Xiomere, Harper Spy
Pronunciation: show meer
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Former craft: Harper (Spy)
Origin: HarperHall
Rank: Harper Apprentice
Appearance: She stands at a fairly tall height of 5'10". Her eyes are a deep-blue color that in some lighting appears violet or grey. Her hair is dark-brown and loosely curly, falling past her shoulders. She likes to keep it braided loosely or down completely. Her build is average, with some good muscle tone. In fact, she is rather athletic because she has been trained in basic defensive and offensive combat styles (for her protection only). Her skin tone is slightly yellowy but very pale as it does not tan readily.
Fashion: She loves following the latest fashion trends and uses her wages from HarperHall to buy lovely gowns. She particularly likes to find articles of clothing that set off her eyes.
Personality
Positive traits: Intelligent, Multi-talented, Resourceful, Entertaining, Diligent
Negative traits: Shallow, Depressed, Dysphoric, Anxious, Presumptuous
Creative, artistic, and resourceful, Xiomere has a solution for many problems and a song for many occasions. She can be anyone she wants to be and sometimes has difficulty focusing on who she really is. She plays the lute though she prefers the flute or other pipe instruments. They distort her face, which she thinks is a good thing.
She is prone to mood swings and fits of depression, dysphoria, or anxiety. She has spent much of her time alone on assignment and as a young person away from friendly faces and the hustle-and-bustle of the HarperHall, has found this particularly challenging to deal with.
History
Xiomere grew up at HarperHall. She remembers no other home or family before that. Of course there were names, but they meant nothing to her. She may have even seen her real family before without ever recognizing them. Instead, her masters became her mentors, the servants her friends, and a single family fostered her and treated her as as their own. They loved her as much as she thought anyone could. She was well cared for. She never had want for anything. Fort has the best of everything. She had a social life, grew up with kids her own age, had crushes she never told anyone about. And though she had a firm sense of self -- things she liked and disliked, hopes that were not squashed and fears that were not derided -- she was the perfect candidate to become a HarperHall Spy. She was a nobody who could have been anyone and everyone. So that is what she became.
From a young age she was taught the basics: reading, writing, arithmetic, Pernese history, singing, playing harp and lute. She prefers the flute but plays lute more frequently because it is arguably the most recognizable Harper instrument. She memorized all the teaching songs, the most important history songs, and the ones specific to the Fort region. She learned etiquette, how to dance gracefully and speak like a lady. She also learned also how to become a filthy drudge or a common crafter with a love for haggling.
When the Plague hit the North, the Weyrs were sent reeling. But the crafthalls and holds also suffered. They were left wondering about their future once the Fall began. This is where HarperHall came in and sent out their spy network. Eventually there was only one Weyr to send spies to, and young Xiomere was among them. Initially she was sent to Fort as a common Harper, the Apprentice to a much older Senior Journeyman. But then that Harper moved on to a new assignment, while she stayed.
Her main source of information came from the common people, cleaning and cooking and managing this and that. She became known around the kitchens as a girl with a "hollow leg" and who liked to entertain others while they worked. She had been warned that she was too young to move in on more important people; she tried anyway and found that she was not taken seriously. And so, privately humiliated and humbled, she went back to the common folk, while Weyr staff were alerted to her presence by her inexperience. While she made consistent reports back to HarperHall, those in the know watch what they say to her to carefully control what goes into her reports. She thinks she's doing a great job and has proven her disobedience was the right choice. She has no idea.
