[Southern Harper Apprentice] Shaherean {QC'd}

[Ruhane Chiisai]

???'s Approval Thread

Name: Shaherean (Shuh-hay-ray-an)
Age: 16
Sex: Female
Sexual Orientation: Open Swing
Craft: training for Harpercraft
Rank: Stands
Location: Southern, on tour in the Northern continent.

Physical Description: Bearing some obvious show of a Southern's tan, Shaherean can be spotted easily amongst the paler northern folk. Between that, bright red hair, and sharp eyes green as any dragon's hide, she's a standout in almost any crowd that's not back home. Lesser noticed is her height, though, with as obvious as she can be. Shah is actually a very short creature, managing a measly 4'8 and 130 lbs soaked to the bone. It's not for lack of eating, or result of any health issues, she's just... Short and trim. (Wish I had that problem...) She'll often be found in clothing that's heavier than northerners are used to, from the plaid trousers to a woolen undershirt, and her hands are positively glued to that flute.

Personality: An overall sweet individual, Shah is known for sharing her food. Even if she doesn't think she has enough, she'll offer a couple bites to a hungry stranger. This does not extend only to food, and she can be found sharing a blanket in the cold and loaning out a hat she was wearing in the heat. To that effect, she's also willing to try just about any food items she's sure aren't going to kill her. Since these ideals were everywhere in the area she grew up, she expects others to do the same, sharing their resources as weather and world require. It's always surprising for her when someone's not interested in sharing a meal, since her philosophy is 'Food just tastes better shared, y'know?' She often has to be reminded that not everyone has had the same upbringing around food as she has, but this is usually after she's thrown a bit of a tantrum about how things aren't matching up.

Anyone who's met Shah will tell you that she can be a bit of a nuisance. Either she'll bug you relentlessly about information she wants or raise a fuss if something isn't just so. This can get especially annoying if she's hunting for more information on something a Rider has said, and she can tend to make people irritated at her existence looking for that information. Young as she is, others are often taken aback at the endurance she can display. Some who know her best or can spot a simp, however, can make use of this talent pretty easily. Accustomed to earning her way in life, Shah doesn't mind farmwork, and is usually interested in the tasks even if they're doing nothing but distracting her from her goals.

As a Harper, Shah's skills are a bit far-flung. Storytelling isn't as much her thing as story gathering, but she's a quick hand for writing, and has no problem sitting in the dark for many more long candlemarks than older Harpers have the patience for. Where she does excel, though, is in a song. This girl can spin lyrics and tunes like nobody's business, and that flute is her life. She's never seen without it. This can be both a surprising and annoying revelation, however, as she'll often drop what she was doing or saying to sing some little tune or diddy that struck her and completely derail from whatever was going on. This has a tendency to break conversations, chores, and multiple trains of thought.

Positive Trait List Energetic/Patient, Generous, Virtuoso
Negative Trait List Obstinate and Immature, Nosy, Flighty

History: From a young age, this Southerner was privileged. She grew up on a fruit tree plantation in the south, picking fruit to be shipped north. Her brother made her a pan flute 7 turns back from one of the fruit trees that had lost a thick branch in a rainstorm, just before he up and disappeared. No one's seen or heard from the man since, at least as far as anyone's been able to figure. She's since taken up harpercraft to learn a trade, and has gained a particular level of expertise with the flute. She suspects he's gone to the dragons, but can't explain the suspicion. Others have come to the conclusion she just wants to be there, herself, and it is a possibility she's considered, but she hasn't been able to decide.

While she was training, it came to a point where the other Harper apprentices in the hall grew annoyed or bored with her. One day, between lessons, she found herself talking to a couple of them, and was convinced she must be bored, or antsy, here, and needed to see the world to settle in better. After a couple brief talks with her superiors, Shah decided this must be what she needed, and set out on her venture to see the land, to learn new things... To see more dragons! Really, there's no way this venture can end poorly, whether it's only more world experience or finding a place in a hold with ties to a weyr!

Candidate Specific Questions
Do you want them to have an official Search RP? I would love that, at some point.
Do you understand they will age every passing year regardless if you're there to RP the or not? I certainly do
Do you want them to have a possible Stands Impression? I'm good either way. Currently she's a craftsman  

[Teiha]

Hello Ru! Shah is already looking to be an interesting character, but there's a few things we need to look at before she can be approved.

Her Craft as you have described her would be "Harper" and her Rank would be "Apprentice."

I am confused as to why she would be sitting in the dark for long candlemarks, and how she's better at doing it than (all?) older Harpers when usually people tend to slow down and develop patience as they get older. I would suggest to not try and control how other characters react by saying things like "Anyone who has met her would think" or "everyone says that" about her, or assuming that an entire age group of people react/compare the same way to her. Maybe it's a typo, but what is a simp? Altogether, Shah seems too skilled for a still-young Harper Apprentice who once worked on a farm.

I am also confused as to how she would be considered privileged? Fruit picking and apprentice level in any craft are both at the lowest end of the career spectrum. Also, we don't know anything about her family other than she had a brother. Who raised her? How did she handle it when her brother vanished? Who took care of her after that? What age did she go to Harper Hall, and how did she get there?

People cannot "go to the dragons" at will, especially now that Thread has returned and the Weyrs are being run as the military institutions they are meant to be. A candidate has to either be officialy Searched by a dragon from that Weyr, or if they are meant to be a Stands candidate, they must have some kind of business there during the time of the Hatch, such as making a delivery.

Also, Apprentices aren't permitted to go off and explore. Especially if they're training at a crafthall, where it'd literally be like living at a boarding school. Once they walk the tables (graduate) to Journeyman, they can either get assigned a position at a Hold, or try to make their own way. Again, even if you age her up to somewhere between 21 and 30 turns old and make her a self-employed Journeyman, she'd still have to have a legitimate reason to be at the Weyr if she's not an officially-Searched candidate. It might be easiest if you just change her history to have her been Searched already! A Search RP can still be backdated if you want one.

Lastly, our shop canon Pern has a lot of items and instruments similar to Earth versions, but they're not always called the same thing. Instead of plantations, we would have a large orchard, owned by a Lord Holder. People from his or her hold would work in that orchard. As for the pan flute, since Earth mythology doesn't exist on Pern for a flute to be named after Pan, it would just be called a set of pipes.

I realize this is a lot to consider. It is very important that we have characters who fit the world the shop's creators have made, so if you have any questions or need assistance with edits, please ping Cheri or me. Thank you!