DRAGON INFORMATION
Name: Garudath
Age: 12
Color: Brown
Physical Description: Large for a brown, Garudath is clearly meant to fly, his long wingspan and sleek form help him easily traverse the great distances required in patrolling the large desert of Igen. Swift, powerful, and well-built, the handsome brown makes for an impressive predator. Aerially, he is much like the falcon, soaring and unafraid of death-defying plunges to the earth, coming up short of striking the sands to shoot back into the sky with deadly accuracy.
Of color, Garudath is a very, very dark brown, closer to a sort of chocolaty-charcoal color than a standard brown shade, though his eyes seemed to be ringed with a dusky sort of dark red.
Personality: Brown Garudath is a serious dragon, one who often alienates others when they attempt to get close to him or comprehend his analytical, inhuman mindset. Ever watchful, he makes decisions quickly and without hesitation, rarely stopping to explain his motivation or cause. To some, this would be cause to worry [and it is, in certain cases], however the large male has an uncompromising sense of justice, one that knows no loyalty or boundary.
Incredibly intelligent [rather than cunning or clever], the cold Garudath takes into mind possibilities and outcomes of a situation in a rapid amount of time before taking action. His words are carefully chosen, and one can be sure that, always honest, a promise he makes will be delivered upon, however, he often sticks to the letter of the law, rather than the spirit.
One would be hard pressed to find a more merciless, implacable dragon, however in Garudath there lies no cruelty, no ill-will. In both attitude and action, Garudath is the very image of impetuous violent force, speed, and martial prowess. He always strives to be objective, observant, and to respond perfectly in a situation, without reproach.
For this reason, as well as his uncompromising standards, Garudath finds himself with allies, rather than friends, though even that number is surprisingly few. This organized brown will abide no mis-step in fairness, no cruelty or careless behavior. He holds himself to these same standards and if he ever fails, will only work himself harder, shut himself off even more to frivolous emotion. One could say that perhaps the large brown feels too deeply, in his own way, and this is the manner in which he facilitates his emotions concerning corruption and greed.
His cold judgment has, of course, taken a toll on His, the only creature close to Garudath's mind and heart. He holds her to standards as high as the ones he carries on his own shoulders, believing her to have the potential to be a great force for balance and righteousness in a weyr wrought with political and moral turmoil, selfishness and idle hands.
For His, he is willing to strike any deal for her benefit, as their fates are tied and her heart and mind just. Similarly, he has an accompanying 'soft spot' for younglings of any race and those that dedicate themselves to the greater good.
A hard worker, Garudath pushes himself and His to their breaking point each and every day, and of course strives to be the best. That includes anything from drills, to patrols, to flights. While the objective thoughts of His are important in their political movements within the Weyr, he will not accept any arguments he believes to stem from personal feelings rather than logic. For this reason, only matches that will further his ultimate goal of a strong, just Weyr are those he pursues. Except for during mating flights, Garudath views other dragons in an asexual manner.
Legendary Garuda:
The story of Garuda's birth and deeds is told in the first book of the great epic Mahabharata. According to the epic, when Garuda first burst forth from his egg, he appeared as a raging inferno equal to the cosmic conflagration that consumes the world at the end of every age. Frightened, the gods begged him for mercy. Garuda, hearing their plea, reduced himself in size and energy.
Garuda's father was the creator-rishi Kasyapa. His mother was Vinata, whose sister was Kadru, the mother of serpents. One day, Vinata entered into and lost a foolish bet, as a result of which she became enslaved to her sister. Resolving to release his mother from this state of bondage, Garuda approached the serpents and asked them what it would take to purchase her freedom. Their reply was that Garuda would have to bring them the elixir of immortality, also called amrita. It was a tall order. The amrita at that time found itself in the possession of the gods, who guarded it jealously, since it was the source of their immortality. They had ringed the elixir with a massive fire that covered the sky. They had blocked the way to the elixir with a fierce mechanical contraption of sharp rotating blades. And finally, they had stationed two gigantic poisonous snakes next to the elixir as deadly guardians.
Undaunted, Garuda hastened toward the abode of the gods intent on robbing them of their treasure. Knowing of his design, the gods met him in full battle-array. Garuda, however, defeated the entire host and scattered them in all directions. Taking the water of many rivers into his mouth, he extinguished the protective fire the gods had thrown up. Reducing his size, he crept past the rotating blades of their murderous machine. And finally, he mangled the two gigantic serpents they had posted as guards. Taking the elixir into his mouth without swallowing it, he launched again into the air and headed toward the eagerly waiting serpents. En route, he encountered Vishnu. Rather than fight, the two exchanged promises. Vishnu promised Garuda the gift of immortality even without drinking from the elixir, and Garuda promised to become Vishnu's mount. Flying onward, he met Indra the god of the sky. Another exchange of promises occurred. Garuda promised that once he had delivered the elixir, thus fulfilling the request of the serpents, he would make it possible for Indra to regain possession of the elixir and to take it back to the gods. Indra in turn promised Garuda the serpents as food.
At long last, Garuda alighted in front of the waiting serpents. Placing the elixir on the grass, and thereby liberating his mother Vinata from her servitude, he urged the serpents to perform their religious ablutions before consuming it. As they hurried off to do so, Indra swooped in to make off with the elixir. From that day onward, Garuda was the ally of the gods and the trusty mount of Vishnu, as well as the implacable enemy of snakes, upon whom he preyed at every opportunity.
Also according to the Mahabharata, Garuda had six sons from whom were descended the race of birds. The members of this race were of great might and without compassion, subsisting as they did on their relatives the snakes.
RIDER INFORMATION
Name: Hayat
Age: 25
Sex: Female
Orientation: Asexual [Homosexual inclinations]
Rank: Wingrider
Physical Description: Graceful, measured, quietly non-nonchalant, Hayat's smooth movements and quiet conviction show in her proud posture, black, thickly-lashed eyes, and her sure, slow smiles. The long-legged young woman is dark of skin, due to both heritage and sun-exposure [primarily the later] gaze, and hair. Keeping her long, silky black strands generally tied at the shoulder-blades to allow them to swing freely with her every movement, Hayat is well aware of her particular physical charms; great hair, sensual movement, a fit body, and smooth, unblemished skin.
Her voice, however, is not as attractive, instead harsh, rough. A broken sound discordant with her young, attractive face, she generally sounds hoarse and therefore only talks when necessary, using her low tone when she needs to catch attention or cut someone off.
Interesting of face, with a hawkish nose that has clearly been broken and re-set before and is pierced with a small golden stud, the brownrider's dark, arched brows convey what little emotion she wants to be revealed quite clearly. Long of stride, Hayat is rarely seen sitting down and is generally in the company of her dragon, as she seems to prefer him above all others. The two cut an attractive pair, she in brilliant colors to stand out against the sand and her dragon, wherhide tunics and protective armors of varying shades, though the primary of which is blue. When preparing to ride or during the sandstorms, her amazing hair is generally covered, as well as most of her head and neck, by a protective scarf, also in varying shades, through which only her eyes appear.
Personality: Ever watchful, Hayat is as much the hawk as her Garudath. Non malleable even as a small child, she was not as her sister, unable to chameleonize herself to fit her social situation. Instead, the girl was clearly her own being, with piercing black eyes that convey her lack of empathy. In place of that, she has understanding, the ability to see things from many perspectives without judgment.
Impressing at a young age caused her to be heavily influenced by Garudath's guidance, the two of them raising each other more than one leading the other. His unforgiving morals have only reinforced her pre-existing notions of justice and fairness and she views the world in a very harsh light. The young woman, while without the desire for power, has a driving need to eradicate greed from a land that operates on its basic principles.
Without much humor besides a strangely shared view between herself and her sister, born of cynicism and excessive insight, her failure is to match human emotion with human action. Because she doesn't understand the darker emotions of the human condition, she fails to connect with others, in a way that her sister excels. Taught by Garudath to value logic, the greater good, and principles of justice above all else, she is loyal first to her dragon, then to her concept of greater justice, and last to her own person. She holds no loyalty to those she views as corrupt and has a hard time relating to others.
History: The oldest child of a bronzerider Wingsecond closely allied with the current Weyrleaders, it was thought that Hayat would be put upon the sands for a Gold, to bring further status to her family and also cement the power base of Weyrwoman Thera, Despite her strange, cold nature and ever watchful eyes stopping her from becoming close with her father, as well as the young girls propensity for pointing out observations many would prefer to be kept quiet, Hayat's father handled her by relatively ignoring the girl. He instructed her that she would be standing until she impressed a gold and left that where it was, placing her in the Rising Sun while it was still under control of Th'ran, who had freshly impressed a bronze.
When she was seven, her younger sister Al-Takiyah was born, who had a natural charm and soon wrapped their father around her finger. Both startlingly intelligent, observant girls, they remained relatively close despite their age difference. Or, that was the case until Hayat impressed, at the young age of thirteen.
To most this would be a triumph, yet her own impression was met with shock, distaste, amusement, and horror. The thin, tall girl stood on the sands, surrounded by the large amount of girls waiting for the attention of a still enshelled little Queen, and a large brown burst free of his egg. The dark, dragonet stood quietly for a moment, examining the proud boys before him before slowly circling them. It took minutes, maybe five, ten... even twenty, when he turned, and without hesitation honed in on his target.
Hayatmine, we will cleanse this Weyr, but first your Garudath must eat and gain strength. Come, let us leave the misguided masses.
From that moment on, the duo trusted no one, Hayat understanding the consequences that would come of her bond. They were met head-on with dignity as she was both retained and ousted from the Rising Sun. The fact that she had impressed a brown giving the gang more status under their reign, and yet taking away with Weyrwoman Thera's distaste for female riders.
An attack came immediately following the hatching, several male candidates with their gang colors and faces hidden [to this day, Hayat believes them to be Rising Sun members] pushing her roughly against the hard stone walls of Igen Weyr, the crunch of her broken nose upon impact, before letting her drop to the sand. Pinned, she was threatened and told to make no attempts to rise up int he ranks on her brown. She was rendered unable to speak as one strong boys arm pressed her throat. Despite the work of the healers, it was always unclear whether or not this is what caused the damage to her voice, or excessive exposure to sandstorms and habitual shouting in the skies. She took several days to report to the infirmary for assistance, and never reported the event to authorities.
Garudath, a logical dragon even from birth, made the decision with His to exact a slow, cold method of justice, one that would take years of strength and influence, to change the Weyr. Officially, this rider has no strong ties to any alliance, though she is sided with the Rising Sun still and makes no real moves against them. However, she quietly supports Sandstorm, as a female rider, and still meets with her sister, Al-Takiyah, though their conversations and counsel are private between siblings.
Hayat is kept out of the way, denied a wingsecond or leader position she is capable of and mainly does far out patrols that keep her out of mind and out of sight. She and Garudath spend their days working har and making careful choices and alliances for the future.
Pets: None
Other/Talents: Hayat has a keen eye for detail and generally picks up on small behavioral clues and tells within moments of observation, such as lying, attraction, irritation, stress, and so forth. She's also quite good with hand-eye coordination and the memorization of faces and names.
WHY ME?
Garudath chose Hayat for her strength of character, lack of irrational emotion, and for her failure to comprehend the motivation of greed and power. To him this signified a level of purity not to be found in most humans, especially males, and it resonated with him. That, in combination with her observational clarity, intelligence, and being a part of a disenfranchised group [females at Igen] made the perfect bond.
Hayat needs Garudath's power of conviction and unfaltering pursuit of fairness and equality go maintain the level of strength necessary to stay dignified as a partial-outcast in the culture she grew up in. He provides her with unwavering support, as well as a true connection between like minds. Both are startlingly logical minds within two races concerned with empathy.
