ShaylirName Pronounced: SHAY-ler Appearance: Shaylir's most striking physical feature is her unsymmetrical face (her crooked nose is the main offender of said symmetry!). At the sacrifice of conventional beauty she is able to contort her face into a wide range of expressions (in fact, as a child, her siblings would often harass her into pretending to be wildly upset for their entertainment. She always complied and they took great joy in her dramatics). Her eyes are huge and brown and more often than not she's got dark circles under them from her late nights. Her hair is dark brown, kept short. She's tall (5'10) and lanky (some have described her as unable to control her limbs). Her skin has browned from her time harvesting various berries for wine. She also possesses absurdly large feet and a decently sized birth mark on the back of her left knee. Personality: Capricious is the euphemism most often associated with Shaylir (ruder people may call her "flaky" or "easily distracted"). She just gets so caught up in the moment that everyday things slip her mind. It's her mercurial nature really, she desires change above all else, or at least something that inspires enough passion in her to make her happily stay in one place. Some may also call her awkwardness a flaw, but in actuality, it's quite endearing and many people find themselves (at the very least) curious about her. At times she seems a bit ditzy because she says silly things and people find it hard to take her seriously, but it's because she's actually quite perceptive of other people and doesn't want anyone catching on to this ability. Also, she misjudges her innate ability to perceive people's intents as paranoia rather than a skill to be used. She's a rather laid back, independent, sort who tries to do as much as she can for herself. She's also a fan of the booze (how could she not, with her upbringing!) and often wakes up in places she did not intend to fall asleep in. It doesn't bother her, though, because in her mind it is her mistakes and flaws that make her the person she is. She finds herself making rash, emotion-inspired decisions instead of thinking things through! She also has an oddly good vocabulary. History: Born and raised in Reddan Hold, Shaylir is the daughter of Guilrick and Saylirra both of whom are masters of the Vintercraft. She's the oldest of five (she has three brothers and one sister: Grumisk - 17, Candryk - 15, Lyrala - 14, and Jalebry - 10). She and her father have a remarkably close relationship and she truly takes after his easy going yet impassioned way of looking at life. One thing she respects most about him is how he is always honest with her and never talks down to her even though she is his daughter. That, above all else, accounts for her outlook on life. Her mother, Saylirra, was a bit more abrasive in her manners but Shaylir usually wound up cracking that exterior with her jovial nature. Ultimately the two formed a very loving relationship, even though Shaylir learned she could never be quite as open with her mother as she was with her father. As for her siblings Shaylir got along a lot better with her brothers than her sister, Lyrala. Only because Lyrala was a bit spoiled (being the youngest girl) and sometimes would pick normal sibling rivalry type fights with her older sister. When Shaylir was growing up her parents always fancied she would be a harper because of her theatrics (she always entertained her younger siblings with outrageous stories) and her supposed diplomacy (Guilrick always got a kick out of how she downplayed her mischief...stealing wine for her ruffian friends turned into "a benevolent action for youth throughout the hold!"). So when she turned twelve they sent her off to the Harper Hall to become an apprentice. The harpers found she did indeed have a talent for telling stories and resolving conflicts (her passionate demeanor was infectious), but she lacked any sort of music ability. They discovered that she was entirely tone deaf and had no ability whatsoever in playing any kind of instrument. The Harpers offered to let her stay and continue her studies in other areas but Shaylir shrugged it off saying "Hey, I learned a bunch, but this isn't my thing! I'll go out and have some different experiences. Maybe you crazy kids can write some songs about it someday!". The harpers, strangely enough, were sad to see the tone deaf little rogue go. So at 14 she was back at Reddan and taking up the family trade. Her parents were very supportive of her endeavors and found that she was actually pretty good with liquor so she continued to study with her family. Even though she was good at what she did she found herself wanting to leave Reddan for a change of pace, but there were, sadly, not many opportunities for her to leave. Fortunately for Shaylir a change came when she was a Journeywoman in the Vintercraft at 19. A search rider from Arolos Weyr had stopped at Reddan to look for potential candidates for the upcoming impression. One of the people he chose was Shaylir. Everyone in her family was thrilled (except for Jalebry who is an exceptional worrier and doesn't like the dangers his older sister would face if she became a dragonrider). Information about Shaylir's craft Craft: Vinter Shaylir is a candidate. Her colour preference is Gold, Green, Blue Read: Yes All references to worlds and characters based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are copyright© Anne McCaffrey 1967,2005, all rights reserved, and used by permission of the author. The Dragonriders of Pern® is registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Anne McCaffrey, used here with permission. Use or reproduction without a license is strictly prohibited. |