V'teri
Description
High cheekbones and a square jaw complement V'teri's general rugged good looks, exemplified in his light gray eyes and the single dimple along his constantly 5'o-clock shadowed left cheek. His brown hair has a ruddy tinge to it, and waves becomingly to just above his ears. Tall, standing just above six feet, V'teri's athletic frame is clad in neat leathers kept simple in their natural brown, with an inner shirt of olive green. Heel-less black boots rise up to mid-calf, slouched at the top with the excess fabric folded over.
Background
Before V'teri got an apostrophe in his name, he was Vanteri, the last son of Balten, a pig farmer in the lowland regions of High Reaches Hold. Born 27 turns ago, it was assumed by all that Balten would find some new form of academic torture for his newest offspring as the pig farmer, much to the amusement of his neighbors, had aspirations of greatness for his kids: just look at his oldest daughter who should have prepared for marriage at the tender age of 15 hied off to Healer Hall. Or his second child, another girl, who had been "fostered" (and let me assure you, there was much laughter at the use of this high-falutin' language) to a family who worked at Tillek Hold. Or his third child, another boy, now getting _ideas_ at Harper Hall, never mind, the well-meaning people of this small hold didn't think the boy had much musical talent in him, forgetting that a Harper's scope went past just music. (Even V'teri would have to say though, his next oldest brother being a harper was odd being quite tone deaf, but apparently had a hand for archives.)
So with Vanteri born quite late in this little family's existence, the curious wondered what he'd be headed for. But maybe Balten had given up any further idea of greatness, or was just tired of pushing his children to their greatest heights that he seemed satisfied with Vanteri growing up in his footsteps, yet another pig farmer. Someone, after all, had to hold down the home front and be the safety net to catch all his other high flying children in case anything should happen.
And so he lived much of his early life, being told the Pernese equivalent of fairy tales by his father, who would insist with a completely straight face, that they were real; of a life where their ancestors ruled the entire High Reaches Hold area.
And then at the tender age of twenty, the Comet Pass having just ended a short while before, he was Searched, first by Telgar, and then to Monaco. With nothing but a life filled with pig breeding and pig care ahead of him, there wasn't much keeping him at his ancestral home and with a father who's shining ambition had been revived by this opportunity to see another of his progeny to greatness, Vanteri was convinced by all to go. They could, after all, take care of themselves. All his father requested was: Please try not to attract a green.
The first go around, he attracted nothing, not even a green, and his affable, reasoning-oriented nature carved out a niche of new friends at the Weyr and he found that though he had failed to Impress, his pig-tending skills could be utilized to assist the beastcrafters with the herds, and so life went on. He also found that he much preferred the wider world-visioned Weyrfolk than the pig farm he had grown up in and decided to stay and make a home for himself. He Stood at ever subsequent hatching thereafter at Telgar before the cold air began to grate and he had a newfound wanderlust that made him accept a Monaco rider's offer to Stand for their clutch.
It was there, at the age of 23, Vanteri became V'teri, newly minted weyrling to a dark, awkward little bronze named Riuscyth. They thrived in the Monaco weyrling program, and the pig farmer's son slowly began to realize just what he was in for, not just with his new companion for life or his new home, but with his father.
For Balten, all avenues of his children had failed him in what was his ultimate goal: to find out what happened turns before to his ancestors. To see if his romantic ideals of being the long lost son of someone important might be true. His great grandmother had told him so, and while others called her nutters, there were some facts: she did own a ring with an intricate crest unbecoming of a pig farmer's wife. And while Balten didn't realize it was that of River Bend Hold, it had to be something important, no? But archivist son, Tillekian handmaiden daughter, and mindhealer eldest had all failed to find anything further out in the vast world. But perhaps, this son he had placed no confidence in, as a rider, might have access to information the others could not aspire to reach.
V'teri, placid as he generally might be, was happy to oblige, or at least make the show of obliging. He found for himself a mentor in R'hin, the former High Reaches Weyrleader; a feat that was a testament to how sly he could be as Leiventh's rider was anything but friendly to anyone but his young daughter. And they talked. And talked. Drank and drank, hearing stories from either side with R'hin bemused by V'teri's lack of worldly experience and V'teri, not-quite shiny eyed in interest at R'hin's tales.
It was in one of these random chats over a bottle the original subject of which is long forgotten, that R'hin mentioned discrepencies in the Reaches tithing situations years before the last Pass. It stopped V'teri cold as he ran the numbers with various things he'd discovered over time, that on their own, would be nothing, but combined with this small, innocuous little fact, could mean... well, something. Unable to press for more information, V'teri let things lie, musing over what to tell his father when news of his father's passing finally reached his ears.
With 'new' information at hand of High Reaches Weyr's involvement with his father's long lost ancestors, and his father's most timely death, V'teri, quite apologetically, asked for a transfer to the Reaches so he might be closer to his mother and extended family in their time of grief.
Plot Notes
V'teri is the great-great grandson of Henret, the originating rebel. Henret in turn was the eldest son of the holder of River Bend, the half-brother of the /then/ Lord Holder of High Reaches Weyr. Uneasy with the way Beradin was aging and how that age was affecting his holdership detrimentally, Henret decided to act and began networking amongst the minor and lesser holders.
It was only by virtue of an absolutely loyal servent that Henret's daughter, Jiesa (then 13 in turn 192/Interval 9) escaped. Adopted into her handmaiden's family, Jiesa was raised as a pig farmer's daughter, though fully aware of who she was and where she came from, but also aware that should anyone find out, she could be exiled or worse, cause the mass execution of servants who had been so loyal to her. Jiesa married another escaped child, Manvino of Three Glades, when they were grown and had children, among which was Rylenna (a daughter), who then married and had among her children a son, Balten. It was to Balten that Vanteri was born in the 48th turn of the 10th Pass. Throughout, until her death, Jiesa spun fantastical tales for her children and then grandchildren, supposed fairy tales.
Vanteri was 13 when the Comet Pass began. He grew up listening to the passed on stories of his great-great grandmother, believing them to be just that, fairy tales, until an antique ring of Jiesa's (the ring with the original seal of River Bend) was passed on, along with some chance conversations.
He is not aware of his ties to River Bend or that he is a distant cousin of the current Lord Holder.
Family Tree
Beradin's half brother + Wife
(Lord RiverBend) |
|
-------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | |
Dyana + Henret (113d) m f Dinami ???
| |
--------------------------------- |
| | | | |
Manvino + Jiesa (95d) ? + ? ? ? ???
| | |
----------------- --------------- |
| | | | |
Rylenna (79d)+ ? ??? ? (leader) Edala + Rickon ???
| | |
| ---------------- |
| | | |
Balten (61d) + ? Seani + Tomaeran (23) Kima (19) Devaki (22)
|
-----------------
| | | |
f m f V'teri (27)
No logs have been posted yet.
#1f4770
