getting gaunt, as well as a touch arthritic. The most common observation people make about him is that he's "faded," although a sane person wouldn't say it to his face.
EDUCATION/SKILLS: Basic Harper training, average reading and writing skills. Has solid Beastcraft knowledge in general, but he is exceptional with canines.
ORIENTATION: Straight.
BASIC PERSONALITY: His Turns of working with Pern's German Shepherds has bled into his personal life, so he's got an extremely forceful nature with the intelligence and self-assurance to back it up. Getting old has only compounded his overbearing nature, since he feels he needs to compensate for his decreased physical abilities. He's not the person to go to if you want someone talkative, lively, or a shoulder to cry on--but that doesn't mean he doesn’t care. He often uses commands on people as if they’re his canines, but he doesn’t mean anything by it and most pass it off as strictness anyway.
*FAULTS: He's violently overprotective--while his main reason for going to Mavros is to help his fellow beastcrafters, his other reason is to keep an eye on Gisellaine. And as much as he genuinely loves his canines, he often uses them (especially now) as living reminders of the fact that HIS family is not to be crossed. Layka has long since learned to warn people (particularly young men) that he isn’t joking when he says “You have three warnings before I sic the canines on you.”
*STRENGTHS: Gerran shares many traits with his canines; close ties to family and friends, confidence in his abilities, and he knows when to give up--though not without a healthy amount of complaining. He also gets right to the point, and has a keen eye for reading the body language of both humans and animals.
FEARS: Losing his family, which includes his canines.
DREAMS: He's fulfilled most of them by now. Unless there's a way he can restore his youth while keeping his life the way it is, there's nothing else he feels driven to do.
*HISTORY: He grew up in Igen, but was fascinated with the beastcraft and became an apprentice when he turned twelve. He discovered a passion for a working with canines, particularly a type of canine that his master was breeding--an intelligent, prick-eared breed that came up to some men's waists. While they were natural herders, they were useful in many other aspects, particularly as guards for cotholds.
Despite his pleas to work with them, his master told him to wait till he was older--and being sixteen and headstrong, he mistook the advice as condescending. However, his master literally meant for Gerran to wait till he was older, as the stronger-willed canines would be unlikely to obey a teenager.
His first attempt to work alone with the canines ended in near disaster: Having snuck out at night, Gerran was mistaken for an intruder. His first mistake was to dismiss their barking as plain noise rather than a warning, and his second and third mistakes were to panic and run when he saw several of them snarling at him. This triggered all seven canines’ prey drive, and the ensuing chase and tackle gave him three cracked ribs. While furious at Gerran's impatience and stupidity, his master immediately called the canines off and sent him to the healer hall. To this day he considers only Thread more terrifying than a pack of canines--and that's only because Thread doesn't give warnings.
He met Layka shortly after he walked the tables to become a journeyman; while she wasn't interested in the beastcraft, she did admire his zeal for it and the impressive training of his canines. They settled down in Igen after she became pregnant with their oldest (and only) son Greym. Surprisingly for such a devoted crafter, he took quite well to the family life--some say a little too well, especially once Greym got married and he realized that eventually, all of his children would be out of his protection. There was even a local rumor going around that Gerran would sic his pack (which by then included fourteen adults and several litters of pups) on whatever future suitor tried to wrong his daughters, especially his eldest Gisellaine. She was remarkably quiet, which was worrying--and worse, she was starting to grow into a very pretty girl.
Luckily, she got Searched and he didn’t have to sic anything on anyone--but just because he never DID it doesn’t mean he never THOUGHT about it. He got worried at her decreasing self-esteem as two Hatchings went by, but her third Hatching at Ista and subsequent Impression both overjoyed and relieved him--no one would think of taking advantage of a dragonrider unless they were suicidal.
Upon hearing that the Southern Continent was in need of more beastcrafters, Gerran regretfully left the bulk of his pack in Igen with Greym, bringing only five of his breeding stock and a litter of six pups, as well as Layka and Karredy.
The early arrival of Thread and Gisellaine’s sudden transfer to Mavros reaffirmed his drive to keep watch on all members of his family. If what the Beastcraft archives say is true, then there are dozens of overgrown wherries and felines running around waiting to carry Gisellaine off for a meal. HIS daughter, in the South? Not while he can help it.