Name Pronounced: Viv-ale-dee Character type: Dragonrider Rank: None Age: 38 Gender: Female Sexual Preference: Bisexual
Current Location: Arolos Weyr
Appearance: Vivaeldi has always been a beautiful woman. Age certainly changed her appearance, but her overall form is still attractive. She's got high cheekbones and a delicate nose. Her skin has a deep golden hue to it, probably after Turns and Turns in the Istan sun. Her eyes are a light hazel color, with a few small flecks of green. She has brown hair that falls in gentle waves to just below the nape of her neck, though it's usually tied up and off her skin. Across her left hairline and forehead, she has mild scarring, and it's caused her hair to grow back frizzy and kinky where the scarring is. She's lithe of body, and like all dragonriders, she's stronger than she looks. She's got a decent amount of burns across her left side, starting on her shoulder and working its way down across her arm and hip. It's not too debilitating, but she does have significantly more strength with her "good side". Due to the scarring, when possible, she wears longer-sleeved clothing and pants. She's not embarrassed by it, she just doesn't always like dealing with the "oh, I'm so sorry, how did it happen" bs. She's a rider; it happens. She also wears a piece of her daughter's green's shell in a pendant around her neck that hangs low. It was a gift from her daughter.
Personality: As a healer, Vivaeldi excels with her patients, most of the time. She's empathetic to their needs, and her quick mind is able to deal with the people on a personal level, while still accessing them medically. However, one of the things that has made her excel is her drive to exceed. At times, this drive can make her be blunt and to the point, short-tempered, impersonal, and obsessive. She takes it personal when a patient dies, even though it happens. And she's not one to coddle someone when they're injured. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," you'll often hear her saying.
This drive to be the best often creates a wedge in her personal life. Her lovers can't understand her dedication to her craft. Riders don't understand such dedication to a Craft. Crafters don't understand the dedication to the dragon. She struggles in this balance usually by simply hunching her shoulders and ignoring everyone and doing her job. After all, by being a great healer, she can save her wingmates and friends in a way that she is uniquely qualified to do so. She can't ever be a full rider again, but she can be a healer.
As a rider, Vivaeldi has nothing more important in her life than Bajezeth. She loves her dragon with a fierceness that is surprising, given how determined she is to continue with her Craft. After her and Bajezeth were burned, she's made sure the green's never felt inadequate. Vivaeldi has a very good relationship with her family. She loves her daughter dearly, but they both find that distance makes the heart grow fonder.
History: Vivaeldi grew up in Ista's territory. Her father, Alderon, was a shipbuilder and her mother, Viviana, a creche worker. She has several siblings including three brothers, A'ver, V'ctor (deceased) and Valer, and two sisters, Vivia, and Avera. A'ver was the oldest and she followed close behind in age. She loved to watch her father work at building ships, and would often go with him to work instead of the creche (which she found boring). It was after several times of going with him to work that her true interest was found. There were minor injuries that the healer had to called for and after watching him work, Vivaeldi was hooked. After that, she bugged him so much with "why this" and "why that", that at the young age of 12, he convinced her parents to send her to the Healer Hall, if for no other reason that to earn some peace and quiet.
She went through apprenticeship without any major mishaps. She was very bright and quick and excelled at her lessons, though it was her dedication that made her stand out and not some incredible aptitude. During her apprenticeship, her two eldest brothers both Impressed at Igen Weyr, and she was able to see both of their Impressions. She found the mauling of young Candidates by dragonets to be relatively disturbing. She did get pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Vaerynika, named after her father, N'ka, a rider at Fort. While she wanted to care for herself, her Craft demanded time, so her daughter went into the Creche, though she spent time with her. She walked the tables at just after her 19th birthingday, and began to be sent to various holds to work under other masters.
She had just turned 23 when her last brother's Impression took place. Vivaeldi had never meant to Impress. Her brother tells it that she just kind of showed up at the Weyr one day and stayed for a few sevendays. She had permission from her Craft to visit her brother, though originally it was only supposed to be for a few days. Somewhere in all of that, she became a Candidate, probably because someone told her she couldn't. Viv was never one to be told what she couldn't do. She never expected to actually Impress! And so it was that Vivaeldi became the 4th dragonrider of her family at the age of 23 to Green Bajezeth. Her own daughter Impressed the three Turns later at Fort Weyr to a green.
It was in their first year after weyrlinghood that Bajezeth and her were caught in a tangle of Thread, literally skipping into it from Between, only to be hit by the Thread. Bajezeth's burns was severely worse than her own, the green's wing muscles being damaged and the sail almost shredded. The dragonhealers decreed she'd live, but she'd never fight Thread for a full Fall again, and it would be Turns before she could fly even as a Sweeprider. Her own injuries took a significant amount of time to heal. The burns to her thigh forced her to use crutches and severely limited how much she could help with Bajezeth's recovery, and had to rely on the dragonhealers for the green's therapy. She did not however take her recovery "sitting down", and instead used her forced limitations to further her Craft, helping out around the infirmary with diagnosis and non-physical aspects of the Craft. Her daughter gave her a necklace with the shell of her green Sonjath embedded in a silver pendant, to help her through the trama. Nearly a full Turn later, Bajezeth was recovered enough that they could fly together again, though the green's endurance is severely limited. She will never fly in a full wing again. She was assigned to the sweepwings instead of the full Fall at Ista.
Without the ability to be a full rider, Vivaeldi threw herself into her work. She has fought for the right to serve her Weyr both as a healer and as a Rider (in her limited capacity). The battle would have been harder had she not already been so advanced in her Craft before Impressing, and if she had greater capabilities as a Rider.
When her brother, V'ler was transferred to Arolos from Ista, Viv shortly followed. He'd been her rock through so many chapters of their lives. And besides, her injuries were starting to hurt in the cold, even in the mild Istan climate. Perhaps the South would be better.
Father: Alderon
Mother: Viviana, a creche worker.
Brothers: A'ver (bronzerider at Igen), V'ctor (deceased bluerider) and V'ler, rider of brown Kiyosarath
Sisters: Vivia, and Avera.
Daughter: Vaerynika, greenrider at Fort to Sonjath
Information about Vivaeldi's dragon
Dragon Name: Bajezeth
Colour: Green
Age: 15
Wing (Weyrling Group): Miscellaneous Riders
Appearance: She's a petite green of a deep emerald color. She is dark enough to look nearly black in poor lighting, though in the sun she's certainly green enough. Her small size made her an incredibly agile green before her burns. She has small headknobs that are nearly flush with her skull. As a hatchling, she sucked on her tail tip which has left strange marks on her tail. Her wings are covered in scars, particularly on her left side. Her sails are covered in ugly red lighting scars and several tatters in the sail. It is rare to see her unfurl that wing in the company of dragons she doesn't know.
She tires easily in flight and cannot fly a full Fall.
Personality: Despite her injuries, Bajezeth is a very sweet green. Some may even call her naive in her own way. She knows her limitations, and tries to push herself. Her goal is to one day fly a full Fall again, even though the dragonhealers doubt the achievement of this goal. Some part of her feels inadequate compared to other Istan dragons, and she constantly pushes herself to be the best that she can to try to make up for her limitations. She knows she has Vivaeldi's full support and love, even though her rider is enjoying being much more involved in her Craft. In moments of weakness, Vivaeldi's dedication to her Craft also leaves Bajezeth with self-doubt and guilt. She is very careful to hide this from her Rider; she doesn't want to burden her.
Bajezeth is both ashamed of her burns, depending upon those she is around. She is ashamed that it represents her inability to fly a full Fall and that it represents her failure as a dragon. This makes her a relatively shy yet sweet dragon, insular in her true friendships.
Weyr of Origin: Ista
Abilites and weaknesses: Bajezeth is a Search dragon. Due to her Threadfall injuries, she does not have the endurance to fly in a regular wing, rather flies in the Sweepwings.
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