Rostam :: Candidate

Name: Rostam
Gender: Male
Age: 21
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Occupation: Harper/Candidate
Rank: Journeyman
Place of Birth: Faelwen Weyr
Residence: Faelwen Weyr


(REMEMBER! All characters start off with 5 points they get to distribute where they like. Here is a link to the definition of the stats if you need it: Stats)

Brawn: 0
Cunning: 3
Smarts: 2


Hair Color: Dirty blonde/Light brown
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 170lbs
Description: Average is a good description of Rostam's size and build. He's got the body of a traveler, hard and healthy but not overly muscled. Like most people who spend a good portion of their time out of doors, his skin has bronzed up nicely. A small smattering of freckles dusts his cheeks and nose. There's nothing particularly eye-catching or unique in terms of facial structure unless you count a relatively small mouth with fuller lips that makes it seem like he's pouting even when he's not. He does not maintain the vanity of long hair, preferring to keep his sun-touched curls short and manageable. Cleanshaven might be an appropriate word for him if he was really capable of growing more than a scruff anyway.

Just as with his hair, Rostam tends to dress practically in leather for travelling and cotton when his work doesn't require more sturdy clothing. Most often he wears neutral or natural colors except at formal events where of course he defaults to harper blue. His posture is generally unassuming but that is more by design than nature. If one were to watch him for an extended period of time you'd see that he tends to don and discard impressions like most people exchange clothes.


Likes: Music, history, dragons, pretty women, good gossip
Dislikes: Manual labor, arrogant people, stupidity
Fears: Drowning (so any body of water by extension), death by boredom
Virtue: Tactfulness, empathy
Vice: Women, something of a liar
Description: The first thing anyone is likely to notice about the harper is that he's exceedingly talkative. Rostam is as changeable as the ocean that he fears with every fiber of his being. He goes from excited and amiable to hurt at a moment's notice, then quickly shifts to irritated and back to pleasant again. Some likely keep his company simply to press his buttons and see what comes of it. Anything of historical value is automatically of interest to Rostam and if he doesn't know the answer to any such question you'll be sure to find him in the archives and grilling the older generations to discover it. The man is also more than open to any request for his pipe music and has no problem playing for candlemarks if he just has an audience.

As seemingly outgoing as he is, there's no such thing as a private, intimate relationship with this harper. He keeps his secrets and inner thoughts close to his chest without ever giving off the impression that he's hiding a thing. Rostam is very good at being just what a person expects him to be (good or ill). He's something of a social chameleon. A few closer friends might be gifted with a glimpse into his truer, more judgmental thoughts, but those will come few and far between.

Internally Rostam is a lot less friendly than the image he projects, and a lot less reactionary also. He's found that those particular traits make it easiest for him to get what he wants out of people and the man is by no means above using people to get information, the latest gossip, a favor or two or even a tumble between the furs. If someone's too naive to realize it that's not his fault, now is it? So yes he has a tendency to tell people just what they want to hear whether it's true or not. Does that make him a bad person? Eh, not really. He may use people, but he doesn't wish to hurt them or anything, and Rostam has been known to stick up for people who can't fend for themselves on occasion, too.


History: As with the vast majority of weyrbrats, Rostam was born to a drudge who'd gotten herself mixed up with one of the local dragonriders. His name was R'kin or R'elen or something of the sort. Rostam can never remember and doesn't really care; his father apparently died when the boy was six, but since he never had anything to do with Rostam anyway it was no great loss. He was raised in the creche until he reached a suitable age to Stand for hatchings, the boy getting into his own share of trouble and even earning a reputation as a small-time troublemaker in the interim. Too clever for his own good, many of the drudges could be heard to say.

And so he Stood. And Stood again. But it seemed that Kimeth's babies were not at all interested in Rostam despite his decided interest in them (particularly in the increasing frequency and growing size of the clutches). After those first two failed Standings, Rostam chose to look for a backup vocation. Harpering was a logical choice. He hied off to Mercy Hold to study with the Masters there and used his glib tongue to weasel into apprenticing directly for one of the older journeyman who was to be stationed at Faelwen Weyr. Perfect.

In between his studies he carried on with the usual candidate duties and Stood for every hatching he could. As a harper the boy showed tremendous talent, both in music and in the more scholarly studies that often get overlooked by the general populace of Pern. Too bad such skills were not terribly impressive to dragonets. Seemingly before he was even fully aware of it Rostam was quickly approaching the age when he could no longer Stand. 18. 19. 20. He crossed the tables and earned his knots as a journeyman and now holds out very little hope for ever Impressing to one of the creatures he adores. This is doubly unfortunate considering he's convinced that the increasing number and frequency of clutches points to the return of Threadfall based on historical clutching records.

Well, there's always this latest (and final, for him) chance with Kimeth's last clutch. It's unfortunate that the Weyrwoman died and all but Rostam has to admit to himself that this new Weyrwoman is a lot prettier.


Desired Honorific: Ro'am or R'am
Preferred Color: I honestly don't have a preference.