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 Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 4:16 pm
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 Name: Anali
Age: 38 (3536.12.02)
Sex: Female
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual (very low interest)
Weyr: Other
Rider Rank: Bandit Queen
Previous Rank/Craft: Highwayman
Physical Description:
Anali is a plain woman, to put it politely, with a snub nose and a too-round face. Her unremarkable brown hair is thin and straight, and her narrow eyes are brown as well, but a good deal brighter. Her 5'1" figure is stocky, but not in the sense of carrying excess weight - she really is just big-boned and strongly-built. She keeps in good physical shape, but she will always be strong rather than agile.
Personality:
With few who bothered to look past her unremarkable appearance, Anali spent much of her early life dismissed her as an unremarkable girl, but all along she had known something they did not: that she was smarter than them all. Smart enough that, rather than fight the assumptions, she had let them think what they wanted, knowing that one day her unrecognized intelligence might prove to be an advantage. She is cold, calculating, and ambitious. She wants more than anything to reach the top, but not by throwing everyone else down to the bottom. No, she is much more subtle than that, willing to wait patiently and plan. She collects information obsessively, digging up anything and everything she can find and use, expertly wielding rumor and blackmail to get what she wants. She is a manipulator to the bone, always with an eye on the bigger picture, the ultimate goal.
Anali's upbringing, combined with her ambition and intelligence, have made her into a very distant individual, with no want or need for close relationships. She has her dragon and their grand plans, and there is no room for anyone else. Though she will smile and pretend to allow others familiarity with her, they will always be held at arm's length from her true self. She will form mutually beneficial alliances if she thinks it will get her what she wants, but she keeps no real friends and no lovers. Attachments are messy and useless, and even her sister is kept at some distance - she trusts her more than most, but that doesn't mean she cares for her. Much.
Positive Trait List calculating, patient, focused
Negative Trait List scheming, power-hungry, manipulative
History:
Anali was born in Nabol, but fortunate enough to be born to parents who knew the right people, had the right skills, and had done well for themselves. Her mother was a courtesan who charmed a skilled and much older jewelcrafter and in so doing secured for herself a life of ease. She had high hopes for her child, until it became apparent that she...did not take after her mother's side of the family. Physically, at least. What she did inherit was intelligence and the ability to read and play people, which was arguably more impressive than her mother's, given that she couldn't rely on looks to draw anyone in or hold their attention. With parents who were disinterested at best - especially once her younger sister was born - Anali found her own ways to entertain herself, which tended to be spitefully unwholesome. She never got more attention than when she was in trouble for something, so she was very often in trouble, but even that got old eventually. She had, however, developed a love for the things that got her in trouble: running with the less fortunate children of the Hold, stealing, even getting into fights, although the last was rare, as she was adept at getting others to fight for her, or convincing them not to fight her at all. By the time she hit her teens, she had her own little gang, and a double life - so far as the others knew, she was one of them, not sleeping in a fine house with fine things and parents she hated but knew.
It was out on the streets one day that she was Searched, and after slipping home to gather what things were important to her, she went without a word to her parents. She only told her sister, who rather than hold a grudge against she was actually fonder of than most people, and had begun to teach to misbehave, another effort to subvert her parents. So it was that she found herself not at a Weyr, but at a disappointingly tiny would-be WeyrHold teetering on the edge of survival and hinging their hopes on a small clutch with a large gold egg. It was Anali who Impressed the Queen who burst from that shell, but there was no saving the doomed venture. It would stagger on for another few Turns, but seeing the inevitable conclusion, Anali and Banshidheth got out as soon as they graduated from Weyrlinghood. Had Banshidheth been shelled after the return of Thread and not before, perhaps they would have gone to a Weyr and set to climbing their way to Weyrwoman, but at the time it seemed a rather empty power. Instead, they fell back on Anali's past and formed a gang, this time of less-than-reputable riders, and soon they were robbing Trader caravans.
The pair was insistent that no one be harmed unless absolutely necessary, and all things considered they were rather courteous...for bandits. They were still robbing people. They had considerably fewer compunctions about dealing with the whers and sometimes felines responsible for guarding said caravans, but on the occasion that there were other dragons involved, they fell under the same umbrella of not to be hurt. Dealing with them fell, naturally, to Banshidheth, who could neutralize them without harm on account of her ability to command. Of course, a group of dragonriding highwaymen as hardly subtle, and they very quickly became infamous. And wanted. They decided it would be wise to lie low awhile, and allowed a full Turn to pass before they struck again. They continued to operate in this way for some time - with some of the more 'enthusiastic' bandits losing patience and going their own way - strategically choosing where to strike to optimize the payoff. Theoretically, the better they did, the longer they would be able to go between robberies and the less at risk they would be.
It all moved smoothly enough (inasmuch as such things can go smoothly), and as time went on Anali and Banshidheth settled into more of an overseer role: they became the brains of the operation more than active participants, and focused on expanding their reach into all sorts of unsavory dealings. If there is profit in it, or the potential to gain power or influence, they're interested. Even so, they are neither as powerful nor as influential as they would like to be, and 'Bandit Queen' might be overinflating their status, but then again, they are bandits and Banshi is a Queen, so it's not untrue.
Their feelings on the return of Thread are up in the air, so to speak, and they are taking a watch and wait approach to see how it affects business. As for joining a Weyr...it's possible that they might consider it, if it were made worth their while somehow, but otherwise they'll likely continue on their current path. Prior to Thread returning Banshidheth would lay her clutches at whatever Weyr or WeyrHold had the room and would put her and her rider up well while they were there. She has yet to Rise since the return, but now that dragons are much-needed again, they would probably try to leverage that to their advantage somehow. |
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Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 4:16 pm
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Name: Banshidheth
Age: 21 (3553.11.01 Chehaveeth x Likoth)
Color: Gold
Size: 102'
Physical Description:
Massive in length, but with a lean build and long limbs, this gold is sinuously graceful whether on land or in the air and overall quite the pretty picture of a dragon. When she's not looming.
Personality:
With her graceful bearing and slender build, Banshidheth would be considered beautiful no matter the sheen of her hide. Her beauty, however, is a secondary feature at best. What truly sets her apart is her unmistakable, unsettling presence, a quiet intensity that never leaves her. She is an exceptionally quiet dragon, not only vocally, but in how surprisingly little noise she makes when she moves for a creature of her size. Her movements are deliberate and poised, and down to every turn of her head and flick of her tail, there is the weight of a predator to her bearing. This gold rarely vocalizes, be it growl or croon, roar or bugle, feeling no need to express herself in such a way. She prefers to let her body language and actions do the 'talking,' and is far more likely to give someone a look that conveys her feelings than issue any sound. She is somewhat freer with her mental speech, but even that is sparse compared to the average dragon's. She does not appreciate idle chatter, and while she will respond when addressed, her words will be short unless she feels there is something important to be said.
There is no shyness at all behind this preference of hers, however; it is simply her nature to hoard her words so that she can use them to their fullest impact when she needs them. She has all the confidence of the mightiest dragon, but sees no need to throw her weight around for show or over trivial matters. What she wants is not be worshipped, but to be taken seriously. There is no lighter side to Banshidheth - she is gravely serious at all times, with no use for humor or play. There is only what must be done, and she will always do what she feels is necessary with surest conviction and without hesitation.
For all that she was born with a wealth of ambition and confidence, what she did not have was a plan, only a desire for power. But while she wants and even needs to hold authority, she doesn't find it necessary to be a dictator, and can share power well with others so long as she deems them capable. She accepts all colors of dragon, as well, and believes in equality for them in all areas - truly, if there were such a thing as a blue capable of keeping up with a gold in Flight, she would give him no less consideration than the bronzes and browns. Anyone under her leadership can expect to be well taken care of - she may not genuinely care about them on an attached, personal level, but she knows that happy followers are, well, happier to follow, and more likely to meet their full potential with the right motivation and encouragement.
Whenever she Rises, she makes absolutely certain to choose the very best male - she weeds out the unfit not only by flying hard and long, but with violence. She will lash out at any who come near her before she has chosen, and she will sometimes attack even those who do not. She inflicts no deliberately serious harm when she does so, but she intends to ensure that only the fittest and bravest will Fly her. Bronze or brown, color makes no difference, as long as they can keep up with her and earn her. It is only during the high passion of Flights, or in extreme anger, that she will raise her voice, and raise her voice she does - Banshidheth's scream is piercing and unmistakable. Once angered, her wrath is swift and cold, and she has a long memory for those who have offended her.
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Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 4:16 pm
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Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 4:17 pm
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Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 4:17 pm
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Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 4:17 pm
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