O'dral is a rather nondescript man, 6' 1",
175#, thick brown hair beginning to grey at the temples, the type someone in a
crowd might look at but not see. Although he keeps himself and his clothing
clean he pays little attention to his appearance, therefore looking somewhat
unkept, almost slovenly. A long scar which never tans runs the length of his
upper left arm and across the shoulder. Not given to excess physical activity,
he remains rather lanky due to his limited appetite, not even using sweetener in
his klah. His only distinctive characteristic is a pair of dark brown, almost
black, eyes which seem to constantly smolder with some cold, hard flame deep
within.
O'dral allows only two emotions in his heart:
love for his bronze Ganth and hatred of Thread for what it does to dragons,
riders, and Pern. But his hatred is controled, directed toward finding better
ways to destroy Thread without risk or injury to dragons or their riders. He is
both a stratigist and a tactician, constantly studying patterns of Threadfalls,
listening to other riders describe their experiences, his mind greedily
devouring information about Pern's ancient enemy. He gets along well with
others but puts little effort into relationships, and his manner of speech,
although not offensive, usually comes across as critical, or dismissive, or
insensitive due to his difficulty with expressing the softer emotions.
Brief History of Persona:
Weyrbred in 459fp, the offspring of brown and green
riders, O'dral has known no other life. As a child he was active, always taking
risks, and seemingly always in trouble. When he stood on the sands of the
hatching ground at age 14 he felt it was only a concession to his parents and he
was not expected to Impress. So he was shocked when a small bronze dragonette
stumbled toward, gazed into his eyes, said his name was Ganth and he was so
very, very hungry! As the lifemates grew O'dral never lost his confident,
cocky, almost careless outlook of life. Until Thread fell. On their first
actual fighting flight O'dral failed to pay attention around him as Ganth's head
turned back to the right for more firestone, and a strand of Thread struck along
the left of the bronze's neck, across O'dral's left arm and shoulder. Ganth
screamed in pain and immediately went between, saving them, but when they
emerged O'dral was a changed man. The careless risk taker was replaced by a
cold, methodical planner determined, dedicated, that neither his nor any other
dragon should ever suffer such pain again. When the Weyr relocated to Dawning
Light his inability to be of much help, due to he and Ganth still recovering
from their wounds, only hardened his resolve. And thus O'dral today seems to
show, with the single exception of his love for Ganth, no room in his heart for
more than the destruction of Thread while ensuring the safety of dragons and
their riders.
Description of Dragon:
Ganth is the anthisis of his rider. Slightly
smaller than the average bronze yet somewhat stocky of body he nonetheless has a
wingspan the equal of any and outfly most bronzes and browns, even many blues
and greens. He is almost overly active, always eager to go somewhere, do
something, even after feeding. Like his rider he emerged from that terrible
scoring changed, but unlike O'dral, Ganth's hatred flared instead of hardened.
Enraged that something would harm his lifemate, Ganth became malevolent toward
Thread, his seething, all-consuming, wanton lust to destroy the stuff often
shocking even other dragons with its intensity. The long mark on his neck is
darker than the rest of his body but is not needed as a reminder, for Ganth
remembers and will never forget how O'dral was almost taken from him. He has
never successfully flown a gold but caught many greens, and O'dral has always
seemed content, but somewhere within his draconian logic Ganth feels something
is lacking, there is something he needs to accomplish, for them both.
E-mail Vic if you'd like, I'm sure he'd love to hear from you!
