Post by ‡§åkørü‡ on Oct 25, 2010 16:01:11 GMT -8
Name: Keldraza (Ke'raza)
Age: 19 years
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Homosexual
Rank: Winglet
Location: Sayaie
Personality:
Keldraza is one of those people who comes off as moderately shy and quiet. Quiet, at least, tends to suit her, though shy is certainly not one of her describing traits. Once she's been properly introduced to someone, she's fairly friendly, if often a little too bold. She will not, however, associate with large groups under any circumstances because large packs of people make her extremely nervous. Inclined to say what she means - and she does mean it - Kel can sometimes be hard to get along with. On occasion she can be witty, but it usually happens when she isn't trying. If she does, her jokes tend to fall flat and she has received rather a lot of odd looks in the past because she doesn't actually know how to make something funny. However, despite this unhappy tendency, Kel is a very gentle, patient person. She won't hurt anyone if she can help it, and is extremely empathetic, with an unusual ability to put herself into the shoes of others. Of course, she's not especially good at comforting her friends, but she does try - she tries very hard, though she never knows what to say and everything she does say is clumsy. Her boldness, in this case, is rather a hindrance to her efforts to help others.
Still, it is from her empathy that Keldraza draws her ability to work with horses. She loves these animals, and would rather be on the back of a horse than anywhere else. Because of her gentleness, it's easy for her to reach out to horses (and other animals, but horses are her favourites) and she has a knack for communicating with them. Of course, she's still trying to learn their language so she hardly has a perfect understanding of her animal friends, but she tries, and is willing to do a lot more than other people to gain a horse's trust. Not once has she lost her temper with a horse; under no circumstances will Kel yell at or strike an animal. Neither will she hurt a human being; she simply doesn't know how. In her entire life, Keldraza has never properly let go of her anger and as a result she can be moody and unpredictable, but she will never actually yell at or hit someone. Some people see this as a good thing; she hates it and would simply love to freak out like other people can. Along with her inability to truly lose her temper, though, Keldraza has to be responsible so that she won't hurt herself or anyone else. Of course, most of her responsibility tends towards the equine side of life and she has been known to occasionally slack off on other things in favour of horses, but she's mostly hardworking and determined to finish what she starts.
All the same, emotional issues or not, Kel isn't necessarily 'sweet.' She's callous and rough around the edges, despite her empathetic nature, and it's hard to make her trust people. Frequently skittish like the horses she so loves, the young woman tends to assume the worst of people until she gets to know them better. It's hard to be friends with her because, though she is friendly enough when she knows someone, she can go beyond callousness into insensitivity if something annoys her. Say what she means she certainly will, but feelings are something she won't discuss because she feels it makes her weak. This could be because of her sexuality; she's distinctly lesbian and though she doesn't have a problem with that herself, she tries to hide it as much as possible. She does this by making herself seem completely asexual; she won't glance at anyone crosswise, female or not. Of course, there's little doubt that Keldraza would be a wonderful lover if she could just bring herself to love somebody - she's got a lot of affection to give. She just won't show that and she does her absolute best to never get involved with anybody beyond friendship. Because of this, she can come off as a little cold, but getting to know her better will reveal the real Kel.
Appearance:
Keldraza isn't really what one might call 'pretty.' She's built like a boy - long-limbed, broad-shouldered, and narrow-hipped. And at five foot ten, she's certainly not a petite little beauty. Her features aren't that bad, but they're plain - hard and chiseled, with an arrow-straight, knife-edged nose, high prominent cheekbones, and strong brows. Her eyes are big, dark brown and intense, framed by thick black lashes, and they tend to pop in her dark-skinned face. Above them, straight, strong brows make it look rather like she's always about to glare at somebody. This hard appearance can sometimes scare people away, and the fact that she looks rather like a boy doesn't help her case much, either. Looking like a boy comes not just from her build, either - the young woman has her dark brown hair cropped short and spiky around her head, with jagged bangs stabbing down over her forehead, and random spikes sticking out everywhere else. It's not a hugely flattering look, but she doesn't care in the least.
On the plus side, being tall and lean has its advantages. Kel is extremely strong, if not that flexible or fast, and she can lift almost anything she's asked to without difficulty. This no doubt stems from long years of lifting hay bales and other heavy objects; because of those many chores, her muscles are tough and toned, and there isn't an ounce of fat on her body.
In terms of clothing, Keldraza isn't fancy. She likes to wear sturdy linen work clothes - usually a tunic and knee-length pants. When she's feeling really adventurous she'll tie her shirt up to let out heat, since she's really not that self-conscious about her body, but she's never indecent about it. Not that she has a lot to be indecent about - her chest is almost nonexistent, with just the faintest bulges present to indicate that she is in fact female. She is in possession of no pretty clothes at all, with just a decent white tunic and brown leather pants for special occasions. Dresses are something she loathes because of their impracticality and it's virtually impossible to get her into one.
Family:
Father: Tazek (horse breeder; 44 years old)
Mother: Elliene (seamstress; 46 years old)
Brothers: Johan (horse breeder; 21 years old) and Tobet (farmer; 18 years old)
Sisters: Teslaeri (veterinary surgeon; 24 years old)
Pets:
Azreiax, two year old black Shire colt. Built like a tank, this young horse has all the characteristics of his breed, though he's young yet. A beautiful convex profile makes up the front of his face, and his neck is reasonably thick and arched, joining into a short, strong back and stocky legs. He's the picture of health, too: fit and alert, with a bright look in his eyes that speaks of much intelligence. When he's fully grown there's little doubt that he'll reach eighteen hands; the colt is a big one and he has plenty of promise for the future. At the moment, he stands around sixteen hands high.
Mentally, though, Azreiax isn't quite as promising. He's a flighty creature, more like a Thoroughbred than a Shire, and is easily spooked, though he has a gentle temperament. The only thing he's been broke to is the halter; Keldraza is working on building his trust before she begins to work on actually training him.
Simourv Name: Sdapaph
Simourv Color: Blue {71d6fc}
Simourv Age: 0 years
Personality:
cynical, clinical, cold, snappish and spiteful to others but rider
Appearance:
Asymmetrical.
Parentage:
Grey Eceph X Black Alianph
History:
Tazek and Elliene married when Tazek was sixteen and Elliene was eighteen years old. Their parents didn't particularly approve, of course, but they grudgingly accepted the union and, a few years later, came to appreciate what a good team the two made. Tazek, born to work with horses, was a good man - soft-spoken, kind, and always with something nice to say to others, though he had a backbone of steel and was immovable when he made a decision. Elliene, on the other hand, was explosive and fiery, but as kind as her husband in her own way. Despite that, she was happy with her womanly craft of sewing, and loved to sit for hours upon hours just stitching clothes, making beautiful designs on everything they wore, if she could spare the thread. Both were very practical people, despite their fondness for beauty: if something could be done in a straightforward, effective manner, it was done that way and no other.
Then Teslaeri was born. She was an inventive soul, endlessly curious, with a fascination for taking things apart and looking at the insides of them. Tazek immediately recognized what this meant and did his level best to foster in her a love of horses. It worked; by five years of age the little girl was working with and riding horses, learning about them. Her father also taught her what he knew about equine sicknesses; fascinated, she began to hang around whenever a horse was sick or injured, intent on learning how to fix it.
At the end of the eldest daughter's first three years of life, however, Johan had also been born. Lacking the interest to take things apart and look at them, he was nonetheless completely infatuated with horses, and Tazek, pleased with this, took both of his children under his wing to learn about the animals he loved.
And then Keldraza was born. If her elder siblings had loved horses, Kel made it look like they only tolerated them. Totally obsessed with the mighty creatures, she learned how to ride at only two and a half years old, and, at three, immediately took a liking to a fat old mare named Candle. Her mother, accepting that her third child totally lacked interest in household crafts, made her littlest daughter a lovely saddle blanket to use on Candle, though it fit all of the horses on the farm. Kel, thrilled, paraded the brightly coloured blanket around and, though it was meant for horses, often wore it herself. Because she was so small, she wasn't allowed to ride without one of her parents or Teslaeri around, but the youngest daughter didn't mind at all. She rapidly grew into a good rider, and by four could handle a gentle horse all on her own. Candle, her special favourite, was her regular mount; every day little Kel took her out for a pleasure ride, with her protective older sister at her side. Those early years were impossibly happy; not once did either Tazek or Elliene give her cause to resent them. Every day was spent in the saddle, and when Tobet was born, a year after herself, Keldraza took it upon herself, when they both grew a little older, to teach him to ride. Her younger brother, however, wasn't a fan of horses; he tolerated them but that was all. Refusing to ride unless he had to, preferring to drive teams of horses with a plow, it soon became evident that Tobet's interests lay with farming rather than horse breeding.
Keldraza didn't like this. It wasn't what she had planned for her younger brother and she often, when she was very young, threw fits about it. When Tazek realized that Tobet didn't like their business much, he offered to foster out the little boy in a trade he liked better, and Tobet accepted the offer. Keldraza, heartbroken that her brother would choose to leave her and the horses she so loved, was nine years old. Resolving to never let anybody abandon her again, she began to close herself off from the rest of the world except for her family, throwing herself wholeheartedly into riding. Candle, old and chubby as ever, was still her favourite horse, but the mare's health was rapidly declining and by the time Kel was ten years old, was virtually unrideable. Upon realizing this, the young girl figured out that her horses couldn't last forever - before now, she'd always thought they would. When Candle died in her arms, with Teslaeri trying to save her, the family's youngest daughter cried her heart out. For weeks she mourned for her lost horse, riding others only when she had to. For a few days she rode not at all, going instead to visit Tobet on the farm where he was apprenticing. Within hours of arrival, and seeing the horses used only for plowing, Kel changed her mind once more. Though she stayed with her brother and helped him in his apprenticeship as much as she could, she told him, when she left, "I'll never be a farmer."
It turned out that she was absolutely right. She loathed the lack of riding, preferring instead to exercise and work her family's racing and draft horses. When she returned back to the farm, though she still grieved for her brown mare Candle, the eleven year old girl devoted herself entirely to the animals she loved. Elliene saw hardly anything of her daughter because the girl stayed outside all hours of the day, until after sunset when the horses were put away for the night. She came inside only to eat and sleep, and only Tazek and her older brother saw her. Teslaeri, sixteen, had by now apprenticed to the town veterinarian and was by now learning all she could from him. Almost never at the farm except when she came to tend to the animals, the eldest daughter, too, lost contact with Keldraza.
Johan was concerned for his little sister. She had never trusted people to begin with, and whenever strangers came to the farm in large groups (which was frequent), for whatever reason, she had always retreated to the barns to avoid them. Now, however, she completely vanished when there were strangers nearby. Where she'd been going he had no idea, until he stumbled upon her one day racing her mount at the time, Applestar, across the prairie near Sayaie. He'd been heading to town to buy some provisions, but had headed her off with his own horse, and demanded to know what she was doing. Keldraza had cast a suspicious glance at him, then admitted, "I'm running away." When pressed for the reason why, she'd shaken her head and suggested that they ride to town together. Mystified, Johan agreed, and together they started once again towards Sayaie. However, he never learned the reason why. From across the plain, the pair could see a pair of xymokoxi advancing on them. Knowing they were doomed, the siblings kicked their horses into a hellish ride as the beasts came after them. All of them knew that Johan, Keldraza, and their horses were going to become the next meal of the koxi. Keldraza, horrified at the idea that her brother and the horses might die (she hardly thought about herself), spurred her mount ever harder, heading for the town. The predators were closing in on them, however, and she was sure that Johan, on his slower horse, was going to die. Screaming at him to make his horse go faster, she soon realized that the sound of koxi behind them had stopped, only to be replaced by savage roars. Confused, Kel reined in her poor sweating Applestar, turning her around to see what was the matter. A scant two hundred yards away, a battle raged between a black simourv and the two koxi, with the black winning.
Johan had halted his mount as well, coming back to join his sister. Together they watched the black take down the two simourv, and, when he was finished, witnessed the dark wings bearing him away. Awed, both headed back to the farm, forgetting all about going to town.
As soon as they arrived and explained what had happened, Tazek and Elliene forgave them. The two children, shaking with delayed fear and horror, collapsed into their parents' arms, and the adults put them both to bed. The next day, however, Keldraza thought more about what had happened, and realized that she admired the magnificent black as much as the horses she'd always worked with. From that moment on she tried to catch a glimpse of another simourv, which, seven years later, nearly cost her her life. Things had gone well - koxi had attacked Sayaie, but never the horse farm a couple of miles away from it. However, Kel had never forgotten her saviour, the black simourv, and so when she heard people screaming "Koxi attack!" outside the barn one day, she immediately raced out to see where the menaces were. When she realized that they were right on her farm, she immediately rushed to save the horses, though the simourv of the Eyrie were due to arrive in minutes. Crying out for Applestar, she rushed headlong into the face of the koxi attack, opening gates and herding her beloved animals through them, determined to save all the horses of her farm. She couldn't let them die!
Other people were doing the same, rushing about in such a flurry of activity that the koxi were spread out across the entire farm. One of the five was bearing down on Keldraza, having decided that she and a fat mare she was herding were going to make an excellent meal. Instantly the teenaged girl realized her danger; she urged the mare to go faster, and, seeing the gates open in front of her, vaulted onto the animal's back. Thus began her second hellish race for life; she kicked the mare mercilessly, driving her away from the koxi. It chased after her, roaring and snarling, and within moments had caught them. Screaming and with one leg trapped under the monster's claws, Kel beat at the armoured leg that held down her horse, fighting to free the terrified animal. It didn't work; the koxi, ignoring her, tore into the mare's belly. Crying and shrieking, trying to yank her leg free from the animal's grasp, Keldraza soon realized that she wasn't going to be able to get away. For now the beast was distracted by its meal, but as soon as it was finished with that, she was doomed.
That moment came all too quickly, Kel, clinging to the huge leg and trying to use it as leverage to pull herself free, realized in moments that one huge amber eye was glaring at her hungrily. The leg lifted, seeking to kick her into a spot that was easier to reach, and without delay the girl raced under the armoured belly. Hunting for her, the koxi snarled, looking between its legs and all around it, not without success. Knowing she couldn't get away, Kel tried all the same, racing away behind her attacker to gain time. It whirled and sprang after her, knocking her to the ground and moving to pin her down with a taloned foot. Lowering its head to take a bite out of its wounded prey (Kel had broken an arm in the fall), the koxi gave a loud rumble of satisfaction.
That didn't last long, however, because one of the simourv who had just arrived ripped the shining beast away from its sobbing prey. Feeling the claws torn away from her body, Keldraza curled into a ball, cradling her broken arm and crying helplessly. She'd nearly died once, and been saved by a simourv, and now it had happened again. She could only pray that the rest of her family had been so lucky. For now, however, her attention was dragged from her arm to the simourv tearing into the koxi.
This was approximately when one of the farm hands, having sighted Keldraza, appeared and helped her off the ground. "Come on, we have to hide!" he growled, and, upset but unable and unwilling to argue, Kel climbed into a tree with his help. There she sat, watching the great creatures battling the koxi. They were slowly tearing it to pieces, and though it was a grisly sight, Kel was sure it was well deserved. The monster had killed one of the horses! It deserved to die! Leaning back against the trunk of the tree, Kel watched the slaughter with some satisfaction, hoping only that her family and her horses were safe. If they weren't, she had no idea what she'd do. Gazing at the infuriated simourv battling the koxi, however, she was sure that the others would have saved the rest of the farm by now. There were lots of Eyrie simourv, after all, and maybe a wild one or two would have come for this attack too - she wasn't paying attention. This idea, in her mind, was only reinforced when the great simourv, tearing at the beast, managed to rip some of its scales free and deliver a killing blow as it was distracted. How amazing must the creatures truly be, to be able to so easily destroy such a monster as a xymokoxi? She'd seen it before, with the black, but he had been so much bigger than these blues...
Helped down from the tree as soon as the fight ended, Keldraza almost immediately took off to check on her family, not waiting for medical attention. Though the simourv still held her in total fascination, she needed to know that her family was all right. As soon as she learned that they were fine, she returned to find that the simourv were gone, and her saviours with them.
She returned to her normal life with some difficulty, touched by the fighting simourv. Fortunately, except for her own broken arm, none of her family had even been injured, but this was probably the only thing that made settling back into normal life a little easier. Riding and caring for the horses even went almost as it usually did - or would have, if she hadn't gone for a walk the day after the koxi attack. Heading for a neighbouring horse farm, the girl was startled to find it in ruins - smashed and destroyed, probably by the same xymokoxi who had raided her own home the day before. Hoping desperately that some of the horses might be left alive - since the people clearly weren't - she began to search the wreckage. Vindication came when she reached the barn, and found one horse - just one - still left alive. He was a Shire colt, just a yearling, and he whinnied fearfully as she approached. Murmuring soothing phrases to him, Keldraza managed to get close enough to him for him to realize that he wouldn't hurt her, and slipped a halter onto his magnificent head.
Returning home that day, the eighteen-year-old rider was both pleased and saddened by the discovery of this new horse. Neither her parents nor her brother questioned her decision, and they allowed her to work with the colt - whom she christened Azreiax - as she would. Applestar was still her riding horse, and she worked all of the other horses regularly, but the nervous Shire was her newest project. Like her, he had been scarred by the koxi attack, and this formed a tentative bond between them. Horse and handler grew close, but even after many long months, Azreiax hadn't learned to trust her fully. Puzzled, Kel continued to work with her beloved colt, determined to earn his trust fully and teach him to trust people again. She didn't blame him for his fear, however; she had never gotten over the koxi attack either, and had withdrawn a little from other people. The only positive result of this was the way she threw herself wholeheartedly into her work with the young Shire, but Azreiax is still unbroken, and distrustful of people; his owner suspects that he is never going to get over the trauma of the koxi attack. She keeps trying, however, and her family, seeing only her struggles with the horse, have been assuming that her withdrawal is due to that alone. In truth, she wants nothing more now than to be Searched and go to live at the Eyrie, near the beautiful simourv, and take her beloved Azreiax with her.
