Rank: Apprentice Blacksmith
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Build: Muscular
Skin: Light Tan
Hair: Dark Brown, to high back, pony tail
Eyes: Blue
Rank: Holder
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Build: Thin
Skin: Creamy with Freckles
Hair: Red, slightly curly, to shoulders
Eyes: Green
The girl's name is Araell, and she is barely more than a toddler, gripping tightly to her father's hand while they stand in front of her grandfather. He's a tall man, worn around the edges but still strong and proud. His great bronze dragon coils around behind him, fixing swirling blue-green eyes on the little girl. She is not frightened at the sight of the beast. She is enthralled.
Her father is not a dragonrider. He's a blacksmith, ecking out a small existence in a small house in a small hold, barely getting by, but still too proud to ask for help. Her mother died only a few days after Araell was born, and as far as the little girl is concerned, she does not have a mother. It doesn't bother her; her father loves her dearly, and that is enough for now.
It all changes the day the boy named Davren appears.
She is nine turns old, sweeping the floor of her father's forge with a broom too big for her small frame. The boy enters and asks her father for an apprenticeship. Araell wrinkles her nose-his skinny frame is covered in dirty, ragged clothes and his skin is smudged with dirt. He is not much older than her, even she can see that he is too young for an apprenticeship.
Her father stares silently for a bit, and he doesn't seem to realize that the boy is too young when he accepts. A cot is set up in a corner of their house for the boy, Davren, and her father says he will be staying with them for a while. If Araell were a bit older or a bit more observant, she would have realized that her father knew exactly how old the boy was-and that he had nowhere else to go. But she isn't, and she throws a mild tantrum because her father's not paying attention to her anymore and she's jealous of the boy named Davren.
It's practically love at first sight.
She grows older, and Davren stays with them in the little room with the cot. He spends most of his days in the forge with her father, but he still finds time to follow Araell around and think of ways to annoy her. She hates him, and she tells him so, but he only smiles back at her with a grin that makes her heart stop in her chest and she doesn't know why.
Araell likes to daydream. She remembers many long nights when her father would sit with her in bed and tell her stories. They are about many things-mostly dragons, because the little girl would beg her father to tell her stories about the fantastic creatures. Some of the stories her father created in his head, others had been around for far longer than anyone on Pern knew of.
Araell grows older, and begins to dream about the fantastical stories her father used to tell her, about evil monsters, beautiful girls, and a Prince Charming. She daydreams, and begins to think aobut her own Prince Charming. He'll be tall, and handsome. He'll have beautiful, bright blue eyes and blond hair. She dreams that he will come rescue her from her boring life as the daughter of a poor blacksmith and take her away with him, on the back of his bronze dragon.
She is knocked out of her idle dreaming by her father's voice calling her in for supper. She passes Davren on her way inside, and he gives her another one of those heart-stopping smiles which she loves and hates so much. With a sudden start of surprise, she realizes that he has brilliant blue eyes.
Davren is not one to waste idle time daydreaming. He is too busy working hard, for he knows that the life he was born into is not an easy one. He grew up the bastard son of a drudge-servant, little better than a beggarwoman, and was orphaned by the time he was barely eleven. The best thing that had ever happened to him was meeting the blacksmith and his pretty daughter. He would do anything for his master and especially Araell.
They both grow older, and as Araell turns sixteen, the young men of the hold begin to take notice of her wild, red hair and deep green eyes. To them, she has become a beautiful young woman. Davren is unmoved, for she has always been beautiful in his eyes.
There is an agreement between Araell and Davren. An unspoken one, which no one, perhaps even Davren and Araell themselves, are aware of, but an agreement, nonetheless. None of the suitors have a chance, for Araell is not interested in any of them, so Davren does not worry as he works harder and longer than ever, meticulously saving every spare mark he earns. Araell is content to wait, and daydreams of a beautiful white gown and flowers, and her Prince Charming. But she cannot wait forever.
Davren sets out on a week-long journey, and Araell and her father wait for him to come back. Five days pass, her father works, Araell daydreams, and dragons fly over their hold. Araell runs to meet them, watching the blue and green shapes with excitement and longing in her eyes. The searchriders interview her and find her worthy. She goes to pack her things and kiss her father goodbye. Davren is not back yet. She lingers as long as possible, but she cannot wait forever, and the dragons are impatient.
Even long after arriving at the place called Falas Weyrhall, her dreams are haunted by a lovely Prince Charming with blue eyes that she imagines are grieving.
Another day, and Davren returns to the hold. He slips his right hand into his pocket, where a golden ring is nestled. It is a simple gold band, with no expensive gemstones, but it is special to him, for it represents far more than months of endless nights working to save a little extra money. It represents a future.
He returns home, only to find that Araell is no longer there. Her father explains apologetically that she was searched for the dragons' clutch and was already gone.
Davren's face might as well be made of stone as he leaves the house. He wanders through the nearby woods with his thoughts. Surely, he couldn't have expected Araell to wait for him? Her first love, he thinks ironically, had always been for dragons. He pulls the golden ring out of his pocket, fingers it briefly, and throws it deep into the woods. Davren had always known the life he was meant for was not easy. He was only just beginning to learn that it was also not fair.
When the dragons come again, Davren is the first to meet them. They likely would not have taken him at all, but for the sheer force of his determination. He was probably one of the first people to accept a search who had no real interest in riding a dragon. But Fate always has a few more surprises.
A golden sheen glitters somewhere in the forest, but Davren cannot see it, and would not care anyway. He'd always known he loved Araell. He also knew that you had to make your own happy endings.
Race: Pernese Dragon
Gender: Male
Color: Blue-Black
Length: 27'8 (Blue)
Height: 7'9
Bond: D'vren
Race: Pernese Dragon
Gender: Female
Color: Green-Blue
Length: 23'10 (Green)
Height: 6'8
Bond: Araell
